(Mild spoilers)

This had a very atmospheric first chapter, dated in the 1970s, then it jumps to modern day with a completely different tone. It took a few chapters for me to start getting to know the characters and get into the story, but when the supernatural things started happening, my interest was definitely piqued. There were some original ideas on the haunted house theme, as well as some well-known tropes.

The character development was rather sluggish. There was just no one with enough personality to actually like. This made for a slow read for me. Also there were a lot of incomplete sentences like "Sat and stretched out." Was the extra word really so much trouble? That's the sort of thing that can lead me to DNF, but the Horror bits were interesting enough to make me want to see what would happen.

The plotting also had problems. A plot point would get introduced and just fizzle into nothing and transitions felt clumsy. One supernatural element to the story was just suddenly there with no lead-in and was rather jarring. Moments of suspense often turned out to be other than they appeared and until near the end, there were no sustained crisis points to keep me reading.

Much of it felt unrealistic. Characters would be brought in to save the day then immediately eliminated from the action in ways that made their existence pointless. One person faints in a swoon and is unconscious for a very long time (keeping her conveniently out of the way) while another gets a bash to the head but is suddenly awake and active again. Another character is managing to do all sorts of physical things with a broken arm that should have been much more distracting at least. A fight scene reads like a Manga and the magic towards the end made me think of 1950s B-movies.

On the positive side, the use of Old English rang true, though I don't have the linguistic expertise to know if it was accurate. It looked convincing enough. The story had some good bits and the overall progression worked, but the execution needs smoothing and some practice on establishing relevance.

****Review****

The dead can hold grudges longer than the living.

Very few ghost stories hold my attention but this one is brilliant. This story is fast-paced and keeps you turning the page long after you should of gone to bed. I love the way the story flows together, the characters draw you in and soon your rooting for them.
Ms. Lloyd does an amazing job of creating an eerier environment and the build up of feelings was a trip I enjoyed. This is a good book if your looking for a haunted house thrill.
Thank you to Netgalley/ Cailyn Lloyd/ Land of Oz LLC for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I really enjoyed this book, the characters were well developed. It had an interesting plot. I would be interested in reading more

Shepherd’s Warning is a clever mix of ghosts, psychic, haunted house and medieval witchcraft, all thrown in together. What began as a simple haunted house spook story turned into a full-blown horror fest as it neared the climax.

“…red sky in the morning, shepherd’s warning…”

An age-old horror, a hidden secret haunting a family is an absolute pleasure of reading horror. Added to that the fluent style of the writer, this book is a winner. The writer has been able to create the concept of the different meanings of evil at two different points of time.

With the settings perfectly created, the characters are also given due justice. However, what irked me about one of the central characters Laura, was her reluctance to accept her fate. Meanwhile, that was the arc that the writer wanted to create I presume.

The best part about the book is the detailing of places and scenes, which when read passes on as a movie in your eyes. Brilliant execution and a fresh perspective to an already wrung out concept of haunted houses.

As I finished reading the book at 3 in the morning, it was raining. The pat pat pats of the rain on the roof and the chill of the winter creeping in set a perfect tone for this awesome horror read.

If there was a competition and I was the judge, this would make it to the top tens of this year’s horror releases.

3 Stars

I appreciate the writer's ability to encapsulate such a world of gothic horror in the modern era, but through the overuse of characters and mundane activities, unfortunately this one felt underwhelming for me as a horror/thriller genre.

I did enjoy the concept, and I would have liked to have seen Shepherd more, and a lot sooner. There was too much focus on secondary characters who come and go, so the focus was lost in a blur.

I feel that the story could have improved through editing out some characters altogether and making some scenes/setups more plausible. Implausible scenes such as: Film crew - brief appearance and no explanation afterwards. I'd suggest either editing out altogether or having them return to enjoy the haunted events; Lack of safety precautions for the roof accident; and finally the ridiculousness of the ending events, and certain character deaths, just seemed overkill. The overall pace of the book could have been hurried along as well.

Thank you to NetGalley, Land of OZ LLC publishing and the author for this free ARC read for a review.

So it took me a minute to get into this. I had a little bit of a rocky start. There were just so many different elements thrown around at the beginning that I literally thought to myself, damn the author has thrown everything in here but the kitchen sink. This of course gave me some reservations and I honestly didn't think this book was going to work out for me. But WOW, once I got to about the 25-30% mark, the story took off and it didn't let up until the end! Those reservations I had went right out the window. The author weaved all of those different pieces together flawlessly and this turned out to be one hell of a haunted house/ ghost story!

*Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an ARC in exchange for a fair and honest review.

October seemed like a good month to read a few novels labeled as "horror", and "Shephard's Warning" by Caitlyn Lloyd was one of the titles I chose. Laura and her husband Lucas have moved into an old Tudor home that was left to them by Laura's mother-in-law. They have decided to refurbish the help with the help of Lucas's brother Nate and his wife, Ashley. Strange and dangerous things begin to occur, and even stranger things are found in the house, such as a hidden room and an ancient book.

Unfortunately, many parts that seemed promising are undeveloped, such as the HGTV angle and Laura's potential friendship with Sally. I adored the character of Shephard and his personal history, but again a lot of that seemed to fall flat and not be used to its potential. Overall, I was disappointed in the book. The author has the ability and imagination, but I believe the editor needed to be more heavy-handed in the direction of the novel...

Thank you NetGalley and Publishers for granting me early access to "Shepard's Warning".

I'm currently in the middle of a major move, but I will definitely come back at a later time and write out a full review and rating. Thank you so much!

This book is an okay-ish book. I have a thing for stories about haunted houses in any case, so most books about haunted houses get me hooked. I did have a couple of ... initially minor issues that kept grating though.

First: inconsistencies make any meh. A couple of pages before we find out Shepherd is a grey hat hacker who wants to keep a low profile technology-wise, he dislikes technology enough that he wants to pay with a severely outdated payment method, while a couple of sentences later he checks his e-mail on his iPhone and navigates with a Touch Pro. Which still makes an inconsistency with the wanting to keep a low profile; if he wants to look like he doesn't like technology, reasonably he'd check his e-mail on a desktop, and use maps before he'd pay in a manner my gran doesn't even use anymore, right? Plus, rubbing the readers' nose in that he uses expensive tech is bad enough without telling he is low-tech first.

That is another thing that might appear minor, but that kept rubbing me the wrong way. Why the dropping of brands all the time? Why do we need to know what kind of smartphone someone has, as long as it's functional? Same goes for navigation, laptops, tablets, etc. etc. Naming the brands and types usually just makes the book seem outdated sooner, and it makes me wonder what the writer had to gain by dropping brands to be honest.

Like I said, this are mostly minor things, but when done long enough in a book, they irk enough to really stamp their mark on it. The book itself still was pretty okay.

This is basically a hard review to write and not even sure where to start. The reasoning behind this….when you have something so fantastic and love so much, how do you review it without giving anything away. I went into this cold with little knowledge beyond a brief synopsis and it caught me off guard. This is an excellent haunting tale that really gets under the skin.

Starting out in a typical fashion, haunted house, dark past, a death prologue then family moves in to renovate, you are wrong to think this is anything but typical. Lloyd masterfully keeps you on your toes and whilst this is a slow burn novel, every sentence and nuance is used to start the slow build tension to its climatic conclusion.

The characters are well drawn though there are moments when you do want to slap some of them for their actions or their sense of common sense. Laura is one of these characters where at times you do what to shake her beyond comprehension. Saying that, I have never been to the point where I give up on this character, it is more too involved with the character being so involved with the story. The characters are not always likeable and Shepherd is an odd mix but works in the context of the plot.

The plotting is well paced and Lloyd does a marvellous job building tension and quiet moments and steadily increasing. This is where Lloyd really excels and keeps this tight. As mentioned above, some of the character’s choices are infuriating but does not take away from the pacing and the keen sense to drive forward with this amazing plot.

Overall, Shepherd’s Warning is a true winner that is rich in folklore, history and hauntings and it is to Lloyd’s credit to be able to hold this all together especially with her sweeping story line. I have read quite a few haunting ghost stories but this is only one of the very few that hits it out of the park. Excellent, well written, great story and plotting and a writer that is a mastermind at her craft that has written a well and successful unique novel. Strongly encourage to read this. Fantastic.

When the Metaphysical Meets the Mundane, Terror is Unleashed

I loved this book. It was more than just a haunted house story. The author brings an eclectic mixture of horror elements to the plot that make this book stand out in original and memorable ways.

The central character is complex but easy to have sympathy for. I liked that she was raising her granddaughter after her son's death, but also keeping herself fit and a capable fighter. She's been crafted into a badass, but not in the way that seems artificial and trendy.

I also enjoyed the wizard-like near-immortal character. His arc in the story gave it even more depth and spin.

Psychic manifestations, ghost phenomena, and a witch's curse amplify the characters' mundane problems and personal tragedies and tear them all apart in short order. The action begins early and keeps the suspense high and sustained throughout the book.

