This was an atmospheric mystery thriller with an interesting premise, however I found the plot somewhat underdeveloped and it was too predictable from very early on. I listened to this as an audio book and thought the narrator's performance was excellent. Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for giving me access to this ARC.

Fans of Power's debut 'Wilder Girls' will not disappointed with her latest 'Burn Our Bodies Down.' While 'Burn Our Bodies Down' has less of a science fiction feel with its chemical impacts, it will create no less terror and revolution than her first book. Following Margo to her ancestral home, readers are taken on a wild ride to learn to why Margo's mother left in the first place, the identity of the body she finds during a fire, and how those two stories converge. Like Margo, the reader knows something is off but it's not till the end that the cards are all laid out and the truth comes to bear. Lauren Ezzo captures the essence of an angry and lost teenage girl who is desperate for any sort of connection in the world. Ezzo's narrative in tandem with Power's writing will keep you on the edge of the seat till the credits literally start rolling.

Rory Power is an author I’ve wanted to read for a while, ever since her debut Wilder Girls took the YA world by storm. Thus it was with great excitement that I started Burn Our Bodies Down, which I was fortunate enough to receive from NetGalley’s new audiobook review program. I loved the description of the book, and the fact it sounded closer to an “American Farmland Gothic” than a true horror. So then, why didn’t I enjoy this more? Well…a lot of it to do with the main character.

Margot has always been something of an outsider. The only close relationship she’s ever had is with her mom Josephine, and she’s not exactly mother of the year. Josephine works a lot, and even when she’s at home in their tiny run-down apartment, she’s emotionally distant or volatile, causing Margot to tiptoe on eggshells whenever she’s around. And when she asks about her father, or any question about family really, Josephine simply shuts her out. Finally, Margot has had enough. Defying her mom, she uncovers an old photograph with a name and phone number of someone she believes is her maternal grandmother. After calling the number, the old woman who answers confirms Margot’s suspicions and extends an invitation to visit her in a nearby rural town called Phalene.

Excited at the prospect of answers at long last, Margot travels by herself to Phalene to meet her Gram. Upon her arrival though, Margot quickly gets the sense that things aren’t quite right. First, Vera, her grandmother, is not the exactly the kind little old lady she led Margot to believe. Her farm, Fairhaven, is an eerie place, yielding strange and unnatural crop. Soon, Margot starts seeing and experiencing disturbing things that defy explanation. She came to Phalene to learn more about where her family came from, but the longer she stays, the more she understands why her mother left this town, never to speak of it again.

As usual, I’ll start with the good. First, we have the incredible atmosphere. Burn Our Bodies Down is all about the setting—a creepy small town that feels isolated and forgotten by the rest of the world. What amazed me most was how such a wide open space with its sprawling fields and endless skies could still result in such a strong sensation of claustrophobia and suffocation. Phalene feels like its own little world, the tensions growing ever more stifling as the pressure builds within. As the reader, you’re made to feel acutely aware that this tight little bubble can burst at any time, and when it does, you know bad things are gonna be a-coming.

However, the trade-off for such thick and delectable atmosphere is a hit to the pacing. Admittedly, this is not a story that goes anywhere fast. While I think there’s plenty to keep the reader entertained, especially when Margot meets other people in town like Tess and Eli, for the most part the plot development chugs in place as the narrative focuses on establishing the mystery and immersing you into the setting. There’s also a lot that doesn’t make sense—at least at first. Rest assured things come together in the end—mostly. There will be some loose ends, and for a long time, it just feels like you’re supposed to ignore all the questions and inconsistencies, which might be a bit too much to ask.

And now, time for what I struggled with, which was mainly Margot. I know she was written to be a little abrasive and belligerent, but I could only put up with her attitude for so long. After a while, that massive chip on her shoulder started getting on my nerves and I just wanted to slap her every time she got snappy or confrontational—which was pretty much all the time. Unfortunately, the fact that I listened to the audiobook did not help, since the narrator tended to overact and made Margot sound even more hysterical and annoying.

Bottom line, the world-building was fantastic, but atmosphere alone couldn’t carry this novel, and ultimately I thought the story and characters were lacking. My experience was also affected by an overdramatic narrator, but if you’re not listening to the audiobook, you’ll most likely not encounter that issue, though I can’t say I was feeling all that sympathetic towards the protagonist regardless. At the end of the day, Burn Our Bodies Down wasn’t a bad book and I thought its premise was interesting, but overall, I can’t say I enjoyed it as much as I’d hoped.

Thank you to the publisher and Net Galley for providing an earlier copy of this book to review. Everything is my opinion and my opinion alone.

