First of all, I love the cover. What a creepy, inviting image! The book, however, largely disappointed me. The characters are thin and feel stereotypical. Crazy old lady, lonely young man, pretty waitress, bland sheriff - everyone behaved the exact way I expected them to throughout the book. Even the reveal of a character's secret is already hinted from the beginning so there isn't much of a surprise. There are also parts which felt repetitive - like the husband's search for his missing wife which goes round and round, and a young man's crush on an older woman. The phrase True Love kept being thrown around to show a character changing his mind which felt like a shortcut to actual character development.

What I liked though was the atmospheric setting of a broken down town surrounded by swamps. The details in the descriptions made me feel as if I was there. Southern gothic horror only works when the setting is right and this book has got it down. There is also the casual mention of ghosts and spells which makes the place feel lived-in, an entirely different world from outsiders. I thought the dialogue is well-written and kept my interest. The ending is bleak but real. I just wish the actual story had been built better.

Being someone who grew up close to the Suwannee River so I was very curious how well Priest creates a sense of place in this book. Overall I found this very atmospheric and the right amount of creepy. A true Southern Gothic about the strange à la Lovecraft or Van Der Meer.

Something evil lives in the swamp and it takes a life every 13 years. A newly married couple on the way to a camp run afoul of this evil and the wife goes missing. Is it really an evil being? Is it foul play? What do the townspeople know? Creepy good story.

The Toll is a dark new fantasy by Cherie Priest. And it truly is a deliciously dark tale. It blends modern horror with more traditional elements, creating something new and horrifying.
Set in Okefenokee Swamp, Georgia, this novel follows a trail of missing persons. And people do go missing in this town. Every thirteen years – you can count on it. The town may not be a famous one – but if it was, it'd be known for this mystery.

Warnings: The Toll is a seriously dark read. That means it goes hand and hand with some darker elements. There are missing persons, implied drownings (though likely this isn't actually the case), murder/suicides, and animal death. Most of these events you can see coming, with one major exception. So just consider yourself warned.
The Toll wins the award for darkest novel I've read this year. Well, so far, at least. It's so perfectly bone-chilling. It was terrifying and oddly compelling. And even in the worst moments of the novel, I found myself oddly hopeful, while waiting on bated breath for the next revelation.
This tale was told through the use of multiple perspectives. Which was a great call – it let us see more of the world, without necessarily giving us all the answers. A tough balance, but one that was found here.
What's interesting is how different all of these perspectives are. First, there's Titus, and yes that really is his name. He's the newcomer, attached to the town by loss and tragedy. Then there are Daisy and Claire. Two elderly cousins, who seem to actually know what's happening – but loathe to admit it. Their godson Cameron isn't on the short list of people that know, but he's got other things on his mind, so he's okay with that. And finally there's Dave. Dave has an odd history with this town. Unfortunately, he's never really gotten the answers he's been looking for.
Together this small band of people go up against something truly dark, and very much something other. Whatever it may be, you can be sure that it isn't human. And I for one really enjoyed trying to put the pieces of the puzzle together.
The storytelling style made the gradual buildup to the final confrontation something truly terrifying. It's not that there were jump scares every moment or two. More like it was this lingering sense of foreshadowing. The sense that something horrible was about to happen, and there was nothing to be done about it.
I loved every minute of this read; even while it did scare the heck out of me. I was lucky that I finished this one well before bed – I'm not sure I could have slept had that not been the case. Then again, I did read the whole thing in basically one sitting. It was too enthralling to put down.
The Toll is the first novel I've read by Cherie Priest. But I loved this one so much that clearly I'm going to have to go back and check out the rest of her works. I hope they're all as intriguing as this tale was.

Thank you to NetGalley, Macmillan TOR/Forge and Ms Cherie Priest for the opportunity to read this Advanced Readers Copy of "Toll"

It's a Southern classic monster story where things go bump in the night. Include with this eccentric characters, and a town with haunted empty stores and you have yourself a scary read for nighttime Willies.

Melanie and Titus are on their honeymoon and they have decided to head out to a cabin in the Okefenokee swamps.
On the way to their honeymoon cabin retreat they pass over seven bridges... but there really should only be six...

