Thank you @Netgalley for my ARC of Briardark. This was a creepy and suspenseful novel. I can't wait for the second book in the series. Read if you like expeditions and unexplained happenings in the woods.

Have you ever found a book that you were so invested in, so obsessed with, that when you saw how many pages, or how much time, was left in it you wanted to cry, scream, protest? Yea, that’s how I felt about Briardark.

This book is insanely good and I quickly became fully invested in the dark tale contained within its pages. It’s described as LOST meets House of Leaves, and that is one of the most accurate pitches I’ve ever read of a book.

It’s creepy, but fascinating. I loved all the neatly sprinkled bread crumbs of hints about what’s happening and ominous things lurking around every corner. The back and forth chapters between the team in the wilderness and Holden’s research sets the perfect pace.

I immediately went to Goodreads to make sure there will be a second one (there will be).

If you were a fan of LOST (or even if you weren’t), you need to read this book.

5 enthusiastic stars.

Also, Brenda Scott Wlazlo is a fantastic narrator and sets the perfect pace for this chilling tale.

Ok so I loved the cover and description for BRIARDARK by S.A. Harian. Here is a snip of the synopsis:

"For Dr. Siena Dupont and her ambitious team, the Alpenglow glacier expedition is a career-defining opportunity. But thirty miles into the desolate Deadswitch Wilderness, they discover a missing hiker dangling from a tree, and their satellite phone fails to call out.

Then the body vanishes without a trace. "

Ok that alone had me hooked and quite frankly I really enjoyed about the first 35% of this book. I listened to the audiobook and the author's cadence was building up pressure and then things started to go wrong for me.

I absolutely could not get behind the character of Sienna and really disliked her dynamic with Emmet (the fact that they would even be on an expedition together after their history was hard for me to grasp as well). It did not help that the voice of Sienna manifested as a bit chaotic and shrill through the narrator's telling.

I did however enjoy the character of Cam and her mysterious connection to the former expedition. So that is a win!

In the end this one felt a bit like a twisted Stockholm syndrome style dark romance. Which for me was *womp womp*.

!BUT! Maybe dark fucked up romances with a side of cosmic horror are your thing? To each their own, friends!

I am always a little disappointed when I get psyched up for a book and it ends up not doing it for me. How do you cope with that problem? Read another book right away? Go on a reading hiatus?

Thank you to the author, @netgalkey and the publisher @compassandfern for the ARC audiobook in exchange for an honest review.

#booknerd #bookbot #bookstagram #bookreview #booksta #booksofig #bookish

Briardark by S.A. Harian

Woop woop! First five star of 2023!!! Horror and thriller friends: this is a MUST!

Thank you S. A. Harian NetGalley, and Compass and Fern LLC for my audio advanced review copy. My opinions are my own.

Plot - 5
Writing and Editing - 5
Character Development - 5
Narration - 5
Personal Bias - 5
Final Score - 5

"For Dr. Siena Dupont and her ambitious team, the Alpenglow glacier expedition is a career-defining opportunity. But thirty miles into the desolate Deadswitch Wilderness, they discover a missing hiker dangling from a tree, and their satellite phone fails to call out.
Then the body vanishes without a trace.
The disappearance isn’t the only chilling anomaly. Siena’s map no longer aligns with the trail. The glacier they were supposed to study has inexplicably melted. Strange foliage overruns the mountainside, and a tunnel within a tree hollow lures Siena to a hidden cabin, and a stranger with a sinister message…."

Told from multiple POV's with a blurred timeline, this story took a few chapters to get my bearings. The author does an excellent job taking the reader along the story with the characters, making it feel more like an experience than a story. As we learn a little more about what is happening in the Deadswitch Wilderness, we also learn more about the characters themselves and their relationships. I wouldn't call this book scary, but it definitely has creepy moments. I thought that the story was well paced and I was fully engaged once I got my bearings. Just as things seemed to be falling into place, the book ends. The sequel is on it's way to shelves in 2024 and I can not wait!

Thank you to @netgalley and Compass and Fern LLC for the gifted copy of this book.

I lost interest in this book about 50% in due to lack of anything actually happening. I am not sure if it was because it was the same thing over and over for the plot or if I just was not in the mood for a boring hike story. There was a dead body and then some shotty radio service and then nothing but banter for a fair amount of time before i gave up. I am not saying don't give this book a try maybe it is just something I am not really into.