This was going to be a three star, but I just loved that ending. The last few chapters of the book really are just the exact kind of creepy a girl needs. When I started the book, I felt like the MC was just being really dramatic without any backstory to back-up her feelings. She didn't have a good relationship with her mom at all, but we didn't spend a lot of time on that and so it felt kind of pushed. But like... gah, that whole ending of the book was CRAZY and I enjoyed it so much. I honestly think Rory writes such creepy-good books!

I didn't really enjoy this audiobook at all.
The story was kind of confusing, the characters were unlikeable and kind of awful, and the relationships were all very toxic.
The main character, Margot, was SO ANNOYING. Anytime something happened that mildly inconvenienced her, she runs away. Like, either LEAVES TOWN or just randomly turns up at the girl she likes' house. The relationships (especially Margot's family) was so toxic. Every relationship. Margot and her mother, her mother and her grandmother, her and her grandmother. GET THERAPY.
Most of the characters were annoying, frustrating, or just plain awful.
I didn't love the narration, sometimes you couldn't tell if the character was supposed to be thinking or speaking out loud? Which made an already kind of confusing book more confusing.

This time I read (listened) to the book in audiobook format, and it just enhanced the experience. The audiobook narrator was amazing, and her voice fit so well with Margot’s character, and she gave the book so much more life. One of my favorite things about reading in this format was how you could hear the anger in the narrator’s voice, especially nearing the last few chapters Margot found out the truth about her family, and it made it seem so much more

Burn our bodies down is a haunting and atmospheric tale of Margot who has a tumultous relationship with her mother and wants to find out more about the mystery surrounding her family, since her mother never talks about them.

I loved the premise of this book, and I loved how casually queer it was (Margot is a lesbian) but unfortunately it just fell a little bit flat for me. I don't know if this is because I'm not used to the thiller genre but I felt like the mystery element was kind of pointless because it was pretty clear what was going on. The ending felt like a bit of a let down, I felt like the climax happened really wuickly and there wasn't a lot of aftermath (which i always like seeinga bit of character growth after the ending)

I did like how it dealt with intergenational trauma, especially between women and I feel like I would have liked it more if it had leaned more into that rather than the mystery/thiller aspect.

ARC only feedback - I listened to the audiobook for thi son the netgally shelf app and I'm not sure if it was just this book or audiobook arcs in general but the sound was weirdly echo-y. I didn't mind, it fitted the book and was kind of asmr-y but i just wanted to point it out. Otherwise I thought the audiobook was excellent and the narrator did a really good job with Margot's voice.

As excited as I was for this (after loving Wilder Girls), I was left vaguely underwhelmed and frustrated. The last 20% was brilliant; gory and horrifying and clever and twisty. I could not stop reading and even now that ending is harrowing and haunting me (as it should; bless it). But I can't look past that first tedious 80% of the book.

The two main places it fell apart for me were:
(a) the writing and Margot's tedious and repetitious inner monologues. If there was dialogue, we'd barely have two sentences/replies back and forth before Margot had to rehash everything internally. But it was the same things over and over and over. She processed everything as being about HER. And while I get she was traumatised, I think that could've been shown with tightness. Show us Margot suffering through gaslighting and anxiety, but push the story along. Whole chapters would go past without any agency from Margot and, worse, without any real push to the plot.
(b) the entire plot is based off "miscommunication". Basically if Margot's mother had opened her mouth and spoken one word of information, the book wouldn't have happened. It was tear-your-hair-out-frustrating. And like...I get its about deeply rooted trauma, but there had to be some way to write that without 300+ pages of no one giving any information ever.

The themes of gaslighting and generational rooted secret horrors were brilliantly done though. Chilling and thoughtful. The ending threw me back into the mood of Wilder Girls (I had missed it!) and that absolutely bloody moment at the end? STRICKEN by it. The energy of the finale writing should have been in the beginning!

Audiobook notes: I struggled with the app crashing continually and the sped up audio. being echoey and awful. I also found this narrator really breathy and over-emotional, which actually detracted from the story. I wanted to figure out how I felt, but the narrator kinda felt like she was labouring overtime to make sure I was feeling the right emotions. So....honestly not my favourite.

It wasn't long into the book before I was hooked. Immediately, the reader realizes there is something odd about Margot's mother - she is hiding something. And the reader will realize it's too good to be true that Margot will find what she is looking for from her grandmother. What she finds when she arrives in town blew me away. A student who is looking for a good mystery/thriller will enjoy this book. While I was not a fan of the ending, it was a good ride!

