Briardark started out super promising, then went rather off the rails.

I was very excited for a spooky, atmospheric 'cabin in the woods' vibe and things going subtly wrong. The first half of the book delivered in spades on that front, in Siena's story. I also had a lot of fun trying to figure out Holden's side of the story, with the recordings, and how he was connected to Siena.

When shit hit the fan for Siena, I started to... lose interest? Become disillusioned? I thought the book was at its strongest when staying more subtle and unsettling, and Harian leaned into the Lost vibes a little too much for my taste. Things simultaneously came to light, yet only created more questions and nothing was explained. I would have appreciated some clarity about the Briardark, Siena's connection to it, and Holden's connection to Siena.

The writing also began to grate on me as I got deeper into the book. A lot of the characters' voices sounded the same - Cam and Angel, Holden and Emmett, they spoke the same, nobody had a particularly individual voice. There was a lot of unnecessary swearing that took me out of the story - I'm far from a prude, but the superfluous cursing felt like it cheapened the mystery for me.

A lot of potential here, but it didn't quite come all the way together for me. I'll still pick up the next book as I do need to know what happened!

This haunting novel took turns that I was not expecting. The creepy setting and compelling characters combined to make a book that kept me turning pages. I liked how the writer didn’t get bogged down in the details of the scientific expedition, but she does a great job of making everything seem real. Holden’s story was a bit confusing at first since I wasn’t sure how it fit into the narrative. However, I soon figured out what was going on and from there, the story took off. I hadn’t realized that this was only book one in a series, so the ending came as a disappointment. However, I will be looking forward to the other books in the series.

<b>"I made a choice, a choice that, over a period of five years, would destroy the lives of my fellow researchers and inevitably disband us. It would reveal the end of our world."</b>

<i>Briardark</i> gets a lot of things right. To name a few: the primal terror of the wilderness, how online conspiracy theories become the stuff of legend, and how fear can both deepen relationships and tear them apart. I loved the way that the varying perspectives artfully revealed more and more details of this mystery. I felt genuinely invested in the characters and committed to unraveling what in the world was happening to them. And then... it ended, with too many lingering questions to simply be a classic horror "up for interpretation" resolution.

From the abrupt and murky finish, it's clear that a sequel is in store, and I will absolutely be there for it. But I give <i>Briardark</i> a final review of 3.5 stars, rounded up, because it ultimately felt like the author set up a story that will grow from here. I recommend reading it, but know that you will want the next part as soon as you turn the final page!

Thanks to NetGalley for access to an eARC in exchange for my honest review.

In 2015 an expedition group of five women went into the Deadswitch Wilderness to study the mysterious Alpenglow Glacier but none of the women were ever seen again nor even traces that the women had even made it to their destination.

Seven years later another team of four scientists will take this same expedition to the Alpenglow glacier while also hoping to find some leftover remnants of what may have happened to any of the missing women in 2015. Within thirty miles of their starting point the team realize the trails don't line up with their map but they continue to forge ahead anyway until the discovery of a body hanging in a tree which means they now must wait for the authorities to arrive before they can continue up the mountain but when they try to connect to the nearby ranger station the call only gets answered by voice message recordings. This will only be the beginning of strange, mysterious, creepy and implausible occurrences which appear to happen in the Deadswitch Wilderness and if this team doesn't turn around to go back soon they may find themselves in the same situation of the forever missing 2015 expedition.

What a creepy and intriguing story this was for me. I really enjoyed the creative storytelling with great characters and an amazing, eerie atmosphere. There were several essential characters that intersect in the most unusual ways and because the book centered around Deadswitch it never lost the tension or pervasive illusion of horror simmering in the background. This novel was an unexpected pleasure for me relating to how well done the continuous mystery and intensity continued until the end of the book although any unanswered questions will go unresolved until the next book is released and I truly hope I can be an early reader for that one. Even though cliffhangers are a pet peeve of mine this is a novel that I'm excited to have read and I highly recommend it to all horror or science fiction readers since it really was a refreshing combination of both genres giving a cutting edge to a story that was so unique and well-written that I just didn't want the book to come to an end.


