I received an ARC of Together We Rot from Netgalley for free and am leaving this review voluntarily.

I am writing this review about two months after reading the book, so this one will probably be a little short. I've been heavily slacking lately on the writing (and reading), so hopefully, the motivation to finish my backlog finds me soon, as I'm about to be overwhelmed.

In any case, I found Together We Rot to be a bucket of fun, which perhaps isn't the best word to describe a horror book, but that's what it was to me. It was so ... straightforward. It was simple, almost, in its execution, but it worked so well. There weren't any crazy plot twists (besides that ending, though...), and honestly, most everything was laid out from the beginning. It was just a matter of the main character proving or disproving her suspicions. While I tend more to the convoluted side of plots, this book was refreshing. Easy. Fun. And I would lean more toward this being creepy rather than actual horror.

I struggled a little bit with the main character, Wil. Her dogged determination to find out what happened to her mother made her more enemies than friends, and I will say that I wasn't her biggest fan. I understood her motivations and why she was doing what she did, but the way she treated people in the beginning grated on my nerves. I didn't like it, and I especially didn't like that she used her tragedy as an excuse to treat people poorly. That's one character trait that I can't get behind. She did get better, and everything turned out fine, but I had a tough time relating to her in those first bits.

There was something missing, though, and that's why I couldn't give Together We Rot five stars. I can't name what it was, but something felt missing from the story. On top of that, the ending didn't sit with me. While it's hinted that something supernatural is going on, it doesn't come out fully until the end, and then we're just left with the fact that that happened, and no one's talking about it. I would have liked it to be a bit more prominent throughout the story so that when the ending happened, I wasn't blindsided. It felt like we sprinkled some flour, sugar, and eggs in a bowl, and, without any other steps, we had cake. It didn't feel complete, which perhaps is what I was missing the entire time.

Despite that, I really enjoyed the story and highly recommend it to anyone looking for a creepy, sorta-kinda-but-totally-is supernatural mystery.

I liked this book so much. It is a perfect read for spooky season. The writing style was good enough for me and I loved how the plot played out. The mystery aspect of this book kept me on edge. For me sometimes, it was a little bit scary but like that's the whole point. I would love to recommend this book for the fall season.

Honestly, I was disappointed by this one. The cover looked SO promising, and nature horror is my jam. But I feel like this story went too slow (felt like a slog) and too fast (all of the story took place within like 72 hours) at the same time. I would have liked this better if the pacing was faster, but also it took place over more time, making it a real mystery.
Because what the cult was up to really was a mystery -- before, during, and after -- and just left me with a lot of questions. What exactly IS this seed they are putting in people? Where did it come from?? If it's not in someone and then that person is sacrificed when it's time, the woods disappear or something? WHY?
And why exactly did they kill Wil's mom? We know she questioned the cult leader's treatment of his son (Elwood), but nothing about her finding out (or even TRYING to find out) about cult-related info. So why literally murder the woman? Just too many plot issues for me to really enjoy this.
There were also small things that didn't seem thought out on a line-level. For example, near the end, Wil says her mom used to cry at other people's funerals..... Uh, yeah. People cry at funerals. And the way this is worded is so confusing. "Other peoples"? As opposed to... her own??
I just really feel like this needed one or two more editorial passes before pubication.

A creepy love story for anyone who has ever wanted to run away to the forest and join it.

It follows Wil, whose mother disappeared a year ago, and Elwood the son of the local church...whose family Wil accused of being behind her Mom's disappearance.

This is a stellar Gothic Romance with plenty of paranormal elements thrown in to boot.

Creepy culty church? Check
Weird small town? Check
Fantastic cast of characters? Check and double check

As Will stalks Elwood's family looking for proof they were behind her Mom's disappearance, things begin to slide entirely out of control. Elwood realizes his family never planned to send him off to school and instead has much more insidious plans for him, and to his chagrin the only person he can think to ask for help is Wil. The two of them, along with a handful of friends must find out what is going on, and why, before something terrible happens.