Thanks to Netgalley for providing me with an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This was an okay book. I liked the premise of it but not the characters (they were giving "I'm not like the others" vibes) except for the side characters cam and angel. I get that this book was a setup for the next book(s) in the series but it was a lot of build-up with barely any payoff, like I feel like I know half the book just by reading the back describing the plot. I might read book 2 but probably not, i think ill just forget about this book in a week.

A slow-burning intense and atmospheric story. I am now desperate to read the next part!

I loved listening to this. The narrator’s performance was fantastic. She made the characters come alive. I definitely recommend letting the story be told to you this way - although beware it’s something you listen to while walking or cleaning, nothing too complicated, because you’ll be paying too much attention to what’s happening.

4 Stars

This was such a fun creepy disorienting horror/thriller. Harian does such a great job causing this sense of dread with the reader thru the description of the atmosphere and the overall just feeling of unknown.

This book is told in multiple perspectives and timelines. It's a bit difficult at times following and keeping track in the audiobook. However it's so gripping that I couldn't get enough. I really was excited to find that the setting of this book is in Oregon and Oregon State University. Its was a perfect setting for this book knowing the creepiness of Oregon Forest.

This book is really hard to explain what it's about. At times I am not quite sure I understand what happened but I do look forward to reading book 2 to see what happens next. As it was a really fun ride.

I did really enjoy the narrator for this book. Brenda did a great job narrating each character and showing realistic inflection in voice dependent on the situation. I really enjoyed listening to her and will be looking out for more books done by this narrator.

Thank you to NetGalley and Compass and Fern for this advance audio copy. My review is voluntarily my own. I will be posting my review to retail sites.

Very fun, creepy thriller! Briardark has elements of horror, thriller, and sci fi. I was drawn to its comparison to one of my favorite TV shows, Lost, and I do agree that it has a similar disorienting, claustrophobia but in open air, shifting POV awesomeness.

Listening to the audiobook, it was tricky to keep all the names and places straight in a way I found distracting and annoying. There are different ex-couple and couple groupings plus best friend pairs that were hard to follow at times while also tracking the "research" and trying to stay immersed in the creepiness.

The story ends on a cliffhanger. We get some answers, but not all of them. I definitely look forward to the sequel! I enjoyed the story.

But would that said, I really didn't like the narration. The book is pretty evenly split between male and female POVs, and this could have gone in different directions with the narration. Maybe a male and female narrator, or just a male narrator, or at least a female narrator with more appropriate voice acting. Though she was clear and easy to understand, her voice was so thick and dramatic with emotion that detracted from the writing and the characters. It made them flat, the way she narrated a panicky, sad tone constantly. I had a similar criticism for the dead silence audiobook; these are supposed to be scientists and experienced backpackers, so their voices shouldn't sound so whiny. I probably would have enjoyed this a lot more as a physical book.

Thank you too netgalley and Compass and Ferb LLC for an audiogalley in exchange for an honest review.

First, thank to netgalley for providing me this ARC.

Wow just wow...I am writing this minutes after finishing this book. I LOVED this story. This story had me on edge and my brain going a million miles a minute. My poor husband had to endure my poor explanations and theories without any context. This was the perfect creepy horror/thriller book I needed. Ahhhhh, I need the next one now!

The Good: The story was so interesting. It was a great balance of horror/thriller. The way the scenes were written were so vivid, I felt like I was there. I loved trying to work out the plots in my head and found myself completely engrossed in the story. The characters were great, they were written like everyday people and I loved that.

The not so good: With such a long lost of characters name dropped it was a little hard to grasp the different timelines ect.

This was a great read! Highly recommend!

In the Deadswitch Wilderness, nothing is as it seems. Reminiscent of Jeff Vandermeer’s Southern Reach Trilogy. You never know what is going to happen except the unexpected.

Dr. Siena Dupont and her team are headed into the Deadswitch Wilderness for the research opportunity of a lifetime. Barely two days into their hike, they find a dead body. It could have been there for years but barely looks decomposed a day. They all see it, but suddenly it vanishes. They continue their journey, but as they get to their destination, more weird things start happening. The map and the trail no longer align, the glacier they are going to study has melted, and there’s a hidden cabin with a stranger that has information for Siena. Meanwhile, IT professional Holden Sharpe finds recordings from their trip while cleaning up old hard drives, but somehow, the recordings haven’t happened yet. Holden can still save Siena and her team. It’s a race against the clock, and some supernatural elements to save the team before it’s too late.

This is one of my favorite horror. Supernatural elements, shifting timelines and reality, and several mysteries. I really enjoyed this one and tore through it within a couple of days. The narration was excellent. It kept me enthralled and I didn’t lose the thread of the story despite some twists and turns. I enjoyed the back and forth between Siena and Holden and how both of the timelines/storylines unfolded. Would definitely recommend if you like your horror with a healthy dose of SFF. It’s out now wherever you get your books.

