Two and a half stars: A book that lacks explanations and a cohesive story line.

Violet Saunders is struggling to breath ever since the devastating loss of her sister Rosie. Violet and her mother leave the city and head to Four Paths. Violet has never been to the town where her mother grew up, and she knows practically nothing about the town or her relatives. Violet quickly realizes that Four Paths is different. People treat her with respect, and everyone appears to be hiding something. There is a tense atmosphere in town, and Violet isn’t sure why. Then she learns that people have been dying, and that there is something in the woods. What is going on in Four Paths?

What I Liked:
*I admit, this was an impulse read. I got sucked in by the comparisons to Stranger Things and the Raven Cycle. While this book doesn’t exactly live up to the comparisons, it does have an eerie, gothic small town setting which quickly drew me in.
*I think the big highlight of this book was the town of Four Paths. It was one of those small, isolated towns in the middle of nowhere. From the get go, the reader can sense the creepy atmosphere, and you are immediately drawn in by that unsettling feeling that things aren’t quite right in the town. Indeed they aren’t. The town has big secrets, including some type of monster that hides in the woods. I loved the tension and the atmospheric suspense. The author did a great job with the setting.
*The characters are fascinating just like the town. The book focuses on four teenagers: Justin, May, Violet and Issac. All four are descendants of the mysterious founders of the town. As descendants, they possess powers. These powers are meant to protect the town. I enjoyed exploring the different gifts and seeing how the teens wielded them.
*I liked the concept of the monster known as the Beast in the Devouring Gray. Think alternate reality. It was an interesting idea.
I was relieved that there wasn’t a romance. Yes, there was a little bit of attraction and some romantic *tension, but no romance. I thought it was refreshing to have the story focused more on friendship rather than romance.
*Once the story hits its stride there are some dark revelations and some thrilling twists, some you won’t see coming. Not too many dull moments in this one.
*The book ends in a good spot. Many of the story lines are concluded. There are tidbits left to explore in a sequel.
And The Not So Much:
*The biggest downfall for me was the lack of flow and cohesiveness in the story. The book is told with third person narration which made it harder for me to connect with the characters. Then the narrative jumps back and forth between the four teens. Often times the transition occurs from one paragraph to the next. The story also jumped ahead in time from one paragraph to the next, which I found jarring. There is one point in the story during the thrilling climax where the story starts jumping around rapid fire, which ended up being a mess in my opinion.
*I struggled with the whole concept of the Beast and the Devouring Gray. I thought the author needed to flesh this part out better. I found it lacking. I never had a complete understanding of what exactly the Beast was, where it came from and how it was trapped in the Devouring Gray. This is where the story really missed the mark.
*The author makes two of the characters bisexual, but I didn’t see the point. Their sexuality does not play a factor in the story, nor is it explored. It felt like it was thrown in.
Something happens at the end with Harper and her dad. I did not like this development at all! It was a turn off.
*I wished that Violet’s aunt had a bigger role. She knew things and had information to share, and I thought her character was underutilized.

The Devouring Gray was a book I picked up on impulse based on comparisons, something I rarely do. Unfortunately, I this story did not meet expectations. I thought the story lacked cohesiveness, I hated the way it jumped around between characters. It needed better transitions. I also felt that the concept of the Beast and the Devouring Gray were not fleshed out enough. I wanted to know so much more. This book started out strong, but in the end, it fell flat. If you are inclined to read this one, I suggest borrowing it from the library.

I received a copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own, and I was not compensated for this review.
Posted@Rainy Day Ramblings.

**I received an ARC from NetGalley and the publisher in exchange for an honest review.**

Violet Saunders has just moved to Four Paths and doesn't think she has a chance at fitting in. She is a descendant of the town that is in a rural part of New York which makes engaging with neighbors interesting. They treat her with something like scared respect. It is when she meet other founding descendants of the town, her new friends - Justin, May, Isaac, and Harper - that things get real interesting. She then starts to wonder if maybe the neighbors are not acting all that odd after all. Especially, when they all start investigating why bodies are starting to appear in the woods.

