Cover? 10/10
I do think this story felt a little rushed overall, I would have loved more history of Wil's mom and all of Elwood's family drama.
The story of the town, the woods, and the eerie magic of it all was much more interesting than the former bffs turned enemies turned reluctant allies romance we had going on. It was obvious from the beginning that these two had lingering feelings for each other, and the romance part just wasn't as exciting and nail biting as the rest of the plot.
I was however very interested in the lore of the seed and Elwood's part in it all, and it was fascinating to learn of all the secrets of the town. I absolutely loved Elwood as a character. The poor boy was abused and ignored by his family, and when it seems like it couldn't possibly get worse; he discovers his actual purpose in life. El's tail truly could've been told without Wil, and although she had her own fire and additions to the story, this was a story about Elwood.

I did like this story, it was a rather fast paced read and had some interesting plots, but probably not one I would recommend on a wide scale.

Thank you so much to the publisher and Netgalley for the e-ARC! I will be reviewing and/or showcasing this book on my social media accounts when I can. Thanks again very much appreciated and looking forward to this book!

I have to give this a 2.5 rating and I think it was more with me not connecting with the book than anything else. It felt like the book wasn't sure what it wanted to be. Did it want to be a novel or a short story? Had it been a short story, I might have felt differently

I really did want to love this book more than I did! The premise of dark romance meets gothic horror (with a mysterious element mixed in) made me so excited, as that is such an intriguing blend of genres! I echo what others have said about the plot feeling a bit rushed and it’s such a shame because the promise is there!

Greatly appreciative to PENGUIN GROUP Penguin Young Readers Group, Viking Books for Young Readers and NetGalley for the eARC in exchange for my honest review!

The premise for this book have me so intrigues with a religious cult and them finding out the mystery of her mothers death and what it has to do with the cult. I just feel it wasnt done well. It has a bad case of just telling us whats happening rather than showing.

Together We Rot was definitely an interesting read with a cool premise and lyrical writing. I really liked everything with Elwood discovering about his family's cult and his journey of understanding, acceptance, and learning how to fight back. Overall I liked Elwood a lot as a character. He's got a kind, gentle personality that I love to see in male protagonists, and he's a unifying kind of person who brings very different characters together. The story is told in dual POV, his and Wil's, and I liked Wil less as a character. I found it hard to connect to her as much. Her grief and some of her roughness is understandable, but the way she reacts sometimes, while I can understand, also make it hard for me to like her, and honestly I just didn't find her as interesting as Elwood. The supernatural/horror elements of the story are so-so. If you're like me and you like just a touch of horror without it being too gruesome or scary, then this has the right balance for you. I do feel like sometimes I didn't get quite what was going on with that part of it, but overall it was a pretty decent read. 3.5/5 stars.

The synopsis was very interesting but I couldn't read past the 10% mark. The writing was disjointed and the characters just weren't interesting enough for me to continue. Although I would say the plot was unique but not executed well.

*please keep in mind that this review is based on the reading of an ARC and that some of the issues I address may very well not be in final copies*

“Very Scooby-Doo” is how I would describe this book to someone who knew nothing about it.

While Together We Rot starts with an intriguingly novel concept and the allure of the ever-tempting “enemies to lovers” trope…it quickly devolves from there.

I found rating this book to be difficult because the concept is really very good…but the execution is lacking. I think this may be a debut book - don’t quote me - so perhaps it’s just a little green. I think a fair rating would be somewhere between 2 and 3 stars, leaning towards 3.

I found it to be an altogether pretty engrossing book that kept me turning pages, but much in the same way that a low-budget slasher would. You wanna know how it ends, you wanna know where the characters go…but the ride there is rough…and a little cheesy.

In my seriously humble opinion (because I have never written an entire book and I’m not gonna pretend that I would be good at it) the writing was a bit disjointed and at times it felt like two different authors were behind the keyboard. One was eloquent and captivating, the other relying heavily on the use of dramatic similes and metaphors. I think they converged somewhere around the dialogue for a truly eye-rolling experience (the dialogue is BAD, ok?).

The characters were just ok, not horrible but not interesting. I think that Elwood would have been a good on his own…a stand-alone character. Come to think of it, I really wish that Wil was taken out of the book altogether. I don’t feel like her part of the story was inherently necessary and the teen romance between the two of them was cringey at best and down-right nauseating at worst.

Lastly, the ending felt a little forced and…odd. I don’t really know how to describe my feelings by the time the conclusion came around…but I wasn’t really satisfied with the ending. It didn’t feel rushed necessarily but a little confusing. It needed a lil somethin’ more.

This isn’t a *bad* book, I would just bear in mind that it feels a little “rough-drafty” at times. But if you’re looking for something unique, with vivid imagery and a creative spin on “monsters” and cult life, you’ll probably enjoy this.

Wil Greene and Elwood Clarke used to be inseparable until Wil’s mother went missing. Wil is convinced Elwood’s family has something to do with it. The Clarkes are part of The Garden of Adam, a cult-like church that Elwood is set to join his pastor father at the helm of once he turns 18. However, when Elwood comes home one night after a party with friends, he learns his father has a much more sinister plan for Elwood’s life and that his family may be responsible for Wil’s mom after all.

