Cover Image: Division X

Division X

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Member Reviews

I was in the mood for a good werewolf story, so I decided to read this book I’ve had for quite a while (sorry about that!).

The first portion of the book was excellent. The transformation scenes felt almost real, and the author thankfully didn’t shy away from any of the gore.

The rest of the book wasn’t quite as good, but it was still a commendable effort from the author. Division X is run by a jerk (work for us our I’ll dissect you? WTH was that?). And the vampire’s story was much less than it should have been. Letting the two supernatural beings meet should have been awesome, but it was filled with silliness instead. Meet me in a year? How about no? Let’s get this done!

There was a good amount of action, which was enjoyable. If the entire book would have focused on werewolves, I think it would have been fantastic. As it is, this was a pretty good book that I’d recommend to those who want lots of action with a side serving of werewolves and oddly civil vampires.

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Another middle of the road modern horror novel. Not terrible but also not great. Never been a huge fan of this sub genre of horror but I'm always hoping something will change that. Not this time.

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Ready for a scary horror…..look no further!! Twenty-four years old, no job, and kicked out by her parents, Randi Matheson is living at her aunt and uncle’s trying her hardest to complete a novel she can’t seem to start when a carnivorous monster interrupts her middling life on a full moon night. Attacked during an ordinary family dinner, Randi’s relatives are murdered, and she is bitten by the beast. Surviving the slaughter, Randi returns home to her distressed family only to become a monster herself under the next full moon. Nearly devouring her younger brother, she is stopped by the intervention of Division X, a company devoted to the killing and capture of paranormal threats. She awakens in a containment cell the next morning to be given an ultimatum… work for them as a new weapon in the fight against evil or be dissected. A cure to her lycanthropy is promised along the way, and with real motivation to stay alive, Randi pushes herself to the brink to return to her normal life. Small town horrors lie in wait with even smaller heroes to stand against them. Can Randi save them and herself, or will everything crumble to the wills of evil…..

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This book felt very reminiscent of classic horror movies and tropes. I am a horror lover, so I really enjoyed this book. I understood it being slow in parts due to it being the first in a series, so it does need to world build a little bit for the further books.

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She can’t tame the monster within so maybe she can use it to kill other monsters.


Classic horror is making a comeback and if you love monster fiction, this book is in a class all its own. With a nod to some horror legends, August Hill adds his own modern macabre flair.


Let’s talk about the characters first. Randi is a likable character and her POV drives this book. She shows the reader a view not often seen in horror, and it was a pleasure to read. Her vulnerability, especially in captivity, connected me to her. The monster hunters were a rowdy group of military-esque soldiers on a mission of eliminating the monsters roaming about by any means necessary.


The plot arcs in a few different directions, some I didn’t anticipate. The story moves at a fast pace with well-described scenes. The world-building is epic and made reading this story very enjoyable.


August Hill has written a horror story with depth. There are certain themes that are well portrayed. Sure, there are slasher elements but who doesn’t love that nowadays?


I’d recommend Division X to any horror fan. Perfect reading to get you in the spooky mood.


My Rating: 5 stars

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An engaging paranormal story with some horror and dark humor mixed in. The story has imaginative characters and creatures. The main character is an unlikely hero who helps to save the world against other out worldly creatures and is promised a cure for her lycanthropy. Randi’s life is a disastrous, no job, no home and a serious case of writer’s block. She moves in with some relatives and that’s just beginning for the mayhem that will soon take place. She is bitten by a beast and her family is killed. Division X enters the picture and recruits her to help save the world from other creatures.

Disclaimer: Thank you to Brother Mockingbird for this review copy, I received this review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

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Note that this is the first part in a series which is something that I overlooked when I began reading which could explain some of the slower areas. It took a while for me to get into this and even then I found myself somewhat confused sometimes because although I was enjoying myself, especially the gory slasher bits, I would have to go back and reread some parts because it felt like I had missed something? There is one section even now that I truly don't know if it was "for real", a dream, or what.

