I am so thankful to HTP, Jaq Evans, and Netgalley for granting me advanced access to this laughable yet suspenseful novel before it hits shelves on March 5, 2024. I was such a fan of the prose and can't wait for others to check this one out.

A creepy paranormal novel about a woman who finds herself questioning what really happened to her sister in the woods. Emma disappeared and Brigit took off. Now, Brigit and her cameraman Ian are paranormal investigators who mostly fake things. Is someone faking calls from Emma? And how is she connected to the disappearance of two teens in the present? It's all about the trees. This is muddled in spots but it shows potential. Thanks to the publisher for the ARC. For horror fans.

Thank you, NetGalley, for early access to this book.
What Grows in the Dark is a spooky thriller that made my skin crawl.
I enjoyed the dual point of view, getting to experience things from Brigit and Ian's perspectives. It made me more invested, wanting to understand the mystery of Ellis Creek. And the use of interludes to provide expository information moved the story along without bogging down the plot.
This book often gave me "Blair Witch Project" vibes, making me wonder what was in the Dell and how it connected all these people.
Through the mystery and hair-raising moments, What Grows in the Dark answers a basic question: What would you do to protect the people you care about?
I would recommend this book to anyone who likes horror, characters who recognize and own their flaws, and thinking about the creepy and ancient things that live in the woods of their small town.

Thank you to #NetGalley, Jaq Evans and Harlequin Trade Publishers for the opportunity to read What Grows in the Dark, to be published 5 March 2024. 4/5 Stars for this supernatural suspense thriller. Even though this is not my general genre of choice, this novel held my attention throughout. Told by different POVs, this was a virtual character study that kept on giving. Great read. #NetGalley #HarlequinTradePublications #JaqEvans #WhatGrowsintheDark.

A fake paranormal “expert” dives into the case of two missing girls and finds more than she bargained for. This was more mystery than horror, though it did have some great creepy moments more toward the conclusion. I loved the folk horror aspect of this, and although the characters are not very likable I still wanted to see what happened. I think this was a decent read and I would try other books by the author. Thanks for the opportunity to read!

A paranormal investigator travels back to her hometown to be part of an investigation into missing teen girls, but finds parallels with her sister’s death from years ago.

I wanted to like this one, but it was missing the spooky vibes I wanted based on the premise. I also don’t think switching between Brigit and Ian as narrators worked well since it is supposed to be about Brigit’s past. I also think there was a lot unresolved throughout the book here. Great premise, but it just didn’t meet my expectations.

For the first half of the read, this felt like a pretty straightforward mystery. Brigit and Ian were investigating by non-paranormal means such as interviewing locals and doing some research at the local library. As the plot progressed, the horror elements came in and slowly escalated until by the last 75%, we were in a straight up horror movie and it was fantastic. Evans does a great job of using the horror elements to heighten the emotional points of the plot. This makes the stakes feel so much greater and I found myself holding my breath while reading because I was so stressed about these characters. The mystery investigation was well done and I really enjoyed that it was equally rooted in the regular investigation as well as the paranormal investigation.

The actual horror elements were pretty solid in the folk horror category - complete with creepy forests and unnamed entities within. As mentioned above, the horror creeps into this read in bits and pieces. The first few times, it is easy to chalk it up to Brigit maybe being mentally impacted by being back in her hometown after so long or the trauma of losing her sister resurfacing. For a while, I was wondering if this would turn into an unreliable narrator read where we aren't sure if the horrors are real or imagined. The scene where the horror elements were solidified as being real is a scene I'm not going to forget soon. I'm not sure if the folk horror entity in this read is based on any real local legends, but it was very unique and Evans fleshed out the lore and rules surrounding it very well.

Brigit and Ian were wonderfully complex characters and I loved getting both of their POVs. For me, most reads are pretty easy to label as either character-driven or plot-driven. In this case, I think Evans does a great job of balancing both of these aspects. We certainly get a lot of character work but the mystery investigation plot is also very well developed. We are dropped into this read in the middle of Brigit and Ian working a job and the plot takes off from there. We don't get much of any sort of summary of their relationship or history - rather, Evans sprinkles in details throughout the story and by the end we have such a great understanding of them as individual characters as well as their relationship. All of the side characters we see, as well, are incredibly detailed and complex.

Overall, this was a fantastic read and one I don't think I'll forget about easily. Complex characters, good mystery plot, and great horror elements. I'd love to read more from Evans in the future.

Thanks to NetGalley and MIRA for the ARC. Expected publication date is March 5, 2024

Crime, supernatural, monster mashup with lots of LGBTQ+ characters. Picked up for the rep, and that I like the trope of kids mysteriously disappearing from small towns. Thought our main characters being YouTube ghost hunters sounded fun, and I usually like anything with townies.

Sadly, this became a situation of the execution not living up to the premise. I felt like the author struggled to weave the plot through on page action, and instead relied heavily on explaining events via the internal thoughts of each character. I rarely find tell not show storytelling compelling, and it felt especially out of place in this type of horror/thriller. In my opinion, the writing was not where it needed to be to make this story appealing to adult readers. There are tons of ideas in this book, but none were given the care and breathing room to take on much nuance or complexity. For that reason, it felt much more like a popcorn YA type read.

Even though this fell short for me, I think I'd still recommend for younger readers who like the tropes, or for those looking for queer characters, but where their sexuality isn't the main focus of the story.

Thank you NetGalley and Harlequin Trade Publishing for access to this arc.