Let the story begin to haunt you with creepy descriptions of a time of forgotten swampland, where monsters live under bridges and the fight for good vs evil just got started... again, 13 years later.

3 stars.

#NetGalley
#Macmillan
#Cheriepriest
#southerngothic
#Scary

I requested and received a copy for honest review, thanks to Netgalley and the publisher

The story follows multiple perspectives, but it boils down to a split narrative - a less than idyllic couple who are outsiders on their honeymoon to camp in the swampy state park, and the residents of small town (though town is generous, it's not even on the map) residents of Staywater who all have secrets. When things become increasingly strange on their trip, the couple become separated, the police are called, and who do you think shows up: the Staywater PD. Their town has been plagued with disappearances over the years, floods and unsolved serial killings, but only the townfolk know they happen every 13 years.

Cherie Priest is an author I've always had an impression that I would enjoy her books, but never got around to, so I jumped at the incentive to finally dive in. Ultimately, all my assumptions were proven true. The writing is beautiful, the story pulled me right along, and she accomplishes a truly creepy tale without resorting to usual horror hacks - there is minimal gore, no sexual violence, no pet deaths.

If you are in for slow, atmospheric horror, this is a delight to read. I'm also not huge on stories in the rural south, but the atmosphere absolutely leaps off the page - from curtains of moss in the swamp to the old ladies rocking on the porch with their knitting - fully immersing you in the setting

Do you want to get lost in the swamp?

Cherie Priest's paranormal horror takes place in the southern swamps, where every 13 years a "bridge" opens up between the worlds and something nasty comes through. If a living person is unlucky enough to cross that bridge, he or she is in the monsters domain and few ever return from there.

I did like this book, I liked that it wasn't too graphic and you could just enjoy the mood the author creates, both in the swamps and in the little town where most of the story happens. The horror too, that has been coming every 13 years for as long as people can remember, I like that kind of folklore horror.

At the same time I must admit I found the novel very repititive at times and I believe it would have been far better if it was shorter. In my opinion the plot/storyline wasn't strong enough for a full length novel, but I believe it would've been a great novella.

I got an e-ARC of #TheToll from the good people at #netgalley and the publisher in return for an honest review

This one was OK. It took me a while to get through it because I kept putting it down. 🙈 The writing itself was good. 👍 The characters interesting. 👍 The plot was OK, but I wanted more. It was repetitive and felt a little underdeveloped. 👎 So yea, not horrible but also nothing to write home about. 😪

This Southern Gothic horror novel begins with Cameron and his two aunts in the small town of Staywater. I must admit that I didn't connect with them - or the book itself - during the first chapter. Fortunately, I kept reading and was quickly drawn in by two other characters, Titus and Melanie. At first, these two story lines didn't appear to have any connection to each other, but they soon merged. And by that point, I was invested in Cameron's story as well.

Cherie Priest's The Toll contains many classic Gothic themes. She uses descriptive language to help set the mood, and there's an entity that stalks a specific area. Emotions also tend to run a bit higher than the standard non-Gothic book, ranging from a lovestruck teenager to a heartbroken newlywed.

The emotional aspects aren't taken as far as they are in many other Gothic stories, which will make The Toll more accessible to a general audience. Priest also mostly steers clear of perhaps the most contentious aspect of Gothic horror by avoiding a flowery writing style peppered with lots of big words. Personally, I prefer the more classic Gothic writing style, but Priest definitely held my attention, especially with her deft usage of tension during an early bridge scene.

I do wish Priest had steered clear of the overused horror trope that has the evil come back every 13 years. I'm glad that she followed many of the sub-genre's best stories by refusing to explain and define every single detail. Classic horror and classic Gothic fiction is filled with malevolent entities that lash out at others without a clearly defined motive (other than survival, of course). Priest continued that tradition here, and the book is much better because of it. She also infused the genre with something a bit different, which was a real pleasure to read.

This book is recommended for Gothic horror fans and for open-minded horror fans who like descriptiveness, yet don't feel the need for every single thing to be explained. Note: This isn't a traditional ghost story, so if that's what you're looking for, this might not be the book for you.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for providing an ARC. This review contains my honest, unbiased opinion.

