This was one of the hardest books I have ever read. I actually stopped about half way though with the intention of not finishing but after a long break I went back to it and finished. This reluctance wasn't because it was poorly written or not compelling because it wasn't either of those things. The sole reason I didn't love this book was because of the animal abuse. It was graphic and extreme. It honestly made me feel a little sick and a lot sad. We're not talking about one animal, it was many animals tortured and killed. It is also an intrinsic part of the plot so it cannot be skipped over. For me personally, I could not enjoy the story with a side of doggy torture. It tainted everything. In the end I did finish it. I thought that I knew where the story was going and I was right. There were a few times it surprised me but not any of the big twists. So I don't really know what to say about this one. if you can stomach animal abuse and death then you may enjoy this more than I.

Thank you to Macmillan-Tor/Forge, Tor Nightfire for providing an Electronic Advance Reader Copy via NetGalley for review.

There is no escaping your past or your family. Rob knows this, even as she cannot quite bring herself to admit it. Cannot bring herself to admit that there is something wrong with her daughter, Callie, something wrong and far too familiar. So she takes her daughter to her childhood home. To Sundial. To where it all began and where it all went wrong. Callie does not want to go on a trip with her mother. It seems sudden, out of nowhere, and as they settle in it feels more and more like something terrible has been planned for her. Like she might be one more body buried in the shadow of the sundial.

I started reading Catriona Ward’s Sundial right after a book that had just put me in a bad mood, so the beginning with all of its details about how awful Rob’s life was and how beaten down by it she had become left me ready to quit almost immediately. I just lacked the energy to deal with it. But, at the same time, I wanted to let Sundial succeed or fail on its own merits. So, I decided to stick it out until I either made it to the quarter mark or Rob and Callie actually got to Sundial, it felt like either option would be a better measure of the book than just quitting where I was as well as giving me more distance from the book that had frustrated me so much.

The thing is, that worked. Shortly after Callie’s perspective was added with her strange quirks and her pale doppelganger and dumpster puppy. There was this edge of danger to this child who punished her younger sister for things that the adults could not or refused to notice. She was trusting of her father, a counter to everything the reader had seen so far, and given space to be opinionated and more than a bit terrible, but so much of it was framed with the understanding that this strange awful person was indeed a child and an obvious product of her environment. It was not fun, exactly, but it was fascinating and Callie was a much more interesting character than what had been presented of her mother so far.

The conflict between the two felt solid as well. Here is a woman who cannot understand her child, who expects the worst of her and is horrified by her artistic hobby of collecting bones and organizing them back together. Here also is a child who loves her father and trusts when he says that doing something to her mother will be funny, who surrounds herself with the bones of animals so their pale reflections can keep her company, who wants to keep her younger sister safe in her own way but with methods that seem all too extreme. Neither understands the other or really knows how to start trying to understand.

And so begins the trip to Sundial. A tense drive undertaken by two people who really do not want to be there, but something has to be done to prevent something worse coming from their conflict. The routine of it, stopping for supplies because it is a long way from Sundial to the nearest grocery. Stopping off in a ghost town so Callie can run around a bit and explore, see all the pale dogs that are all that remains. So much that has been done on every other trip, some of it that the reader is only told about rather than shown, so much space for both characters to worry about if they are safe alone with the other or not. Then a cruel prank that just confirms the Rob's worries and starts to show Callie that maybe her father is not as fun and caring as she thought. The start of the real meat of Sundial as Rob begins to recount her youth, growing up in this place with her father and his co-researcher, the dogs and the experiments using them, and the sister who was so, so like Callie. A story much more about the slow rot of a relationship that both sisters relied on and the pain of bonds breaking over years. And all of this contrasted with a present full of struggle as mother and child each try to figure out how to survive the other.

It all worked really well until the point where the past and present started running into each other. The story of the past felt so long ago that having it butt up against Callie’s life felt off, rushed in a way that the progress of years across the rest of the story did not. Like seeing a bridge that has been in rough shape for a long while fall into the river all in a moment, the sudden breaks in this little family that lead to Rob as she is at the start of the book feels sudden and simultaneously inevitable and entirely avoidable if these characters had only stopped and talked about any of it.

I was left feeling like there should have been more to Sundial. Like Ward had a good idea of what she wanted from the story but that she was not entirely sure how she wanted it to all come together. In retrospect, all of the reveals were fairly well built up to, but the rush of so many of them being confirmed at once left the whole thing feeling off kilter and far weaker than the writing that had come before. Ultimately, I am not sure that Sundial does not deserve a higher rating that the three out of five I am giving it. But between the beginning being exactly what I was not looking for at the time and the ending feeling as off as it did, that is what I land at.

This is really weird but I couldn't put it down. Everyone is fucked up in ways that make me deeply uncomfortable but also kept me hooked the whole time. What a creepy little book.

After much consideration, I still don't know if this is a story about trauma, ghosts, or false truths. This seemed like it came from a result of two very busy stories being merged into one.

On the one hand you have the present day chapters about Rob attempting to get help for her daughter Callie who has been very creepy and potentially sadistic. However, Rob must also navigate her adulterous husband who is trying to prevent Callie from leaving his custody.

