Pub date: 08/29/23
CW: child abuse, death, death of a parent, religious trauma

This was the my third approval in the span of ten minutes and to say there was lots of screaming was a big understatement. The cover for this book is absolutely drop dead gorgeous, the premise is haunting, and I just can’t wait for this book to come out. Thank you NetGalley and Penguin (the dude who does NG approvals has been busy) for the approval. The book gods have looked down kindly on me.

THIS BOOK. THIS BOOK DESERVES ALL THE STARS. I CANT.

Elwood y’all. Our cinnamon roll monster boy. He is SUCH A PUPPY. It’s hilarious seeing him and Wil interact, especially in the beginning cause Wil is A LOT and Elwood is decidedly NOT and he’s just deer in the headlights 99% of the time. But that ending? Sobbing. Crying. Screaming my throat out. Ugh that ending. They got their happily ever after, even if it wasn’t what they both expected.

But seeing this boy’s growth—I mean, honestly. It was the best, especially once him and Wil admitted their feelings for each other and Elwood was determined to save Wil. I devoured this book and was reading it at work cause I just HAD TO, y’know?

I am SO HONORED to have been approved for an early copy and I cannot wait for this book to come out in August. Skyla, ma’am, your rendition of the alphabet will be living rent free in my head for a very long time.

All I can say is: wow! I have never read a book like this! It was so weird but in the best way and I had so much fun reading this!
I absolutely loved the characters and the writing really made you feel something. I didn't know very much about this book before going into it, other than the fact that people were raving and so excited for it, and it did not disappoint. This is for sure going to be one of my top reads for the year!

this was a really good! I liked the characters, and they were super well-developed. the plot was super cool and fun to read, and the writing was also smooth and easy to understand
highly recommend

I fell in love with the cover than I fell in love with the book.
Wil's mom has been missing for a year and she is doing everything can do to find her. But even the towns police won't help her. And she has even lost her best friend in the process.

Elwood is the only son of the pastor from the the church Garden of Eden. He is dreading the day of his 18th birthday and fulfilling his duty to the congregation (which he doesn't actually know what the duty is)

This book had a little everything ya horror (cult, body horror, bugs) ya romance (friends to enemies to lover) and coming of age for Elwood.

Great debut book by Skyla Arndt

Thank you to netgalley and the publisher for a copy of this book in exchange for a honest review. All thoughts are my own.

This was a weird book!! Many parts felt surreal but this was a fascinating book. So fast paced and the characters were so well written. The secluded town definitely had me jumpy. Don’t read this at home alone!

This book has everything. Bugs. Cults. Friends to enemies to lovers. Questionable body horror. And prose that will make you scream with how good it is.

I loved this book! It’s a magical coming of age story, light horror, romance, perfect for both younger teens and adults.

I loved everything about this book.
I'm not joking when I say that this is the best YA book I've read this year. I want...no, I NEED every edition of this book.
The dark setting was amazing, it was truly terrifying as the truth about the cult came to light.
I was never really a fan of childhood friends to lovers but oh my...this changed my mind quickly.
I can't express how much I love Wil and Elwood. They're perfect together:
A stubborn and angry girl trying to find her missing mother?
A quiet and gentle boy trying to escape his fate that his preacher father is trying to force on him?
I'd like to thank Netgalley and the publisher for the e-ARC of this book.
I can't wait to have the physical copy of this book in my hands on release day and put it on my shelf like a serial killer.

I posted my review on Goodreads too:
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/5502823037?book_show_action=false

This book was unlike what I expected. It was intriguing and mystical. Some parts felt a bit jumpy or disconnected or rushed, but the overall adventure was interesting and haunting. A good debut with an unique premise.

* a big thank you to NetGalley for gifting me a copy of this book in return for an honest review *

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing this ARC in exchange for an honest review!

This book felt like a fever dream. It is definitely strange, and I think fans of other "weird" books might enjoy this one. The writing was very well done, and the book is fast paced so no part of it dragged for me.
However I feel like there were some things that would have benefitted from being more detailed. I want to know more about the cult backstory, the hierarchy etc. I found the main character to be highly unlikeable and I didn't really care for how reckless she was. I get it to some extent, but it struck me as a little extreme. I really liked how the author made the cult around the church and the bible. Those with religious trauma could probably relate a lot to it, and I think it could bring into light about how closely churches resemble cults in of themselves. Not sure if that was the intention, but it struck me as one of the deeper meanings and I really liked it. This was a quick easy read and so bizarre, but I enjoyed reading it overall.

Two things I love in horror are cults and body horror and this book is both. I loved the setting of this book. It’s very old, grungy, outdated small town surrounded by a creepy wood. Books like these remind me what’s so fun about reading; I get to be transported to places I wouldn’t necessarily ever visit or experience, such as a tiny town like this. It’s also interesting to read about terrifying things but in a fictional, controlled, safe environment. Such as being the victim of a cult run by your own parents, where you unknowingly have been trained your whole life to be a sacrifice.

