I received a copy of this audiobook through Netgalley. This is my honest review.

I have some seriously mixed feelings about this book, and that's due in large part to the fact that as things happened in the book, had the kids simply not done one thing, I think it's very likely they would have gotten away with their theft free and clear. They wouldn't have been in danger at all from either the killer or the wraith. But things did happen the way they happened so...

As far as the rest of the story goes, I found myself relating to Nova the most. Like Nova, I was always the last resort friend (and still feel that way at times if we're being honest). I'd get invited to do things when literally no one else was available, and that's exactly how Nova ends up on Claw Heart Mountain in the first place. Nova and I are also more similar in the financial aspect as well, although I don't think I would have cautioned against taking the money like she did, so morally, she's better than me.

Once the danger showed up, I was on the edge of my seat, anxious to see how things would turn out and if I was correct about who would survive, because you don't have a story like this without some death. It's just not possible. I did have a pretty good bead on the way things would go, although there were a few twists in between that took me a little by surprise.

The narration was decent. There wasn't much effort to do specific voices for the different characters, but that means there also weren't cringey opposite gendered voices, which can really grate on my nerves and is probably my biggest pet peeve where audiobooks are concerned. Overall I give Claw Heart Mountain 3.6927 out of 5 stars.

This book was just ok for me. It was a horror type but mainly a thriller. To me, it was kinda predictable and that was kinda boring and annoying to me. The characters were nothing special either and i just didn't care much for them so that was hard for me to accept also.
I was also not a fan of the them the mob like villains looking for their money.

I am a mood reader so this could be my issue with this book idk but honestly don't let my review stop you from reading this book bc i know i have enjoyed a ton of books like so many don't like and the other way around also.

I feel so bad for this review bc I was given the opportunity to listen to this book from the Publisher and NetGalley. I am so sorry.

Made it about half way through this book before I lost interest in the story.
Thanks so much for the opportunity to give it a read.

Thank u netgalley for the advance Arc of this audiobook

Unfortunately I had to DnF 55% though because the story could not keep my interest 😕, I didn't feel any attachment to the characters so I didn't really care what happened to them

This book has a great premise - a group of friends find an abandoned van with 15 million dollars- what would you do?
Unfortunately though, this one wasn't for me. The pacing was off and the characters were unlikeable. Does anyone really think that 15 million dollars will be left abandoned and no one will come to claim it? It just didn't work for me.
However, I do think someone looking for a quick, mindless, suspend your disbelief type of thriller may enjoy this one.

I actually gave this book 2.5 stars.

"Claw Heart Mountain" ventures into the treacherous terrain of greed, horror, and the supernatural. Still, unfortunately, this novel fails to rise above the clichés and pitfalls that often accompany such tales. Despite the promising premise of combining a heist with a monstrous presence, the execution leaves much to be desired.

The narrative follows Nova and her friends as they stumble upon a large sum of money, setting off a chain of events involving both human predators and a supernatural entity known as the Wraith. While the initial setup holds potential, the characters' decisions and actions become a stumbling block for the overall enjoyment of the story.

The protagonists are portrayed as selfish, immoral and annoying, making it challenging for readers to empathize with their plight or root for their survival.

The introduction of the Wraith as a horror element adds an intriguing layer to the plot. However, the novel falls short in exploring the depths of this supernatural entity. Readers are left craving more insight into the nature of the monster and its connection to the unfolding chaos. The lack of a comprehensive resolution regarding the Wraith leaves the story feeling incomplete and unsatisfying.

The narration, handled by Aaron Shedlock, Roxana Ortega, and LuLu Lam, adds another layer of disappointment. The disconnect between the narration's tone and the plot's gravity diminishes the storytelling's overall impact.

The plot's potential is evident, but the execution is lacking, and it struggles to rise above mediocrity. The characters' lack of redeeming qualities and the underdeveloped exploration of the supernatural element contribute to a sense of missed opportunities.

"Claw Heart Mountain" could have been a thrilling blend of heist and horror, but it falls short of delivering a truly gripping and memorable narrative.

In conclusion, "Claw Heart Mountain" may appeal to those who enjoy the familiar tropes of a heist gone wrong with a touch of horror, but for readers seeking depth, originality, and a more satisfying resolution, this novel may leave them wanting.

