In a rundown seaside town on the English coast in 1987, where the well to do use to frequent on holidays but has now become just a place for lower income people to hang their hat, Alice the main character of the story meets four friends who live on the island. The group ranges in a variety of endeavors . Alice is an aspiring writing, Asher a budding comedian, Zoe an artist, Baz has no particular ambition, but he does want to help his friends succeed in theirs and Jo, who is just a compassionate being. Alice is quickly introduced to Charlie. Her family has a history of knowing how to live off the land and engages in the supernatural. They all begin a journey of supernatural awakenings when they find a skull embedded into a crumbling seaside cliff.
This is when the journey begins with friendships, tragedy and a bit of magic.
The story was definitely a slow burn with no major twists and turns. The characters are likable with their own individualistic personalities. One thing I didn’t particularly like was Alice using many many references to classic novels. Unless you were familiar with the books, they meant nothing to me.
This book may not be for everyone, but I did enjoy it.
I just reviewed Erosion by Lucya Starza. #Erosion #NetGalley

I enjoyed most of the book. There were a few oddities that made me scratch my head.
It is about a girl who meets up with people in a bar and ends up spending the summer with them. It has a great build up and then just kinda ends there.
I was given this book for an honest review by NetGalley.
Not included in my review. I had a hard time reading the book on the NetGalley app due to the text being so small. I am sharing reviews on Amazon & Goodreads.

I really enjoyed Erosion. It had a dark academia feel mixed with magic and folklore.

Alison is the main character. She moves to a gothic sea side down and befriends a group that is open minded and welcoming. They find some old bones (including skull) near a friends seaside cottage. They begin experimenting with the occult with some pretty disastrous consequences.

For fans of gothic, dark academia and folk horror.

I really enjoyed this creepy novella. It had horror tropes, but was also told in a unique way. It was kind of an interesting take on magic and the supernatural. The whole time you never really know if things are magical or just weird creepy coincidences. I also thought it was an interesting take on coming-of-age stories and books about friendships. I would definitely recommend Erosion to any one who likes a good spooky atmospheric tale.

I read this in a few days, because I just could not get into it. The books starts of slow, with a character that infodumps about subjects that really just had me going "Who cares?" (i.e. teacups and longshore drift) before setting a tone of an ambitious young university graduate trying to make friends. At first, I was kind of excited, because it felt like it would be fun, but it grew darker by the minute. Nothing to dislike about that, but the "voice" of the narrator rubbed me the wrong way, and the continuous adlibs also really just made me a little tired.

The story isn't horror, it mentions possinle scary things but nothing is said, and it gets a little culty at some point to, so if you're sensitive, this isn't for you.

It is a quick read though, and if you like novels with characters who act a little holier than thou, you might enjoy this.

This was a wonderfully done Gothic novel, it had everything that I was hoping for from the description. It uses the concept perfectly and the characters felt like real people and I was invested in what was happening to them. Lucya Starza has a great writing style and I’m glad I got to read this.

Enjoyable short story about friendship and what it means to become an adult. Good pacing and a few twists and turns along the way. I loved the isolated setting.

Thank you to Netgalley for the ARC.

𝗧𝗵𝗮𝗻𝗸 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝘁𝗼 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗔𝘂𝘁𝗵𝗼𝗿, 𝗡𝗲𝘁𝗚𝗮𝗹𝗹𝗲𝘆 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗣𝘂𝗯𝗹𝗶𝘀𝗵𝗲𝗿 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗔𝗥𝗖. 𝗧𝗵𝗲𝘀𝗲 𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝗺𝘆 𝗵𝗼𝗻𝗲𝘀𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗼𝘂𝗴𝗵𝘁𝘀 𝗶𝗻 𝗲𝘅𝗰𝗵𝗮𝗻𝗴𝗲!

It's June 1987 and Alison (21y/o), or Alice as her friends call her, just got her degree in Literature at the University.
Now she's living at 'Costa-Del-Dole', somewhere along the coast of Margate.

Alice meets new friends ther one night. Zoe, Jo, Asher, Baz and soon after a woman named Charlie. She moves in with Jo and Zoe at their flat in #4 Mill Lane, trying to live by herself as long as she can before she will eventually move back (in defeat) with her parents.

Over the summer this friendship with her new Cliqué is budding BUT around the Great Storm in autumn it is tested more than once since Alice has a brief obsession with a 'special Lady' and things in general aren't working out for everyone as they were hoping.
And it all starts with those bloody bones they found that summer.

The book was well written. It kept me engaged and I enjoyed reading it… but it was most definitely not Horror imho.
Young Adult and Supernatural might have been more fitting Genres for this.