Meanwhile, in the past, we follow a young Rob living on the Sundial compound where mysterious animal and human testing is taking place. (There's also side story chapters that feature a story Rob is telling that I think is completely unnecessary to the story.)

I'm CONVINCED that if you place this story in chronological order this would just read as a weird contemporary read. The only thrilling aspects come from the mystery of what is happening, but if you are expecting something as shocking as The Last House on Needless Street, then I think you'll be sorely disappointed. Nothing felt surprising, but it was still wild.

Overall, I preferred the present day chapters, even though it felt like the past was where Ward was attempting to make social commentary and experimenting with the story. This could have easily been two books and both would be reasonably strong, but by having them be in the same book I had trouble caring about either. It also made the character development feel really stunted and questionable.

Thank you, NetGalley, for this book.

I LOVED The Last House on Needless Street. It was one of the best books I read that year. Top 10. So, when I saw that Ward had another book coming out, I knew it was going to be one I was going to read. And, even better, I got this one from NetGalley to review. This one wasn’t quite as good as Needless, but I still enjoyed it and will recommend it.

From Goodreads:

All Rob wanted was a normal life. She almost got it, too: a husband, two kids, a nice house in the suburbs. Far from her childhood home, Sundial, hidden deep in the wild Mojave Desert.

But beneath the veneer, Rob is terrified for her oldest daughter, Callie, who collects tiny bones and whispers to imaginary friends. Rob sees a darkness in Callie, one that reminds her too much of the family she left behind.

Running from her past has led her directly back to it — what’s buried at Sundial could never stay a secret forever, and Rob must risk one last trip out there to protect her family, and her future.

I had no idea what was going to happen in this story. Callie seems to be so disturbed. But so does Rob because her marriage is pretty rough. The way she and her husband interact is far from healthy. And when she can Callie get to Sundial, the real story begins. We learn about Rob’s childhood. She tells it in bits and pieces, so the true horror doesn’t come for a while. The best thing about this book is that I never knew what was coming around the next turn. The characters are so unhinged that anything was possible. Ward is 2 for 2 in my book, and I’ll definitely be looking for more from her.

I think if you enjoyed The Last House on Needless Street, you’ll probably enjoy Sundial.
Although, they’re very different stories, they had very similar ‘vibes’ and writing styles.
Sundial had a hodgepodge of different elements that came together to make up the story; from unreliable narrators, a story within a story, scientific experiments, ghosts, a dysfunctional family, a toxic relationship, to a lot more.
Overall, I thought the story was intriguing and I kept reading because I wanted to know where it went, but at times I did feel like there was a lot going on.
That being said, I definitely plan to pick up whatever Ward puts out next.

Sundial has dual POVs between a mother, Rob, and her daughter, Callie. They are visiting Sundial while Rob tries to determine how to handle Callie's bizarre behavior and her recent attempts to harm her younger sister. The story is told through dual timelines, as we unravel the history of Sundial as Rob was growing up, along with the present day as Rob tries to handle Callie.

After seeing much praise for Catriona Ward's recent Last House on Needless Street, I was excited to request this novel and test her out. Unfortunately, this book didn't quite work for me.

What I liked:

- It was a unique and interesting read
- There were a couple of twists that I didn't see coming

What didn't work for me:

- This felt just a little too weird. I just couldn't get into it
- Things took too long to develop. By the time I finally understood the story and what was happening, I was already disengaged
- None of the characters were truly likeable or had redeeming characteristics
- While I did not see some of the twists coming, I was not engaged enough for it to have an impact

I've seen plenty of praise for this one, so it may be a case of something just not quite working for me. I'm hoping to read another Ward book to see if it works out better for me.

Regardless of me not enjoying this one, I still recommend it for horror fans. I could see many fans of that genre enjoying this.

Thanks so much to the publisher and to NetGalley for giving me access to this book. I really enjoyed the last house on needless street written by Ward. I wanted to get a chance to read her newest book. This book wasn't what I expected. It was an alright read but nothing compared to the last house on needless street.

Definitely let me down after Last House on Needless Street. This book was a miss for me, but I could see other people potentially enjoying this one! Excited to read more from this author!

As a fan of The Last House on Needless Street, I was very excited to get my hands on Sundial but was ultimately left disappointed. Ward failed to capture the "what is going on?" feelings that Needless Street had me in, which I was expecting. (This is probably my fault.) I didn't like a single character in this novel, but I'm not sure I was supposed to like anyone. I did enjoy the twists, but the plot regarding the dogs kind of took away from my overall enjoyment. I would recommend checking this one out, just from the cover alone (it is GORGEOUS) but readers shouldn't go in expecting what they got from Needless Street. Trigger warning: animal abuse.

So I finished this one but to be honest, I'm not even sure how because I didn't enjoy it all--even though I really wanted to.

The story revolves around Rob, who is married to a horrible man. She has two daughters and she is a little bit scared of her twelve year old and what she might be capable of, so she takes her on a mother-daughter trip to her abandoned childhood home, Sundial. Once Callie and Rob arrive at Sundial, we also begin getting a past narrative from Rob about her life growing up at Sundial.

