The Devil's Tree

Beautifully written!

Ghost stories have always fascinated me. The light romance threaded into this one made it even more perfect. With a theme of much needed tolerance for those who are different, violent spirits and demons, and young love, The Devil’s Tree was a book I couldn’t put down,

A curse, a town with deep secrets, and a courageous girl... The Devil’s Tree will leave your heart racing, make you cry, and give you hope. An outstanding book!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for permitting me to read and review The Devil’s Tree.

The devil's tree by Susan McCauley .
Kaitlyn wants to go out with her boyfriend Hunter on her Saturday night off. But Hunter convinces Kaitlyn to join him Dylan and Keisha at the devil's tree. But tragedy strikes.
Omg a brilliant read. I loved the story. Kaitlyn was my favourite character. I loved the cover too. 5*.

The Devil's Tree is such a great YA horror story. A group of friends decide to visit a haunted tree but what are the consequences? I'd been wanting to read a ghost story and this one certainly delivered in all the right ways. Not sure what's scarier, the ghosts or the fact that the town's prejudices are still so real.

What a great book thoroughly enjoyed throughout read it super quick didnt want to put it down....would definitely recommend this book to others

Never ending excitement! I couldn't put it down. I was looking for something spooky to read and this is exactly what I needed. Kind of falls in the "teen" category, I think but still would recommend it to anyone looking for a spooky read.

I received an ARC from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. I went into this with low expectations.

I had a few issues throughout the whole book. The characters could be annoying and immature, especially in the first chapter. A lot of things got repeated. The main character kept telling us the same information over and over. It got annoying after a while.

The ending was a little bit of a let down. Everything ended pretty much happily ever after. It just felt unrealistic (I know it is fiction, we just see it too much).

I usually rate based off of how much I enjoyed a book. I definitely enjoyed this. I had trouble putting it down and wanted to know what was going to happen. There is a little bit of a mystery element to the plot and it kept me reading.

I am very glad I read this and see why it has been getting great reviews. I was very pleasantly surprised. 4 out of 5 stars.

One Saturday Kaitlyn’s boyfriend, Hunter, convinces her to go to the Devil’s Tree. Their best friends, Dylan and Keisha, are also going and are planning to check out the supposed hauntings surrounding the tree.
The fun little adventure turns deadly, when they get into a horrific accident resulting in Hunter’s and Keisha’s death.
Dealing with the heartbreak and devastation, Kaitlyn and Dylan lean on each other, which causes Kaitlyn to start having feelings for him.
Then Keisha and Hunter starts haunting them and they must figure out how to set them free.

This was a fun little story, I feel like I would have enjoyed it much more if I had read this while I was in high school. It could come off a bit cheesy and while I don’t mind that, I think people who love YA would love this.
If you’re looking for something truly terrifying and spooky, this is probably not the book for you. This is more on the “cutesy” side of horror.
If you don’t like romance with your horror, I also don’t think you’d love this one. There’s quite a bit involved, especially when Kaitlyn starts having feelings toward Dylan. I personally didn’t mind this addition, I like a little bit of romance, but I do feel like it sort of detracted from the spooky factor a bit. It felt like the focus was more on the romance at times, then the hauntings and finding out what the Devil’s Tree is all about.
There’s also a bit of humor, when Keisha sees Dylan and Kaitlyn becoming close, she becomes extremely jealous. Those scenes are silly and fun, but I wish they had been a bit more serious in nature.
I liked the whole idea of the Devil’s Tree, it was well thought out and I liked how it all progressed through the story.
If you’re looking for something a bit more lighthearted and fun, I think this is perfect for that.

A few miles from town stand The Devil's Tree. The local lore is that the tree is evil, cursed and deadly. Nothing grows on the tree. Old Joe tried to cut it down and was killed. When four teens decide to photograph the tree one of them angers the spirit of the tree and then there is hell to pay.
I'd list The Devil's Tree as YA that would be enjoyed by adults. I enjoyed this book. I liked the way that the story evolved into the reason for the curse, how the curse manifests and how Kaitlyn solved the mystery and worked on a plan with Dylan and the Father. This was an enjoyable creeper of a story. Thank you #netgalley for allowing me to read and review #TheDevilsTree.

This book is an old fashioned ghost story and was surprisingly good, it’s aimed at up young adults but I’m in my 40s and I enjoyed it too. Set in Texas there is a tree where nothing grows and there has always been rumoured stories surrounding it, so when Kaitlyn’s boyfriend Hunter is convinced to go to the tree by his best friend Dylan she reluctantly goes along and they soon find out the rumours are true.

This was Susan McCauley's debut novel, and it's honestly pretty good. It was a perfectly creepy ghost story. Truthfully I wish the book had been longer! This had so much potential to be longer and much more suspenseful. I wanted more of Kaitlyn and Hunter's relationship before the accident. I wanted more of Dylan and Kaitlyn's growing feelings for each other. I loved Agatha the ghost's haunting story, but wish it was more detailed and I wish it took longer to piece everything together. Overall, it was an enjoyable quick creepy read. I would recommend to anyone looking for a quick YA ghost story read!

Kaitlyn and Hunter are going out with Dylan and Keisha to photograph a tree. Dylan wants to end the myth of the “devil tree.” Kaitlyn doesn’t believe in ghosts but doesn’t want to go there. Hunter, her boyfriend talks her into going. While Dylan takes picture, a ghostly witch appears. Running back to Hunter’s truck, they all get in and Hunter drives out immediately. Thinking that it safe, Kaitlyn doesn’t understand why he is driving so fast. When Hunter sees the ghost, he ends up not making the cure of the road and drives into a tree. The Only Dylan and Kaitlyn survive the rash. Hunter and Keisha died. When Dylan wants to go back to the tree, Kaitlyn says no. Will she go back? Dylan and Kaitlyn want to find a way to save Hunter and Keisha from the tree. Can they?