Shepherd’s Warning by Cailyn Lloyd is an engrossing supernatural horror that was properly fitting my need for a good scare, especially with Halloween being right around the corner! Ms. Lloyd does a wonderful job on her debut novel creating an eerie atmosphere and building up feelings of terror.

Set in the appropriately creepy Mackenzie mansion in rural Wisconsin, brothers Lucas and Nate Mackenzie begin a renovation on the inherited mansion that will become more and more menacing by the day. Shepherd’s Warning has all the aspects that make for a good horror story, especially one involving a creepy mansion; rumors that talk of hauntings and deaths, strange happenings, a tormented past and accidents, and of course, a twist at the end that I did not see coming!

For those that enjoy a good supernatural/horror book, this will be an enjoyable read that’s certain to give you chills!

Shepherd's Warning is a slow, but tantalizing haunted house story that left me breathless. A family inherits an old mysterious house and soon discovers that something dark is lurking within the walls.

There's a lot of characters to keep track of, which was a little confusing from time-to-time. But each of them play a vital role in the outcome, adding flavor and texture to the page. Laura MacKenzie is the lead heroine, and she's all grit, even if she's a bit reluctant to admit it. Her arc starts as a doting wife, grief stricken over the loss of her son, and escalates to an empowered fighter of evil. She's the heart of the story, and as evil seeps onto the page, it's her survival I was most invested in.

But I also loved the ghost story. I saw each scene play out in my mind like a horror movie, filled with deliciously sinister jump scares and bloody fight scenes. I could almost hear the eerie music in the background as I explored the basement of the haunted house alongside the characters. The ability to put me right in the thick of the plot truly made this an incredible reading experience. There's plenty of "showing" rather than "telling" and I found myself holding my breath for the final scene.

Yes, haunted house books are plentiful. And there are some cliches in this one, but that doesn't diminish the incredible writing, plot construction and character arcs of this story. It's gripping from start to end and I highly recommend it for anyone who loves a scare. Just make sure to read it with the lights on!

The story idea was interesting, however, some of the writing got in the way. There were a lot of sentences with (non-stylistic) repeated words which made it feel clunky. A lot of potential.

I think this book was interesting. I didn't like it as much as I wanted to but I think it was scary in parts and thrilling in parts. I was just expecting a little more from this book but it was just ok for me. *This book was given to me for free at my request From Netgalley and I provided this voluntary review.*

I really enjoyed this haunted house/ghost story.

It had me so engrossed in it that I was paranoid looking for ghosts in my own house. This book did exactly what I wanted it to which was creep me out. Very well written too.

Recommended for sure.

Shepherd’s Warning is one of the most engaging haunted house/ghost stories I’ve encountered in some time. I highly recommend it to any fans of the genre.

This book started slow for me but in the end it didn't disappoint. There are lot of characters in this book and a lot of twist and turns. You had to pay attention or you were lost in the story. About 50% I couldn't book the book down. I have to find out what happened to the family.
The Mackenzie family has been through hell and back. When the family moves into the house haunted things start to happen. It did remind me a little bit of haunted hill. (Just a little) I did enjoy this horror story.

Thank you Netgalley for giving me a chance to read this book

A curse that has been passed down for over 500 years, and one woman determined to end it all....

The house was left in her mother in laws will, but as they begin the work to fix it up, something seems to be stirring in the house, and no one is able to figure out what. When things begin to happen, and her marriage starts to fall apart, Laura will do whatever it takes to keep her family, and stay alive....


This was an interesting book, but there are a few graphic scenes which some need to be cautious about. While there are some parts that are fast paced and suck you in, there were a few sections of the book that seemed to drag, and feel as though the book was lagging.

This was not a good book until the last 10 percent of the story.

Shepherd’s Warning is about a family who inherits a home in Wisconsin. As they go about restoring the home, which is known in the area as being haunted, they start to realize something is wrong and that they are in danger.

I felt like I was reading a story by an 8th grader. In my opinion, part of what makes a spooky story scary is detail descriptions and the build up of tension. Descriptions were limited and zero tension.

The story did not flow. The author jumped around so much, that I kept going back a couple pages to see if I missed something. It was quite distracting and made it difficult to get into the story.

The one positive thing about this book was the last 10 percent of the story. Finally, the author was descriptive and managed to build a little tension leading to the end of the story. And the last page of dialogue was a nice little kicker. If only she had wrote the whole novel with that kind of intensity and details, I would have gave this book 5 stars.

Thanks to NetGalley for the chance to read and review this book.