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.

First, I loved this book so much. I read this book in 2 sittings which is rare for me. I really like fast paced books and this book picked up very quickly. I love the atmosphere. The trees and forest take on this ominous feeling. They feel suffocating at times, crowding in on the town, but the forest also feels very magical and mysterious.

There are 4 main characters: 
•	Violet who is new to town, she just lost her sister in a car accident and is moving to her mother’s hometown called Four Paths. 
•	There is Justin who lives with a tyrannical mother. Justin seems to thrive on the townspeople’s respect at the beginning but events play out and he grows a lot. He sees the faults his family has made and tries to reconcile it. 
•	Harper, probably my favorite character is very brave and headstrong. She had her heart broken, the town turned on her, her family kind of did too, but she is still surviving. 
•	Then there is Isaac, the emotionally detached best friend to Justin. 
I think they are all in their own way outcasts, Violet is new and her mom is distant with her, Justin’s family wants him gone, Harper, well no one cares about her, and Isaac lost his whole family and the town doesn’t really like him. 

The town is filled with secrets and mysteries and of course a beast hunting people. I really liked how it all played out, I think the writing style was engaging. If you like reading books with mysterious towns, a unique magic system, and captivating characters, and good bi and gay representation check this out, it’s definitely worth it.

This might sound a little repetitive, but I wanted to go into more detail because some people could consider this a spoiler.
Four Paths is a town in rural New York that is surrounded by a dense forest where a beast lives, hunting the townspeople. There are 4 founding families there. The Hawthornes, The Saunders, The Carlisle’s, and the Sullivans. The story follows the children of the founding families but I think primarily focuses on Violet Saunders.
The four founders defeated a beast. They bargained away parts of themselves to the monster in exchange for some of its magic. they used their powers to bind the beast into the town itself, another version of the town. So that town itself is the beasts prison. The place its trapped is called the Gray. Each founder bound itself differently to the beast. So, each family has a different power: 
•	The Hawthorne’s power is tied into predicting and influencing the roots and branches that tied the town together. 
•	The Saunders’s power is tied to the dead. 
•	The Sullivan’s can hurt or heal with a single touch 
•	Carlisle’s can turn things to stone as a guardian that could bend to their will with a mere touch
From the text: 
Branches – they twine & grow about the forest, they will tell you where to plant your roots & prune those that disagree.
Daggers – their allies, weakened in their Leader’s absence; they raise their hands in the air, and shatter the world, and put it back together. They can break bones, walls, supernatural barriers. 
Bones – masters of all things, the living and the dead. 
Stones – stalwart and steady. They are builders, they can always break what they have made

In order for someone in a founding family to gain their powers, they go through a trial at age 16. Each family has a different trial and they are all kept a secret. Only one branch of a founding family could inherit powers at a time, so when the founder children who’d completed their rituals graduated from high school, they didn’t leave. Justin Hawthorne and Harper Carlisle did not pass their trials. But in the end, we know that Harper did pass her trial, but her power was so strong that she almost turned Augusta into stone, Justin pushed her back into the lake and Harper was trapped in the Gray for 4 days. 

There are some gruesome murders happening at the beginning of the story. We know that it’s the beast who is taking human sacrifices and slaughtering these people. The beast is strongest at the equinox and that’s when the founding family’s powers are at their weakest. So, we are building up to confrontation with the beast. 

There is a plot to overthrow the founding family in power by releasing the beast. Years ago, Violet’s Uncle Stephen was apart of the church of the four deities. Violet learns all this through his journal. The Carlisle’s and other townspeople are now trying to fulfill Stephen’s mission of releasing the beast from its prison because they believe they will be richly rewarded. In doing this, it would take the Hawthorne’s from being in charge. We find out that the founding families didn’t really save anyone by trapping the beast, because now they are the dangerous ones. The story really focuses on figuring out the mysteries of Four Paths, why the beast is there, how to stop it, learning about the history of the town, and really building up to a confrontation with the beast. I thought the moment in the forest where Violet was possessed by the beast was really cool. Stephen comes back from the dead basically to fulfill this mission, but they need Juniper, Violet’s mom to act as a vessel for the beast. So we have a lot of things happening at once, but it’s not confusing, it’s compelling, the plot moves fast, but it’s all so interesting.


Violet moves to Four Paths with her mom into her old house where her Aunt Daria now lives. Violet’s sister just died in a car accident, her father I think left them or maybe he died, I can’t remember. Violet and her mom don’t have the best relationship because her mom is pretty detached and unemotional. But their relationship does have a natural growth to it and I liked how that all played out in the end. Her Aunt Daria was a great character, I don’t like how things ended for her, but that’s just because I liked her as a character. I also liked her power, she could tell someone’s death when she touches them. 