The writing in this book is fantastic. The parts of your imagination you only bring out on special occasions is full and present while reading this book. You are transported into this mythical place and want to know as much as possible. The mystery and intrigue, the powers that be, and what's to come are all placed in delicately to make each page a nonstop thrill to read.

There are hints that this may be a first in a series. I can tell you with certainty if it is then I am in. I am 100% in. Not many books grab you in the dark and make you think for hours afterwards quite like this one!

This was a very dark, but intriguing read. One of my very first fantasy’s, and truly couldn’t have asked for a better first, because I love dark books and this really had a very dark theme, with captivating writing. I will definitely recommending this book to the members of Chapter Chatter Pub and looking for more by this author!

Set in a small town in upstate New York, The Devouring Gray follows a group of teenagers descended from the town’s founders who have to team up to prevent an ancient beast from breaking free.

Everyone seems to love this book! I’ve heard nothing but great reviews! I don’t know what I’m missing!

First of all, let’s talk about the characters. This is definitely a character focused book, which is exactly how I like my urban fantasies to be.

Violet Saunders is the new girl in town who comes in without knowing anything about her family’s heritage. Justin and May Hawthorne, brother and sister, are basically the town’s golden kids. Isaac Sullivan is the broody loner and Justin’s best friend. Harper Carlisle is the pariah who feels invisible even in their tiny town.

Each of these characters is interesting in their own way, though I never felt quite as connected to them as I wanted. Plus, I could tell that the author was setting up for some romance, and while I didn’t hate any of the couples, I also didn’t really care about any of them – oops.

Basically, this book felt like it had a lot of potential which, at least for me, it didn’t reach.

For example: the plot was interesting. There were twists that I didn’t see coming and clever bits of foreshadowing; there was a beginning, a middle, an end, and everything you need to make a solid plot. But I wasn’t getting much tension throughout.

In a book, you expect there to be rises and falls of tension, right? I could see where those rises were supposed to be, but I wasn’t feeling them at all. I don’t know if it was my own failure to connect with the writing or something else entirely. Whatever it was, I rarely cared that much about what was going to happen next.

Plus, we spent a bit too much time not knowing what was going on even when the characters did. I can understand withholding information from the audience for the sake of mystery, but it reached the point where I was confused because I hadn’t been given an important piece of the puzzle.

All those complaints aside, I did think the author did an incredible job with evoking the atmosphere. The moments when I was the most invested were when we got vivid descriptions of the woods, making them feel alive and sinister. The spookiness factor was top notch and made me understand the comparisons to Stranger Things!

For a debut novel, this isn’t bad – there are some interesting characters, a creepy setting, and some great setup for the next book in the series. I just don’t think I’ll be reading that! And since everyone else seems to be loving this book, maybe in the end it’s not you, it’s me. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

The Devouring Gray is a book that requires patience. There is no getting around it. It’s slow, and for the first quarter of the book I could not tell you what the fuck was going on except that the kids were sad, felt betrayed, maybe were trying to take each other down, it was a mess. I stuck with it though because my friends loved it and it turned out to be absolutely worth it.

Violet is new in town, Justin and Harper used to be bffs but Justin betrayed Harper, Issac is a soft boy with a world of hurt inside him. Together, the four of them make up the new generation of the founding families of the Four Paths and are sworn to protect the town from the beast that lives in the gray. As with any stories involving creepy towns, there are secrets to be uncovered and hidden truths to be revealed.

I love how atmospheric this book is. Its gothic-y, creepy, horror-y with a shade of paranormal thrown in for good measure. It’s bizarre and terrifying at times but also WEIRD. But, while the atmosphere is great, the world building is a bit lacking and if you aren’t able to easily suspend your disbelief, the book unravels very quickly.

Like.. if there is a beast that’s been terrorizing the town for over a century, why don’t people leave? What about the town makes them choose to stay? What makes it so that some people ‘fail’ their tests and don’t get powers? Especially if powers are inherited?

