This was an utterly fantastic, eerie and strange read, despite being of the middle grade genre I certainly got chills from reading this!

The fenland village of Harrowmere felt so small, cosy yet borderline creepy. From the thick fog to the dangerous bogs, it felt like every page had you holding your breath, waiting for something awful to happen. I adored the atmosphere in this book, especially later on when the townsfolk begin to suspect each other of being the 'Lykewise'- a strange spirit mirroring the people of Harrowmere, acting on their darkest, most horrible desires.

The plot had me hooked, I was following Dunn and Beah every step of the way, trying to figure out who could be trusted and how to defeat the Lykewise. The plot twists were often shocking, I did guess some, but most had me shook. The story felt quite dark and grousome at times despite this being middle grade, and some parts even had me peeking over my Kindle in the dead of night, searching the shadows suspiciously.

Overall, this book is perfect for a spooky read, something that'll have you avoiding looking into the mirror for too long, and certainly will give you a sense of foreboding as you read! It surprised me in the best of ways.

5/5 🌟

What a great read!!

I loved the premise of the lykewise - very spooky and had me on edge whilst reading. I really liked how Darren Simpson wrote whole sections where the reader doesn't know who the lykewise has taken the form of, keeping me guessing until a sudden reveal.

The characters were really easy to imagine and like but what really stood out to me was Darren's ability to write a setting - making the places and happenings so easy to picture.

Will definitely be getting this read for my classroom!