Spooky read that will keep you up at night! Thank you to Netgalley for this advanced copy. This is perfect horror anytime of the year, not just Halloween.

I really enjoyed this book, but I wanted to enjoy it more. It’s a great story, fun setting/ time of year. Totally Halloween which I completely love! Lots of plot points involving many characters- but that’s also the problem. The book shifts perspectives of narrator with each chapter change. Some are in the same family, so it is still same setting, which was a lot easier to follow. But when it keeps going from person to person unrelated it’s hard to keep up, and it took me out of the sort a bit. It was almost like reading a bunch of short stories, and I couldn’t read too much in one sitting, despite vert much wanting to know what happens next. So it is a good read, but kinda frustrating.

3.5 stars

It’s Halloween in 1984, and the families of Parameter Road are hoping to forget their woes for one night and have a bit of fun. As the sun goes down it’s soon clear this won’t be a typical Halloween night. Four children that don’t belong mingle in with the neighborhood kids, and seem to be scared out of their wits. They beg those around them to keep the Cunning Man away from them. Who is the Cunning Man, and why are these odd kids so terrified of him?

Wow this author did not hold back!! All bets are off and no one is safe!

While this story starts out a little confusing, told between multiple POV’s, it eventually finds its rhythm once we (the reader) become more familiar with each character.

This one is so atmospheric setting up a number of creepy situations, places, and people, and had me screaming at the book at points! I do wish we got more backstory of the Cunning Man however. I still have questions and really have no idea who he is at all.

There is a lot of neighborhood drama in these pages (and trigger warnings that you should definitely check into before reading). Some of it did seem to take away from the good spooky Halloween tale. With the exception of one creepy couple. Without spoiling I’ll just say that drama was great and I wouldn’t have minded more!

Overall an enjoyable horror read!

*Thank you to St Martin’s Press and NetGalley for providing me with an ARC in exchange for an honest and voluntary review.

A spooky, twisty horror story that also highlights the importance of family and defending those you love. That sounds almost like a fake description, but "All Hallows" is really much more than your everyday scary story. Though it is still plenty scary!

It's Halloween, and two neighborhood families are dealing with their own personal demons, when what seem to be actual demons infiltrate the trick or treating proceedings. Good and evil are turned on their heads throughout the course of the night, as everyone races to survive until midnight.

I’m starting to wonder if horror just isn’t my thing. I’ve tried two of Grady Hendrix’s books and didn’t care for the first one and DNFed the second. I thought maybe it was just a Hendrix and I not jiving thing because I know a lot of people love his books, but now I’m not so sure. It might just be the whole genre 🤷🏻‍♀️

My feelings were just kind of meh while reading. The only part that got my emotions going was when a child was murdered. That’s something I don’t do well with in books. So heads up on that being in there!

There were also a shit ton of characters to keep straight, so that took up a lot of my concentration space. Once I got them straight I could focus more on the story itself.

My favorite part of this book was that it was set on Halloween of 1984…my very first Halloween! 🥳

Thank you to @netgalley and @stmartinspress for the arc in exchange for my thoughts!

This book is set Halloween 1984! (Spooky books in January. I'm here for it). As the children are trick or treating with their friend groups they notice a few kids who seem to be new to the neighborhood. They figure the new kids are from a few streets over but came for the Haunted Woods or to trick or treat. However, after talking to the kids they realize something is very wrong. The new kids say they need to be kept safe until midnight. Then they will be safe from the Cunning Man. I got SlenderMan vibes here but I'm too old for when that was a big thing so I could be wrong.  I loved this part of the book best! I don't want to give any spoilers but it just gets better from here!

The writing was enticing the entire book. I just kept turning the pages to see what these kids were doing in the neighborhood and why. I needed to know!!

*
(Will post to IG this week but wanted to get thr review in here.)

I’m sorry to leave such short feedback for this book, but this was just not for me at all. There are way too many characters to keep up with and way too many side plots! This is also so dramatic with the one plot with the cheating husband, unfortunately due to all of these side stories it totally took away from the cunning man and the creepy kids. Too many characters died and I felt like this is a story geared towards teenagers rather than a spooky story for adults.

I have seen this book being talked about everywhere. Everyone whos read this loves this book and recommends it. I am so grateful to have gotten an E arc of this book because I love this book as well. I did not expect how atmospheric it was. I had a good time reading this and I am going to buy this and put it on my coveted shelf. .Thank you so much for the opportunity to read this novel.

