I enjoyed listening to the Cherished. The narration I kept me on edge and hooked the whole time.
Thank you Netgalley for ARC in exchange of my honest feedback

Thank you Netgalley and Harper Audio for allowing me access to an ARC of this book.
The description of this book says that it is perfect for people who like Rory Power, specifically Wilder Girls, and people who enjoyed The Hazel Wood by Melissa Albert. I was a little on edge when I saw this book being compared to Rory Power because I thoroughly loved Wilder Girls but found Burn Our Bodies Down hard to follow, nonsensical, and honestly a little boring, but I'm not getting this at all. I also feel a certain amount of indifference about The Hazel Wood. However, all my slight worries were for naught because this book is amazing. It is 100% for people who liked Rory Power or Melissa Albert. There were also some aspects of it that reminded me of The Depths by Nicole Lesperance. I was invested in Jo and her journey. I was intrigued by Tom and Hatty and found myself desperate to find out more about them. It was a book I thoroughly enjoyed.
I do find Jo to be a little juvenile for her age. She is 16 and while I am an adult, I remember being 16 and I also read a lot of YA on a regular basis, I even read middle grade on occasion, but it just seemed like Jo was portrayed a lot younger than some of her YA MC counterparts.
As for Jo's mother, Abigail, she is like a wicked stepmother come to life, except she's not a stepmother. I would say she is almost like a cartoon supervillain but there are so many aspects of her waspy personality that are so believable that I have a hard time saying she's an unrealistic character. I think it someone reading this comes from a family who is only ever extremely loving and accepting and is surrounded only by similar family, they would find her personality unrealistic, but as someone who's been around people just as unpleasant as Abby, she feels awful but oh so believable. However, the development of their relationship, in the end, was very nice.
The only thing that kind of bothered me- and this maybe nitpicky- is how Jo is portrayed as a "typical teen addicted to social media" and how she was at her wits end after finding out the farm had no service. It was such a minor thing, and it was mentioned a few times but every time I would just roll my eyes because it’s such a stale, cheap thing to say about teens. Especially, when Jo is shown to be a girl with a lot of thoughts and feelings, a girl who loves art and is endlessly creative. In fact, Jo isn't even characterized as being addicted to her phone, she only uses it a few times on page prior to her arrival at the farm. I dunno Jo just does not strike me as a girl who would be in shambles over a loss of service.

This book does have some very problematic language that needs to be revised. I understand that the author was trying to express an uncomfortable viewpoint, but it was poorly and in some cases, very distastefully executed. Aside from these bits at the beginning, this was an interesting read. If you are expecting a fast pace, lots of adventure and drama, you will be disappointed, but if you can appreciate a slower book that is more about unveiling the situation, you will enjoy this one. It is also inaccurately described as a horror thriller, which it is not. This is fantasy and fairies, with a refreshing exploration of how interaction with the fairies would appear in the real world to those who do not or cannot believe.

I'm a sucker when a book is noted to be or have horror elements. The Cherished hit that checkmark and I jumped to request it in any format I could get approved for. I was gifted both digital and synthetic voiced audiobook.

Unfortunately this one wasn't for me. I started with the digital ebook and found the writing style choppy and a bit all over the place. The first few chapters were also very slow. It felt like the author was attempting to build character background but it didn't flow smoothly.

I ended up transitioning to the audio. I didn't have any issues with the synthetic voice but it did take until approximately 65% in before things started to pick up. The characters are not easy to connect too. The author does a good job of creating small town creepy atmosphere as well as uncanny and strange locals. I did enjoy the lore of this small town and what comes out to torment them.

Though this one wasn't for me I do recommend my horror followers check out other reviews. Thank you Harper Audio and Harper Collins for the opportunity to review in exchange for an honest and unbiased review.

2.5/5

Thank you NetGalley and Harper Audio for sending this book for review consideration. All opinions are my own.

I think that this was an interesting plot, but the execution seemed lacking. The writing seemed very juvenile and it was hard to connect with the characters.

Unfortunately, me and this book didn't click as much as I hoped after seeing that cover. The main reason this book didn't work for me were the writing. I can see why other people might love this book but it just wasn’t my thing. It's a no from me, and a very unfortunate no at that. Because I LIKED the second half. I rarely like the second half of a book when I don't like the first half. But I liked it. I even loved it. It was creepy and unsettling in all the right ways--basically, everything that the ramping tension and unease of the first half promised. But it wasn't enough to make up for the first half.