We are offered some history about the town and its founders but again, not a whole lot. To really get invested in the book, I think you just need to let go for a bit and enjoy the plot and the atmosphere and the weird people in town whose motives you don’t truly know.

The biggest selling point of this book are the characters. They are SO PRECIOUS and so complicated and I just love them all. I love that Issac is not necessarily a happy kid but he isn’t ever mean (unless someone is goads him.) I love that while Justin is super friendly and loveable, his social position definitely goes to his head and he is capable of hurting people he also cares about deeply. I love that Harper, even though she wants revenge and needs to use Violet to get it, she also becomes Violet’s friend because she cares about Violet. AND I LOVE VIOLET. Who is angry and sad and confused but still finds ways to be a person.

They are all just well-written, well-rounded characters. I love the relationships that already exist (Issac and Justin BEST FRIENDS FOREVER AND EVER) but I also loved watching new friendships form and blossom. The interaction between the adults and the children was not really one-dimensional either which was great.

I am just upset that I have to wait a whole goddamn year for the sequel especially because there is still SO MUCH my children need to work through. If anyone wants to plan a heist and steal the manuscript for the sequel from Disney Headquarters HMU. In the meantime, I will wait to be reunited with my children. If you love atmospheric books with well rounded characters, The Devouring Gray is for you.

I would like to thank Netgalley and Titan Books for providing me with this ARC in exchange for an honest review.
I really enjoyed this book. It's been a long time since I have read a book that I had trouble putting down. Great writing! Great story line! Great characters (even the ones you love to hate)! I'm excited to read more from this author in the future.

If you love Riverdale, The Originals, and Sawkill Girls than this book is up your alley. You will jump in and devour it (get it). The story centers around around protecting the city but instead of a full utopia it is more of a oppressive terror town.
While I loved the story and the characters it was a bit too scary for me. The author did such an amazing job describing the horror in the book that you can clearly see it in your mind. For me that scared me enough that I loved the book but I wouldn't reread. If your love that type of thing then this is for you!

Thank you for letting me read an early copy on Netgalley

4.5 stars!

I absolutely adored this book. It was just an experience all together and will be one of those books I will want to constantly refer to. I loved every minute of this creepy and beautiful story. In short, The Devouring Gray is about small town in the woods of New York ruled by a hierarchy of founding families, who protect the town from The Gray and the monster that lurks within. Think Raven Boys meets Sawkill Girls and wrap it up with teen shows like The Vampire Diaries and Riverdale. In conclusion, my type of book.

The plot was continuously endearing and interesting. The writing beautiful and really smooth considering it follows four perspectives. Speaking of the perspectives, the characters were the shining golden glory of The Devouring Gray. I am to here to lay down my life for my problematic children. Violet, Justin, Harper, and Isaac all now sit in a little sliver of my heart. (especially Isaac) They all have their own issues going on, but one thing they have in common is being Founders kids, which brings its own set of difficult situations, to say the least. I just loved them all and I think their voices were all really distinct, which can be so hard in a book like this. I also really loved the rep in this book. I found it really realistic and never seemed to become some overarching plot device.

I think where this book left me wanting more was the ambience of the setting. I couldnt help but compare it to how I felt when reading books like Sawkill Girls, The Call, or The Raven Boys. The writing really took me to a creepy eerie place. I think the author was successful in that sometimes in this book, but some scenes I expected were gonna make more of an impact were kind of brushed over. I also know this could just be a personal thing and this being a debut book and first in a series, it didn't bother me as much.

I am so so SO excited to read the second book. I need to return to Four Paths right now, please and thank you.

I am thoroughly impressed with this book. I am usually not into Young Adult horror novels as their just not as scary as I would like. But dang Ms. Herman created a very atmospheric and gothic read. Four Paths is the setting of our story and It felt quite realistic and whimsy and I loved the lore and the history behind the monster. and the four families The Devouring Gray is told from multiple POV's Our main characters are Harper Carlisle, missing an arm has a prominent father in the community and is a badass weapons wielder. Violet Saunders is our second main characters, bisexual and is moving back to Four Paths after the death of her sister. Isaac Sullivan our third main character also bisexual and has the best badass power he is also living on his own since his family passed away in an accident. Justin Hawthorne is our last main character Isaacs best friend, His mother is the sheriff and has tarot card reading sister May. My only complaint is how much the POV's bounce around. It was hard to connect to the characters. Yes they were all very interesting. but I didn't really feel for them. But aside from that The Devouring Gray was great the magic the characters could wield I also loved the LGBTQ rep. That ending it totally seems like there could be a sequel.

