Together We Rot was definitely an interesting read with a cool premise and lyrical writing. I really liked everything with Elwood discovering about his family's cult and his journey of understanding, acceptance, and learning how to fight back. Overall I liked Elwood a lot as a character. He's got a kind, gentle personality that I love to see in male protagonists, and he's a unifying kind of person who brings very different characters together. The story is told in dual POV, his and Wil's, and I liked Wil less as a character. I found it hard to connect to her as much. Her grief and some of her roughness is understandable, but the way she reacts sometimes, while I can understand, also make it hard for me to like her, and honestly I just didn't find her as interesting as Elwood. The supernatural/horror elements of the story are so-so. If you're like me and you like just a touch of horror without it being too gruesome or scary, then this has the right balance for you. I do feel like sometimes I didn't get quite what was going on with that part of it, but overall it was a pretty decent read. 3.5/5 stars.

The synopsis was very interesting but I couldn't read past the 10% mark. The writing was disjointed and the characters just weren't interesting enough for me to continue. Although I would say the plot was unique but not executed well.

*please keep in mind that this review is based on the reading of an ARC and that some of the issues I address may very well not be in final copies*

“Very Scooby-Doo” is how I would describe this book to someone who knew nothing about it.

While Together We Rot starts with an intriguingly novel concept and the allure of the ever-tempting “enemies to lovers” trope…it quickly devolves from there.

I found rating this book to be difficult because the concept is really very good…but the execution is lacking. I think this may be a debut book - don’t quote me - so perhaps it’s just a little green. I think a fair rating would be somewhere between 2 and 3 stars, leaning towards 3.

I found it to be an altogether pretty engrossing book that kept me turning pages, but much in the same way that a low-budget slasher would. You wanna know how it ends, you wanna know where the characters go…but the ride there is rough…and a little cheesy.

In my seriously humble opinion (because I have never written an entire book and I’m not gonna pretend that I would be good at it) the writing was a bit disjointed and at times it felt like two different authors were behind the keyboard. One was eloquent and captivating, the other relying heavily on the use of dramatic similes and metaphors. I think they converged somewhere around the dialogue for a truly eye-rolling experience (the dialogue is BAD, ok?).

The characters were just ok, not horrible but not interesting. I think that Elwood would have been a good on his own…a stand-alone character. Come to think of it, I really wish that Wil was taken out of the book altogether. I don’t feel like her part of the story was inherently necessary and the teen romance between the two of them was cringey at best and down-right nauseating at worst.

Lastly, the ending felt a little forced and…odd. I don’t really know how to describe my feelings by the time the conclusion came around…but I wasn’t really satisfied with the ending. It didn’t feel rushed necessarily but a little confusing. It needed a lil somethin’ more.

This isn’t a *bad* book, I would just bear in mind that it feels a little “rough-drafty” at times. But if you’re looking for something unique, with vivid imagery and a creative spin on “monsters” and cult life, you’ll probably enjoy this.

Wil Greene and Elwood Clarke used to be inseparable until Wil’s mother went missing. Wil is convinced Elwood’s family has something to do with it. The Clarkes are part of The Garden of Adam, a cult-like church that Elwood is set to join his pastor father at the helm of once he turns 18. However, when Elwood comes home one night after a party with friends, he learns his father has a much more sinister plan for Elwood’s life and that his family may be responsible for Wil’s mom after all.

This is the most beautifully written YA book I’ve ever read. Skyla Arndt’s prose perfectly captures Wil and Elwood’s range of emotions, and it describes the nature and forest in a way that brings the world to life without being superfluous. I would check out any future books for the writing alone. As for the story itself, it was engaging, but most of the book I wasn’t totally sure what Elwood’s condition was or why he was so connected to plants and the woods. It built suspense, but context earlier in the book would have made me more invested in what was happening to him. The ending wrapped up Elwood’s story nicely, but it left more to be desired for Wil. I’d rate this 3.5 stars, but this is a strong debut. Thanks to NetGalley, Viking Books, and Skyla Arndt for this free ARC in exchange for my honest review.

𝘏𝘪𝘴 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘥𝘴 𝘭𝘢𝘺 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘪𝘳 𝘦𝘨𝘨𝘴 𝘶𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘳 𝘮𝘺 𝘴𝘬𝘪𝘯 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘥𝘦𝘷𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘮𝘦 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘪𝘯𝘴𝘪𝘥𝘦 𝘰𝘶𝘵.”

