The premise sounded basic but I noticed a lot of high ratings on netgalley so I took the plunge. I was rewarded with a decently creepy novel which started with just the right amount of time spent establishing relationships and building up to the main event.

It takes a skilled writer to keep a reader's interest in a story which essentially spans merely a 24 hour period. Well done to Christopher Hawkins because my interest never waned and I was glued to the pages. Words were not wasted, descriptions enabled me to easily visualise what was happening and the interactions between the characters were very realistic.

The author wisely gives a content warning, as this is a horror novel with children and animals involved.

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

I have never read anything of Christopher Hawkins before but I was very impressed. The writing reminds .e a little of Stephen King who I love! I was very attached to the characters and just found this to be an all round enjoyable read.

Stay out of the rain. I will after reading this book. I highly recommend it to horror, suspense, and all other readers if they can give it a chance. Beware the rain though

Before writing my review, I want to extend a huge thank you to NetGalley and Christopher Hawkins for gifting me the ARC of this book! I appreciate you trusting me with an honest review!! It was a privilege to be able to read DOWNPOUR before publication in October!

I was so incredibly excited when I learned I was gifted the ARC of DOWNPOUR!! The premise of the book was intriguing and grabbed me immediately — reminded me of a Stephen King novel! The book is wonderfully written, poetic at times, horrifying at other times. The inner dialogue of our protagonist, Scott, is heart-wrenching and heart breaking as he struggles against all odds to save his family from the unspeakable horrors being inflicted by the never-ending rain. I especially liked his son, Jacob— a teenager thrown into the role of adult without warning. He assumes that role beautifully, protecting his little sister, Tallie, with bravery and compassion well beyond his years.

The events of the novel transpire during the course of a day. But the anguish and fear emanating from our characters as they are trying to survive the storm makes the reader feel as if the minutes pass like hours, the hours like days. The book has incredibly terrifying moments, and the writing is so descriptive that it plays like a movie in your head. You can see the rain’s destruction and feel the family’s fear. The story elicits a visceral response from the first description of an ominous cloud to the final pages of the relentless downpour.

The ending was not what I expected, and I’m still trying to process it— I’m not yet sure how I feel about it. But I did love reading the novel and would recommend it without reservation to any and all horror fans! DOWNPOUR is a fantastic, poignant read, especially for fans of Stephen King or books like THE BIRD BOX. I could definitely see this made into a fabulously horror-filled movie! You’ll never look at rain the same way again!!

3.75 ⭐️

Thank you, Christopher Hawkins, for providing me with an Arc through NetGalley! An e-book was provided before the release date in exchange for an honest review.

Christopher Hawkins knows exactly how to write a horror novel. The perfect amount of world-building to an eerie atmosphere puts you in the ideal head space. He has a way in words which creates a movie within your head as you go, and this story would have made the perfect movie.

Being the middle of winter in Australia, it was the perfect mood. I read this all in one sitting while it was cloudy and raining outside, which made the story all the more suspenseful and believable. Perfectly, this book will be released during similar weather conditions throughout most of the Northern Hemisphere!

I loved how every character was their own person and how their complicated inner workings created tension within the family of four. I was definitely on the edge of my seat whenever the children were put in tense situations!

I would highly suggest looking at some content warnings before picking up this book due to some of the content being potentially triggering to some.

2 stars for this one… I was sad and disappointed in this book. I wanted it to be unique and thrilling! I’m a pretty easy rater when it comes to my reviews. I honestly like most books and usually give between 3 and 5 stars, but I just really didn’t enjoy Downpour.

Scott, his wife Dana, and his two children Jacob and Tallie get stuck in a malignant rain storm and are thus trapped hidden away in their home. How do they get out? How do they protect themself from these beings transformed by the storm? Oh, and meanwhile, their house is crumbling down around them.

I found this novel pretty boring, very repetitive, and not really entertaining. I just sort of wanted it to end, but I made it all the way through. Thankfully, it’s a short read!

There is a good attempt at giving the characters depth, but for me it failed. They weren’t likable and I found myself not caring what happened to them.