This book moves FAST, which, as someone with a short attention span, appreciates. It whips by and doesn’t waste any time taking off. The book is also very easy to visualize. However, there were some parts that made me uncomfortable, and I wasn’t quite sure what the author’s intention was there. There’s even a part where they read a made up passage that fits what the cult believes and another character (not in the cult) seems to imply afterwards that it is part of the Bible. If you’re going to make a cult, and if the cult members are literally going to make up their own stuff, I’d prefer that they didn’t refer to it as the Bible. Or worse, in this case, a kid who isn’t even in the cult, saying a statement that count be construed as implying that it is part of the Bible. Honestly I’m not even sure what he meant to imply and that line should probably be reworded. Even knowing that this is all from the pov of fictional twisted cult members, some parts of this still made me uncomfortable personally. There’s also very little development on the cult themselves and what they believe, aside from the whole human sacrifice thing. The body horror aspect of this also made little sense and needed more explanation. The ending was also confusing and unclear and needed further explanation of the lore behind it all. Overall, I’ve read better body horror and better cult books than this one. I debated between both 2 and 3 stars, but in the end decided to go with 3 because the writing was not mediocre at all like some of the other YA books I’ve read and the author definitely has writing talent. However, this book just wasn’t for me.

Thank you to Netgalley and Penguin for sending me an advanced copy in return for my honest review.

A stunning debut! Absolutely loved it, read it as soon as I got approved for an ARC, and finished in one day. Such a beautiful story that left me sobbing, and would love a sequel!

Thank you to NetGalley for this ARC!
What can I say about this book? It’s heartbreaking, haunting, and absolutely beautiful. With deep rooted, no pun intended, nods to religion and family sacrifices; the characters are all very complicated. (And a lot of them are not what they seem.) The relationships of family, friends, towns people, and lovers are tested to the fullest extent. The author sucks the reader into this forested world and your stomach will flutter with every turn of the page. This is a book you will not be able to put down!

This book was my most anticipated read for 2023, I absolutely adore the cover and the name of the book.

The start of this book is fairly slow, it takes until about mind book for things to make sense and pick up.

Absolutely love the friends to I guess enemies to lover theme.

The ending kind of leaves on a cliff hanger, I can content with the ending but I would love to see how the relationship would work after el’s transformation.

Thank you NetGalley and Skyla Arndt for the ARC.

what a wonderful page-turner—as in, reading on the elliptical, under the blankets, and while ignoring responsibilities. the nature-driven body horror is PHENOMENAL; chapter 31 rewired my entire brain 🦋 I highly recommend this book for any spooky YA & monster lover

This was such a twist on the classic coming-of-age, gain-powers sort of story. Any teen interested in magical realism/horror will love this.

Skyla Arndt's debut TOGETHER WE ROT takes horror to a new level. Snowy, spooky forests, religious-based cults, body horror that'll leave you both morbidly fascinated and terrified, and bone-chilling descriptions will keep readers up well into the night, while elegant prose, favorite tropes like found family, and witty dialogue provide well-executed breaks from the horror. Readers will fall in love with sharp-tongued, sarcastic Wil and bug-obsessed, awkward Elwood, two friends turned enemies who must work together to stop Elwood's cult-like family. Together We Rot is equal parts fast-paced and character-driven — two things I absolutely adore in YA. Skyla is most definitely a must-watch author. I look forward to reading more books from her in the future!

TOGETHER WE ROT is a fast-paced YA romantic horror by the very talented Skyla Arndt. I fell in love with this cover long before I'd read a page of it, and it delivers! A quick read with cold, woodsy northern Michigan vibes, intermixed with just the right amount of horror and plenty of romance (think: childhood best friends --> enemies --> lovers). The ending surprised me, which is rare!

This was such an action filled book! I absolutely loved the characters and the journey they went on. The plot was creative, interesting, and exciting. I will be recommending this book to everyone I know.

I have loved this book so so much, not gonna lie I have also been very hyped to read it since the first time I have heard about it. My wait has been worht it and I call myself very lucky that I could read it long before it is actually out as an ARC.

The two main characters, Wil and Elwood are my loves, my precious little babies, especially Elwood, I would fight anyone to protect him. And Wil, she can go feral, and she is so stubborn and caring, they both are very well written and amazin characters, and I am devastated that this book is already over.

Another thing that I loved are the little details and popcultural references, it was really nice to relate to our characters or see represented with certain things, or get nostalgic over one little conversation that I might have had too.

Last but not least, the vibes were amazing, you have got moths, eerie forest, a cult, witty characters, lots of yearning and emotions, and tons of trauma and pain that you will feel after readin this book (in a good way).

I literally can not wait for my physical copy to reread it and spend more time with this fantastic story. And this beautiful copy perfectly matches the book too.