If I must read southern, it ought to be gothic. Such as this story. And frankly, the immediate premise makes you think Scandinavian, Norwegian specifically, and trolls demanding tolls for the safe pass and so on. But this one is set in the swaps of Georgia and the demanding troll is very much a location appropriate creature. So yeah, a southern gothic creature feature with a small dying off town haunted every so often by something supernatural with only a pair of aging witches to stand in its way. But it starts off with a man idiotic enough to presuppose that canoeing a swamp constitutes exciting and romantic honeymooning experience and his new bride grudgingly accompanying him. It sounds like a terrible idea and, sure enough, plays out like one. Crash boom bang (but a quiet sleepy swampy kind) later and now it’s up to the confused and bewildered newlywed to find out what’s going on, which ends up involving a variety of locals to a variety of lethal results. Get ready for a pretty decent body count. Get ready to hit the swamps. Get ready to pay the toll. Good story, properly dark and atmospheric, properly developed characters, sustained suspense and, of course, of course, an awesome creature. Very exciting story, My first read by the author and a terrific introduction as far as those go, I liked the writing very much. Thoroughly entertaining enjoyable read.Probably best to read at night, though effective even during the day. Recommended for all fans of scary things told in a literary manner. Thanks Netgalley.

This book started out as a creepy mystery and turned into a snoozefest for me pretty quickly. Everything was developed way to slowly, and I felt that the book should have been 100 pages shorter. I felt like the different stories between the characters--Cameron and the other people in the small town were unfinished and thrown together haphazardly. The humor in the story fell flat for me, and after the first few chapters I found myself disinterested with the plot and the characters. There wasn't anything keeping me invested in the story.

Newlyweds Titus and Melanie are travelling towards their honeymoon cabin (by a Georgia swamp, much to Melanie's barely-disguised disgust and disappointment) when something strange happens - as they are driving across a bridge which doesn't seem to have an end, Titus blacks out, waking to discover himself laying in the road and Melanie gone without a trace. Determined to find his wife, he travels to the nearby town of Staywater, where he discovers a community living in the shadow of something mysterious and terrible. Priest's novel is well-paced and gripping, with characters who are excellently fleshed out and a southern gothic narrative that is as subtly intelligent as it is persuasive.

Despite the monstrous something that kills…

Despite the weird townspeople who hold fast to secrets…

Despite the dark bridge where terrible things happen…

I actually found I wanted to live in The Toll’s world. In The Toll, author Cherie Priest brings us a world of magic, gothic horrors, and compelling wonders. From the first chapter I was lost, coming up for air only because I had to work to pay the bills. Each one of our characters, living, dead or other, brings this world to life.

The book is highly atmospheric and our mystery simply doesn’t let you go.

At the end of it all, I simply wanted more.

*ARC Provided via Net Galley

The Toll is a classic gothic horror, telling the story of a dying town near the Okefenokee Swamp where, every thirteen years, the fabric between our world and one next to it thins, and something comes through. The perspective moves between seventeen year old Cameron, his two elderly godmothers, visitor Titus, and bartender Dave. The swamp is it's own character, developing the eerie, claustrophobic mood.

I received an ARC via NetGalley for my honest opinion.

This is one hundred percent my kind of horror. Things are mysterious and unknowable (but not in an annoying way). There's a ton of suspense and creeping dread. Gory grossness is only used when necessary. Plus the whole thing is incredibly character centered.

While I didn't love every character, they all felt real. The heroes are all flawed, but all feel like they ought to have a happy ending... Which is far from guaranteed in a novel like this! Their pasts were present, informing who they were today. Many had to confront these to have a chance to move on to something better in their life, separate from the foe they're facing. To me, horror only really works when this kind of characterization is present. I don't have to like a character to understand them and want something good for them.

I want to thank NetGalley and the publisher for a free copy of this ARC. This one had me scratching my head a little. The premise was super promising but the book just didn't deliver. I haven't read too many scary books that I had a hard time staying engaged with, I almost found my mind wandering. The characters lacked depth, and all the different perspectives made the story seem a little shallow. Just not quite what I was looking for. There is so much promise here and I still do look forward to reading more by this author. The one promising note is that the descriptions were fantastic and I could really picture everything in great detail. It just lacked the character development and the plot had weaknesses. I still found it fun and somewhat enjoyable in parts, but really it was too much work to read.