I wanted so bad to like this but I just didn’t enjoy it as much as I’d hoped. The premise sounded promising but the execution fell flat for me. There were some parts I enjoyed but I wasn’t all that excited about the story.

The biggest miss for me was the fact that it wasn’t explained why the woods were haunted, they just were. I believe providing that background would’ve helped me enjoy and understand the story more.

I can’t say I cared for any of the characters either besides Brigit’s friend, Ian. The author does get points for diversity, though. There was more representation than I see in other thrillers so I count that as a positive. And although this story was in dual POV (Brigit and Ian), there wasn’t much discernment between the two character’s thoughts and they sounded the same. I’d sometimes zone out while reading and forget whose POV it was.

Overall I was a kinda bored and it was a chore to get through. Though many have enjoyed it so I just may not have been the target audience.

really atmospheric but the plot isn’t really unique and i didn’t feel particularly driven to finish the book. good spooky atmosphere though

This is a horror story with nothing horrific; a thriller devoid of thrills; a mystery that provides no answers. I found myself confused, annoyed, and bored, but never once did I feel like I understood what was happening or why.

Perfect reading Material for a cold wet night , and your up by yourself , even though it starts out slow , the more you read the more you want to keep going because this story is dark, twisted, spooky as hack and with the right amount of the Supernatural to make you think there's something outside watching you .

Since graduating, Brigit has been running from her hometown, which claimed her sister's life. Now working with one of her best friends, Ian, she helps others solve paranormal hauntings, using her dead sister as part of the gimmick, her spirit guide if you will; they are hoping their show will get picked up. When an ex-girlfriend of her sister calls and offers her a job that pays more than they usually make, she agrees to come home. But as soon as they set foot back in Ellis Creek, Brigit knows it's a mistake. Haunted by memories of her sister and their game Wild Men, hallucinating about a circle of Birch trees and something sinister that lives within them, Brigit wants to escape the town once more. But Ian implores her to stay; two teens are missing, and maybe they can help find them, so they do. But the forest doesn't let go of what it claims so quickly, and it will use anyone to get Brigit back, including Ian and her old friends. Can they solve the mystery of The Dell?

It is a thrilling read filled with hints of horror and mystery. What is lurking in the woods of The Dell? This book is perfect for readers who love suspense and mystery novels. Heavily filled with LGBTIQA+ characters and concerns, this book sheds light on what it's like to grow up in a small town where different people are not often understood. This intertwining of real-life issues and fantasy makes the book compelling yet engaging. The book starts slowly, but the momentum picks up the longer the characters are in Ellis Creek.

Disclaimer: Although I received a complimentary Advanced Readers Copy of this book, my thoughts and opinions are mine.

This book should have been right up my alley, and I was 100% in based on the premise. Creepy trees?! Sign me up.

Unfortunately, the characters were insufferable and not in a fun way. They spent more time making eyes at each other and trying to be super nuanced, than getting down to solving the mysteries at hand.

For a variety of reasons this one dragged for me when it should have been a book I couldn’t put down. Maybe my expectations were too high with this one, and I’m sure it will find its audience.

I would give this author another try in the future but this one ended up not being for me unfortunately.

**Thank you to NetGalley and MIRA Books for the eARC of this title.**

A book full of unlikable characters doing things for over 200 pages and not keeping my attention well at all. Had a decent premise but ended up being like all the others with similar plots.

What a fun and twisty book.

Brigit travels the country with her cameraman Ian, making money be being fake paranormal investigators. When she gets a call from her hometown, the money is too good to pass up. But soon she finds herself and Ian drawn into the disappearance of two local teens, and she realizes she’s going to have to confront what happened to her sister in this town many years ago.

I love a good coming-home story, and this one has a good amount of creepiness and mystery to it. A very good read!

As someone who literally lives in the woods, this brought a lot of creepy feels for me.

Brigit is a fake psychic and cons people with the spirit of her dead sister along with her friend Ian. It’s during one of these cons when she gets a call telling her that people are going missing, just like her sister Emma did 16 years ago.
Brigit heads back to Ellis Creek to investigate the disappearances that are so like Emma’s and finds that there’s some compelling similarities. This is where the story takes off.

I like that this is told from both Brigit and Ian; Brigit is a hard character to like, she’s snarky and often pretty mean to Ian and others but I think her grift and personality are a result of her grief and the unresolved issues with Emma.
I really enjoyed this eerie story and its complex character arc. The twists were unexpected and the secondary characters complement the story.

My thanks to HTP/Mira for this gifted DRC.

Thank you Net Galley for sending me an ARC of this book.
I loved the premise of this book but felt it definitely lacking in execution.

Brigit and Ian are paranormal investigators trying to make it big with their show. However, they are frauds that are using Brigit's dead sister Emma as their fake spirit guide to cleanse supposed haunted places. When someone from Emma's past calls Brigit to come back home to investigate a potential connection between recent disappearances and her sister's death, Brigit and Ian head back to her small hometown.

This book should have been right up my alley, but it felt rushed and all over the place. Nothing felt fleshed out or detailed. There was an attempt to give the main characters back stories but it fell flat. I found towards the end that I just didn't care what happened because it was too disjointed in the plot. Each character has secrets and they were painfully extracted in a way that was too drawn out for me.

Scary woods. Mysterious disappearances and deaths. Hometown issues and prejudices. This book drew me in. It was creepy. I liked the character development. I enjoyed the "horror" part but I wish knew more of the origin. Great debut!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this book.

When I requested wasn't so sure, bur thoroughly enjoyed this book.

Will be looking for more by this author.

Even if it isn't your typical gonre, I think you will enjoy.

Recommend.