That was a really weird story but then again Ms. Power's did write it and she seems to have the oddest imagination I can think of. I can say that at first I was on the short stick of this being a book I wanted to finish, a bit slow but now that I think back to it, it was the loose ends to the ending. Which is kinda backwards but in a good way. There is no way to describe this story without giving anything away so I won't, Just go and read it yourself.
Oh and yes I can not tell you how much I loved the Narration on this book. The inflections in her voice were spot on. I had feelings of being overwhelmed, angered and scared. Great job

This novel was intense: intensely suspenseful. I listened to this as an audiobook and it was hard to take my earbuds out as I was trying to figure out/solve the mystery before it was revealed by the author. I am usually pretty great at picking out the who dun it, the why it was dun and other details of a mystery/thriller (dun dun dun.... duuuuuun) long before its grand reveal; however, the why in this novel was not what I was expecting and there was a little more violence than I was expecting too. It defiantly gets more twisted than the weird corn on the cob by the end of the story. If you're into thrillers and mysteries, this one will keep you on your toes.

Basic synopsis: Margot and her mom have issues. Her mom NEVER speaks about her past or her family. Jo punishes herself by living meagerly and never builds a relationship with her own daughter. Margot gets fed up with her mom's lack of warmth toward her and her secretive past. Unintentionally, she finds a clue to her past and she seizes on it to get to know the one other family member out there: Gram. Margot embarks on a quest to find her gram and discover her past. However, some bridges should remain burned... and some bodies should be left buried. If magical vegetation was a genre, Rory Powers would be the master of it. Powers makes it spooky how realistic it is for nature and plants to turn against humanity and reclaim the earth.

Actual rating: 4.5 stars

Representation: Lesbian MC, single mother
Trigger warnings can be found at the end of this review.

If you want atmospheric, tension-building horror and family secrets - this is your book.

I went into the book a little biased; I adored Power's debut book, Wilder Girls . And I was not disappointed in the slightest.

This is a story that revolves around the secrets of Margot's family, which she has never known. After discovering more lies and hidden family, Margot leaves the unstable environment with her single mother to find some answers. Which - of course - leads to a whole world of problems.

The story is dark and grisly, secretive and gory at times.Power writes a story that is shocking and will keep you guessing until the end.

"I will always wish I were hers, and I will always want to be only my own. I haven’t found a way yet to make the two fit.”

The characters as well are fantastically well-written. Margot, herself, has a great amount of depth as she struggles to find her place within her strange family. The dynamics explored with acquaintances/friend, Teresa, was brilliant and didn't feel forced or flat. And the gay rep! We love a book that makes someone's sexuality REAL without having to make it a core concept in the story.

My one disappointment was the ending wasn't everything for me. I liked it fine enough, but I felt it fell a little flat compared to the development in the rest of the story.

The audio narration for this book was spot on. I could not fault it if I tried - the narration was gripping and emotional from start to finish.

Absolutely check this book out if it sounds like your style. This is exactly the sort of horror I want more of in the YA sphere and Power just keeps on giving!


Trigger warnings: fire, emotional abuse, body gore, runaway child, death, child/infant death, gun violence (off-the-page), vomiting

I will simplify this by stating what I liked and then didn't like about this book. I liked the premise. I really liked the beginning and I loved the way the author handled Margot's longing for a family to belong to. I could really get a sense of how this young woman was craving to belong and feel like she mattered and it really helped me bond with her character. I didn't like the way the book has been somehow tagged as horror. I would never give this to a horror reader. It's not even really a thriller. I read this as a story about identity and family more than anything else. Now the one thing I thought failed in the book was the path of the story. For most of the middle of the book I felt groundless. I didn't feel like the plot was progressing much. We just seemed to go over the same ground. We were given bits of new information but it really didn't carry the plot forward very much. I enjoyed the book well enough in general but it didn't stand out for me as something I can't wait to recommend.

This was a slow creeping burn of a story! Th imagery of fire extends through every chapter of the book, I am glad that it all culminates with a fire in the end.
Margot knows her mother has secrets, she learned at a young age that she did not want to share anything about Margot's father or grandparents, so what does nay child do when told "No" to a mystery? she sets out to find the answers herself. She stumbles upon an old bible of her mother's which leads her to her grandmother and even more mysteries and secrets.
Margot works hard with a new friend to unravel her family's dark secrets in a small town where it seems nothing CAN be kept secret. except from her.
Fans of Goosbumps and Steven King will enjoy the creeping of this story.
The narrator had lots of emotion where necessary and her voice and tones kept the listener in a state of expectancy that comes along with all good horror movies.

My first Rory Power book and I thoroughly enjoyed myself! Thank you Netgalley for providing me with the audiobook for this review.
I really enjoyed two specific aspects of this book:
1. Morally grey characters! You don’t know who to trust... even the narrator at times. You felt for Margot and her torn relationship with her family, you detest her withdrawn mother and don’t trust her grandmother. The relationships she had/didn’t have with her family made me sad but also more intrigued to see why they have such issues lol!!