Overall The Devouring Gray is an atmospheric , gothic thriller filled with great characters.

The story is interesting and moves pretty fast. Violet is fickle, making rash decisions on high emotions but that is to be expected. Harper is less reasonable, but her internal conflict is more palpable than Justin’s. The mystery of the monster and the magic is far less interesting than the soap opera of these four families and their interactions.

full review to come on my blog. I really enjoyed the characters, the dynamic, the plot and the atmosphere it kept me intrigued throughout the whole novel so it was great

After the tragic, premature death of Violet’s older sister Rosie, Violet and her mother move back to her mother’s home town in the sleepy little town of Four Paths, NY. But Four Paths has more going on than originally meets the eye: it’s secretly the prison of a nefarious beast. Captured by the founders of the Four Paths, the beast lives in a shadow world on top of the regular world, called the Gray. As more and more people get pulled into the Gray and are violently, Violet and her new friends are called to use their newfound magical powers to stop the beast at any cost.

The book is being marketed as “Stranger Things” meets “The Raven Boys”, and I would say that is a pretty spot on comparison. The Gray is not unlike The Upside Down or Cabeswater. The difference, really, is that this book is lacking in a few areas where Stranger Things and The Raven Boys succeed: detailed characterization, nuanced worldbuilding, and extremely good writing. The characters in this one were one dimensional; Violet and Harper, two of our four main characters, were fairly interchangeable to me. The book fluctuates between following the children of the four main founders, and as a result, we only get to know a few of them really well. They are still interesting – they all have to deal with quite a bit of pressure from their parents and the town, but I wish they had each been developed more.

I really enjoyed the worldbuilding at first, but then a few details were introduced that clearly just served as plot devices. For example, if the children of the founders date each other, they will lose any magical abilities they may have inherited – there’s no need for this aside from generating romantic tension that could have been generated in a number of other ways. There were a few other plot points (like the rituals) that were never explained in a satisfying way. That said, I raced through the book. As I got closer to the end and realized there would be a sequel, I got a little less interested (this did not need to be a duology).

TLDR: While it’s not quite as good, folks who enjoyed Stranger Things or The Raven Boys will find a lot to like here too. Despite its many problems, it was a creative, compelling read, and I did end up enjoying it! 3 stars. I liked it. I’d read another book by this author.

Thanks to Titan Books and Netgalley for the advance electronic copy which I received in exchange for an unbiased review. The Devouring Gray will be available for purchase on 02 April, but you can put your copy on hold today!

Review TK on Teenreads.com

Here's an excerpt:

For fans of HAVEN, Charmed and Laura Ruby’s BONE GAP, this book is atmosphere and chilling. I LOVED the characters and their backstories and powers. I loved the various point of views. Their perspectives provided such a rich understanding of the world and the small town. Even though the story was slow at times, I felt like I had a great grasp of the mythology of Four Paths, their odd traditions and superstitions and the history of a town. I felt very drawn to Isaac, a character that I wished had his own perspective chapters but had to make do with from other points of view. I won’t spoil the story except to say that even if I guessed the big twist at the end, I enjoyed the journey. The book felt like a long drawn out and very entertaining character study with some plot thrown in. I’m not complaining! I loved each character and can’t wait for the sequel! I especially love the depth of the secondary characters such as the Sheriff and Violet’s aunt, Daria.

I definitely would recommend this book to any reader looking for a well-read, carefully crafted novel, especially since the sequel is bound to be as gorgeous and mesmerizing as the first.

