I really wanted to like this novel a lot more than I actually did.  It started out with so much potential.  A once in a lifetime winter storm hits New Hampshire on Christmas Eve.  It's so bad that it even strands a snow plow, which then causes an eight car pileup.  There's no chance of relief until the highway can be reopened in the morning so eventually all of the drivers and passengers decide to group together in an RV that has been stranded but has plenty of propane and food to make the situation more tolerable.  They are a motley crew:  a soccer mom and her two kids, an unkempt alcoholic dressed in Salvation Army garb, a parole officer and his wife, and two old college friends (men).  I really loved the first half of Snowball when the storm rolls in and getting all the characters together in the RV where they swap "worst winter story ever" tales.  However, when the snowmen showed up, the author lost me.  The premise was good, and the character controlling all the action was good.  It was also well written, but I just couldn't get past the snowmen.  Sorry.

Thanks NetGalley and Flame Tree Press for providing an ARC in return for an honest review.  Two and a half stars rounded up to three.

A snow storm on Christmas A stuck snow plow with the driver missing leads to several motorists getting stuck on the highway.  A couple on their way home, a trucker after his last delivery, a businessman visiting his parents, two childhood friends, college sweethearts, a mum and her two children, a member of the Salvation Army and a retired couple in an RV.  They've all had a traumatic experience in winter and unbeknownst to them they all have a connection.  Then there's the snowmen...

Absolutely loved this book.  Had me hooked from the first chapter.  Fantastic horror/thriller. 

Thanks to Netgalley, Flame Tree Press and Gregory Bastianelli for the ARC of this book in return for an honest review.

Snowball gives new meaning to the old phrase, "When Hell freezes over....".    Random highway travelers become stranded in their vehicles in a blizzard on Christmas eve.  Like most people we share the highway with it would appear that they have nothing in common.   Most of the travelers take refuse in an RV and, while sharing their worst winter memories, they begin to discover some common threads.  As the night wears on, Christmas arrives with not-so-jolly Snowmen and well...this will not be a Silent and Holy Night.    
  I really enjoyed reading Snowball.   Sections of Part II took me back to my own childhood board games.  This was written in such a way that I could visualize this in two different ways at the same time.  One way being as one of the travelers having to go through the experience and the other being someone watching this play out.  You'll know what I mean when you read this.  I don't want to say too much for fear of giving away a spoiler.   
  I think this would do well adapted to screen.   It'd be a blast as a mini-series!
#Snowball #netgalley #reviewathon

I really enjoyed this book! It was thrilling in every ways! I couldn’t put it down!! It was my first read by this author, and it won’t be my last!

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own

What a read, not what I expected a deep dark thriller. I was hooked it was a scary read then at 51% I laughed. I could not take it seriously but I could not stop reading. The writer has mastered a skill at making it feel so real, I had goose bumps at times. The storyline is more fantasy thriller and had its gruesome bits with killer snowmen.
I really enjoyed it and was a surprise read, kept me hooked. Right upto the ending... Very disappointing. However never has a book been so bizzare, intriguing, scary and fascinating.

I DNF this book. So sorry, but it was not as good as i expect it to be.

But thank you anyway NetGalley for providing me this copy.

Thank you Netgalley for the opportunity to preview Snowball by Gregory Bastianelli.  Wow - this was scary, and really good.
On Christmas eve a bunch of strangers get stranded on a deserted highway in a snowstorm out of hell.  The snow is coming down and soon the cars and plows are unable to move.  These strangers soon will assemble and converge in a large RV operated by a strange old couple.  
They start to exchange stories about their worst winter experiences - and as they share these sad, strange, and sadistic stories and isn't long before they realize that they share somethng / someone in common.  Before you know it, Snowmen with sharp teeth and other unworldly apparitions start to invade their world and they all start to realize this is a Christmas they may not forget - that's if they live thru it.;
I could not put this book down - loved it.  This is horror plus one.
RECOMMEND - 5 stars.

This book was a creepy, scary ride.  

The good
It was really well written.   I read this in the middle of August but started thinking it was winter where I was.   I was drawn into this world, and could visualize it all.  
I liked the characters, even the bad ones were people you loved to hate.
It was scary, it was suspenseful, it was creepy.  

The not so good
It was a horror novel, so I expect weird.  But I felt like it was a suspenseful slow build to horror, then suddenly it accelerated so fast I got whiplash.  There was some good character development, then suddenly it turned super scary and I lost a little bit of The people connection.  

I want to thank the publisher and #net galley for an ARC which did not affect my review.

God this book kinda gave me claustrophobia, and I loved that about the book. The blizzard felt like a character in on itself. and the remaining characters were great and I felt like I was there with them.

This book was super weird, in the most wonderful way. It started out with a beat, and kept up the rhythm throughout the whole thing. Bastianelli did a great job weaving together a cast of characters with a situation that was creepy and more than a little absurd, and left the reader wanting to know how it would end. I read the whole thing in a night. I definitely recommend it to anyone who enjoys horror fiction, creepy stories, or fiction that makes you go "... huh."