When I first saw this book as a "Read Now" on NetGalley, I passed it up as honestly, I haven't had the best luck with "Read Now" horror books from NetGalley. But then I saw an ad from Wicked House Publishing on Instagram for The Broken Places by Blaine Daigle and suddenly I had to give it a try. I'm so glad I did!

In the book's description they say it is The Ritual meets Dan Simmons' The Terror. Well, I haven't read either book but I've seen the movie The Ritual and let me tell you, it's not a bad description at all. But let's get down to our CAWPILE review...

Characters

I'm only going to detail our three main characters because they're the ones we deal with during the majority of the book. All three have their own baggage and each person's baggage is unique to them. I'm not detailing their baggage here because I'm not spoiling the book...

Ryne

Ryne is an interesting character - very broody, very moody. Once you have his backstory you'll understand why. I like him a lot, even though he can be a bit of an ass at times. I'm not saying it's a bad thing, just saying, he can be a bit of an ass at times. Or at least he seems like a bit of an ass at times. You'll meet him first, although when you meet him he's only 8 years old. But he's a fairly likeable character in spite of everything.

Shawn

Shawn is one of Ryne's two best friends. They've been friends since childhood and Ryne considers Shawn a brother. Shawn has baggage as well, but his is more of a physical baggage than mental - unlike his friends. Shawn is also a staunch believer in telling Ryne like it is, which Ryne needs sometimes. Just saying. I like Shawn because I'm the same way - I will tell you like it is if that's what you need to hear.

Noah

The third main character is Shawn and Ryne's other best friend - also considered a brother by Ryne - Noah. Noah has mental baggage stemming from an accident, that you will be told about. Of the three I found his baggage to be the most relatable, even though I've actually experience more of Ryne's issues than Noah's. But for some reason, I just found Noah to be a very relatable character. He has grit and determination and I love him for it.

Atmosphere

The majority of this book takes place in Ryne's ancestral cabin in the Yukon forests and it takes place during a storm. Throw in a creepy town with creepy people and animals in the forests who act strangely and you've got the perfect mix for a good horror novel. And trust me, this atmosphere is very, very unsettling. I have to hand it to Blaine Daigle, because he created an immensely weird, creepy vibe that stays with you throughout the book. Great job with the atmosphere.

Writing

I have to say, I find a lot of indie horror authors or horror authors published by small or indie publishing houses to have rather horrible writing styles. I mean to the point I can't finish the book because I can't get past the writing style. That was absolutely not the case with Blaine Daigle. His writing style flows smoothly through the story and doesn't detract at all from the story. He doesn't use $100 words or try to be fancy, he just writes what the story needs and that's it. It's a beautiful writing style that I'm hoping to see more of in the future.

Plot

The plot to this book is quite interesting. An ancestral cabin in the forests of the Yukon, passed down for generations that holds family secrets. A trio of friends going up for a weekend of hunting at said cabin. None of them realizing the horrors they're about to become a part of or that those horrors are directly related to the cabin and the family secrets contained within. It's a wonderful plot and easy to follow along with. It's just a great all around plot - not too complex, not too simple, and not to weird. It's just right. I love the concept.

Intrigue

This book will keep you guessing what's going to happen next. You'll want to keep reading because you need to know the fate of our characters. Putting this book down was extremely difficult for me - I only did so when I absolutely needed to do other things. The "now what the hell is going on" vibe is just perfect for keeping one entertained.

Logic

Things progress in a logical order, although I can't say everything that happens is logical. But it is a horror novel and logic doesn't hold a big place in horror. After all, the supernatural isn't exactly logical, is it? If a horror novel has a lot of logic in it, we have an issue. There are no issues with the logic component of The Broken Places.

Ending

The ending to this book was actually quite satisfying. While the epilogue made me think at first that perhaps there'd been a different outcome to the ending than I'd originally thought, that wasn't the case. But that was fine because I understood the concept of why the ending was what it was. I was a bit surprised about one part of the ending, but thinking back on it, it shouldn't have been that much of a surprise[mfn]It involves the appearance of a specific animal... which if you read the book you'll understand.[/mfn].

Conclusion

The Broken Places was a very good book. I highly recommend it to people who are fans of the horror genre of books or movies. If you've read or seen The Ritual, I'd recommend you check this book out. It has a lot of components of The Ritual but it's not the same at all. It's a really great book and I hope you'll check it out.

The BEST horror novel I've read in years! Blaine Daigle blew me away! Literally could not put this book down, and when I had to do so, I kept the night light on. Would recommend a thousand times over. Looking forward to reading much more from this author!