I just couldn’t get into this book. It had such promise but it just dragged out for me. I fell for the cover immediately and wanted to love the story.

After loving the cover, I was really excited for this one. Imagine my surprise when I was 4 or 5 chapters in and just bored. It was a lot of family drama and arguing over a house. It was a lot of family history but not a lot else. The story just never pulled me in and I never connected to a character or story. I wish I'd liked this one more.

A huge thank you to the author and publisher for providing an e-ARC via Netgalley. This does not affect my opinion regarding the book.

Jo's paternal grandmother has died, leaving her dilapidated farm house to her granddaughter. Having only met her when she was four and visiting with her father, Jo is enticed by the opportunity to learn more about her now deceased father's past and being able to get away from her boring stepfather, and convinces her mother to visit her new house along with her. Isolated from her friends and living with the strange tenants, Jo falls into a world of family mystery and small town secrets.

'The Cherished' had potential. Even with the awful synthesized voice audio book (which I know isn't the fault of the author, but made the book difficult to listen to, especially when the author is referring to tears in clothing and the robot voice is referring to them as tears that you cry), I was interested enough in the truth behind Enzo and Hattie to keep on plowing through it. Even though I didn't like the present-tense writing and got tired pretty quickly of Jo's whining, I kept on listening because I thought things would get better.

Unfortunately... that was not the case. While I did like the reveal with Enzo and Hattie, nothing else was particularly gripping. Jo remains a whiny teen for the whole book (which... I get, I totally do, but it seems a little overkill when she's complaining about Abigail being whiny when it sounds like she appears to be dying of a mystery illness), the conclusion seems rushed and confusing, and worst of all... I just don't understand why all of this is Jo's responsibility. She's not genetically related to Maureen, she doesn't have any special abilities that make her particularly good at this, but feeling like an outcast at sixteen is enough to make her dedicate the rest of her life to something that shouldn't be a one-person job? I understand that 'young protagonist fixes everything' is a bit of a cliche in older YA titles, but since this situation was mostly unending suffering for all parties, I think it deserved something better than one person being in charge of magical pest control every few years.

Anyway, shout outs to Of Monsters and Men are always appreciated, so I liked that.

This is what I get for judging a book by its cover. It's stunning, so I had assumed the story would be just as equally stunning. However, this flopped. Just watch Don't Be Afraid of the Dark and spare yourself the cringe.

boy, i was dissapointed in this book. It was the slowest moving thing ive ever read. Noone was likeable, some of the word choices were questionable. I seriously would go back and rewrite some of these chapters. I feel bad saying that, but I was highly dissapointed. That cover is on point though

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-ᴘᴀᴛʀɪᴄɪᴀ ᴡᴀʀᴅ-

нorror / мyѕтery & тнrιller / тeenѕ & ya

ᴿᴱᴸᴱᴬˢᴱ ᴰᴬᵀᴱ: April 18, 2023

⭐️⭐️⭐️/ 5

мy тнoυgнтѕ:
This book was slow to take off and the ending seemed a bit rushed. The overall plot had me interested, it was mysterious and a little dark. I really liked the authors take on fairies and how they tie into the towns history. It sort of gave me vague Peter Pan’s lost boys vibes.
The story is written from the point of view of an angsty and unhappy teen, and the writing style and tone seems to match. I don’t mean this as a dig, but more that it’s not the most woke or aware point of view.
I would not consider this horror, it’s fantasy with a mystery overlay and a touch of darkness.
I’m not upset I read this, but it’s not stand out. It was okay.
If you like fairies, mysterious family history and towns with secrets, you would probably enjoy this book.


Thanks to NetGalley for this ARC.

If you enjoyed books like White Smoke or The Hazel Wood, this book is 100% for you.

The start is slow and the use of a synthetic voice for the ALC only adds to some seeming monotonous forward motion.

An estranged grandmother who previously never seemed to care adds you into her will. You are “gifted” a creepy house with established tenants that bring odd and strange to new levels. You start to feel something dark and ominous and your fear the garden house/shack in in the home’s vast back land. What do you do?

Well if you’re this MC you move on in and discover you may be the only thing that can save the world from something more than sinister and you learn that your father delusions weren’t so delusional after-all.

The plot had a lot going for it so going in I was excited to listen to the story unfold. I can also tell that when professional narration is added the story will definitely suck others in immersing them in a world of modern horror and thrilling suspense. The build was good for the genre and I did enjoy the slow anxiety and anticipation the book gave at times.