I have a really hard time enjoying a book when there isn't a character I can relate to, or root for, and I detested absolutely everyone in this book. And when I don't like anyone, I don't care what happens to them and the story just becomes tedious. Even the twist at the end was like, who cares? The only thing I am actually curious about is whether Rob was Rob all along, or was she Jack? But honestly, who cares. I'm really sad to say it because I loved Last House on Needless Street, but this one just completely missed the mark for me.

I was looking forward to this book after loving The Last House on Needless Street, but it did not have the same magic for me at all. The writing in this one felt too disjointed, so I was never able to just get lost in and cruise through the story. The reading just felt like stops and starts the whole way. In addition, there is a lot of abuse in various forms and it was difficult to get through at times.

By the time the story started to get interesting to me I had already figured a lot of it out and it was just too late for me to really engage. I never liked or bonded with any of the characters so I didn’t care what happened to them. It was much too easy to put this one down and just forget about it. It took much too long to get through and I was actually quite relieved when I finished.

I hate to give a low rating because I enjoyed her previous book so much, but I just couldn't love this one no matter how much I wanted to. I will read something else by Catriona Ward in the future, but will take a little break for now.

On the plus side - what a fabulous cover. That is an attention grabber. I just wish the story was worked better.

2.5 stars

“You can only do three things with danger: run away from it, fight it, or make friends with it. I don’t know which one to do.”

“But there is something bonding about the grinding exhaustion of parenthood, the constant teetering between laughter and tears, about that weary love for your children, planted so deep it is everything you are.”

I absolutely loved The Last House On Needless Street. Five stars all the way! So I couldn’t wait to read the latest from Catriona Ward. Unfortunately, this one was a huge miss for me.

I find myself confused and just disinterested in the story as a whole. I was pulled in quickly by Rob and the weirdness that is her daughter Callie. I couldn’t wait to see where the story was going. But once they reached Sundial, Rob’s childhood home, I was lost. I read without absorbing much of the story at all, so much so that I struggle to even recap what happened. Suffice it to say, this one was not for me.

Thank you to Netgalley, Macmillan-Tor/Forge, and the author for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I really enjoyed the setting and the plot twist in this story but I found myself wishing I was in the other perspective every time it switched. I wanted to be in the past when I was reading the present, and I wanted to be in the present when I was reading the past. I did really enjoy the desert setting and the hints at the cult like family, but I wish there was more. Overall, I did really enjoy this book, I read it in one sitting, and I'm looking forward to checking out the author's other books.

Sundial was yet another strange read for me. I appreciate the creativity of the story but it just expands past a point that I can enjoy. I am glad that I finished it but it was definitely a chore. I think this is it for me and this author - two books and both were just too obscure for me.

Thanks to Netgallley and the publisher for the opportunity in exchange for an honest review.

“Kids are mirrors, reflecting back everything that happens to them. You’ve got to make sure they’re surrounded by good things.”

I think I almost loved this one. But I also almost hated it. It's confusing and a bit tiresome to get through. I loved getting to know the characters and try to untangle the plot. It's told with a then and a now. It gives us glimpses of Rob - both as a child growing up in an odd setting and her as an adult now with children and a husband. It's distrubing and violent and doesn't stop between either flashback or the now.

I think, ultimately, I was confused for so long that I grew frustrated. Rob wasn't consistent throughout the book and it's only in the last 50 pages or so that everyone starts actually talking with real words and emotions.

And the dog abuse is intense and a bit much. It's overwhelming at times and hard to read. I wish I'd loved it but I think, ultimately, it's a great horror novel. Just maybe not for me.

A huge thank you to the author and publisher for providing an e-ARC via Netgalley. This does not affect my opinion regarding the book.

Catriona Ward is the best horror writer if you are looking for a very strange and confusing type of story! She's going to pack you in to the strange and unusual like nobody else can.
Sundial won't be for everyone, or the faint of heart. It's for the true horror lovers. It's a very dark and disturbing book, chock full of meaning.
The topics covered in the story may be triggering, so beware. Child abuse, animal abuse, mental health, miscarriage and trauma. I'm here for it. Ward gives just enough to pull you in and make you feel the tension rise. Next thing you know, you're shocked and appalled.
I don't want to say much more, this story should be read almost blind. Gird your loins and enjoy!
4 stars.

After not totally liking "The Last House on Needless Street", I wanted to give Catriona Ward another shot. While I didn't enjoy this initially, things got better as they got weirder. The story follows a woman named Rob who fears there's something wrong with her eldest daughter. To try and solve matters, she takes her daughter to Sundial, the small town that she grew up in, and from there Ward turns up the scary-factor. There's a lot going on with this plot, and I ended up liking the novel quite a bit.

Ward really knows how to write seriously messed-up characters!! I liked this book much more than "Needless Street," and I did not see the twist at the end coming. Mesmerizing book.

This one was not for me. I much preferred The Last House on Needless Street. The concept of the book was really great but I felt bored for the majority of it.