This is the most beautifully written YA book I’ve ever read. Skyla Arndt’s prose perfectly captures Wil and Elwood’s range of emotions, and it describes the nature and forest in a way that brings the world to life without being superfluous. I would check out any future books for the writing alone. As for the story itself, it was engaging, but most of the book I wasn’t totally sure what Elwood’s condition was or why he was so connected to plants and the woods. It built suspense, but context earlier in the book would have made me more invested in what was happening to him. The ending wrapped up Elwood’s story nicely, but it left more to be desired for Wil. I’d rate this 3.5 stars, but this is a strong debut. Thanks to NetGalley, Viking Books, and Skyla Arndt for this free ARC in exchange for my honest review.

𝘏𝘪𝘴 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘥𝘴 𝘭𝘢𝘺 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘪𝘳 𝘦𝘨𝘨𝘴 𝘶𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘳 𝘮𝘺 𝘴𝘬𝘪𝘯 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘥𝘦𝘷𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘮𝘦 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘪𝘯𝘴𝘪𝘥𝘦 𝘰𝘶𝘵.”

Unfortunately I read this awhile ago and can’t remember a lot of the details. I left writing this review for too long! I can tell you I enjoyed the dark nature of the story, the trauma, and the body horror. I found the characters unique and the story quite unlike one I have read before which was refreshing. Looking forward to more from this author 🙌

the cover was absolutely gorgeous that I had to judge by its cover it would be promising... not the case- very poor writing and plot. gave up at 70 percent

Thank you to NetGalley and Penguin Random House Canada for an advanced reader copy in exchange for an honest review,

What initially drew me into Together We Rot was its breathtaking cover.

This novel was a quick and easy read, however, I did not find myself enjoying it as much as I thought I would. Off the bat, we are subjected to a weak romance which can nearly be described as insta-love, as our main character Wil hated the love interest at first and then 2 minutes later is already head over heels for him. I found the romance to be underdeveloped and juvenile feeling and it was not what I was hoping for going into the story.

The subject matter and overall plot were intriguing, and quite frankly, I believe I would have enjoyed this so much more if it had been written as an adult horror or thriller, as I do believe the parts that I rather enjoyed could have been done better and in more detail.

I did not hate the book and found myself tearing through it rather quickly, but I do wish it gave more in terms of delivery and also focused less on tropes.

Creepy gothic atmosphere with weird cult? Yes, please!

When Wil’s mother goes missing a year prior, she knows that the creeptastic Garden of Adam church is behind it but getting anyone to believe her has been futile and she’s ready to take things in her own hands.

Wil’s once best friend, Elwood, is not only a member of the church but the son of their leader. He’s not quite the follower, though, and has his own original thoughts and they’re not quite aligning with that of his family and fellow church members. This drives him and Wil together to search for answers.

This is a well-done YA horror that really brought the atmosphere; creepy church and cult and bugs – gasp!
I ended up listening to this and the narration is fantastic; Jesse Vilinsky and Michael Crouch knocked this out of the park.

My apologies for the late review, I have no idea how I missed this!

I loved this so much!!! the gory elements and the characters were so great. The atmosphere and the tension and the horror--ugh everything about it was just a really cool ride. I think it could've been a little longer and the story could've dived in a little deeper at some points, but overall it was so good

I am obsessed with the creepy and the swoons layers of this book. Skyla did something really impressive here in mixing them!

✨Book Review✨
📚Together We Rot - Skyla Arndt
⭐️⭐️⭐️ / 5

I want to start this off by saying that this has to be the weirdest book I have ever read. I know most gothic horror type books are weird, but this one is at the top of the list for me. I'm not going to sad this book was bad, but it wasn't good either. It was just meh for me.

First of all, it took me soooo long to get into it. It took so much time for something to happen. But when things started happening, it was like everything was set off. It had my brain going all over the place. This book infiltrated my mind so much that I even dreamed about it. That is not normal.

I didn't 100% love the characters, but honestly, I don't think I was really supposed to. Also, I would like to mention this is accidentally the 3rd cult book I have read in a month and I do not recommend doing that.

Overall, I don't think I would recommend this book. You have to be a very specific type of person to enjoy it so it does not have a large set audience. But if you are ready for something super strange, then give it a try.

Thank you @netgalley and @penguinartgroup for the opportunity to read this book. This is 100 percent my honest opinion, as always.

Holy hell, I loved this. I have been DNFing YA books left and right lately so I didn’t really expect to like it. But I did. It’s culty, it’s romantic, it’s got body horror! Seriously, just go read it.

i think a higher page count would’ve helped this book. there were some things in the world building and plot that i felt were rushed or unfinished and i wish we had a few more pages to sort things out

This book just wasn’t for me. I felt like the pacing was a little too slow and I never found myself eager to pick the book back up. It wasn’t the writing that I didn’t care for but the development of the story.

This book was really unsettling, but I think that was the point. And it was really, really weird. It reminded me a lot of that Mark Oshiro bok. Into the Light, or something? This book deals with a boy trying to escape his life from a cult, but one with beliefs that turn out to be horribly real. I would have liked it more if the cult hadn't been twisting the word of God, because I feel like readers could misinterpret that and see all of Christianity like a cult. The horror was pretty cool, though. I don't see a lot of plant-based horror. And the ending was pretty hardcore. So overall, I'm torn about this, and although it wasn't my favorite, it wasn't half bad either.