Posted to Goodreads: Violet and her mother have just moved to her mother's hometown of Four Paths. At first glance the town seems like any other boring town in America but Violet is immediately pulled into a dark and mysterious world known as the gray where a monster is held captive. Violet learns that her family is one of the founding families of Four Paths and she with the other Founders' descendant, Harper, Justine and Isaac, must keep the town safe.

This book had an interesting premise however it never really grabbed me. I wasn't really hooked by the mystery or taken in by the creepiness of the monster. The story was just fine but I don't think I will revisit it in the sequel.

**3.5-stars**

Sawkill Girls meets Strange Grace...

BRANCHES, STONES, DAGGERS, BONES...

Welcome to Four Paths, New York, are words Violet Saunders could have done without. Riddled with grief after the loss of her sister, Rosie, Violet is forced to move to Four Paths at the start of her senior year. Not great.

It quickly becomes clear that Violet's mom, Juniper, has a very strong connection to Four Paths. In fact, she is a member of one of the founding families. The founders are treated like royalty in town -- quite literally worshipped as deities.

Why, you may ask?
Because they were the ones to capture the monster, trap it in the gray and continue to protect the townsfolk from it.

Basically, the monster trapped in 'the gray' is no longer as dormant as he used to be and teens that are each a part of one of the four founding families come together to fight back. There are familial and friendship dramas, secrets and investigations, love gone awry -- all the stuff. It's in here.

At times, I felt like I should have been taking notes, which decreased my ability to relax into the story. Additionally, there were a lot of rapid perspective shifts that tended to knock me out of it as well. While the content was quite interesting, the flow seemed a little off for me.

It was definitely dark, which is one of my favorite things, and the characters and history of the town were compelling. I loved the ending. It gave me chills and I will definitely read the next book in the duology.

I even feel that I could reread this one. It may be easier the second time round as I have a better handle on what is going on.
For a debut, this is impressive and I hope a lot of readers pick it up!

Thank you so much to the publisher, Disney Book Group, for providing me with a copy to read and review. I appreciate the opportunity and look forward to hearing what other readers think of this one.

If you want a weird cult, a super vague magic system (if you can even call it that), and poor diversity, read this book.

And while there were huge plot holes and so many unanswered questions (seriously, why was everything so vague??), the diversity, or lack there of, bothered me the most. If you say that more than half of your characters are bisexual just for diversity’s sake, then you are doing diversity wrong (there are other orientations/races/ethnicities out there, in case that was unclear). Making everyone the same orientation, even if it is something other than straight, is no better than just making them all straight. That’s not diverse.

Review will post on all links in profile 3/30

2.5 star review

The Devouring Gray by Christine Lynn Herman is set in Four Paths, New York. And as other reviews have stated it has a netherworld danger that smacks you in the face with a resemblance to Stranger Things. The only issue being that it isn't as well developed as the danger lurking on the Netflix hit and therefore doesn't come to life as the menacing threat that it is on TV.
Violet arrives to Four Paths with her mother, Juniper, five months after the sudden death of her older sister. Her mother had grown up in Four Paths but hadn't returned there since she left at the age of eighteen and never spoke much of it. Once Violet arrives things start to get odd and fast. They also start to get formulaic.
When Violet gets to her first day of school she meets other classmates quickly at the small highschool and people are dying. And of course Violet is sucked into the Devouring Gray (the netherworld harbouring the menacing beast) without knowing why but doesn't want to tell anyone.

She starts realizing she has unknown powers of her own (cue creepy music) when she resurrects her aunt's cat that suddenly dies in front of her feet. Ok, to be fair maybe that part just completely threw me off because I just don't do well reading about cats suddenly and gruesomely dropping dead and then Pet Sematary happening. Of course another teenager, Justin sees it and secrets about the town, powerful families and an ancestral secret begins to come to light.
Devouring Gray goes on from there to bring other town secrets and a dangerous plan to light. The teenagers have to work together to save themselves and the town from the beast and the Devouring Gray. It hands on one big cliffhanger and one big, not cliffhanger, but event that leads you to believe there is another book coming.
I just wasn't ever invested enough in the characters, the plot or the setting to really enjoy it. There were pieces here and there that were good. But there were larger swatches that had me thinking, are you kidding? It just felt like the plot to so many books I had read before. Person arrives at new town. Person is looking for friends, family. Person finds out they have secret powers. Person finds support. Person uncovers secrets. Person has to save the day with help of new friends...
Some may enjoy the Devouring Gray if this isn't a storyline they are familiar with but for me it fell flat.