The novel is written a harrowing plot. It is a fast-paced atmospheric story that vibrates with tension and suspense. It is well-told scary story. I enjoyed seeing how Dylan and Kaitlyn worked together trying to free Hunter and Keisha from the tree and witch. I was surprised by how enthralled with this novel.. The novel is a mix of horror, mystery and romance. I hope to read more of the author’s work.

Kaitlyn, Hunter, Dylan and Keisha are going to photograph the devil tree. After this, they are having a car accident and only 2 survive and they are going to find out what happend to the ghost of the tree. Spooky story.
Thank you Netgalley for this ARC.

Experienced readers of horror fiction will probably know what to expect with this one, but Susan McCauley does a wonderful job with the material in this early work of hers.

Oh wow 🤩! I liked this book a lot! It didn’t take me too long to read this story. I feel like it should be a ya horror book. I had mixed emotions during reading this story.

The Devil's Tree is a very spooky story. It keeps you on the edge of your seat and is a real page turner. The characters are interesting and really fit into the story. The story really comes together in the end with twists and turns on the way. If you like reading YA horror, you should check this book out!

This book gave me the creeps! I would mainly read at night to enhance the spooky experience and I don't regret it! this is the type of book that will keep you up at night and give you nightmares. If you scare easily this book may not be for you. As a Texas resident, I've always heard of the haunting stories of the real Devil's Tree, but this book made the tree even scarier.

finally a great horror/ghost story! this was what i was looking for! the book is a real page-turner and keeps you always wanting more and more after each page. The characters are interesting and the story comes together in the end with twists and turns on the way which is great amazing love them!. A great YA horror a genre very low publish

"A ghost story of love, revenge, and redemption" this was exactly what I wanted from this book and it delivered. The characters were amazing and the world was great. It was a great horror novel and I enjoyed this.

I really enjoy reading The Devil's Tree by Susan McCauley. I am going to give it four and a half stars.

While I might not review horror on this blog too often, I love a good horror novel. Even better if it’s YA Horror – I don’t see a lot of YA Horror novels out there. Well, The Devil’s Tree is an exception to that rule and I’m here for it. I’m using the CAWPILE method of reviewing for this book.

Characters
I have to say that I found the main characters, Dylan and Kaitlyn, to be very likable. The book dealt lightly with racism and classism, both of which are shown in how certain characters1 interact with and talk about other characters. It also goes into a bit of how one person might think someone else’s situation isn’t as bad just from seeing it on the outside.

I was intrigued by how the dead remained characters in the book even after death. I won’t tell you who, but I will say it is very interesting how the author handles the ghosts in this book. I love a good ghost story, and this one was very good.

Atmosphere
This book is set in a small Texas town. Now, I’ve lived in Texas and I’ll say this – while I lived in a medium sized city, this was a great description of how Texas can be, at least in my personal experience. Not saying this is every small Texas town, but it’s a pretty good description.

The Devil’s Tree itself is a place you don’t want to be… and Susan McCauley does an excellent job of making sure you’re at least a little bit on the creeped out side. That is one nasty tree! It makes for an excellent background for this story and believe me, without it you won’t have a story!

Writing Style
If you’re looking for a horror novel that is easy to read, possibly in just a day or two, The Devil’s Tree is the book for you. Susan McCauley’s writing style gives you a fast paced, easy, fun to read novel. You won’t have to labor with too many details and you won’t be bored to tears because the book takes forever to get moving. It’s quick, easy read that will give you the creeps, unless you’re a real lightweight when it comes to horror2
Plot
The Devil’s Tree has a plot that isn’t your standard horror novel plot. Most horror novels have one person who is terrorizing the area… and while technically that is the case with The Devil’s Tree, it’s a whole lot deeper than that. This plot requires some digging into the past to get it sorted out and solved.

This plot isn’t predictable – you won’t be saying “oh this is where this happens” or “knew it”. You’ll be kept on your toes for the duration of the book.

Intrigue
Now some novels don’t have much intrigue because they’re not meant to. Horror novels though, should have at least some intrigue to them. Trust me, this one does. The entire story behind The Devil’s Tree (the actual tree in the book) is a mystery that has to be unraveled. You don’t know what’ll happen next or what the reason behind the tree’s curse – and you’ll want to know. What is up with that tree? You’ll definitely want to keep reading to find out.

Logic
It’s a horror novel. Logic goes out the window for most horror novels – that’s part of why they’re horror. Yes, there is a sense of logic in the novel as the mystery of the tree is being unraveled, but it’s not like you’re going to find the entire thing logical. There’s nothing logical about a tree that seems to cause people to die. But some of the steps Kaitlyn and Dylan take to figure out the mystery behind the tree and how to stop it are going to be logical and make perfect sense. Others, not so much. I’ll let you read it to find out which are which.

Enjoyment
Unless you’re a fan of horror, and YA horror at that, you’re probably not going to enjoy this book overly much. As a huge fan of both horror and YA horror, I thoroughly enjoyed this book. I have no idea why I let it sit on my shelf for so long without reading it. I will definitely be looking for more of Susan McCauley’s books in the future.

If you are a fan of horror, especially of the YA variety, I highly recommend you look for and pick up this book. It’s a great, quick, creepy read for those who love a good horror story.

I want to thank Netgalley and the author for gifting me the ebook. A fun horror novel that is perfect for Halloween Month 🎃