Unfortunately I read this awhile ago and can’t remember a lot of the details. I left writing this review for too long! I can tell you I enjoyed the dark nature of the story, the trauma, and the body horror. I found the characters unique and the story quite unlike one I have read before which was refreshing. Looking forward to more from this author 🙌

the cover was absolutely gorgeous that I had to judge by its cover it would be promising... not the case- very poor writing and plot. gave up at 70 percent

Thank you to NetGalley and Penguin Random House Canada for an advanced reader copy in exchange for an honest review,

What initially drew me into Together We Rot was its breathtaking cover.

This novel was a quick and easy read, however, I did not find myself enjoying it as much as I thought I would. Off the bat, we are subjected to a weak romance which can nearly be described as insta-love, as our main character Wil hated the love interest at first and then 2 minutes later is already head over heels for him. I found the romance to be underdeveloped and juvenile feeling and it was not what I was hoping for going into the story.

The subject matter and overall plot were intriguing, and quite frankly, I believe I would have enjoyed this so much more if it had been written as an adult horror or thriller, as I do believe the parts that I rather enjoyed could have been done better and in more detail.

I did not hate the book and found myself tearing through it rather quickly, but I do wish it gave more in terms of delivery and also focused less on tropes.

Creepy gothic atmosphere with weird cult? Yes, please!

When Wil’s mother goes missing a year prior, she knows that the creeptastic Garden of Adam church is behind it but getting anyone to believe her has been futile and she’s ready to take things in her own hands.

Wil’s once best friend, Elwood, is not only a member of the church but the son of their leader. He’s not quite the follower, though, and has his own original thoughts and they’re not quite aligning with that of his family and fellow church members. This drives him and Wil together to search for answers.

This is a well-done YA horror that really brought the atmosphere; creepy church and cult and bugs – gasp!
I ended up listening to this and the narration is fantastic; Jesse Vilinsky and Michael Crouch knocked this out of the park.

My apologies for the late review, I have no idea how I missed this!

I loved this so much!!! the gory elements and the characters were so great. The atmosphere and the tension and the horror--ugh everything about it was just a really cool ride. I think it could've been a little longer and the story could've dived in a little deeper at some points, but overall it was so good

I am obsessed with the creepy and the swoons layers of this book. Skyla did something really impressive here in mixing them!

✨Book Review✨
📚Together We Rot - Skyla Arndt
⭐️⭐️⭐️ / 5

I want to start this off by saying that this has to be the weirdest book I have ever read. I know most gothic horror type books are weird, but this one is at the top of the list for me. I'm not going to sad this book was bad, but it wasn't good either. It was just meh for me.

First of all, it took me soooo long to get into it. It took so much time for something to happen. But when things started happening, it was like everything was set off. It had my brain going all over the place. This book infiltrated my mind so much that I even dreamed about it. That is not normal.

I didn't 100% love the characters, but honestly, I don't think I was really supposed to. Also, I would like to mention this is accidentally the 3rd cult book I have read in a month and I do not recommend doing that.

Overall, I don't think I would recommend this book. You have to be a very specific type of person to enjoy it so it does not have a large set audience. But if you are ready for something super strange, then give it a try.

Thank you @netgalley and @penguinartgroup for the opportunity to read this book. This is 100 percent my honest opinion, as always.

Holy hell, I loved this. I have been DNFing YA books left and right lately so I didn’t really expect to like it. But I did. It’s culty, it’s romantic, it’s got body horror! Seriously, just go read it.

I loved the characters and the premise was interesting, but I found the ending to be a bit rushed. I enjoyed reading the multiple points of view and it was a quick and enjoyable read. Altogether I think this was a great debut and I enjoyed it, though I would have preferred it to be a little more fleshed out.

i think a higher page count would’ve helped this book. there were some things in the world building and plot that i felt were rushed or unfinished and i wish we had a few more pages to sort things out

This book just wasn’t for me. I felt like the pacing was a little too slow and I never found myself eager to pick the book back up. It wasn’t the writing that I didn’t care for but the development of the story.