I won't ruin the ending because it's worth reading every page to get there.

This dark, atmospheric, YA Gothic Romance is perfect for fans of Erin A. Craig, and Allison Saft. The story pulls you in and once things get rolling, there is no way you'll want to stop until you know what the Morguewood really wants from Elwood and Wil.

Well, if you like the new genre of plant horror then this will be right up your alley. Full disclosure, I went into the story expecting zombies (you know, zombie rotting yet still in love or something like that) and I was disappointed that this was not that, but alas that was completely my own fault. Instead we get a very angry, angsty girl on a mission to find the truth about her missing mom and a quiet, sensitive abused boy who has no say in his life, both on a crash course for destruction- with some crazy uncontrolled plant destruction action.

On the plus side this was a standalone novel, so most things wrapped up (a little too easily with 85% of the book as build up), but I would not be picking up a sequel anyway. I know a lot of people will really like this story, but for me it fell flat, had some plot holes and was SO ANGSTY.

I did not finish this one, it was not for me, I couldn't relate to the characters, and just did not care for the story.

Wil is a girl who is alone in the world. Her mother has disappeared, her father has disappeared into himself since then, and her best friend (Elwood) won't talk to her anymore. Elwood is the son of "God's Right Hand", the leader of the local cult that Wil believes did something to her mother. When Elwood decides to have one last night with his friends before his life changes forever, he and Wil are thrown together to find out where her mother is and what the cult is planning on doing to Elwood.

It's a dark subject for a book, but in the vein of Stranger Things, there is a group of teens that have to work together against the adults in the town to save Elwood.

Very atmospheric wit an ending that breaks your heart a little bit. Very cool concept, and I love the culty vibes of it all.

This is one of my favorite YA horrors of the year! In a remote and rural town, Wil has been looking for clues to the disappearance of her mother, whom she suspects was kidnapped and killed by her former best friend's family, the Clarkes. The Clarkes run a creepy cultish church in town, known for sacrificing animals and leaving their bones strung up in trees. Elwood Clarke has been striving his entire life to be the perfect son, withstanding his parent's abuse in the name of God and his higher plan. However, Elwood finally realizes that this "higher plan" involves Elwood himself becoming the sacrifice, and he must run to survive. Wil and Elwood team up to take his family down, and hopefully find Wil's mother along the way. Then strange things begin happening to Elwood and he can feel himself transforming into something else. Something evil.. These characters were great and really made me love this story. Wil grabbed my attention from the first page, and Elwood was her perfect balance. The fiesty girl and the shy boy is a great trope and not done enough. The cover is absolutely amazing and I will be recommending this to everyone I know. Hopefully it gets picked up for TV, because this would be a great movie!

Love a creepy atmospheric read. The writing was beautiful. The horror and cult side was fun but didn't wow me. The cover is the star here.

Nobody touch me I loved this book. Perfect mix of horror and mystery, cults and nature, romance and angst. So beautiful written.

Thank you to Viking Books for Young Readers and NetGalley for this ARC copy in exchange for an honest review.

2.5 stars

To give anyone a quick idea what this book is about, it begins as the story of senior Wil Greene desperately searching for any clues in her mother's disappearance. The prime suspect in her investigation is the leader of a local religious group/cult. Wil's old friend, Elwood Clarke, is the son of this leader and sided with his father a year prior when she forced him to pick a side, which she has not forgiven him for. Eventually, Elwood discovers something himself- his father and the cult are planning to sacrifice him to satisfy the forest. Having no other options besides each other, Elwood and Wil team up for the first time in a year in order to stay alive.

I feel like I'm having a bit of a tough time rating this. On one hand, I'm not upset that I read it and I don't feel like I wasted my time, but there were certainly some flaws in this story.

To start off with, a positive- the atmosphere was exactly what you would expect from the cover! It was dark and eerie and haunting. In addition, the premise was very interesting and it kept me engaged the entire time despite some flaws in the book. I also enjoyed the sort-off plot twist ending.