A science team enters the wilderness to study a glacier. But there is a dark presence in the woods and it lays claim to these trespassers.

This novel has it all, monsters, time warps, porous boundaries between dimensions, a horrifying tarot deck, unreliable memories and characters with secret motives.

I completely enjoyed this audiobook. There was SO MUCH happening and the dramatic plot twists and freaky coincidences were revealed so casually, that it wasn’t until pages later that I said, Wait, WUT!?

Tension and terror builds and builds and then PFFT. It’s over. It is very unsatisfying and abrupt. There is obviously a sequel. And I am ready for it.

Dr. Siena Dupont and her team hike to the Alpenglow glacier in an expedition that is a career-defining opportunity. Unfortunately, while on their journey they find a missing hiker in tree only soon after for her to vanish without a trace. Suddenly, trails no longer align with maps, the glacier they came to study has melted and the world and time seems to be collapsing around them.

This audiobook was a wonderful blend of sci-fi and horror. Eerie, atmospheric and filled with tension! The narrator had me on the edge of my seat and I definitely want more. This is a great start to the series and I will eagerly be looking forward to the next.

I want to thank NetGalley, S.A. Harian and Compass and Fern LLC for the audio of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are honest, my own and left voluntarily.

So this book, if you’re a fan of “The forest” or anything to do with a haunted/cursed forest (think Aokigahara) then this may be right up your alley. I struggle with several POVs and this book does tend to switch around a lot. I’m told this book is kind of like “house of leaves” but I have not read that yet. I do want to say that aside I enjoyed the book at the lore the forest itself set up. It reminded me vaguely of Annihilation. I honestly give this book 3.5 out of 4 stars.

Briardark by S. A. Harian was brilliant, cinematic actually! Y'all it was unsettling, and smart with complex paranormal concepts that were laid out in easy-to-follow storytelling, BRAVO! The writing was lush and the prose breathtakingly beautiful. The descriptions were vivid and pulled you into the story. The audio and narration enhanced this experience. At times I felt like I was in the marsh with the characters which was utterly terrifying. The plot points and pacing were exciting, and the character development was on point. I need to own this in hardcover immediately! Looking forward to book two.

I received an audio review copy of this book from the publisher through @netgalley for my honest review. The opinions expressed in this review are entirely my own.

This horror, thriller, survival story has a unique premise and mid-book twist that will make you eager to turn the pages. I was on the edge of my seat until the very end. I felt as though some aspects of the plot could have been explained better, and this took like 10% too much mental energy, but overall, Harian's foray into adult writing was a smash!

I don't think the cover represents the story very well, and gives it somewhat of a dark fantasy vibe. That's not what this is at all.

Buckle up because Briardark is a wild ride. I took every opportunity to listen to this audiobook, both for the story and the narrator. The story really sucks you in, flipping between perspectives at the perfect times to keep you needing "just one more chapter." I think this novel is much better as an audiobook than a physical one because the narrator, Brenda Scott Wlazlo's inflections and pacing add the perfect level of tension. This is definitely a book I'm recommending to all my friends who appreciate horror.

💀BRIARDARK | BY S.A. HARIAN💀
3½⭐

MOODS
➨ Horror
➨ With a Sci-fi Vibe
➨ Book #1 of 2

WHAT YOU GET
➨ Lost meets Planet Skyring (from The 100) kind of freakiness
➨ With a dash of Annihilation
➨ Creepy Atmosphere
➨ Confusing timelines and POV switches

Thank you, Netgalley and the publisher Compass and Fern for my audiobook copy in exchange for a review.

I want to say that I loved this since the atmosphere, and the characters were both on point. Unfortunately, I was left hella confused most of the time. Basically, this is a story that’s supposed to leave you feeling lost…a lot like the show “Lost” did. But I believe I was a little too lost…since I couldn’t keep my head in the story with the different POVs all being voiced by the same narrator. It would have been easier to keep straight if there had been a second narrator, at least, I think it would’ve been. Also, once I found out there was a sequel…I was a little less upset with how it ended…because that ending left me even more confused…ugh. Although, it’s still up in the air whether I’ll listen to the second book or not…it really depends on how easy it is for me to obtain a copy of it.

NARRATION=🎙️🎙️🎙️🎙️/5
📣 Brenda Scott Wlazlo was an amazingly good narrator. Her voice fit the atmosphere perfectly…but I still wish that Holden would’ve had a separate narrator.