One more thing, I loved that the Chapters were named after 80s songs.
My favourites were DM's Behind the Wheel, George Michael's Faith & Pet Shop Boys' It's a Sin. Very clever idea!!!

I would like to give this a 4.3 Stars Rating.

𝑰 𝒓𝒆𝒄𝒐𝒎𝒎𝒆𝒏𝒅 𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒕𝒐 𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒓𝒚𝒐𝒏𝒆 𝒘𝒉𝒐 𝒍𝒊𝒌𝒆𝒔 𝒂 𝒔𝒎𝒐𝒐𝒕𝒉, 𝒒𝒖𝒊𝒄𝒌 𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒅 𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒓𝒚 𝒏𝒐𝒘 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒏.

After graduating from college Alice decides to move to a run-down seaside village to write her first novel. Friendships form quickly between Alice and a small group of other young adults, plus an alleged witch who lives in a tiny wind-blown shack at the edge of a cliff. As the cliff erodes, the tiny shack is in danger of going over the edge. Also, as new relationships erode due to mistrust and suspicion the people involved are in danger of going over the edge. Finding a skull imbedded in the cliff side begins the erosion in the lives of the characters. Things go from precarious to dangerous as the small group, and especially Alice begin to communicate , and ask favors of, the spirit that belongs to the soul…a spirit they contact by holding a seance. Thrown into this mix are a tragic death, a suspicious death, a powerful storm, a giant spider and what is either a creature in the woods or a future pet.
I grew tired of the drama 0f young adults who are besties, and then want nothing to do with Alice, then love her again, then don’t trust her and this cycle repeats several times. The story was a little frenetic, choppy and felt rather scattered.
I thank #netgalley for the opportunity to read and review #erosion.

This was a really enjoyab;le book, with none of the tropes usually attached to the genre.

And what is the genre? Supernatural? Occult? Creepy thriller? I'm not sure, but as an avid horror reader, I loved this book even though there was nothing typically horrific.

Our prtagonaist is a wannabe writer who moves to a shabby British seaside town after Uni, makes new friends and relationships develope. The gang hang around with the local eccentric who lives on a cliff edge house where they find some ancient bones that they protect.

Things then begin to go sideways in subtile (and not so subtle) ways. I love a small town setting. I love that some of it is set in a caravan park, which really spoke to my childhood.

The character arcs are beautifully written, the pace slow and steady and the creeping dread is very real. A wondefully chunky and smooth read that will keep you reading, and wanting more.

Full marks! 5 stars!

176 pages

4 stars

Allison “Alice,” a new graduate from university, dreams of writing a novel. Not wanting to return to her parents’ house, she heads for the English coast. She has a romantic notion that writing a novel while summering at the coast would be idyllic.

She quickly meets new friends who invite her to stay with them for the summer. Zoe and Jo are a couple and Baz and Asher live in the downstairs flat. Zoe is an artist, Jo is compassionate, Asher wants to be a comedian and Baz just wants to help his friends achieve their dreams.

The friends introduce her to Charlie, a woman who lives on an eroding outcropping nearby. It is debatable whether Charlie really is a witch or has precognition.

It all went sideways when they found the bones.

The groups’ friendships are sorely tested. Things begin to go wrong. Arguments ensue.

This book shows the reader the limits of friendship and the damage assumptions can do. There is a suggestion of horror, but I really wouldn’t label this a horror novel. There is some dabbling in the occult, which I found interesting.

This is a well written and plotted novel. It is easy to read and goes by quickly. I enjoyed reading it. This is my first Lucya Starza novel and I immediately went to Amazon to look at other books by this author.

I want to thank NetGalley and Collective Ink Ltd. / Moon Books for forwarding to me a copy of this very good book for me to read, enjoy and review. The opinions expressed in this novel are solely my own.

A gothic novel set on the English coast, in 1987, the year of the Great Storm. Violent weather is but one of the problems a group of friends face when they discover an ancient grave inside a crumbling cliff and decide to unearth a skull. Supernatural mystery intertwines with the problems of human relationships, of earning money, of following dreams. Alison wants to spend a glorious summer writing her novel, Asher wants to wow audiences with his comedy routines, Zoe wants to make a living as an artist, Jo wants to make the world a better place and Baz just wants to help his friends succeed, but the events that happen change all their plans. Death and destruction test the bonds of friendship, yet moments of beauty entwine with scenes of horror as a magical summer becomes an autumn of devastation.

A very fun supernatural thriller with a very cool and unique setting. Interesting characters, great worldbuilding, and a very addicting plot. Fans of the genre will find plenty to love here!