I love trying YA Horror but sometimes it's a miss. This was well written and I enjoyed the characters but the plot felt weaker in some points and by the end, I still had so so many questions.

I'd absolutely try another book by this author because I think they'll write something I'll definitely give 5 stars. I just have to find the right book from them!

This book follows a group of kids who are determined to solve the mystery about their missing friend. This book has a lot of Stephen King vibes to it which is what drew me to this book int eh first place. However, it feel flat for me. This is more of middle grade horror vs. YA horror so if there is someone who is looking to introduce horror to their kids, I would recommend this book.

The story dragged on for me.

Something dark and sinister lurks in the dead woods. After strange things start happening within a group of friends they decide to investigate. What they find is beyond anything they ever thought possible.

The storyline was entertaining enough to keep me interested. It kind of gives vibes of Stranger Things and IT. This leans more towards YA but is still enjoyable for adults that prefer very mild horror. As for the characters, I didn’t really feel a connection to any of them. There was a bit of tragedy in the story and unfortunately, I wasn’t affected by any of it because the characters were just lacking to me.

Overall, this book was an okay read. The concept was good, but the characters needed more work in my opinion. I like to feel something for the characters, and it just wasn’t there for me.

I really wanted to get to this one, as it seemed interesting. The downfall was that I requested so many ARCs that I could not get to all of them before the book was archived. If I can find this somewhere for a reasonable price, I will try to get it!

This novella offered an enjoyable reading experience. It's categorized as YA horror, and it certainly carries the characteristics of a work intended for a younger audience, possibly even middle-grade readers, despite featuring characters in high school. The story exudes an atmosphere reminiscent of Stephen King's works, which is undoubtedly a positive aspect. The narrative revolves around a mysterious phenomenon in the woods where people are vanishing. When one of the characters' friends becomes a victim, they embark on a relentless quest to unravel the mystery. In the process, they discover that this isn't the first occurrence, and the current sheriff was a witness during a previous incident.

Given the novella's brevity, with fewer than 200 pages, the author adeptly crafts an immersive reading experience. The ending struck a balance between evoking sadness and delivering a surprising twist.

There was lots of plot twists within the book, and it definitely had the feel of a YA horror book, I think the characters could have acted more their age, they seemed younger than they should have been. I did however read it in 1 day as I found myself wanting to find out what happened next. I definitely don't trust the woods anymore 😆

The cover art drew me in to read this book! I love a good coming of age horror book, and this one did not disappoint! Slow to start & build the scenery, but then it switched to high stakes fast pace! The only thing that stuck out to me as a negative-the kids felt younger than their supposed age -the dialogue and actions etc. Overall, a fun YA horror story!

An excellent and well plotted story that talks about haunted woods, cursed villages and keeps you on the edge.
Well plotted, fast paced, a surprising end.
Recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are mine

The woods are dead. Nothing grows in it, not even a weed. No birds or wildlife are to be seen. Why? A fire didn’t cause it to be dead. A group of friends are saddened when one of the group disappears. There is speculation that he stole money and ran away. The mother says no, but no one believes her. The friends think he went into the dead woods — that he didn’t run away. As they investigate, they read the friend’s diary so they know it has something to do with the woods. Their investigation leads them to talk to a crazy man, the mothers of the two disappearing boys and finally the sheriff. As the group of friends enter the woods at different times, the sheriff is already a prisoner . The sheriff can’t escape until two of the friends group hit the (cruel plant, beast or what? ) with chemicals that causes it too die. Will the people that have disappeared return or?

The author has written a creepy, scary horror book. The novel is also a mystery. I loved how the community thinks it some thing that it isn’t. I liked the surprises that happened as it made the horror seem more real. It’s written in a style that I like to read. If you are a fan of horror this is a must read book.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for providing me with an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

It was okay but not my favourite

Thank you Netgalley for the advance reader copy of The Dead Woods by Christian Francis in exchange for an honest review. I wasn't sure about this book when I started it, but I was determined to give it a try. It felt a bit like a collection of other stories and there was a lot of influence from shows and movies out right now, but it had it's own twist. I really enjoyed it and was creeped out by it, a great nighttime reading.

This is a YA novel and packs a punch.
First off the cover grabbed me right away and the contents within lived up to the hype. The characters were all so well written and you come to care for each one. The story itself was very well written and brought on some scenes that are very memorable. The visuals in the mind movie were depicted as well as any movie on a screen. I will say some parts made me sad where others kept me glued and turning the pages with lightning speed. And that ending...score.
"A fleshy wood with bones within it, held up with vines" - a line highlighted by me.

this was the creepiest book I've read in such a long time!! it kept me up at night and if that's something you're into while reading, then pick this one up as soon as possible!!

Read this if you like: Kids on bikes, a town with a secret, plenty of gore.
Inventive, atmospheric, and not afraid to kill its darlings. A strong YA horror.

This was such a fun little novella! It's listed as YA horror and it definitely reads like it's meant for a younger audience, maybe even middle grade the characters are supposed to be in high school but it felt more like I was reading about middle schoolers. That being said it was giving so many Stephen King vibes which is always a plus in my book! The woods are consuming people, it takes one of their friends so they won't stop until they figure out why this is happening, they learn it isn't the first time it's happened and one of the witnesses last time was the current sheriff. Considering there are less than 200 pages the author really quickly creates a very immersive read with an ending that both made me sad and surprised me.

I just finished the Dead Woods by Christian Francis and here is my review.