This book was really unsettling, but I think that was the point. And it was really, really weird. It reminded me a lot of that Mark Oshiro bok. Into the Light, or something? This book deals with a boy trying to escape his life from a cult, but one with beliefs that turn out to be horribly real. I would have liked it more if the cult hadn't been twisting the word of God, because I feel like readers could misinterpret that and see all of Christianity like a cult. The horror was pretty cool, though. I don't see a lot of plant-based horror. And the ending was pretty hardcore. So overall, I'm torn about this, and although it wasn't my favorite, it wasn't half bad either.

I really wanted to love this one, and while I enjoyed some parts, I was disappointed with the writing. I felt that the writing didn’t convey the seriousness of the characters’ situations. Even for a YA book, it felt too YA. I would have preferred a more serious tone to the story. However, I liked our two leads’ relationship with one another; it was so sweet. But I don’t think either main character could really stand on their own; there was a clear lack of characterization, though both of them were likable enough.

⭐️⭐️⭐️

𝘼 𝙩𝙚𝙚𝙣 𝙜𝙞𝙧𝙡 𝙡𝙤𝙤𝙠𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙛𝙤𝙧 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙩𝙧𝙪𝙩𝙝 𝙖𝙗𝙤𝙪𝙩 𝙝𝙚𝙧 𝙢𝙞𝙨𝙨𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙢𝙤𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙧 𝙛𝙤𝙧𝙢𝙨 𝙖 𝙧𝙚𝙡𝙪𝙘𝙩𝙖𝙣𝙩 𝙖𝙡𝙡𝙞𝙖𝙣𝙘𝙚 𝙬𝙞𝙩𝙝 𝙝𝙚𝙧 𝙛𝙤𝙧𝙢𝙚𝙧 𝙗𝙚𝙨𝙩 𝙛𝙧𝙞𝙚𝙣𝙙…𝙞𝙣 𝙚𝙭𝙘𝙝𝙖𝙣𝙜𝙚 𝙛𝙤𝙧 𝙝𝙞𝙙𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙝𝙞𝙢 𝙛𝙧𝙤𝙢 𝙝𝙞𝙨 𝙘𝙪𝙡𝙩-𝙡𝙚𝙖𝙙𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙛𝙖𝙢𝙞𝙡𝙮.

The premise of this had me intrigued and I’m obsessed with the cover. This is a YA horror story with a touch of romance.

I honestly have mixed feelings about this book. It wasn’t bad by any means, I just feel like I had issues every now and then.

The story revolves around two teenagers, Wil and Elwood. I enjoyed the creepy forest and religious cult, I found that interesting. I also loved the setting of a dark town full of secrets.

While I think the concept was great, I did get lost with the pacing. It started off a bit slow and took a while to pick up. I also felt like everything happened way too quickly, especially when it came to the romance.

This was a solid read, but I wanted a bit more out of it. The prose and writing in this were beautiful and the concept was fantastic.

Thank you so much NetGalley and Penguin Teen for the review copy in exchange for my honest review!

Thank you so much, PENGUIN GROUP Penguin Young Readers Group, Viking Books for Young Readers and NetGalley, for the chance to read this book in exchange of an honest review.

Wil's mum has been missing for over a year and the police is convinced she skipped town and wants to close the case. She's sure, though, her mother wouldn't just do that and that her family of her ex best friend, Elwood, has something to do with what happened to her. On the other end, Elwood has been fearing his 18th birthday. That date will be when he will have to leave the school and join his pastoral father in dedicating his life to their cult, the Garden of Adam. When one night he discovers he's not his father's successor, but his sacrifice, everything is turned upside down. The woods are demanding blood and they need Elwood's for their satanic rituals. There's something inhuman in him. Plants come to life around him, nature calls him. Wil and Elwood decide to strike a bargain: she will help him hide and he will help her in her investigation. They will, though, discover more than they bargained for.

Together we rot is a deliciously creepy and unputdownable story about two teens and their growing bond in a complex story filled with mysteries, blood and sacrifices and I'm definitely here for it! Not only the cover is gorgeous and the plot intriguing, but reading this book was an experience and I loved every single page. I was enraptured by this lush and rich atmosphere and the cult-leading family and Wil's mother's disappearance. I loved how balanced horror and romance was and I was introduced to the term horromance and I'm so invested!
Lush writing, brilliantly complex characters and a story to die for. A masterpiece.

This was quite an excellent and cleverly-crafted story that instantly captured my attention with its atmospheric and intensely eerie vibes. I really loved the setting and the characters!