2. I also found this book very similar to Sawkill Girls by Claire Legard which made me love it even more! Sawkill is one of my all time favourite books and this has exactly the same vibes!

I would recommend this to teens and new adult who like thriller/mysteries and contemporary books

This was my first attempt at an audiobook through netgalley and I have to say that I was quite disappointed. The narrator was very monotone, which only made the book seem to drone on longer and longer. I tried speeding up the audio to 3x like I normally listen at, but the narration was practically unbearable as it skipped words and sounded tinny with an echo.
The main character, Margot, was very dull to me; she never seemed to have real emotions. As this was her stream of consciousness, it made even an exciting moment flat. I could not be scared along with her at times as I lost all attachments to her character early on. The novel did have some good aspects in its plotlines and twists, but they just weren’t enough to make me want to recommend this to other readers.
I may have had a different experience if I had read the book instead of listening, but I think I still would have given up on this type of character anyways. I really wanted to like this book as it seemed so intriguing, I just couldn’t find anything to get excited about.

The story was kind of a miss for me. It was a lot of buildup but also a lot of back and forth. The twist was good.

The narrator was amazing. I listen to audiobooks 90% of the time and the performance was on point.

AUDIOBOOK REVIEW⤏ BURN OUR BODIES DOWN

BY RORY POWER
NARRATED BY LAUREN EZZO

SYNOPSIS & BUY LINKS ON AUTHORS WEBSITE⇣

THE DETAILS⇣
⤏ HORROR THAT FEELS SLIGHTLY SUPERNATURAL-ISH...WELL, MAYBE?
⤏ YA-ISH
⤏ A DASH OF CHILDREN OF THE CORN
⤏ A DASH OF THE MURDERS OF MOLLY SOUTHBOURNE
⤏ MIX IT UP WITH SOME PFAS-LIKE KNID OF SHIT...
⤏ LENGTH OF AUDIO - 10 HOURS, 9 MINUTES
⤏ I LISTENED TO AN ADVANCED LISTENER COPY VIA NETGALLEY IN EXCHANGE FOR A HONEST REVIEW

MY THOUGHTS⇣

What do you rate a book that completely baffled you...do you give high marks or low marks...I went with the middle of the flipping road, standing next to a cornfield, confused as hell...3 stars all the way.

I have been eagerly awaiting Netgalley adding audiobooks...and the wait is finally over...but now I'm eagerly awaiting an update to there app that is less-than subpar. I've been emailing back and forth with Netgalley to get some of these issues resolved, like chapter skipping and more...but it is so far not going well. I know others on Andriod phones are having the same issues as I am...and I wonder if Apple users are having the same issues? Okay, rant over...back to my review...

This cover like with Wilder Girls made me feel like I had to read/listen to it. Another gorgeous cover from a Rory Power book...she's killing it in the cover department...she's also killing it in the book concept department...I just don't know how I feel about the execution of her concepts. She tends to leave you confused...maybe that's her thing, IDK because she really had me confused in the first half...and then things got weird...like uniquely, crazily weird. Was it a good kind of weird...again, I'm not sure. This is one of the books you have to experience for yourself.

I also wasn't feeling Lauren Ezzo's narration, I feel like she's a hit or miss kind of narrator for me. If depressing was what they were going for, though, then she may have nailed it, but I was not into it. I listened to this on a speed of 2.0, and I don't think I've ever listened to a book that quickly but it was the only way to make it bearable.


BREAKDOWN⇣
Narration Rating ⇢ 3.5 STARS
Plot ⇢ 3/5
Characters ⇢ 3/5
The Feels ⇢ 3.5/5
Pacing ⇢ 4/5
Addictiveness ⇢ 3/5
Theme, Tone or Intensity ⇢ 3.5/5
Originality ⇢4/5
Flow (Writing Style/Ease of Listening) ⇢ 2/5
World-Building ⇢ 3/5
Ending ⇢ 3.5/5
Summation ⇢ 3 STARS

The story of Burn Our Bodies Down is fantastic. Powers doesn't disappoint. The audiobook version is not the best way to read this story. The narrator doesn't fit the character I picture in the story. She sounds too old for the teenage protagonist, here sentence endings are also crisp, and the pace of reading is way too slow. Audiobooks are not just the book read to you. So many producers have made them into high-quality experiences. I think people who prefer their books in audio form will be okay with this book, but it will not have them sitting, rapt with attention.

If you are short on your audio budget, you can skip this one.