Not the story for me but I did like the characters and I think they were well written and receipted. The plot just lost me. I did like that there is someone with autism as I think there needs to be more awareness of it.

Interesting story of a bizarre hunting excursion.. I thought there was too much flashbacks to explain some backstory…and the twist was just ok. The person in control of the hu t was a strange character, not very believable.

“It’s not the strongest of the species that survives, nor the most intelligent. It is the one that is most adaptable to change.” - Charles Darwin

This was a pretty fast paced and tense thriller!

You kind of could guess what would happen, but it’s still a great read! I liked the flashbacks and felt they didn’t slow down the story at all.
Randall was your typical sleazy bad guy, and obviously one of my least favourite characters.


Thank you to NetGalley, the author, & Dark Swallow books for a copy!

I enjoyed this book, it kept me entertained though I did guess early on what was going to happen at the end! Thanks to Netgalley & the author for the opportunity to read this book for an honest review!

2.5 stars rounded up.

Unfortunately this book was a bit of a miss for me. Charly and her neurodivergent younger brother, Jacob, have a pretty normal childhood until, when Charly is 10, her father says he has to go away “for work” but he’ll be back to visit them. But they never see him again. This causes their mother to go into a downward spiral of alcohol and drugs until she is completely neglecting them. Charly and Jacob leave their most recent crappy flat a day before they are to be evicted for non payment of rent. Charly does her best to look after Jacob but life on the streets is hard.

Fast forward 12 years or so and things are looking up. Their mother is in a care home but tells them their father has died and left them the cabin in Colorado that they loved staying at so much as children. In fact they will be very well off soon. Charly and Jacob decide to go to the cabin, even though it is the middle of winter, for old times sake. But when they arrive there is a bunch of other people there, including their cousins Amanda and Cam, and the trouble starts straight away. The cabin is being used as a base for ‘excursions’, hunting excursions. Nasty hunting excursions. Randall, the man running the show, is a caricature of a bad guy and he doesn’t work for me at all.

I liked the cold wintery setting but that was about it. There is a lot of running around in the snow while Randall tries his best to control the ‘excursion’ but it all seemed a bit pointless. There is a good twist at the end which saves the book from being a complete disaster. Many thanks to Netgalley and Dark Swallow Books for the much appreciated arc which I reviewed voluntarily and honestly.

Action packed thriller!!! I loved the atmosphere cold snowy thrillers are my favorites I also loved the connection and relationship of the two main characters!!!! This is a creepy good thriller that I will highly recommend!!!

Much thanks to #netgalley for allowing me to read and review this ARC
All thoughts and opinions are my own

I enjoyed this thriller a lot! Thank you to Net Galley for the opportunity to read this advanced copy. The elements of suspense made me want to keep reading way past my bedtime every night . The characters were great. The connection between the two main characters was so strong. Charley’s main job in her life is to protect her younger brother with Autism. My son has autism and I just instantly connected to her with that. I did not see the twist at the end coming! This was such an incredible ride and I look forward to reading more from this author in the future!

My thanks to Dark Swallow books, T.O.Paine and Netgalley.
I found myself quickly swept up in this story.
The damn thing was just action packed!
Also, I'll confess that the story of these two siblings kind of broke my heart.
First off, if things are gonna go to hell, then I prefer a very cold environment! We have that here! Also, if things are very messed up, then we need a nutzo who thinks he is the best of the best of hunters. ✔
Dude was a freak!
Also, this book is about hunters who hunt people. Sick.
I kinda enjoyed the shit outta this book!

Ominously intriguing. This book hooked me. The writing was so fast paced, filled with mystery and suspense. It's like 'Lord of the Flies' meets 'The Most Dangerous Game.' It was very predictable but still a fun read. The characters were excellent. A retrieve villain who made my blood boil, and odd sibling pairing with a past, and a wealthy southern man with serious narcissism. A pretty good read but not Paine's best.

Thank you Dark Swallow Books and NetGalley for the copy of The Excursion. Sadly, this book was not for me. None of the characters were relatable or likable and I didn’t see the point of the events in the past until the very end. The story had a lot of potential but the execution was off and it didn’t really engage me, especially since I read a short story with the same basic plot many years ago. If you like a twist that comes out of nowhere, this might be the book for you. 2.5 stars rounded up to 3.

What an amazing thriller ride by T.O. Paine This one made me angry, anxious, and disgusted. Which I'm sure was the point! Randall was a vile man, which made him an awesome villain. I was getting an inkling of the big reveal at the end and was happy to see I was right! It was too bad that Charly and Jacob didn't get to make up with their cousins, but I'm glad they both made it through and seemed to have some closure about their dad. Overall, this was a great read, and I'm looking forward to reading more by this author!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC.
Wow. The twist and turns in this one got me. Charley and Jacob are trying to survive what turns into a road trip from hell.
And the twist at the end I kind of wondered if it was going to happen with Lance (trying to avoid spoilers) but I was still surprised when it did.
Good read!!

Due to losing Wi-Fi I have done this review three different time so to get a quick summary on the book please read the one given this is my opinion first of all the victims in this book don’t know how to read a room and seems to only be aware of danger when it’s staring them right in the face direct threats and ultimatums don’t work on these people the villain rattle is menacing and thinks himself to be the Apex predator the alpha male the top of the food chain… Yet he has a big aversion to blood and thinks there’s germs and gray worms swimming in it so much so that he gags and almost rolls up at the side of it and he’s the bad guy. I thought my eyeballs would get whiplash from rolling them so much or at least a slight sprain but now having said all that I want to say this book totally Reminded me of campy horror flicks from the 80s. It’s one of those thrillers that you know what’s going to happen and some of that is super dumb but you’re on board and if books are meant to be enjoyed then I think this is a great book because I thoroughly enjoyed it. There were times throughout this very long book that I thought I wouldn’t recommend it but because I didn’t want to stop reading it I totally do recommend it although it wasn’t the best ever in most things you can see coming from a mile away there is a twist in the book that I didn’t see coming but it seemed the whole situation at the cabin was a cluster crunch and a train wreck and like any good accident you didn’t want to look away I know I didn’t and totally enjoyed it. I received this boat from NetGalley and the publisher but I am leaving this review voluntarily please forgive any mistakes as I am blind and dictate my review.

Charly Highsmith is a survivor. Abandoned by her parents, she spent her teens looking after her autistic brother on the bitter streets of Denver, Colorado, with nothing but a jacket and a backpack.
But things are better now. Charly and Jacob live in a two bedroom apartment near a mall, and with the passing of their long lost father, they've inherited a cabin high in the Rocky Mountains. Charly's eager to go there. Relive the good times she had as a child, running through the forest with Jacob and her cousins.
Amanda the Overachiever. Cam the Recluse.
But when they arrive, the cabin isn't empty.
Barry the Millionaire. Kennedy the Social Media Magnet. Randall the Hunter.
Standing by the fireplace, Charly sees that look in her neurodivergent brother's eyes. There are too many people. He's going to run. He's going to burst into the unforgiving snowstorm, sprint around the frozen lake, and hide in the forest like he did when they were young.
So much for reliving the good times.
Randall the Hunter goes to the window. Opens the curtains. The blizzard rages outside. He says no one is leaving. He says nothing will stop the hunt. Nothing with stop the excursion.
Really enjoyed this book totally recommend
Thank You NetGalley and Dark Swallow Books
I just reviewed The Excursion by T. O. Paine. #TheExcursionTOPaine #NetGalley

Sort of like Lord of the Flies… A group of people in an intense situation learns how to work together or not work together… This is a really intense story full of the best and worst of human nature.