Thank you to Christopher Hawkins and NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you @negalley for the ARC of Downpour by Christopher Hawkins. This book gripped me from the start and I couldn't stop reading. It was creepy and well written. I was on the edge of my seat the entire time.

The book starts with a rain that doesn't seem quite right. Jacob notices that something isn't normal, but his family doesn't believe him. The rain begins to eat through the house and it turns people and animals into monsters. Jacob must keep his family safe.

Reading this book gave me a serious case of melancholy. It was a great read, but just depressing overall.

This story is centred on a family- one that’s on the brink of imploding- and add an apocalyptic rain storm to the mix.
You have a character driven plot, narrated by a husband with historical trauma who feels he needs to protect his children and his ancestral land from threats human and cosmic alike.

As things worsen, we are caught within Scott’s turbulent mind as he makes tough decisions, personal sacrifices, and sees his home and relationships start to crumble around him.

The ending for me, wasn’t what I was hoping for. Some of the shocking twists I kind of guessed ahead of time. I guess I was wanting more positive outcomes for the characters.

This certainly isn’t your typical end of the world story, especially as the focus sticks to one location and a small number of characters we learn about pre-storm. You really become invested in their plight and get to know each person.

Thank you to NetGalley, & the author for a copy to review.

I’ve always enjoyed Christopher Hawkins’ writing, and I was really excited to get this ARC! It definitely didn’t disappoint; this is classic psychological horror with no tricks or gimmicks.

On a clear day, suddenly a cloud appears. Just one, and it’s a perfect dark circle. They need the rain, but Scott has a bad feeling about this cloud. Soon, as weather reports and live feeds start coming in, he realizes that he was right to be concerned. This rain is…different.

People or animals who find themselves touched by this rain are changing, becoming violent as sores cover their bodies and their brains turn foggy. Scott sees the need to keep his wife, Dana, and his kids, Jacob and Tallie, safe. Unfortunately, he soon realizes that the rain is also changing non-living things as well. It’s eating through the house like acid - how will they stay dry?

The writing in this is great, and reminds me a bit of early Stephen King (a huge compliment in my mind!). Sometimes horror stories can get overcomplicated, but this was just the rain and a father’s desire to do right by his family. The ending was slightly ambiguous, but that’s my only complaint. 4.5 stars for this great read!

(Thank you to Christopher Hawkins and NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for my review. This book is slated to be released on October 3, 2023.)

Thank you to NetGalley for this ARC.

How far would you go to save your family?

Scott is a man at his lowest - with ongoing marital problems with wife Dana and two kids, Jacob and Tallie, he is struggling to stay connected.

However, things take a turn when the rain starts. This isn’t any ordinary rain and it’ll push Scott to an even scarier place, where he doesn’t even know if he trusts his own decisions.

Downpour starts off slow but can suddenly immerse you in the sinister atmosphere created by writer Christopher Hawkins.

It story dips in sections but provides some very good moments that will stick with you.

Christopher Hawkins definitely knows how to tell a horror story! This book was a quick read that I didn't want to put down but also didn't want to end. The plot was suspenseful and Hawkins does a great job describing each scene thoroughly without rambling and boring the reader with excessive detail. I could see the drooping willow tree out front, the scarred wooden kitchen table, and the leaning shed housing it's broken lawnmower. And I could hear the rain-relentlessly beating down on the old, withering farmhouse.

I think my favorite thing about this book was how well each character was fleshed out and made real. I didn't always like Scott, but that made him more believable in a way. His internal struggles with his wife's infidelity and his childhood trauma are the backbone of the story. This book is almost as much about dealing with trauma while navigating relationships as it is about a mysterious storm cloud bringing some very strange rain that changes the very nature of everything it touches.

This story ripped my heart out, but I felt the ending was perfect.

Thanks so much to Christopher Hawkins and Netgalley for this ARC!