Overall not even judging the synthetic voice of a robot, the store felt a little flat. The ending was predictable but that won’t stop people from enjoying every nail biting moment.

Thank you Netgalley, Patricia Ward and Harper Audio for this ALC teen horror audiobook.

3.5 stars out of 5; meaning it has everything to make me enjoy it hitting all the marks of the specific genre.

Thanks to NetGalley for providing me with an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Based on the cover and description I thought I would love this book. Unfortunately I found it kinda hard to get through. The premise had so much promise. I expected horror, more creepiness, or suspense but it was very lackluster in those departments. I did not hate this book, it did get interesting after the midway point but that's too far into the book. The characters were lukewarm and the MC was unlikeable though I imagine at her age many of us are.

Rating: 🌟🌟

The idea of Fairies we have based on stories we have come across as kids are the small mythical creatures with wings and magical wands. But what if their attitude changes from happy and friendly to ferocious without warning if they are somehow offended? That’s the idea Patricia Ward explores in her debut effort “The Cherished”.

Kudos to the author for exploring a relatively new theme in the fantastical genre(at least to me). Young Jo inherits her grandmother’s ancestral house, the source of her nightmares and childhood visions with her father. Accompanied by her mother, Jo decides to take a trip up to the house in an attempt to sell it, though unwillingly. The mysterious caretakers of the property, Tom and Hattie, warn Jo against selling the property and unveiling an “underworld” but as things go in such stories, the other world is unlocked and all hell is unfurled. Can Jo understand the mystery behind her visions and close the “door” forms the rest of the story.

The book gave me a bit of “Locke and Key” vibes but unfortunately the pacing was a major negative for me. Half of the book is wasted setting up the plot and the mother daughter relationship was a bit confusing. The book would have worked wonders if it was a 100 pages less in length but that’s just my opinion. The synthetic audiobook, though helped in pushing along the length of the book, was devoid of any emotional connect- another negative for me. But hoping for the actual human rendition to enhance the experience.

A very unique attempt but misses the mark for me. Thank you Netgalley, Harper Collins and Patricia Ward for an advanced copy in exchange for my honest review.

#NetGalley #TheCherished

Thank you for the opportunity to review this ARC. I struggled to get through the audio with the robot voice. I'm sure the narration with a human will be so much better. The plot and story was good, but could've been executed better. I just didn't connect with this book as much as I had hoped. The blurb and the interesting cover will attract many readers I'm sure, but unless some revisions are made, I think it will fall flat for some. Thank you again for this opportunity.

Interesting take on the faery stealing of children and changeling lore from the perspectives of those left behind or returned and the generational trauma that compiles.

Jo inherits her grandmother's house. She doesn't know why, t hey never talk. Her mother decides Jo needs to sell the house. First, she is underage. Second, she, (mom), is pregnant and doesn't need the hassle of taking care of another house. They go for a visit and things become really strange. A caretaker lives there and is supposed to be taking care of an odd child. They can't just kick them out, can they?

Jo feels like things are strange. Everyone in town knows about her and her father. Although he as since passed, when she was younger he brought her to visit then suddenly freaked out and hid her in another town so no one could get her. When she was found her father was locked away for his protection and hers. She has always wondered why he did that.

Jo is finding out secrets her mother held, her father couldn't tell, and why her grandmother left the house to a girl she hardly knew.

I enjoyed the book and the audio was an added bonus. I listened to the story while I was on a long drive and it made the drive much more enjoyable. I was given the opportunity to listen to the book by NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I had every intention of finishing this book, but after 40% I had to give up. If I would have known that the narrator was an ai bot, I would not have requested it. I had a terrible time getting into this one and I couldn’t retain any info because of the narration. I would definitely give this one another try when they actually have a real narrator!

A special thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an advanced readers copy of this book. I will start by saying I know it is not being released until spring 2023, so there is still a lot of time for changes before it is sent for printing.

I did love that this was a YA and had no romance. That is hard to do and the author did a great job focusing on the story.

I really enjoyed the concept but I found there to be a few plot holes. I thought the beginning was too slow and the end was wrapped up too quickly. Just a little more development at the end and maybe less conversation at the beginning would have made a big difference. I also found a few references at the beginning (around mental health and race) offensive.

I am curious what the final version will look like and I would definitely be open to re-reading and updating my review.