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.

"𝑩𝒆 𝒄𝒂𝒓𝒆𝒇𝒖𝒍 𝒊𝒏 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒄𝒐𝒎𝒑𝒂𝒏𝒚 𝒐𝒇 𝒎𝒐𝒏𝒔𝒕𝒆𝒓𝒔 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒅𝒐𝒏'𝒕 𝒃𝒆𝒄𝒐𝒎𝒆 𝒐𝒏𝒆." -𝑪𝒊𝒏𝒅𝒚 𝑮𝒆𝒓𝒂𝒓𝒅, "𝑻𝒂𝒌𝒆 𝑵𝒐 𝑷𝒓𝒊𝒔𝒐𝒏𝒆𝒓𝒔"

All Hallows by Christopher Golden centers around one neighborhood in Massachusetts and readers take a journey with multiple neighbors and their POV on Halloween night 1984. There are profound family secrets, dark rumors about the new neighbors, and unknown children wearing spooky vintage costumes that no one seems to know. They all claim to be hiding from someone. That someone is The Cunning Man.

Thank you @stmartinspress and Christopher Golden for the #gifted copy. I was given a free eARC copy in exchange for my honest opinion

TW ⚠️
Too many to list

𝘐 𝘌𝘕𝘑𝘖𝘠𝘌𝘋...
• The atmosphere and energy. I'll be honest, I wasn't alive in 1984 but I do remember simpler times when children could wander the neighborhood without their parents fearing the worst.
• The multiple POVs in this book are done well. Golden wrote each character's point of view distinctly.
• The diverse cast of characters includes different minority groups and LGBT reps.

𝘐 𝘏𝘈𝘋 𝘈 𝘏𝘈𝘙𝘋 𝘛𝘐𝘔𝘌 𝘞𝘐𝘛𝘏...
• Once the action initiates it builds at a fast pace and by the end, there are so many happenings that it is slightly overwhelming.

𝘖𝘝𝘌𝘙𝘈𝘓𝘓...
This was a fantastic horror story and it certainly has been a long time since I've enjoyed one so thoroughly.

𝐑𝐞𝐚𝐝 𝐢𝐟 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐞𝐧𝐣𝐨𝐲
🎃 The tv show Stranger Things.
🎃 Suburban Drama
🎃 Children of the Corn movie
🎃 The Strangers movie
🎃 Halloween scares

⭐⭐⭐⭐ 4/5 (7.57/10 CAWPILE)

All Hallows will sink it's claws in you. There are so many different perspectives that at times it can be a little confusing. However, it is so well written that it doesn't matter. I was not expecting who the actual villain was in this story and I loved finding out at the end.

3.5 out of 5 stars (3.5 / 5) 1984 Halloween night. One neighborhood is simultaneously falling apart and enthusiastically celebrating Halloween.

From multiple POV, we see families falling apart, racial discrimination, and more. Add in that it’s the night of Halloween and it’s the perfect mixture for chaos.

“Nothing could stay perfect, but if you were lucky and diligent, you could steal a few perfect moments in your life.”

This definitely had a Stranger Things vibe due to the time period but also the characters. We get to know quite a few, which was a lot to keep track of. However, once I started taking notes I found myself connecting them all and remembering their stories. One part I loved was the multiple POV. Multiple POV can be difficult! The characters were introduced well, presenting a great connection to the story. But I really loved that the POV added in the opposing view. Not only did we hear from the kids and parents, but the “villains” also. That is what I’m here for!

Sadly, this one did not instill fear. I kept waiting for the creepy feeling (that’s why we read horror, right?) but never did feel it. Bodies were piling up, children were being taken, families were being torn apart and I still felt nothing. I believe this is due to changing the POV so often. I didn’t get enough into each side of the story before it changed again. Once again, I loved the multiple POV, but I wonder if that was the downfall for my lack of fear. So while it fell short in the scary factor, it was still a fun read.

Thank you to St. Martin’s Press and NetGalley for the gifted copy!

This book will hit all the right notes for a spooky season read.

Admittedly, it was a bit hard to get in the mood in January when I picked it up, but it's a good one for any horror lover.

One aspect I really enjoyed about this book is that much of it felt like a neighborhood drama (which I love). Everyone knew everyone's business, there were lots of fake and shady people, and oh so much drama.

With all of the narrators, we really got to know several families which added a lot to the story. Once I got the characters and families straight, it was easy to form connections and get invested in their lives. Then Golden has to go and STRESS us out with everything that unfolds and all they face!

Golden is a master at crafting his language to put the ultimate shock and stress on his readers! At first, I had to reread parts as the gore and horror began as I would read a page and think to myself, wait, did that just happen? Golden snuck in bits of theatrics that were easy to miss but fear not gore lovers, as the plot thickens, the violence and scare factors are also increased.

Once the horror aspect of the story got started, the pace really picked up, but this didn't happen until about 3/4 of the way through. Some pieces of the plot felt a little familiar and predictable, but overall, this was definitely a unique read.

Thank you to St. Martin's Press and NetGalley for a copy of this novel. Make sure it's on your list for Halloween!

3.75 stars rounded up.