Slow start but soon picked up the pace. Probably best to not read as it’s raining, or maybe that’ll add to the atmosphere of the read. Scott and Dana have two kids, Jacob and Tallie. Life already spiralling from the truth of Dana’s infertility a mysterious cloud appears, Scott sensing the danger does everything he can to keep everyone out of the rain the soon falls. And what a danger it is, soaking through and destroying buildings and people alike, even the dog isn’t safe. Underneath all of this is Scott’s dads voice telling him how much of a failure he is, in his childhood home already filled with ghosts of the past

I requested an arc from NetGalley and was very graciously accepted.
The book was incredible!
Un-put-downable. Compulsively readable.
Christopher Hawkins painted a bleak picture, and I devoured it. The setting was deliciously claustrophobic and gruesome. The characters fully rounded, although I wanted to smack the protagonist upside the head at times because he was so full of self-loathing; it was painful (more on this later).

This was a refreshing take on dystopia. A simple but ingenious premise that gets worse as the plot progresses.

I could not have imagined this ending; in that respect, it was an oddly satisfying surprise.
Four stars! Out of 5, because of a very subjective point. I did not sympathize with the hero and found him too self ruminating and stuck. His interiority was repetitive, and despite fitting the story well, felt a bit heavy-handed and, in my eye, could have been filed down a notch in favor of pragmatism and urgency.

Still, I rooted for him and his family as they wallowed in the horror of their new reality, and I will recommend the book to any psychological horror lover out there.
To sum it up: An eerie and crafty debut, full of humanity and powerful moments that, while being emotionally drenching, were also relevant to the theme.

Thank you to NetGalley and Christopher Hawkins for providing me with a review copy of Downpour, This book is interesting and I like how the location is at the farmhouse which makes it feel like you are trapped while the danger is all around you. the open-ended ending reminds me of "The mist" which is another book I enjoyed.
I like how at the start of the book we are shown the father and the daughter and at the end of the book it shows both the father and daughter as well and I find that really neat.

Filled with ton of suspense, this will surely make you question what is happening outside next time a storm hits.
With the whole story taking place in one location, it adds to the tension that builds before breaking.
This is one of those books you will have trouble putting down and taking a break from.

Thank you to Netgalley for providing me with an arc in exchange for an honest review. The following opinions are my own.

This book told me to sit and not up until I finished it. The plans I had were thrown out the door. It's a devastating book that will have you glued to its pages and you are taken for a ride while fhe nightmare unfolds before you. I found it to be wonderfully fast paced which I liked. But it was also very heartbreaking to watch his family survive a storm.

Downpour is a fast paced, quick read about an unnatural rainstorm that wreaks havoc on a small farmhouse. I didn’t want to put this one down, and I really enjoyed this book right from the opening pages.
My only real complaint about the story is that Scott, the father, immediately knew something was wrong with the cloud and rain before any of the weird stuff started happening. He saw the cloud forming off in the distance, and just knew without any kind of warnings or other suspicious behaviors that they shouldn’t go into the rain.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for and advanced copy of Downpour by Christopher Hawkins in exchange for my honest review.

Oh how a love a dystopian book!

When a freak cloud appears, Scott is uneasy. Something just doesn't feel right. Suddenly disturbing videos and reports start circulating online and it makes him even more convinced that this isn't your average storm. When the rain begins to fall, the horror begins.

This book had me glued to my Kindle and I didn't stop until I reached the end. It was heartbreaking and harrowing and I loved every minute.

Thank you to NetGalley and Mr Hawkins for the ARC.

I enjoyed the writing of this story.. A unique type of horror, with a lot of psychological horror thrown in.

Scott has had a rough go of things lately. When it seems everything is going wrong and he can't let go of the past, a rainstorm comes and changes everything and everyone around him. That old adage of "When it rains, it pours," is a perfect quote for this story.

Fantastic story telling, descriptions are excellent, and the entire time I was hooked on the story.

Thank you #NetGalley for #Downpour by #ChristopherHawkins

Downpour is a fantastic psychological horror novel. Hawkins does a good job of showing instead of telling throughout the story. The result is an atmospheric building of dread. The reader can easily connect with Scott, as he tries to save his family from what can't be understood. The story spirals into an anxiety inducing climax. I loved how this book made me reflect on my own life.

Many thanks to @netgalley and the author, Christopher Hawkins, for the opportunity to read this book in exchange for an honest review.