As a fan of horror, gore and all things dark I absolutely enjoyed this book from beginning to end. The storyline was creepy, graphic and highly disturbing. I love the creepy woods setting and I though it's a something that's been used many times in both books and movies when done right it is guaranteed to blow your mind. This book did that just that. There was never a dull moment and the author managed to keep me invested, intrigued and captivated all throughout the book. There was just enough romance to balance the horror out without taking away from the plot and what was promised in the blurb. The characters were memorable and didn't get lost to the storyline. It was very easy to keep track and remember who was who and what their backstory was, something that isn't always easy with multiple POVs. Last but not least that plot twist really blew my mind I did not see it coming at all. I love when I cannot guess the outcome of a book and it leaves me with my mouth on the floor.
Overall this book was a real page turner and I devoured it in one day. It will make for a fantastic halloween read when the spooky season comes around.

The premise was super fun and the storyline had the spooky elements I was looking for. However, the characters felt a little bland for me personally and I couldn't connect with them.

This was the first book by this author that I’ve read. I’ve now added a few more books of his on my TBR since I really enjoyed this one.

Five middle-aged former friends meet back in their hometown for a reunion/memorial of sorts. They’ve all cut ties with each other after something horrific happened in the local woods when they were teens. What happened back then, and why are they together again now?

I thought the pacing in this book was great. The flashbacks to the teen years kept me reading page after page to find out what the heck happened. The woods scenes were really creepy. Very atmospheric. The characters were nicely fleshed out, and believable.

A huge thank you to the author and NetGalley for providing me an ARC. I give honest ratings and reviews regardless of how I got the book.

Thank you to Netgalley for an Advance Review Copy of this book.

Beautiful descriptions of autumn in the northeast. Author excellent at putting feeling and experiences you wouldn’t otherwise say out loud into words. Good pacing, I enjoyed the flashbacks, initially sucks you right into a juicy story. Enjoyed the different characters and the stories they tell 25 years later. This will be a fantastic October Read, or a read anytime you miss the cool breeze of autumn. Downright gory. The story read itself. Well done!

“We dress up like monsters to trick the real monsters”

“It was their only chance to escape Hell. Perhaps they’d been living there all this time.”