I sincerely thank NetGalley and CamCat Publishings for the audiobook copy of "Claw Heart Mountain" for my honest review.

Well, I k so this book was published last year but I was hoping not give it a great review to bump up engagement but unfortunately I can’t.

Full disclosure I consumed the audiobook which I believe impacted the experience a lot. While ai don’t think I can manage to read it in print any time soon, doing so may change my opinion a bit. But I did think the choice of reader is the responsibility of the publisher and in this case they did their author really wrong.

Since I describe a free copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for my honest review I listened to it in its entirety. However, had that not been the case, I would have put it down. I think this tops the list of the worst audio readers ever to have listened to particularly the females who made the characters out to be pathetic, whiny and just plain awful.

Now some of that is the writing. You do. It want to root for the characters. The poor decisions they make throughout are ridiculous even in a fictional world. I’m intentionally not going to continually bash the book so this review will be short.

If you need some fluff and an escape for reality with a little bit of thriller , sort of, thrown in, maybe give it a go. Just DO NOT LISTEN TO THE AUDIOBOOK. Another thing, it is great when authors can use inclusive language and such but it has to be done realistically and with care. That is not the case here. The book sounds like the author threw in buzz words just for the sake of putting them in instead of being genuine in their usage. It’s especially noticeable when you have characters who would be awful human beings if they were real.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for offering up the work even though it didn’t turn out so well.

‘Claw Heart Mountain’ written by David Oppegaard and narrated by Aaron Shedlock, Roxana Ortega and LuLu Lam poses the question what would you do if you discovered an abandoned armored vehicle with fifteen million dollars? Would you take the money?

This thriller, turned horror book, is not in the realm of books I would typically read but the summary captured my attention. I didn’t envision from the summary that there would be a creature in the mountains that would be so unrealistic. The entirety of the situation is unrealistic – would someone really come upon a vehicle with this amount of cash, would one think they could actually get away with taking any money from the vehicle, where would you go if you did, what would you spend the money on, where would you come across a ravenous beast searching for human bodies to survive.

This book was mediocre.

Thank you #NetGalley and #CamCatPublishing #CamCat for the opportunity to listen to this book early in exchange for a review. All opinions and thoughts are those of my own. #ClawHeartMountain

Book Review:
Claw Heart Mountain by David Oppegaard
Narrated by Aaron Shedlock, Roxana Ortega, LuLu Lam
Published by CamCat Publishing, 3 Jan 2023
⭐️⭐️⭐️

Synopsis:
**What happens when good people make one bad decision?**

Imagine you are on the way to a remote mountain cabin with your friends. Upon arrival, you discover an abandoned armored van with fifteen million dollars on board. Would you take the money?
Nova and her friends answer with a resounding yes. Perhaps their answer would have been different had they known that a professional killer was already tracking down the money. Or that a legendary creature known as the Wraith roams the mountain, ravenous with hunger.
Thinking they’re safe and anonymous, Nova and her friends divvy up the stolen cash, unaware who or what is after them, unaware that soon they will be fighting for their lives.

Review:
This is a tough one to review, because I can't work out if it's supposed to be a parody or not! If it IS, then it's amusing but if it's meant to be serious, then *grits teeth* oh dear.
So, writing the review is a little hard. Even if it's not a parody, I get that not all books are meant to be believable, and adore some that aren't, but, it's not the premise I'm questioning. It's the unrealistic language from the teens, the failure to get halfway to thriller or horror territory, and even the narration is unconvincing. This was very tough going.

#BookReview #Bookstagram #ClawHeartMountain #DavidOppegaard #Netgalley

A group of college kids heading to a mountain cabin for fun come across an abandoned wreckage. The armored van has fifteen million dollars nestled inside. The driver and any other occupant are missing. What would you do?
Unbeknownst to the group a mercenary is already tracking the missing money and the mountain trees hide a legendary creature with a hunger only flesh will satisfy.
**I really wanted to love this book, especially since I had such a beautiful copy from Twisted Retreat. Unfortunately, I couldn't stand any of the characters. The only thing that kept me going was the knowledge that, at some point, the wraith would begin mutilating everyone but even that wasn't enough.
I enjoyed how this book felt like it could be a movie or a tv series drama. I think it was missing some more details m

I received this audiobook as an ARC via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. Many thanks to the author and publisher for this opportunity.