I really enjoyed this creepy Halloween themed book! The setting of the town surrounded by the woods on Halloween night was perfect. It reminded me why I will never be a fan of camping or spending time outdoors at night! The multiple points of view were great, though I have to admit that in the beginning, it felt like a lot of characters to keep track of. The kids were super creepy. Scary children will get me almost every time! Overall, an entertaining read!

The darkness wrapped the woods in its embrace, squeezing every last bit of life from the branches. A cold seeped in bringing a dreadful eerie tone. Rot bubbled from the ground, expelling a nauseating scent of decay and death. Creatures slowly revealed their hiding places and watched as those entering screamed in terror.

All Hallows is a horror taking place on Halloween in the 80s. It follows a large cast of characters who all live in a neighborhood and are getting reading for Halloween, but this Halloween will be a nightmare.

This is what I love about horror. This book was such a scary good time! As I stated above, there is a huge cast of characters to follow and each chapter is told from someone in the neighborhoods perspective. It was a little confusing at first, but it all tied together well. I do wish the neighborhood drama would have taken more of a backseat and the story stay focused even more on the horror/thrasher vibe, because that’s what I was loving. But overall this was the perfect read for Halloween and I have no idea why this book was published in January.

If you’re looking for 80s Halloween nostalgia, neighborhood horror, and slasher vibes, then I highly recommend picking this book up!

This one didn't really work for me, unfortunately. I found it difficult to get into, and the characters (especially the female characters) didn't have a lot of depth. I liked the concept of following different people around a creepy Hallowe'en season, but I wound up deciding not to finish reading.

All Hallows is an intriguing mystery thriller that is sure to keep you on the edge of your seat. Along with it being a horror story, there's a lot of family drama in it. Each family has their own problems and the kids just want to escape from them. What's better than a Halloween night to do that?

I truly wish that this would have released in October instead of January. I think I would have been much more in the creepy mindset for it. It is set in 1984 on Halloween. It’s told from alternating characters perspectives, which I normally love. I could not connect with any of the characters and the plot got a little all over the place.

The premise of this sounded very interesting. I love horror books with 80's vibes. This just didn't live up. It was so slow. The women were the typical "written by men" type. This just wasn't for me.

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for the gifted e-book!

I was pretty surprised that I had requested this book since horror is not my genre, but the description and the 80s time period caught my eye. I finished the entire book and it was not for me. My main gripe is the women did not talk or act like real people. They were caricatures.

The premise is that it is Halloween and a local neighbor is setting up his haunted woods for the last time. His family has to move for financial reasons. A couple of very strange kids in costume show up who appear to be lost. Things go awry. Bigots are revealed. Affairs are discovered. Young love blooms. Creepy monsters enter the picture. A heart is pulled out of a chest. The story line was bizarre, but that might have been the point. What I really disliked was the addition of Zach and Ruth who didn’t advance the storyline at all. They were apparently child molesters/kidnappers/killers and I did not enjoy reading anything from either of their points of view.

I received a free e-arc in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

I was really hoping to like this one because it takes place on Halloween in 1984, and it sounded kind of creepy. Sadly, it just dragged for me, and I found myself skimming parts of it because I was bored. While it did pick up towards the end of the book, it still didn't wow me.

I think I would have liked this better if it had focused less on the characters in the neighborhood (there were many, and they all had issues) and more on the Cunning Man and the four "creepy" kids.

Thank you @netgalley and @stmartinspress for the gifted e-arc of this book.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an ARC of the book in exchange for my honest review!
I really enjoyed this book. I love a spooky horror book, though it did feel a bit odd reading about a halloween horror during January. I would recommend picking this book up in the fall instead, as I feel half the enjoyment of it is the halloween/fall/haunted trail vibes.

The one thing I found a little difficult when reading this book was how many characters perspectives we were getting. I found it tough to keep everyone straight and had to keep going back to see who each person was and how they were or weren't related to each other.

Other than that I found this a great book, with a creepy atmosphere, and it was a story different from anything I have read before.

3.5 stars rounded up

It's been awhile since I've read a horror novel, this is one I would love to see adapted to the big screen!

- multiple POVs
- thrills and chills
- plot twist you won't see coming

All Hallows is filled with the creepy horror of your favorite comfort Halloween movie. It's Halloween night, 1984. The small Massachusetts town of Coventry holds more than just the Barbosa's annual Haunted Woods attraction. Drawing in crowds from all over, it's not unusual to see unfamiliar faces, especially since this is the last year they'll be hosting. There's a lot more drama going on throughout Parmenter Road and we get to dive into all of it through multiple POV's from the Barbosa's and their neighbors. Small children in out-dated clothes slowly mingle into the festivities, appearing frightened but not of the costumes or the Haunted Woods. They all claim they're hiding from the Cunning Man.

The first half of the book felt very slow for me. It's a lot of sub plot building which does come into play later on, but it did feel like it was dragging at some points. The action really picks up in the second half. Overall, a spooky read that would be great for a film adaption. So many events unfold within this story, each one falling into another until we finally meet the Cunning Man and I enjoyed the plot twists along the way!