There has always been something sinister about those woods. No one liked to talk about it and the excuses that were made to cover up the deaths…. Laughable. When a boy goes missing, everyone assumes he ran off but not his friends. They all know he would never have left, especially without his journal so they set out to find out what really happened to their friend.

I actually quite enjoyed this book. I think the author did a really good job of setting the mood with his very talented writing. The story centers on a group of friends set in a time when I was a kid so I loved that. It had a real stranger things vibe to it. My biggest issue? The kids were teens but they came across so young that it was a tad confusion. I understand he was going for YA but he didn’t quite hit the mark with the characters. I would have liked the characters to be portrayed at the age they were supposed to be but it didn’t affect the enjoyment for me.
I loved the atmosphere of the book and I would have liked more but a solid horror read!
4 stars. I would definitely recommend to anyone who likes getting the creeps
Thank you to @booksgosocial and @netgalley for my gifted copy!

Thanks NetGalley for a copy of this book.

My rating is actually a 3.5. I am giving the book an extra 0.5 just for the ending!

First off, I absolutely loved the cover of this book. It caught my eye and made me want to request a copy of this book. This book is described as a YA horror book. My opinion is that the book would be for an audience a bit younger but I am also not an expert because I do not have children and don't read much YA.

The trees in Cromwell Woods are all dead but yet they seem to be expanding. Over the years, people have disappeared in the woods with no explanation or no explanation that sane people would actually believe. A group of kids start investigating the woods when their friend goes missing and the dark history of the woods is revealed. I liked this book but I thought some of the conversations within the book could have been better written. The surprise ending really saved this book for me.

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐/5
Unsettling: 😬😬😬/5
SCARY: 👻👻/5
DEATH: 💀💀💀/5
INTRIGUE: 🧠🧠🧠🧠🧠
Creepy: 🎈🎈/5



The Dead Woods was such a different book than I have read before. It was something that I could emerse myself in, and actually see it happening as if it was a movie. With a different take on a YA horror novel it stood out in my mind after I finished reading. I was struggling to decide what I was going to say.

It is still hard to put into words how I feel about it. I enjoyed the characters, and how well the plot innertwined the whole cast. It included scenes with the parents, even if they weren't always necessary. Some of the parents could have honestly been left out of this and it would have been better. But others needed more within the pages to be able to make their presence more concrete. Without any kind of ending with the parents it's hard to be able to see why the author didn't include them.

The ending rounded out the saga, but still didn't answer many questions for me. Which is part of the reason why it got 4/5 ⭐.

I would pick this up and give it a try! It's worth reading!

I finished this last night but needed some time to process my thoughts, since while I was reading it seemed like my opinion was varying a lot more than I expected. So, let me start by saying that I love horror, and I love children's and young adult fiction, and my own love of horror grew from reading RL Stine - typically Goosebumps - and watching the likes of Are You Afraid of the Dark. My love of those two things specifically are what drew my attention to Christian Francis' The Dead Woods.

The Dead Woods is very much a story in the vein of both Goosebumps and Are You Afraid of the Dark in that there is a handful of children, to which something bad happens, and some questionable parents/adult authority figures. I appreciate that Francis is also entirely unafraid of killing his characters, even in a children's book. I also love that this was a surprise Lovecraftian story. Some may consider that spoilers but it is its own genre at this point so, not a spoiler. Francis is a crystal clear writer with a good sense of atmosphere and a creative mind for inventive antagonists. The monsters in this story aren't totally unfamiliar, clearly being inspired by known monsters, but it takes a new, wild twist that pushed me from interested to edge of my seat, and the ending! WHAT.

This story was wild, and an absolute surprise. This is definitely not a summary that spoils what happens; it's a very basic overview of what this book is actually about, and honestly I kind of love that too because sometimes it's fun to be surprised by a thing.

So why was I torn? This book is listed as young adult. Content-wise, by the end particularly, it definitely is young adult. My problem is that I don't think this author has spoken to a teenager in a very long time because the main kids all speak like they're 9/10 and not 16, which they are. The language at the start of the novel, for the (?) prologue, is also kind of weirdly archaic? I think the author was going for fairy tale vibes but it mostly comes across as awkward.

But the last quarter of the book. My issues with the characterization of the teenagers aside, the plot, the monster - all worth it. I am not kidding when I say it had me at the edge of my seat, especially when I realized Francis was willing to kill characters. It made the whole story so much more tense.

If there is ever a sequel, or a story set in the same world, I'll happily read it. I already plan on checking out his work in the Hellraiser (!!) expanded universe.

In The Dead Woods, Christian Francis introduces readers to a town plagued by mysterious deaths and a group of friends determined to get to the bottom of it.

I will say, I absolutely loved the 'monster' in this book. There was a point while reading that I truly could not put the book down because I was so interested in learning more about the woods. The ending was satisfying, and the gruesome bits definitely scratched my horror itch. I particularly enjoyed the non-linear elements to the story, as we were able to see the history of the town's deaths over the span of sixty years.

My biggest issue with the book, and the one that will keep from recommending it, is that the level is inconsistent. The teenage characters in the book come of more like middle-schoolers than high-schoolers, leading me to think this book should be labeled as Middle Grade over Young Adult. As the book progressed though, the descriptions and behavior of the adult characters in the book definitely fit more of a Young Adult style, even as the main teenage characters continued to feel more like 12-year-olds than 16-year-olds.

There were definitely elements of this book that I loved, especially the horror bits. Overall though, I don't feel that I can truly call it a Young Adult book or a Middle Grade book, which makes me hesitant to recommend it to readers in either group.