I want to thank the publisher "Compass and Fern" and Netgalley for the opportunity to read this novel and any thoughts or opinions expressed are unbiased and mine alone!

I have given this book 4 1/2 INTENSELY CREEPY 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌠 STARS!!

For all fans of horror stories, this one is for you! I was hesitant to jump right into this because horror is not typically I genre I gravitate towards, but oh my goodness, I was 100% obsessed from the first chapter alone. The plot is gripping, action packed, and had me hanging on the edge of my seat! The characters were brilliantly written and so well fleshed out that I enjoyed every scene with each character in it.

There are plot twists and turns you literally don't see coming in this book. Characters who seem suspicious but aren't. Characters who aren't suspicious but should be considered as suspicious. S.A. Harlan did an incredible job with this novel, and I absolutely loved every moment of it!

Thank you NetGalley for providing me with an eARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Briardark follows some scientists and an influencer who are studying glaciers. The stories don't happen at the same time and I love the going back and forth between the present and the "true crime" retelling of events. It was super creepy and I didn't predict where the book was going which I really liked Overall, despite the slightly unsatisfying ending, I still recommend Briardark for fans of sci-fi-horror or speculative mysteries. I myself will be eagerly awaiting the sequel.

Lost expeditions and found footage! Mystery, thrill, scifi, survival and cosmic horror all in one! 🙌

Rarely ever i pick up a book on a whim and it turns out unputdownable. The first few chapters felt very YA and overdone I didn't want to continue, but so glad i did. It got real interesting and so hard to put down real soon. I flew through these short chapters, each with a shocking revelation at the end.

I enjoyed it for the most part, but the ending felt very rushed and not as anchored as the rest of the book. I'd love to see to see where it goes from here in the next book, if only to feel the this thrill again! 4/5 cool stars from my side.

I couldn't put this book down! It was the perfect blend of horror, sci-fi, time travel, and mystery that kept me turning the page. Beware though, it is a cliffhanger and you have to wait for the second book for all unanswered questions.

When I tell you I breezed through this, I mean it. I could not put it down! I told myself I’d read a few chapters before bed and nope, it’s 12:45 AM and I need book two.

This book is a sci-fi horror, about a creepy ever changing forest with some cosmic horror elements that blurs the lines between possibility and actuality.

I don’t want to give too much away, but i do recommend approaching this one with minimal background research on it. Siena, and her research team, return back to Deadswitch wilderness to finish studying a glacier that she found with an old uni professor who passed away. Upon her teams return, nothing is as they remember or how they left it. To make matters worse, it seems the landscape and forest is changing around them, which slowly has them straying from the path.

What seems to initially be introduced as a story in the past, also becomes a story of both present and future when Holden, an IT worker at Siena’s university, finds old archived tapes with a voice diary from the expedition. As he listens, he discovers, the tapes are telling him the future and this research team is in danger. The closer Holden gets to Siena’s project, strange and unusual connections are revealed. The mystery of the entire project leaves Holden with no choice but to try and save Siena and her team, which means going to Deadswitch with a rescue team.

Reading this reminded me of a few other books: “The Valley” by Mike Salt, “Radio Tower” by Boris Bacic, “The Ritual” by Adam Nevill and even “Annihilation” by Jeff VanderMeer — if you enjoy the elements within these books, then Briardark is right up your alley!

thank you Compass and Fern LLC for this ARC, courtesy of Netgalley. Publication date for “Briardark” is January 16, 2023.

I really wanted to love this one. This horror novel has one of my favorite tropes a find good footage. And while I do have to admit the beginning did really capture my attention.

Later on it started to get confusing for me and it was hard to keep up with what was going on. This novel is more of slow burn, that I just wasn’t into.

A team of researchers is lost in the woods, and the woods are really really weird.

They’re recording some audio that documents what’s happening to them. Somewhere else, a different person has found their recordings and is listening to them to try to solve the mystery of what happened.
This is a fast-paced, short chapters, many-POV sci-fi horror thriller. It’s got some gross body horror type stuff, scary creatures, psychological horror, and more. The audio files and other little excepts from things like books and reports add to the intrigue.
Even though there are several different POVs and lots of characters to keep track of, I didn’t have a hard time with it because they all felt distinct and developed. This was a super fun read and it definitely scared me a little!