An entertaining audiobook with just enough suspense to keep me intrigued.

The plot was good but the execution was mediocre. Not saying it is a bad audiobook…just ok.

#NetGalley #ClawHeartMountain #goodreads

Was on edge the whole book. Amazing character introductions. I enjoyed the story and the characters. Would highly recommend! Thanks NetGallery!

Thanks to NetGalley and CamCat Publishing for the ALC of this audiobook.

While this book is marked as a Horror it really should have been put in the thriller category/genre. Each narrator does a fantastic job of capturing the characters personalities and atmosphere of the plot.

The book follows a group of college age teens who have questionable morals. All are wealthy with the exception of one being upper middle class; our MFC Nova. They stumble upon a crashed armored vehicle and help themselves to the funds with even though Nova thinks this is a bad idea….that is until later on when they divide the funds evenly and Nova has no qualms about her share. From there everything falls apart for the group. Theres a freelance mercenary hired to get the money back, a cop doing a full investigation into the accident and the fallout, and a mysterious creature.

The story overall the story was good. I do think the creature could have been featured more and if so that horror aspect of the book would have been there. Theres a shift in the MMC villain towards the end that was didn’t think worked well for how his personality is originally written. My favorite aspects of the book was the multiple POVs. I did find myself wanting to get past Nova’s pov and move to the others more. I found myself slightly annoyed with Nova and her friends, but overall enjoyed the other POVs.

Thank you NetGalley and publisher for this ARC.

Ok this was a good read! Creepy/horror books are one of my favorites and this one did not disappoint.

This has to be a parody. It has to!
The problem is it does not read like one.

The premise is just silly. I refuse to believe that any person above the age of 12, outside of the organized crime circle, can even dream of stealing money from an armored vehicle and think they can get away with it to the point of making plans about how to spend the money. I get the in-your-face opportunism but c'mon. The exposition is so ridiculously silly, it made me laugh out loud.

One of the biggest hurdles I struggled with throughout the entire novel was the characterization written by someone who clearly never met, talked to, or witnessed teens interact. Overall, the reactions and the dialogs are so embarrassingly stilted I cringed and cringed because here, these are not even teens, these characters are supposed to be college students so upwards of 18 years old.
No, just no.

Let me introduce you to our male protagonists:
- blond and hot but dumb,
- smart but mean, Jewish kid,
- genuinely sweet black guy

I wish I was joking but no, this is it.

Sadly, Lulu Lam narration only emphasizes the infantile and stilted quality of the storyline as well as the characters to an insufferable degree.

When the male narrator takes over, it is like a totally new book. In a good way. I still feel the writing as well as the set up are amateurish and simply childish, but this narrator could have saved the book from being right out ridiculously bad.

Cannot recommend this as a YA or even more so as an Adult novel.

I think if I read this physically I would have been a lot more invested and found it more tense / spooky. I did think it was an interesting take on a thriller / horror with a pretty terrifying cryptic creature. I cared about nova but I also didn’t fully connect to the authors writing in some places.

I’m still thinking about it. While the characters were a little annoying (teenagers ugh) the story was fun, fast paced, predictable. Exactly what I needed.

What would you do if you went on holiday with several people and you ran across an abandoned truck full of cash in an isolated location?

Now add that you’re all dumb teenagers making dumb decisions, oh and there’s a hit man & monster on the loose.

Not super horror but fun.

This could've been executed way better! The book doesn't give horror at all. At best it's weakly a thriller. It focuses on the hitman way to much when I feel it should've been more on the main characters and the horror aspect.

Just when you think this will just be about teens making bad choices a blood thirsty human like beast makes an appearance. The struggle of keeping alive and away from the beast all while trying to stay alive from the drug loads out to get their money back. This is a very thrilling book that makes you want to keep reading to find out if they will make it out alive or all parish to the beast or the hunters.

……
‘Every afternoon the people one knows can be found at the café’. (1920)


I am writing a longer review this time, because I believe this book deserves a wider audience and a bigger readership.