Thank you to Netgalley and Disney Publishing for the advance Kindle copy of this book. All opinions are my own.
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⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5 for this paranormal thriller, which is out on Tuesday. It felt a little Stranger Things-ish, as it takes place in a town held hostage by a dangerous creature that can only be stopped by a group of people who can slip into another dimension (basically). Four Paths has four founding families. Each family has a power, which manifests in their members between the ages of thirteen and sixteen. Once their ritual occurs, they have the responsibility of protecting the town from a beast who is trapped in The Gray. When Violet and her mom move from New York City to take care of her aunt, she realizes that her mom hasn’t been exactly honest with her about her life (and role as a founding family member). A couple of mature things in this one (that I honestly thought were unnecessary) leads me to recommend it for grades 8+. I look forward to the sequel!

What a strange book. Not in a bad way necessarily, but with some definite haunting, atmospheric vibes.

The premise is intriguing: Violet, our MC, moves to a new town called Four Paths where she discovers herself to be the descendant of one of the four founders. What’s more, the founders possessed special abilities that allowed them to keep a vicious beast prisoner in a mysterious place called the Gray.

So down the line, the children of Four Paths’ founders are tasked with protecting the town and keeping the monster imprisoned. Except now the founder families are struggling to contain the Gray and its beast, and the town’s death count is rising fast.

I’d compare this book to How to Hang a Witch by Adriana Mather, another story in which a girl moves to a town where she’s the descendant of the man responsible for witch trials in their city. I also saw that another reviewer compared this to a CW show, and I think feel like that’s the perfect way to describe it. It’s just got the feel of a supernatural teen drama.

There’s nothing wrong with CW shows, per se! And if you like them, I’m sure you’ll find The Devouring Gray entertaining.

The way the author introduced each of the characters was very deliberate, and I appreciated the time she took to help us get to know the cast instead of just throwing a bunch of names out there. All of the founder children were complex and fascinating, shocking us with secrets and causing us to feel their pain along with them.

It took me a bit to understand what was happening and for the author to explain what exactly the Gray was. As I’m writing this review, I still don’t know if I quite understand it, but I get the gist. The magic system here was interesting; Herman kept it fresh and original.

The Grey itself and the beast within were both rightfully creepy. I’m home alone and reading some of these scenes caused me to actually shudder, and I had to continue the book with my back to the wall. Don’t judge me.

Overall, I think many people will enjoy this. The Devouring Gray was too weak for my taste, but I bet you Herman has many more stories to tell; I can’t wait to see what she comes up with next. 3.5 stars.

An e-arc of this book was provided by NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you!

I was a bit nervous at first to read The Devouring Gray, because I'm too much of a wuss to watch Stranger Things. Perhaps because horror/creepy fiction isn't my go-to genre, The Devouring Gray reminded me a lot of Tessa Gratton's Strange Grace. Small town, tangled love triangles, and a monster on the loose.
Four founding families work to protect Four Paths from the aforementioned monster. Each family has their own type of magic. Powers are inherited and family members can have different magnitudes of power after completing their ritual. To not give too much away, Violet Saunders moves back to Four Paths after the loss of her sister. Four Paths is spooky and Violet gets caught up in the family rivalries.
My biggest critique was that while the romance pacing was slow burn, the friendships/trusting of characters happened a little too fast.
Overall, I thought The Devouring Gray was entertaining! The main characters - Violet, Harper, Justin, and Isaac - all had distinct personalities and there is lots of queer rep! Some parts were *very* creepy but not nightmare-inducing.
3.5 stars. I received an ARC for review from NetGalley.