This was heartbreaking. It was so great, I really enjoyed the short stories collection in Suburban Monsters so I was very excited to read this. What a great story.

I didn’t like this at all. I thought it was long and boring. Maybe the audiobook would be better.

Thank you netgalley and the publisher for this arc in exchange for my honest review.

I really hoped to like this one but I just couldn’t get Intro this novel and the writing felt weird to me it was hard to find a connection with the character’s

Thank you to NetGalley and Christopher Hawkins for the digital ARC!

This book kind of surprised me, because I found it very slow to start. I wasn't hugely interested in the story to begin with as I didn't hugely feel connected with the characters. But I think that's what the author was going for, and the surprising thing is that this whole book takes place in a house over the space of hours. Once the action starts, things to devolve rapidly and we see a truly apocalyptic scenario happen.

Our main character is Scott, a dad of two who's wife has recently cheated on him. He lives in his dead parents house, living with the ghost of his alcoholic father and a mother who abandoned him. Things are looking pretty grim on his personal and financial fronts, and they don't really improve. Things start falling apart when he spots a strange cloud in the distance, and some instinct tells him it's not right and there's something wrong with it.

As the cloud expands, he becomes more committed to his opinion and refuses to go into the rain. What he sees online and on TV cements it for him. Thankfully, we have a main character with common sense because he sees that people are acting strange in the rain and things are having odd reactions. Nothing more to spoil the plot here, as I didn't anticipate where it was going. I did think this might make a good game!

In terms of the characters - I never liked Dana and didn't particularly care what happened to her. Jacob was surprisingly great for a 16 year old boy and he had a good head on his shoulders. Tallie was...well she was a 4 year old - she solidified that I don't like kids because half the book felt like trying to console her. I know she's 4 but I felt tired on Scott's behalf! Scott himself was layered, with trauma from his childhood and a life that hasn't really done anything and is falling apart.

He does a good job at trying to keep his family alive, and I'll let you read to find out whether he succeeds.

Overall - an enjoyable horror!

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 was first introduced to this author via his collection of short stories, <i>Suburban Monsters</i>. When I saw this book pop up on NetGalley, I immediately requested it without reading the description, genre, or even paying much attention to the title.

The story starts with a family living in a rundown house in the middle of nowhere. Scott, our narrator, grew up in the farmhouse and has had to sell off the land to make ends meet - all he has left is the farmhouse and he's struggling with taking care of the old house. He lives with his wife, Dana, but they're having problems because she cheated on him and he's trying to decide if he can forgive her. Dana also hates the farmhouse, hates being in the middle of nowhere, and hates that it's still decorated exactly how it was when Scott was young. They have 2 children - one teenage boy and one four year old girl.

I assumed the book was horror (which it was) based on the author's short story collection. About 10% into the story, nothing horror-y had happened yet and I started to wonder if maybe I should have, you know, read anything about this book before requesting it. However, it's so well written and interesting that even if the book was just general fiction about Scott and his family's struggles that I was okay with it. It also made the remaining 90% of the book more engaging because the author threw me into this world and made the family feel real.

But then - a strange looking cloud appears in the sky! And I knew it was horror and here it comes!!

This cloud appears; it's the only one in the sky and is a less common type (a mammatus - I learned a new cloud type). Scott doesn't trust the cloud or the rain that it brings but everyone tells him he's being ridiculous. Dana is frustrated because she wants to repair their marriage but all he can talk about is a stupid cloud. She puts her hand into the rain to demonstrate that it's perfectly harmless (shocking spoiler - it's not). Scott humors her and lets a couple of drops get on him but doesn't like the feel of the rain so refuses to do more and insists the family stays inside.

From here, the story ramps up quickly. Scott watches a YouTube live streamer who's videoing the cloud. And then what happens next isn't all that supernatural but was really creepy and probably the part of the book that stuck with me the most.

I'm trying not to give too much away. This was an intense story, very engaging, believable, and terrifying. I stayed up way too late reading this which was a horrible choice because then it was the middle of the night and I was freaked out from the book.

The author does an amazing job with Scott's character development and narration. Scott had gotten that little rain on him in the beginning and it's causing him to change. It's done very well in the writing where the language changes ever so slightly as Scott changes. At first, I was wondering if the language change was a mistake but then realized what the author was doing and loved it.

Thank you to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for this advance review copy.

Thank you for the eARC!

Synopsis: Scott and his family live on a farm in the middle of nowhere with only his distant neighbor to keep him company. Suspicious looking rain clouds turn up one day, out of the blue and once it starts raining, all hell breaks loose. The rain is dangerous and Scott will do anything to keep his family safe.

My thoughts: If you enjoyed The Rain on Netflix, you'll enjoy this read. The imagery was so vivid, I felt like I was there with Scott as he dealt with the oncoming issues that came with the rain. I stayed up late to binge most of the book and I enjoyed it a lot. The characters felt real, Scott had his faults and wasn't perfect and I enjoyed having that point of view. There were parts where I was genuinely freaked out and the story was very twisty from the very beginning. One thing that took away from the story was near the end, it got a little confusing and I got a little lost. But I enjoyed everything else and how the story wrapped up. I highly recommend this read for anyone who enjoys horror!