The scope of the story is quite simple and straightforward: a group of young people are on their way to a cabin in Claw Heart Mountain, ‘a place for rich assholes to get drunk and shoot each other.’
They are bored out of their minds, especially since the COVID-19 lockdowns, which turned their lives upside down. ‘The Lost Generation’ they bitterly call themselves, having been left out of so much fun for so long….
En route, they come across a crashed armoured van still full of money and there is no trace of the driver. They decide to take the money.
Once they arrive at the cabin with a stone-fireplace, antique rifles, a buffalo head on the wall, and bearskin on the flooring, they decide to vote on ‘To Have and to Have Not.’
Meanwhile, hunter Bannock readies himself for the hunt, his spirits rising at the thought of the smell of blood and death, and a precise kill, -straight through the heart.’

Well, let's take a closer look at the characteristics of this current generation, shall we? Many of you have been complaining about the lockdowns and how difficult they were for you, and how lonely you felt.
Did you truly believe that life would be easy? That money would come raining down from the heavens or that opportunities would just magically appear on the horizon? What were you thinking!?

If you believe that the lockdowns are the worst thing to ever happen to your lives, it is important to recognise that violence and horror are constantly present in our hostile natural world. Our world is cruel and brutal, and horrors lurk in everything around us. Life can be immensely difficult, requiring hard work day after day, after day.
The coronavirus pandemic may have been a significant wake-up call for many.

I have shed numerous tears throughout my life when I lost yet another friend too young and too soon; my closest friend who passed away from cancer at the tender age of 15, as well as my boyfriend, who died at only 21. The list of such losses is endless…

I learned at a young age that life can be challenging, and that financial stability is not easily achieved, nor are other aspects of life. What may seem simple at first glance often proves to be otherwise. If you assume that this tale is a basic narrative about young people venturing into the wild to have fun and then suddenly becoming millionaires, you have misunderstood the story. The fact that I perhaps know something more is cheating, you will say, well, when you have been around a little longer, you can judge for yourself later on.

Oppegaard is a skilled author, but I do question whether every reader has truly understood the essence of this story. It's possible that the setup may not have resonated with everyone, as some have found the tale tedious. However, I can assure you that what and who is depicted here is far from dull.
Whether Oppegaard has successfully communicated his message is still up for debate, but for me, I thoroughly enjoyed it.

This novel radiates masculinity in all its manifestations, which of course requires us to look at Nova with different eyes: the Latin unisex name for both boy and girl. Honestly, what was your initial reaction when Nova was introduced to you?

I was immediately engrossed by the narrator’s striking voice (Aaron Shedlock), though I felt the female voices were not as impactful.

Enduring in a merciless, violent world dominated by men is the overarching theme of the story. The characters' development is gradual and consistent with their speech and morals throughout the story's progression. And remember that each character in this book only represents a fraction of their true nature, with the rest being implied and inferred in the mind of the reader.

The audiobook is divided into three chunks: 1. Windfall, 2. Sunshine, 3. The Hunger in the Mountain, and 4. The Key (Epilogue)

This allusion - or rather what is implies - is what a good tale should be about: it should fascinate, enchant, inspire and amaze you, and above all, -it takes you to so many other places, - from the Green Hills of Africa and the Snows of Kilimanjaro to the solitude of Wyoming, and the spruce trees in Ketchum, Idaho.

Don’t tell me you have missed all these little clues, and indirect references and puns, did you?
His ‘nova’ child, the Red Cross, the despatches, the trenches, the Key(s), Serrano (Henry Villard), the heavy drinking, the car accident, - and love for cars , - the Spanish/Mexican accents, so I guess you must have missed the Old Man too.
There are plenty more, but you'll have to put in some effort yourself, so no further spoilers here…

Even as a child, I adored reading, with one of my favourite authors being Charles Dickens, known for his intricate and vivid prose. My lifelong passion for languages led me to pursue a degree at university, where I spent years delving into the masterworks of literature, ultimately inspiring me to become a teacher.
I have a great love for tales and stories that haunt and surprise me, either by their form, their language or their message.
This ingenious story grabbed me from the start. You just have to dare, you know! To cast Man & Beast in this form. In any case, I really enjoyed it.

This is a voyage of exploration that will transport you to a malevolent world. Therefore, bid adieu to your iPhones, Snapchat, and Facebook for a while, and relax. And, - for goodness' sake- , read a proper book, and if you can, read this one: the content contains some substantial and worthwhile material, a straightforward tale along with a crucial message!

Recommended. 5 stars.
Thank you CamCat Audio