Rival bands stranded in a swamp, a creepy house that’s definitely not empty, and secrets that start killing people off yes please. It’s tense, twisty, and full of jump scares, with just enough emotional mess to keep you hooked.

Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for an e-ARC in exchange for my honest review.

What a delightfully creepy YA horror this was! There are enough thrills and twists to keep you hooked in from the very beginning, the storytelling weaving first person POV with transcripts from found footage and police interviews. The setting is devious and genuinely scary. And even though I guessed a few plot points they still had me kicking my feet and totally on edge as I read them. I read another of this author's YA horror books a few years ago and loved it too, so I think I'll be checking out their other work.

If you'd like to try dipping your toe into horror books I'd definitely recommend this as a good start!

Books like 'Are you Afraid of the Dark' and such weren't around when I was young, but if they had been, I know I'd have loved them.

'The Devouring Light' is very much in that vein (yup), but taking things a little deeper into horror than I believe those sorts of titles did.

Experienced horror fans will no doubt get the many nods to traditional tropes - from a group of (relatively unlikeable) teens getting stranded and finding a strange old house, to one member of the group standing to face away before a jumpscare, to bathroom mirrors reflecting shadows, it's all here. I wasn't initially sure if that was good or bad, but now I'm done, it really did all kind of come together.

This is an author who loves their genre and doesn't steer away from the nasty bits. There are some slightly graphic scenes, but Kat Ellis is skilled at leaving a lot to the reader's imagination. Granted, this does mean that our narrator misses some (to me) very obvious signs of what's going on, but I suspect that's part of the fun. Pantomime-style, the target audience will be yelling at the pages until the characters finally realize the truth - and that's proper engagement with a book!

I enjoyed playing 'spot the reference', none of which was heavy-handed, and was glad of the ending going the full distance rather than wimping out.

This is a great gateway to the genre, inspiring thrills (and perhaps nightmares) while remaining fun throughout.

First and foremost I do not get scared while reading horror books, I don’t know why because I will absolutely piss myself if I watch a horror film but anyways don’t ask me to rate this book based on how sacred or unsettled I was because well I wasn’t.
Also yes I can still enjoy horror books even if they don’t scare me!
My problem with this book lied in the fact that the MC is the stupidest person I’ve had the unpleasure to read about. I even ended up wishing she would just perish because what was that???
Anyway if you want more context, Hayden is a 17yo girl who wants to become the next Sabrina carpenter but without the talent or charisma in my opinion. (IT’S MY OPINION) when her car breaks down she and her best friend are forced to hitch a ride with her nemesis (she was the problem in this situation and never apologised for it but anyway.) but the bus ends crashes and her and nemesis boy need to find shelter and they do! But of course it’s a creepy house and the house may want them to stay forever and ever…
It was so easy to read but so boring at the same time, there wasn’t even no action really until more than half of the book. There are supposed to be unsettling scenes before then but the MC just spoils everything. She doesn’t trust anyone of course because why would she rely on anyone but her? Why would she take into account her teammates experiences?
In the end she made the whole story underwhelming because « there’s nothing wrong going on? The house doesn’t want to kill us! » I just wished someone would have slapped her and told her it’s okay to freak out because wtf IS GOING ON?
I don’t know but I kinda expect the mc of a horror novel to be kinda scared? Maybe it’s just me though.
And to had to this whole disaster the plot twists were not even twisty like they didn’t even curl or wave, they were so obvious from the littéral beginning, what a disappointment.
Tbh I feel to bad giving this one star because at least i finished it.

This one grabbed me right from the beginning. It is a story about a house with a history. I do not want to spoil the story by saying too much. But I have to say it is scarier at the beginning and it gets a bit less scary as you read on. I am not too keen about the warning at the beginning as it kind of spoils the story for me. It is written with a very accessible language. It is the perfect horror story for YA readers.

I didn't enjoy this but maybe I'm just too old for it. The writing was really repetitive. I don't quite know how to explain it - a character says something and then the main character repeats it in a slightly different way for the first person POV.

It's also got a bad case of characters being completely oblivious and making dumbass decisions.

Unexpectedly scary for a YA horror.

When two rival bands on their way to a rock festival are stranded after their tour bus GPS goes awry and ultimately crashes, they come across a decaying, gothic house and decide to wait there until they can get some help. After all, one of the bands is the headlining act, and surely someone will be coming to look for them soon?

As they settle into the house, also known as The Light, they’re soon to discover that maybe The Light has been waiting for them all this time.

The Devouring Light took place in an atmospheric swamp setting that reminded me a little of 𝙄𝙣 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙏𝙖𝙡𝙡 𝙂𝙧𝙖𝙨𝙨 with the way in which the location seems to shift frequently, making you dizzy and disoriented. I really liked how Ellis used video tapes and transcripts to strengthen the history of the house, adding to the sense of unease and mystery. What happened there? What does the house want?

This was a really solid supernatural horror, I had a lot of fun with this one. Thank you to the author, publisher and NetGalley for sharing an eARC with me!