“The Broken Places” written by Blaine Daigle takes place in the Yukon. Three lifelong friends decide to spend time at a cabin that one of them had inherited, and during the snowstorm, secrets come out. Filled with local legends and the supernatural- this is a frightening and fast paced horror novel! Thank you NetGalley and Publisher for the ARC!

I would like to thank NetGalley and Wicked House Publishing for this Advanced Reader Copy. This copy was given for my honest review.

I read this in one sitting. I actually had night forest sounds in the background playing as it helps me stay focused. Not sure it was a good idea. It definitely helped with setting the mood for reading this book. This book was really well written. I really liked how there were not any loose ends by the conclusion of the book. I was hooked from the very first page and finished it within a couple of hours. I really liked the foreshadowing that was done. Some of the twists were something that were obvious but others came out of nowhere. I recommend this book to anyone that read and enjoyed The Ritual, Stolen Tongues; and anyone that likes books that take on the darker side of legends/folklore.

I really enjoyed the setting of this one! A remote cabin in the woods filled with tons of family history and secrets. It definitely was creepy and I loved how it touched on some heavier topics in order to give the story more depth. I did find it slightly confusing how the point of view jumped from one person to another within a few sentences and I did find the author over described a lot of detail. This definitely had some great aspects and I enjoyed the overall story and folklore!

This book really pulled you in with the whole creepy town and cabin in the middle of nowhere.

This is the tale of Ryne and his friends Noah and Shawn who decide to go hunting at the cabin that was left to him by his uncle.

Before they even got to the cabin, weird stuff starts to happen and they realize that they might not alone like they originally thought.

The characters were relatable and the other did a great job at giving the characters a back story. You really felt for them.

He also knew how to word things perfectly. He would just have the right word to bring a sentence together.

I really enjoyed this book and it really made me feel like I was there in the cabin those few days with all of them.

Thank you Wicked House Publishing and NetGalley for the eARC in exchange for an honest review.

Title: "The Broken Places" by Blaine Diagle

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Summary:

Ryne, Shawn and Noah are three best friends who have had a rough few years. When Ryne's uncle passes the family cabin onto him, Ryne decides to go on a hunting trip with his friends. However, as they pass the old town of Wolf's Bane and travel deep into the woods to the cabin, they don't realise this may be their last trip together.


Review:

I really enjoyed this one.

I loved the characters. I felt they were realistic and interacted with one another well. I liked Noah and was really sympathetic towards Shawn as well as Ryne. The atmosphere was well written and described; could sense the isolation and the desperation that the characters were going through.

There are some heavy topics discussed in this book. The characters are going through grief in some shape or form, and feel it effected the character's decisions.

It was written well however, I do think the plot got a little muddled near the end, but I couldn't put it down.

I recieved this ARC from Netgalley, for a review. I believe the book is coming out on 24th March 2023.

This is a book is about family secrets, local legends, and a great supernatural creature deep in the wooded area of the Yukon.

Three lifelong friends decide to spend a few nights at a cabin that one of them inherits. Set during a snowstorm of epic proportions, no cell or radio service, and extremely terrifying things happening almost immediately from the local wildlife, what more could you want?

We'll find out secrets of all these men, secrets about the family legacy concerning this cabin and what lives in the woods. This is a frightening but fast paced novel that I read in one day simply because I didn't want to stop.

It's filled with moments of dread, suspense, and outright horror as these men find their situation going from simply bad to as worse as it can get. And we, as readers, are along for the ride!

I recommend this book and I'll have my video review on Horror Reads YouTube channel soon.

Thanks to Netgalley for the review copy!

"THE RITUAL meets Dan Simmons' THE TERROR." is a great way of describing this novel, I thoroughly enjoyed what was going on and thought it worked as a horror novel. The characters were what I was looking for and the forest was it's own character. It does a great job in being a terrifying novel and I'm glad I got to read this. Blaine Daigle does a great job in telling the story and it was written perfectly.

"He hoped the storm might help bring some sense back to their conversations. If he could get Ryne away from the cabin and away from his stupid decision, then he might persuade him. If he could help break whatever bond Ryne still shared with this place, or at least weaken it, then maybe there was a way to walk him back from the edge. But he had dug his heels in again, and now the only thing on Shawn's mind was making sure they didn't freeze to death."

Definitely fun, like a B movie in book form. Interesting concept and had lots of tense moments throughout just don't expect anything super new or anything.