WOW. Jaws made us afraid of swimming in the ocean, Cujo made us afraid of dogs, and Downpour will make us afraid of the rain. This book was one of the best scary summer reads I've experienced in a while.

The author does a fine job of molding the characters. We learn that Scott not only had a horrific childhood, being abandoned by his mother and left with his abusive, bitter father, but he's having marital issues. The farm he inherited is costing more money than it's worth, and he's not a very happy guy. Then an unusual cloud forms and not too long after, the rain begins. Scott tries his best to keep his family safe, despite his wife and kids pushing back every chance they get.

The ending surprised me, but was fitting for this type of story.

Mark my words - this one will be made into a very spooky film in a year or two.

This was a very good first novel by this author. I hope he keeps up the books! His prose was absolutely wonderful and the characters were heart felt. Any books about storms, floods, hurricanes, etc. draw me in.
The combination of spookiness, grief, and stormy weather was perfect.
The only complaint is it's a bit repetitive.

This was a really bleak book. A claustrophobic nightmare that begins when a strange cloud formation gathers over a family home and starts dumping rain. A very peculiar rain. A rain that that changes everything.
Uncomfortable to read at times, but overall, a good character driven cosmic horror tale.

P.S. If you aren’t familiar with a mammatus cloud, look up some images. A huge one would be totally terrifying.

This was an awesome first psychological horror for me!

The story hooked me in from the very beginning. I loved the way Hawkins wrote this story! Like others have mentioned, it is more plot driven than character driven. However, I felt attached to these characters quite fast and kept clinging to hope throughout the story that they would be okay.

This book is perfect for anyone looking for a fast paced suspenseful horror novel that is a man vs natural occurrence.

Thank you, NetGalley, for the digital ARC!

Downpour is one of those books you just cannot put down once you start reading them. It matches an acute sense of pacing with stunning character development and a plot that is truly terrifying.

Reading this novel, I could tell Christopher Hawkins has done his homework. The pairing of American gothic tradition and contemporary psychological horror (think Bird Box or Stephen King with an actual good ending) kept me chained to my Kobo.

It's rare to see a horror story that actually makes sense, and Downpour delivers.

When it rains, it pours... This statement could not be any more true for the main character of this book: Scott's marriage is falling apart and so is the old farmhouse he has inherited from his father. Everything is crumbling around him, and when an odd raincloud moves in over the house, things become even more devastating. Scott finds himself in a race against the elements, trying to keep his two children and his wife safe against the rain. In this book, not even the dog is safe (fair warning without spoilers).

Hawkins really knows how to set a scene. The entirety of Downpour takes place in and around Scott's old family home and I felt like I was a fly on the wall, witnessing the horrifying events. The story is bleak and unsettling and I found myself rubbing goosebumps off my arms more than once. The book reminded me a bit of Bird Box (different story, but that same unsettling feeling and the helplessness of everyone involved). If you're looking for a quick and creepy read, then Downpour is for you. Just prepare to have your heart ripped out!

Nightmares, this will give you nightmares. A cloud formation rolls in and it starts to rain. But it’s not rain and if you get wet (person, animal, anything) you will no longer be the same. It’s so unsettling because it feels like this shit could really happen. You feel how desperate the situation is, how hopeless. Great book. Thanks to NetGalley for an ARC

This worked well in the horror genre, it had everything that I was hoping for in the description. The characters worked well in this universe and was everything that I was hoping for. Christopher Hawkins does a great job in creating characters that act realistic in a unreal situation. It was written well and I’m glad I got to read this.

This is exactly what I was in the mood for: creepy, atmospheric, page-turning! The detail was outstanding, I felt like I was in that house with them. The inner turmoil of the main character was written so well and emotionally spot-on.

Downpour follows a story about a farmhouse in rural Illinois which is hit by a sudden storm that brings along a relentless and unnatural rain. The rain corrodes everything it touches and transforms people into monsters. Trapped inside his dilapidated home is a father who must prevent his family from falling apart. However, the rain lures them outside, and not everyone wants to stay in. The father is haunted by memories of loss and must overcome his past to protect his family. But the rain is unyielding, and the clock is ticking.

I was debating between 3 and 4 stars on this one because characters really grew on me and I found the tension building in the first half so well done. However, the second half left me wanting a little bit more and I found myself slowly loosing interest as it was a little bit repetitive. Aside from that, I really enjoyed it for what it was, there was great character focus and development, especially with the turmoil they were facing. Plot was steady and subject matter was highly original.

I loved this book! Wild, fact paced with a chilling turn of events. I love a new take on horror and this definitely delivered!

Describe this book in one word: Bleak...

Downpour is an atmospheric and depressing horror novel focused on a man whose marriage, relationship with his kids, and farmhouse are all crumbling around him. The addition of an otherworldly storm, the rain of which affects everything it touches, only makes things worse. You'll be left thinking after it ends and you'll never look at rain the same way again.

A debut horror novel from Christopher Hawkins about a family struggling financially and suddenly, encounters an odd rain cloud one day that is more menacing than anyone could have imagined. As it grows, and as more pop up over the country, the rain pouring down from it begins to have a strange, terrible effect on those that come into contact with it.
I thoroughly enjoyed this one. Highly recommended.