It is Halloween night in 1984, and Tony Barbosa is looking forward to hosting his annual Haunted Woods in Coventry, Massachusetts. His daughter Chloe still helps him set up the spooky setting, but neither his wife nor his son shows any interest. But after the sun goes down, the night is more frightful than even Tony could have anticipated. Children in vintage costumes are begging to be hidden from The Cunning Man before it’s too late… 📖🎃

All Hallows is a solid spooky season read. Golden invests in character development as well as a fast-paced plot, and the alternating perspectives paired with the short chapters make it a quick read 📖🎃

I do wish I had read this book in October rather than January, and I was not as invested in the characters or their stories as I wanted to be. 📖🎃

Still, this book is quick and creepy, so I recommend it as a palette-cleaning binge read for next Halloween season 📖🎃

I absolutely enjoyed my time reading this book. This is such a great mix of mystery, domestic thriller and horror. This one is written from multiple perspectives; which I didn't mind and it actually made for a pretty fast read. The story takes place in the 80's, so there's a lot of nostalgia, which I also enjoyed. Okay, at this point I think I have established how much I loved every aspect of this atmospheric, horror novel.
This story follows a neighborhood as they get ready for Halloween festivities. There's a lot of drama going on with the families in this otherwise quiet neighborhood, which makes it easy for four children to sneak in on Halloween night and blend in with the trick or treaters. We soon learn that these children are seeking refuge from a man they call "The Cunning Man," but can these mysterious children be trusted?
It goes without saying but I fully recommend this one; it makes for a great Halloween read.

It's Halloween night in 1984. The neighborhood is all ready for trick or treat. Kids are in their costumes, the Barbosa's have their Hunted Woods display running, the Koenig's have the party started, but something evil lurks in the shadows. All Hallows night will never be the same for this neighborhood.
This book starts off slowly, introducing all the characters and their place in the neighborhood. It slowly reveals the conflicts and relationships between the characters, allowing for the intensity to build. When the creepy lost children appear, it really starts to get intriguing. Who are they? What do they want? You can feel that something is off and feel the danger that has arrived.
I enjoyed the buildup of the story and the character development. The plot was a bit creepy and embodied a sense of fear as you try to anticipate what might happen next. It gives you the sense of a horror flick, like Village of the Damned, but with a teenage tilt to it. I think the storyline was original and well thought out and would read more books by Christopher Golden.
Thanks to Netgalley and St Martin's Press for the advanced copy of the book. The opinions are my own.

The only reason I tried so hard to finish reading this book was because it was a netgalley copy....I feel obligated when I receive it for review. There were so many characters and points of view, so many mundane chapters, that I was bored to tears. I had to force myself to keep reading to see how they were all connected. By about 30% of the book, and 2 weeks of my life gone, I just didn't care anymore. DNFing and accepting defeat, with my apologies to the publisher.

When reading the description, this book seemed like the perfect read for Halloween, yet it is being released in January. It is Halloween in this neighborhood and the Barbosa family is preparing to present their last haunted house to their fellow neighbors. Things do not go as planned as secrets are exposed and unusual guests show up. Sounds intriguing, doesn't it? That's what I thought!

I expected to finish this in one sitting, but I found myself struggling to remain attentive because this book was a slow burn. The narration was confusing in the beginning due to all the characters that were being introduced. I had to switch between the ebook and the audiobook to push through but the half of the book really picked up and grasped my attention. While I appreciated knowing about the characters, their introductions and business took up most of the book and did not tie into the main plot at all. The concept was interesting, and I wish more information about why everything was happening in that way was provided. Was this annual or a "every 23 years" type of occurence. This would make a pretty decent movie on Tubi! I think my students might enjoy this more!

Thank you to the publisher, St. Martin's Press, and Netgalley for providing a free copy of the ebook and audiobook in exchange for an honest review!

I found All Hallows spooky and as things started to escalate the harder it become to put the book down. Perfect to read under the blankets on a cold night or to read again closer to Halloween.

There are the creepy woods, the setting for a Haunted forest attraction that one family has put together for a few years. This also happens to be the last Halloween they'll ever host this event.

Another family is dealing with all their dirty laundry being aired for all the neighbors to hear.

There are creepy children no one has ever seen before amongst the children of this neighborhood. They all appear to have this haunted look about them. And as the night wears on they begin to express fear of the cunning man. They ask to stay with the kids they've encountered.

When they start to show odd behavior and try to get them help they become agitated and aggressive.
Eventually being lured into a clearing in the woods where they might have to fight for their lives.

I just finished All Hallows by Christopher Golden and here is my review

It’s 1984 and Halloween night in massachusetts. The night begins like any other halloween until four kids appear out of thin air. They are all asking for help and they are all fleeing The cunning man.

While the lives of the people in the neighborhood are falling apart something else strange is happening. A clearing appears in the wood and a tree never seen before. Can the odd children that no one seems to know answer the questions being asked and can they keep the cunning man from getting what he so truly desires?

It’s a bit on the slow side for me. This does tend to be the case when you have a lot of POVs to introduce and build around so I wasn’t really surprised by this. I am not a massive fan of so many POVs but I do see why it needed to be done this way. Problem is you find yourself more drawn to certain characters than others and that makes reading the characters you don’t much care for…. Annoying.