The opening pages of this book set a kind of dark suspenseful tone, but that tension steadily dissipates over the course of the novel. For me, this issue stems from the rotating perspectives, as I had a hard time getting invested in any particular character. The book is ultimately well written, but my main issue perhaps also has to do with the fact that the plot of The Toll didn't feel particularly new or innovative. There are a lot of horror books out there about a backwater town that a strange entity calls home.

Titus and Melanie were on their honeymoon and heading to the Okefenokee Swamp. They were arguing in the car about their activities for this honeymoon. They weren't paying attention to the landscape and they should have. How many bridges was it they just passed? Five. Six. All of a sudden, there is a new even narrower bridge in front of them. It looks too narrow for their vehicle and they can't see the end of it. It looks ancient and made of sounder stuff than the steel and concrete bridges of the present time. It appears as if it was taken out of page from a history book. They hesitate and then take the plunge. While traversing the bridge, Titus passes out at the wheel and awakens in the middle of the road and Melanie is no where to be found. Welcome to Staywater, Georgia. This is not anything new in these parts. People have been disappearing in the swamp here for 300 years. Staywater has a population of less than 50. It is a one horse town without even a redlight. There is a. pizza joint, Thirsty's bar and Maude's Bed and Breakfast, really a broken down motel. Staywater is place that you wouldn't want to stay especially if you were visiting. We are introduced to Cameron, a adopted teen raised by the town biddies. Dave and Jess run Thirsty's Bar. There is Officer Pickett and Sgt. Kemp of the Saltwater PD. And finally, Jess' aunt, Netta, whose son disappeared on that same stretch of road through the swamp. There is a taut atmosphere about the real mystery of the state highway 177 though the state park. What was seen and can't be unseen? What really happened in 1966 that brought the number of deaths to a slow crawl? Aunt Claire and Daisy know the answers but they aren't telling just anyone.

I wanted to like this one - southern noir, ghost stories, mysterious/haunted small town? The premise sounded amazing! Unfortunately, for me, the characters felt shallow, the dialogue flat, and the story just didn't hold my interest.

Cherie Priest’s The Toll is a Southern Gothic horror with an interesting premise but the plot drags and most of the characters are forgettable. I did not enjoy this book and I would not recommend it.

Titus and Melanie Bell are on their honeymoon in the Okefenokee Swamp. While driving across a spooky ancient bridge, Titus loses consciousness. When he later awakens in the middle of the road, Melanie has disappeared into thin air. The local police tell Titus that this bridge doesn’t exist. However, Titus is determined to find his wife. He goes to the nearby dying town of Staywater where Melanie’s disappearance stirs up memories of a mysterious being connected to the bridge and which takes people every thirteen years.

Staywater is a creepy and interesting small town. There is a lot of potential here for really great storylines. I wish Priest spent much more time exploring the town’s mysteries and secrets because this would have made the book much more interesting.

The characters are uninteresting, stereotypical, and forgettable. I struggled to connect with or care about them. Many of them, especially Titus and Melanie are stock characters. However, I like the two quirky and feisty cousins, Claire and Daisy. I wish their backstory was much more developed. Their ward Cameron is likable and relatable. He has the potential to be interesting and well-rounded but again, the book falls short.

Priest’s writing style is vivid and she creates a wonderfully tense atmosphere. The plot has a lot of promise but it ultimately doesn’t deliver. The strange happenings in the town do not really connect with the storyline of the mysterious disappearances. There are some tense and chilling moments like Cameron’s encounter at the dollhouse as well as all the secrets of the mysterious Hazelhurst house. However, nothing truly significant comes of these things. For the most part, the book plods along. I almost gave up reading at several points because the plot dragged. The first half of the book is extremely slow and repetitive. The ending is ultimately unsatisfying and predictable.

The Toll is a Southern Gothic horror with the potential to be really interesting but it just misses the mark. I like Priest’s writing style and I love the creepy town of Staywater. However, I did not like this book and I would not recommend it.

🛣️ 🛣️ roads out of 5!