Overall though it was quite a cool story! I was beginning to get into the characters and how they connected and am very interested to continue on with it to find out where or what happens to them all. It has great potential to be something big as it continues and more of The Division is explained....

Thank you NetGalley and Brother Mockingbird Publishing for providing this eARC for my honest thoughts.

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With the stylings of an 80’s style horror film Division X, follows the story of Randi who lives a normal life until a deadly werewolf attack. Still trying to cope with her new life, she has been dragged into the world of the supernatural at Division X a mysterious company, and tries to navigate each new small-town paranormal case that comes her way.

I enjoyed the retro feel of this novel and its callbacks to themes with 80s-themed slasher films and other sub-genres of horror. It is, however, very gory, so if you’re sensitive to that aspect of horror readers will want to take some caution. While the situations are action-packed and sometimes deadly for the Division X crew that they take on the book takes on a lighter tone with its dialogue and characters. While I feel the main characters Randi falls a bit flat at times, her other co-workers at the company and her family back at home have some great banter and comedic timing. It’s the awkward moments or heavy sarcasm at the most inopportune times that help to keep the reader immersed in the story. Their teamwork and commentary on cases kept me entertained.

The novel itself is set up into smaller sections and each section brings a brand new case for Division X. Though this book is meant to be a series, I felt the way the sections of each case and the overall storyline felt a bit disjointed and at times the story was hard to follow. Some of the parts were jumbled or didn’t feel like they fit into the overall plot. I did appreciate the variety of supernatural cases the teams take on, but I felt more interested in all of the other characters instead of the main lead.

Still a good recommended read for readers that are looking for a spooky horror novel with lots of action.

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Monster ,Murder, lots of Blood and gore what more could I want ,it's the perfect book to read on a cold and dark stormy night all the while your the only one up and reading, right from the story it had me hooked so much that I didn't want to stop reading and even when my eye wanted to close I kept saying just one more chapter. With that said I can't wait to see what happens

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I wasn’t sure if I would like this book after reading the first bit of it, but it ended up growing on me more than I expected.

I saw another reviewer say they did not enjoy the “monster of the week” type of thing that the book had going on, but I personally found that to be one of the books strong points. I did really enjoy how fast paced the book was, and the author definitely had me interested in how things were going to turn out. While I did like the quick pace, it would have been nice if each scenario had been fleshed about a bit more. I will say that I felt all of the action scenes (and there were a lot of them!) were well written and very vivid.

There were also some instances in the later part of the book where the author told us about conversations between characters instead having them talk it out. And that was such a shame because I liked the interactions between Randi and the younger members of her family. I especially enjoyed her two brothers, Mikey and Chris. The scenario that they and the cousin, Becca, had to face was the most intriguing in my opinion. Randi was fine as a main character, but she didn’t have quite the same oomph as Becca and the boys, and I would have rather spent more time with them over Randi. I would also love to learn more about the other members of Division X; while they weren’t around for long, I found them more compelling than Randi. I appreciated the effort to have them be a pretty diverse group in terms of age, ethnicity, and personality.

There are some lingering questions I had, but I see that this is the first book of a series, so I’m hopeful that subsequent books will be able to expand on things more.

Thank you to NetGalley and Brother Mockingbird Publishing for providing me with this eARC!

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Wow. What a pleasant surprise Division X was. It was perfect reading for Dragon Con weekend. I enjoyed the premise of the book. August Hill does a wonderful job of introducing us to the many characters who play a role in the tales featured in this series debut. There are strong undercurrents of mystery and intrigue enveloping several of them. Hill deftly handles the scenes of carnage which is not always the case in horror books. The pacing of the book is perfect to keep you turning the pages. The best part is the ending leaves you eager to read the next book in this series. I can't wait to see how many questions are answered in the sequel. Thank you to Brother Mockingbird Publishing and NetGalley for the advanced reading copy. #DivisionX #NetGalley

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