Unfortunately, not everything in this book was as great. For one thing, things seemed to work out a little too perfectly at times, if you know what I mean. (MINOR MINOR spoiler ahead) At one point, the group needs to get into a locked room in a building that one of the kids works at. This kid has a ring of keys, but it only has three keys, none of which go to this random room. But they're in luck! Somehow (and this is never actually explained) he 100% ACCIDENTALLY swapped keys THAT DAY with the head person, who did in fact have the key to this room. It just felt like a bit of a cop out to get them into the room easily. Another thing, the ending felt a bit rushed and unexplained at points. It was okay, but it doesn't make me want to read a sequel (even though it seems set up to leave room for one).

Okay, this last problem is a small spoiler sorta. SO. The whole thing about the cult is that they need to sacrifice someone when the seed grows too strong in a person for the Morguewood to be kept from devouring the town area, right? So for this great goal of protecting the town, practically EVERYONE is in on it. But..... why? There is literally nothing special about this town. Everyone can just up and move to the next town over, and not be forced to sacrifice a kid. There is no reason to believe there would be a problem with this. This forest only seems to be sentient or whatever in this area, which is why people are always commenting on the "smell of decay." The only thing that would happen if they left is this small little town would be gone. Oh well?

There were parts of this story I like, and others that were meh. It was an interesting read and I never really felt bored, so if this is your thing, totally read it! Just some of the issues made it just so-so for me.

2.5 stars

I received a copy from the publisher via Netgalley for an honest review.

I do not understand why this novel has so many good reviews. First, one would think with this title that it was about zombies, it is not. That was seriously the reason why my bestie and I wanted to pick it up.
Second, this novel is so damn boring and does not have ANY character development, little detail about the town and surrounding, just so very poorly written! This novel reminds me of Wilder Girls....in the worst kind of way. This does not make sense and was not enjoyable. In fact, this novel felt painful and I struggled to finish it. When I did finish I was greatly relieved.

This novel is looking at a cult and apparently had sacrificed some people....but that was not entirely explained. The cult was not entirely explained. How this town was all but not all involved in the cult was not explained. SOOOOOO many parts of this were NOT EXPLAINED! And the ending, that just didn't make sense. Go off into the world and explore but this is our new beginning....ummmm those contradict each other. This was just bad and felt unoriginal between the YA Wilder Girls and the adult sci fi novel Annihilation. This was an extremely disappointing debut novel and like Wilder Girls, may keep me off picking up this author again. It just was poorly written, no world or character building and just down right did not makes sense.

With a cover and title like this, I was intrigued. Based on the synopsis and cover, I was expecting an emotional romance with cult and horror elements, but unfortunately the writing and the story fell flat for me.

Wil Greene's mother went missing a year ago, and Wil is determined to figure out what happened to her. She knows in her gut that the local religious family, the Clarkes, had something to do with it. Unfortunately, her former best friend is Elwood Clarke, and when she gave him an ultimatum, he decided to stick with his family.

Elwood has some struggles of his own, as his father is the pastor of the Garden of Adam, a cult-like congregation with some suspicious practices. Elwood discovers that once he turns eighteen, he will not become the successor for his father, but a sacrifice to the woods that surround their small town.

Wil and Elwood, former best friends, form a partnership to help each other. Elwood will help Wil find out what happened to her mom, and Wil will help Elwood escape his family.

I think my biggest gripe with this book is that it is too short. This caused a lot of the plot points to be glossed over, which made me really have no idea what was happening with the paranormal aspects of this book. I also feel like the characters weren't fully formed, so I struggled to connect with them. And again, because it was so short, the romance aspect didn't feel fully formed either. I was struggling to finish by the end of it and I felt confused by the whole thing. Overall, this story just wasn't for me, but I think some horror readers will like it more than I did.

This book deals with sensitive topics, but in a very good way. It's also amazingly atmospheric. I love books like this, that suck you into the atmosphere of the world and stick.with you even when you're done reading.

