An extraordinarily creepy, immersive tale of horror. Remember when you were younger and you first heard of acid rain, the pictures produced in your head of melting bodies, dripping gore? You didn't know what it was but you knew it was horrible and you hoped with everything you had that you would never experience such an awful wonder. This read is reminiscent of that particular feeling and it only gets worse as the story unfolds. Hawkins takes something as simple as a rain storm and creates an epically eerie story that brings to mind the fear folks felt when they heard War of the Worlds for the first time.

Perfect rainy day read, if you enjoy contemplating horrific scenarios in which said rain is actually dangerous and deadly and destroys everything it touches. Overall, the story is pretty depressing and moved too slowly, especially for the ending to not be exactly a "happily ever after." But, it's a short investment for a pretty an interesting story. I did wish we learned more about the rain, like where did it come from and why? Could definitely tell which books this author pulled inspiration from. 3/5

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. It was suspenseful and creepy at times.
I may not look at rain the same way. :)

🌧Book Review:
Title: Downpour
Author: Christopher Hawkins
Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️/3 stars

Goodness, this book was crazy!!! I got Stephen King vibes! Which is a compliment! It has extremely creepy scenes, and I think there was such huge potential to make it one of the scariest books I read this year, but it seemed to go really slow towards the end.

A storm slowly makes it way over a farmhouse in rural Illinois. A family of four is just getting through a normal day when the rain starts to fall. There's something very odd about this storm, though. There is only one large storm cloud, and it's located directly above this families home. Animals and locals are coming onto their property acting extremely violent. The father, Scott, knows that he has to keep his wife, Dana, and two children away from the rain.

There were some extremely terrifying things that happened in this book that will stick with me for a long time, and I can only hope that a storm like this never happens in real life!!!

Published: October 3rd, 2023

Thank you, @netgalley and @hawkinswrites, for the ARC in exchange for my honest review!

Downpour is a dark blend of the Horror/Thriller genres that will keep you absolutely captivated and glued to each and every page, making it near impossible to put down and finishing th enovel as quickly as possible. The story was so well written, from the creepy events and characters, down to the setting and series of events.

A darkly enjoyable read, atmospheric and sometimes claustrophobic, to say the least! I love books that place character development, relationships, and interpersonal tension front and centre!

I tried to read this before release but I had just lost my hamster the day I started it and the book begins with a dead mouse and I was so upset I couldn't continue so huge apologies for not getting to this on time! However this was worth the wait. This was exactly what I've been craving from my horrors lately, a mix of terrifying scenes and psychological struggles that messed with me during my read. I loved the writing and the way scenes were laid out, it was very easy to read and also completely terrifying and enthralling. I am glad it was on the shorter side in length as I did feel it started to drag at some points!

Weather horror has always been one of my favorite subgenres and this book definitely did not disappoint. It was spooky, gory, chilling, and I enjoyed every minute of it. It was such a fast read and the things that would normally be triggering for me didn't bother me as much. There were a few times I couldn't stand the dad and how incompetent he was but after finishing this book I understand how integral it was for the story. This book's vibes at the beginning had me thinking of the movie Nope and then further in it reminded me of The Happening, both of which are excellent movies in my opinion. I was spooked, I was holding my breath, I was sad, this book gave me a lot of emotions for how short it was. I loved the spooky cover and how great the entire story was set up. The plot was great, the setting was eerie, all of it was just a great spooky unsettling book. I'm very excited to read other books by this author.

Really my rating is 3.5 as I really enjoyed this creepy full length novel by Hawkins after loving his short story collection Suburban Monsters. This was a not so new plot when it comes to horror books but his writing and character development more than made up for that. Would have liked to have been shown more of what else was happening in the world and perhaps why but this novel was directly about one family trying to hold it together. Will be looking forward to more from this author! Thanks for the free ARC for this honest review!

Hooked me from the beginning and thought the characters were relatable/real! Not usually the case with horror.

Downpour was a creepy slow burn horror that I really loved and reminded me of previous "killer rain" stories that I've read, but this one did it better. The atmosphere was so perfectly well done and I loved all of the mind twisting elements Hawkins utilized.

Thank you to the author and Netgalley for my ARC!

I came across Christopher Hawkins when I read Suburban Monsters, and I found his writing to be both creepy and thought provoking. I knew that I would want to read whatever he released next. I was lucky enough to be allowed access to Downpour, and found it to be just as enthralling as Suburban Monsters. This was very reminiscent of Bird Box on Netflix, and I loved it! The eerie/creepy atmosphere was mixed with deep reflection on family and what keeps us connected to the places we grew up. Sometimes, to our detriment,

Christopher Hawkins can tell a story, and he can draw you in and make you feel the most glorious unease. The only "issue" I had with this book was that it felt like there was not enough detail regarding the main character's childhood for my liking. I would have loved to sus out his backstory a little bit more. Overall, I am a Christopher Hawkins fan, and will await the next release with great anticipation!

This was an interesting novel, but ultimately maybe not for me.

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

Personally this was not one of my favorites. It was okay and interesting at times but it didnt capture my attention really and I just had a hard time finishing it. I was hoping for more and it just didnt do it for me.

I loved this book. It gripped me from the first page and the sense of dread followed me all the way to the end. I will never look at rain the same way again. I thought it was well written and kept me immersed the entire time.

At first this novel seemed doomed to be a litany of petty complaints and unresolved daddy issues, then, once the rain began, I cringed at the thought that this would be a rehash of The Taking by Koontz. Thankfully, this book was neither. It was, however, an extremely drawn out weather report. There seemed to be very little action in the book, and zero explanation for the events occurring. The best thing about this book was that it wasn't aliens.

Okay...here's my biggest issue with this story. Why did it not live up to the hype that the synopsis did for me? The story sounded amazing. A family of 4 trapped in their home during a storm, and they realize they're not the only ones being affected? Intrigue mixed with suspense, but it missed the mark for me. I expected a lot more!

Trapped in their home by a strange storm, a family soon started to lose their minds as their home falls apart around them.

The tension I felt while reading this book was off the scale, literally Edge of my seat tense. My only complaint is ending was a bit of a let down, and I felt I wanted more answers and more from the story, but still, this was a great read overall and would recommend.

Thank you to Netgalley and Christopher Hawkins for an advance copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you NetGalley for this advance reader copy in exchange for my honest and free review. Well, that was horror at its finest, right up there with a Stephen King novel, to be honest. I was pulled right into this story with all emotions from one page to the next. Excellent novel, highly recommend.

This books was absolutely dark and twisted & thought provoking. This book kept me wondering until the end. There's so much to engage the mind here.