The neighborhood is a mixed bag of people with their own problems and I enjoyed how real and raw that came across. It gave the book so real depth, the kind of depth you don’t usually find in a horror book. I did enjoy the underlying creep factor it had going for it but wasn’t as horror driven as I would have liked. The characters were a little unrealistic in places but honestly, I can overlook that for a good storyline.

I liked the atmosphere that was created in the way of the haunted woods and the 80s tone was definitely a plus. I wanted a bit more though.

I get what the book was trying to achieve and the concept was marvelous but I was a little disappoint in it and wanted more.


3.5 stars rounded to 4

Definitely worth the read if you are a fan of horror that gives you more than just the frights

Thank you @netgalley and @stmartinspress for my review copy! Out now!

✨ Review ✨ All Hallows by Christopher Golden; Narrated by Ronnie Butler and January LaVoy

I've been trying to read more horror to experiment and see what I like (weirdly I hate watching horror but have been enjoying reading it??!?!), and this hit just the spot.

Focused in on a single neighborhood in Coventry, Massachusetts in 1984 on Halloween, the book follows the POV of kids and parents alike. Focusing especially on 3-4 families, over the course of this book, marriages unravel and lives are lost as spooky circumstances descend on this night of All Hallows.

While in audio this many POVs would often be overwhelming, the perspectives were added slowly enough (and tied to larger families?) in a way that I didn't feel uncomfortable tracing all the threads (at least after the first few chapters passed).

I loved the storyline and sense of impending doom that just flooded through these pages, especially with the haunted woods and the creepy mystery children in mystery costumes. This was a quick and fun haunted read!

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Genre: horror
Location: a neighborhood in Massachusetts, 1984
Reminds me of: some low key Stranger Things vibes
Pub Date: out now!

Read this if you like:
⭕️ horror set on Halloween
⭕️ creepy kids and haunted woods
⭕️ 1980s vibes

Thanks to St. Martin's Press, OrangeSky Audio, and #netgalley for an advanced e-copy and audio copy of this book!

I love that this book is set during Halloween, it is such a great day to choose for a spooky story!

The story flows well, sometimes I did get confused with all the characters in this story. Especially when it started to get crazy with odd things happening around town. I tried to keep up, but did get lost a couple times.

Christopher Golden really is a great writer. He pays attention to the details and makes a great spooky story feel real and immersive. If you read this and enjoy this one, definitely give . Road of Bones a try next...a perfect winter story.

Thank you #NetGalley for sending me #AllHallows by Christopher Golden.

I absolutely LOVED this book. There is an underlying tension through all of it. You know things are not going to go well and the author pulls no punches. If you were a kid in the early 80s, this will take you back to a time when kids Halloween was a time of parties and big neighborhood scares. Older kids would be able to trick or treat without adults tagging along. Parents had their own celebrations and didn’t try to live through the lives of their children or try to somehow hang on to their childhood like it was something you could keep in a box.

Evil comes out once a year. It seems it comes to different places. Once it is out, is has just a small window to get what it needs.

I found it to be a very satisfying ending, too. Which is sometimes hard for horror writers. Loved it all around.

Thank you NetGalley, St. Martin’s Press and Christopher Golden for this e-arc in exchange for my honest review.

This book started off on such a promising note for me! It had all the spooky feels I was looking for, I loved the creepy woods and the creepy children running around trick or treating…but once I got further into it there was just too much family drama going on. The book just dragged for me and took too long to get answers…so disappointed because I had such high hopes for this one!

Revisiting the year I was born in the form of a nostalgic Halloween read? Hell yes. It's 1984 and Halloween night. For the neighborhood families in Coventry the night of tricks and treats is about to get a whole lot more horrific.

The story is told from multiple POVs. There is actually a good bit in the beginning that I had to get accustomed too before I got into the flow of who was who. Once that kicks off we start deep diving into the sins of the neighbors. Everything from kidnapping and doing unmentionable things to kids to adultery, alcoholism and then some.

The atmosphere is thick with tension and a sinister feeling continually creeps along the edges until the evil that comes to town is revealed. The atmosphere and gore are probably some of my favorites aspects.

The narrative flows well but I felt some of the plot points were either too quick or glossed over at times. I wouldve enjoyed more history on the Cunning Man. In general, the why of it all felt missing. I personally think less POVs and family drama with more focus on All Hallows and the haunts would've made the storyline even stronger.

Don't get me wrong, I definitely enjoyed this novel. It has tons of horror elements that I look for. Plus the POVs of the younger generation in this book were some of my favorites to read. The descriptive writing is everything I love when it comes to the creepy and gorey scenes. Literal spine tingles from the authors vivid narrative.

Thank you St Martins Press for the gifted digital copy in exchange for an honest and unbiased review! All thoughts are my own. True rating 3.5/5.