3.75 stars while the story was enjoyable it was too drawn out for me. I think about half of what was written was needed. As it was a lot of discretion that could have been slimed over. The cult killing story line was good but it has been done a couple of times in better ways. I will say the ending was not what I was expecting and was surprised. Again enjoyable for a spooky season read but not mind blowing.

I am definitely getting into a creepy reading mood and a horror involving a cult and some supernatural happenings fits that bill perfectly!

This is a super quick read, with short chapters and dual POV to keep the pace moving and hold your interest. I liked following Elwood as he discovers what his father is up to and that there's something inhuman growing inside of him. Wil is antagonistic, but she's lost her best friend in her search for her missing mom and it's easy to understand where she's coming from.

The reasons behind what the cult was doing didn't feel well developed and I didn't quite understand what the overall purpose was. The ending was also a bit strange and I don't really get how things will work for Wil, but it was overall a good horror as we go into fall.

I voluntarily read and reviewed this book. All opinions are my own. Thank you to Viking Books for Young Readers and NetGalley for the copy.

For anyone hesitant about reading a book marketed as horror, you can rest easy. The best comparison I can give for this novel is the TV show Riverdale. This story revolves around supernatural small towns, cults, and having to suspend your disbelief to some crazy extents. While I did enjoy this story, especially the two main characters, I found the development of Elwood's "situation" to be so unbelievable (especially in the end) that it really takes you out of the suspense. But by toeing the line between contemporary and fantasy, the author has done herself a disservice, and I think a different genre could have allowed for more world-building and comprehension than was achieved in this short novel.

3.5/5 Stars

After her mother unexpectedly disappears, Wil Greene is determined to find out what happened to her. Wil used to be bestfriends with Elwood Clarke, but after she blames the very religious Clarke family for her mother's disappearance, their friendship ends. Then Elwood shows up on her doorstep one night, after breaking his parent's rules, they learn of their sinister plans. They team up to stop the Clarkes before its too late.

First off, in love with this cover, I just think its so pretty. Secondly, cult is one of my buzzwords, so I was so excited to pick this up! I finished this book in one sitting as it is an extremely fast paced book. That being said, at times the fast pace made me feel like I missed or lost details in the story. I felt like there wasn't much explanation on backstory on the cult or town. I do think the writing style was gorgeous though. I thought the dual POV was interesting, and I liked being able to see inside both character's heads. I'm a sucker for friends-to-enemies-to lovers, so I ate this up. I liked Wil's character, and loved how she was so determined to find her mother. She is extremely loyal when she cares about you and I loved watching her relationship with Elwood grow as the story progressed. She may also be slightly unhinged and a tad bit feral, which I LOVED. Also, big fan of Elwood, he was such a sweet cinnamon roll.

I will definitely be checking out more from this author when available!

Prickly girls, gothic horror, cults, ritualistic sacrifice, religious trauma, grief, parental abuse, and love are woven together in this darkly beautiful narrative.

Together We Rot follows two former best friends who have been torn apart by loss and familial loyalty. Wil's mom disappeared a year ago and she is convinced she was kidnapped by Elwood's dad, but no one will listen to her. Now her dad has fallen into an alcohol and grief-fueled stupor while Elwoods family plans to buy and demolish the rundown motel they own and live in.

Elwood has been raised by abusive, hyper-religious parents. His dad is the pastor of the town church and he has hardly stepped a toe out of line, even picking his family over Wil. Even though his had has made him participate in the ritualistic sacrifice of rabbits in the creepy woods next to the town. But now he's turning 18 and realizes that he is intended to be an even greater sacrifice and has to run to save his own life. But there may already be something strange growing within him...

This was intense but I couldn't put it down and ultimately it's a story that is dark and bloody, but also beautiful. Wil is a mess and all thorns- pushing people away because she's hurting and afraid of being hurt even more. But the friendships in this book (including a cast of side characters) are loyal and willing to go through hell for each other. It's a book about grief, pain, and abuse but also about healing and escape. I loved it. I would firmly call this horror with a romantic subplot. I received a copy of this book for review via Netgalley, all opinions are my own.