Harper. She is filled with anger and resentment towards pretty much everyone. She has a very critical eye and likes to keep to herself. We were led to believe that Harper failed her trial, but in fact she did not fail, but August and Justin were waiting for her after her trial and Justin pushed her into the lake, trapping her in the Gray for 4 days. Harper is so undeniably strong for so many reasons. She lost her arm, but she didn’t let that stop her from training, she kept working on how to fight with the sword. She never gave up, even though everyone gave up on her. Her father recruited her to befriend Violet in order for the beast to possess her and free the beast from its prison and to resurrect Stephen Saunders as well. Her father literally tried to kill her. I love that she re-took her trial and gained back her powers. That scene where Harper’s dad almost killed her to protect the church was intense. Harper was betrayed by the town, and her best friend, and now her father is attempting to murder her. She has been through a lot, but that’s what makes her character so great, because she never backs down, she fights.

Justin & May. May is a seer. She uses tarot. She can get inside someone’s head. It’s how she connects them to the cards. The cards use May as a conduit, linking together the things you’ve done and most likely outcome of your question. May can restore memories too.
To be honest, I wasn’t a big fan of Justin. He seemed like a typical jock, but once we got to know him, we see it’s all an act, trying to preserve his family name. I think he still has room for growth, because he has hurt some people, and lied to everyone about his powers. He’s just not the most interesting, compelling character. He’s like the popular kid that you don’t really feel bad for. However, I will say, that I think his mom is the reason he acted the way he did. She takes away people’s memories when she thinks they are a danger to her authority. I doubt she really cares about her community. She only cares about preserving her reputation and everyone’s obedience to her family. So maybe we just don’t know who the real Justin is yet. He’s the only founder without powers, so I’m wondering what part will he play in the next book. I know the ending made is sound like his mom came to terms with letting Justin be who he is and not trying to protect the family name. We’ll see. 


The last founder kid is Isaac. I liked Isaac. He’s temperamental, emotional, and it says in the text that he is bisexual. I’ll get to that in a second. His powers are so cool, and they feel very attached to his emotions. I’m very interested to see how his brother’s return plays out in the next book.
So we know he had a crush on Justin and that’s how their relationship kind of ended because Justin does not reciprocate these feelings.

Okay, if you read this book you know there is a love triangle of sorts. Justin likes Harper, Harper likes Justin, Isaac likes Justin and Violet likes Isaac. If I’m being honest, I kind of felt like the author was setting up a relationship with Violet and Isaac and I really liked that but the ending was more like, Isaac didn’t like being a thing Justin owned, he was always there for him, so now Isaac is “leaving” and I guess he needs time away to recover from this crush. If I’m being honest, I kind of felt like Isaac and Violet had more chemistry. I know that Isaac and Justin have been friends forever, but there was something about Violet and Isaac. He was there for her when her aunt died, and he was the only one who really understood grief like that. Both of them lost pretty much their whole families. I think this could either turn into a relationship or a great friendship because they both know what the other has been through better than the others do. 

I liked the ending of the story where Violet and Isaac have plans to kill the beast. It leaves room for a lot of growth between characters and the plot to develop more, maybe we’ll see more developments in their powers because Violet just got her powers near the end of the book. 
There was a lot of room for the second book to grow, some loose ends needed tying up and story lines not yet finished. I liked where it left off. I would highly recommend to anyone!

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.

The Devouring Gray is set in Four Paths, NY and centers on the founding families. The founding families are supposed to protect the citizens of Four Paths, but the Gray threatens to consume the small town and all those in it. In a world where the adults are evil and it is up to the children to save the town, the teenagers of the founding families must come together and discover the secrets of their beloved town. 

This is a fast-paced story with compelling characters. The backdrop of Four Paths at times feels stereotypical—an elitist town with families locked in a feud going back decades. The atmosphere does feel ominous, but not creepy or dangerous. 

One of my favorite things about this book is that while there are great connections between the characters, there is not a overbearing feeling of romance. This is unusual for many YA stories, and I think it’s a testament to Herman’s writing that she can build these strong connections between characters without defaulting to romantic clichés. 

The story alternates between various points of view with the main characters. I don’t always like when a story changes the POV rapidly, but here, we learn more about each family and what their lineage and story is and how it is connected to Four Paths and the Gray. 

My only issue with this story is how slow the build is. There are a lot of details to remember and I feel like at times, the story is lost or compromised in order to highlight these details. The writing style favors a “tell” and not “show” approach, so I understand why the story is detail-oriented.

Overall, I did enjoy this story. The concept is interesting and the execution was well-done. The writing is superb as well

Kids loved this one!  Good pace, just the right amount of spooky and suspense without crossing to scary.

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.
•
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/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!