I didn’t realize this is getting a sequel until I was done and unfortunately it doesn’t totally resolve at the end, but now we can look forward to book two!

Thanks to NetGalley for this ARC!

Horror | Dark Fantasy | Lost Hikers | Mysterious recordings

Y’all. This is such a weird book. But in a good way! Vibes like The Book of Accidents by Chuck Wendig. This one kept me guessing until the end!

Dr. Siena Dupont and her scientific team travel into the Deadswitch Wilderness. They’re very familiar with the area and this should be a simple expedition. Until the dead body. From that point on, nothing is as it seems.

Holden Sharpe works in IT. His job is to wipe unneeded files from university drives so they can be reused. Until he finds a recording that makes him pause.

What is happening in the Deadswitch Wilderness??

Ebook available on Hoopla and Scribd
Audio available on Scribd and Audible

Book: Briardark
Author: S. A. Harian
Pages: 362
Rating: 5 stars
Chickens: 2 chickens
(one chicken is cozy horror | five chickens is pure terror)

I really should have loved this, with its forest setting, horror theme and mysterious events. It was great that there were creepy, unbelievable things happening, but it didn't seem to gel for me and I just didn't get a clear picture of what was going on. Rather than some mysteries within a cohesive story, I felt there were too many mysteries and not enough solid content. I presumed I would at least get some closure at the end of the book but the cliffhanger frustrated me.

I received this arc from netgalley in exchange for my honest review.

I wanted to love this book but I felt like it was a bit of a slow burner for me. I couldn't stay focused and kept zoning out throughout the book. While this book may have not been for me, I'm sure there are others who would enjoy this book!

I wanted to like this book but I didn’t. I was bored throughout the book. I couldn’t stay focused. I was zoning out and falling asleep on it. I had to power through some of it before I finally just put it down.

While this did take a bit to get into, I enjoyed a lot of parts of this book. This was a reasonably fast-paced read and I really enjoyed the spooky-ness combined with taking place in the woods. Some of the POVs were more interesting than others, I especially liked Cam's, but all of them were fairly intriguing. Although I did like a lot of parts of this, I will say that the pacing felt off at times and the characters were a bit flat. I'd recommend this book though, especially if you liked Annihilation by Jeff VanderMeer.

Thank you to both NetGalley and Compass and Fern for providing me with this ARC!

The description and the cover of this book pulled me in. Definitely gave me spooky forest vibes and just the right amount of creepiness. I did find it to be a slower burn of a read though.

I went into this without much more info than the NetGalley blurb provided and WOW, it was good! I loved (or loved to hate) every character, and I was delighted to find that it's going to be a series. The spooky time-travel bits were vague enough to remain disturbing without being too hand-wavey. I'm especially excited to learn more about Avery and Cam!

This is a book told in multiple POV with a questionable timeline. It definitely contains the creep factor. The first half of the book kept me turning the page but it eventually started to fall flat for me.

"For Dr. Siena Dupont and her ambitious team, the Alpenglow glacier expedition is a career-defining opportunity. But thirty miles into the desolate Deadswitch Wilderness, they discover a missing hiker dangling from a tree, and their satellite phone fails to call out.
Then the body vanishes without a trace.
The disappearance isn’t the only chilling anomaly. Siena’s map no longer aligns with the trail. The glacier they were supposed to study has inexplicably melted. Strange foliage overruns the mountainside, and a tunnel within a tree hollow lures Siena to a hidden cabin, and a stranger with a sinister message…."

Told from multiple POV's with a blurred timeline, this story took a few chapters to get my bearings. The author does an excellent job taking the reader along the story with the characters, making it feel more like an experience than a story. As we learn a little more about what is happening in the Deadswitch Wilderness, we also learn more about the characters themselves and their relationships. I wouldn't call this book scary, but it definitely has creepy moments. I thought that the story was well paced and I was fully engaged once I got my bearings. Just as things seemed to be falling into place, the book ends. The sequel is on it's way to shelves in 2024 and I can not wait!

Thank you to @netgalley and Compass and Fern LLC for the gifted copy of this book.