Your Shadow Half Remains is a short story but don’t let that stop you from thinking this book as anything less than what is typically packed into a 300 page book. It is definitely a spooky, creepy read and will be perfect in the fall & Halloween time. It reminded me a lot of Bird Box. If you are looking for a creepy deadly thriller, this is it and it is the perfect quick read to get out of the a reading slump.

The narrator is Sunny Moraine, who I loved! She was easy to understand and her voice has the perfect amount of calm & crazy that I imagined specifically Riley has.

Thank you to NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for the audio book of Your Shadow Half Remains!

*4.5 Stars On My Instagram Account*

"You make things normal by being normal in the midst of them...You make things normal by sheer force of will. You make things normal and then you don't have to be freaked out all the...time. And after a while you'd be amazed at how many things become normal; how many things you simply learn to accept and fold into what passes for your life."

But does normal equal right, or is it just acceptance? Does allowing your mind to accept the horror make it less terrifying? These questions, maybe once philosophical, are very real in the beautifully horrific dystopian world in Your Shadow Half Remains, by mastermind author Sunny Moraine.

It's over 2 years since Riley has seen her Mom or anyone. There's a weird sickness. If an infected person looks into your eyes you go into a murderous rampage. If you're infected and look in the mirror...well, there's no more mirrors. Some just remove their own eyes.

Riley's unsettled when Ellis, wearing blinders, tries to befriend Riley. Riley wants, needs, human contact but what if Ellis is infected or gets infected? As they grow intimately closer Riley's nerves start to unravel. The fear, the paranoia, the yearning overwhelms her to the point that violence may be her only way to protect herself...or is she infected?

The writer perfectly performs this audiobook. She is Riley. Living through the pandemic, like us, she knows the loneliness of isolation. As Riley's voice gets louder, panicked you feel her unraveling...but what if she's not infected? What if she's just an unreliable narrator?

In our world many just see differences like race, religion, or sexual orientation and think it's a reason to do harm. This horror story is a mirror of ourselves where only the shadow of our humanity remains.

QOTD: How about that brilliant cover?!

I received a free copy of this audiobook from Macmillan Audio for a fair and honest review. All opinions are my own.

A gay dystopian horror/suspense novella called Your Shadow Half Remains is deeply founded in the experience of living during the early stages of the COVID epidemic. The exact emotions and human reactions are very similar, even if the events in the story are considerably more intense. This immediately transported me back to the first few months in New York City, when everyone was afraid and alone, and we had no idea what was going on or how it spread.

This is a dystopian style story set in a world where looking into the eyes of other people makes you not behave like yourself. (Ex. homicidal/suicidal)

The themes in this story really felt reminiscent of the isolation and loneliness of the pandemic. The way that an external factor makes people afraid of human connection that they normally would covet.

A really tough ending but an interesting read. And short so not too drawn out at all!

The cover made me knock on the door and the story convinced me to stay the night.

In a world where a single glance can mean death, Riley has learned to survive by avoiding human faces at all costs. No eyes meet hers, no smiles greet her—such interactions only invite danger.

But when Ellis, a new neighbor, moves in nearby, Riley's yearning for human connection becomes too powerful to ignore. Despite the risks, she finds herself drawn to Ellis, who somehow makes her feel safe in a world fraught with peril. As their bond deepens, Riley's grip on reality begins to slip, and she finds herself unable to resist her most primal desires.

All Riley wants is to look—to see the faces of those around her, to connect with them on a level she's long denied herself.

My Thoughts:

Comparisons to Bird Box are inevitable, but Your Shadow Half Remains stands on its own, offering a gripping and unsettling tale that kept me on the edge of my seat from start to finish. While the premise may seem familiar, the execution is refreshingly original, delivering layer upon layer of delicious discomfort that had my heart racing with every turn of the page.

I devoured this book in audiobook format, completely unaware of its brevity. When it came to its conclusion, I found myself reaching for my phone, convinced there had been a mistake—I wanted more, and I wanted it desperately.

Your Shadow Half Remains pulses with life, offering a visceral reading experience that leaves an indelible mark on the psyche. If you're craving a story that grabs hold and refuses to let go, look no further—this is it.

If you love audiobooks, this book is a good candidate to consume with your ears. This was my first audiobook narrated by Sunny Moraine, they breathed vibrant life into every word, infusing the story with a palpable sense of urgency and tension, leaving me hanging on every word as the story unfolded.

Thanks to the publisher for the gifted ALC.

YOUR SHADOW HALF REMAINS by Sunny Moraine is set in a world where eye contact can kill. Riley has isolated herself away from the world, living off online orders for groceries and supplies. As the book opens, she's throwing her phone into the lake, yet another step farther away from any human contact. The story progresses when someone moves in close by and she must navigate how to deal with human contact again (or choose not to) while strange things start to happen to her which may or may not be connected.

I think that this book had a lot of potential to really create a creepy atmosphere and I did find that there were some moments that achieved the vibes I was looking for. That said, there was a lot of time spent in Riley's head that took us onto a lot of tangents and I felt like this was longer than it needed to be. For such a short book, I found it a little too easy to put down.

I would definitely try reading from Sunny Moraine again in the future even if this one fell a bit flat for me.

What an interesting and unique story! I loved the eerie feeling of existential dread this novella radiated. There was so much tension and danger wrapped up in a slow paced but chilling story. I only wish this had been a full length novel so there could have been more time for deeper character development. I especially enjoyed the narration for this audiobook. It really helped add to the dark and moody vibes.

Thank you to the publishers and netgalley for this audiobook in exchange for an honest review.

I am not sure what I think about this book, I think I enjoyed it, but I'm not 100% sure what happened. Which I guess is great because it keeps you thinking about the story. This is narrated by the author, who did a fantastic job bringing her story to life, and follows Riley who has been isolated for two years after the death of her mother, and the world is struck with some weird plague that makes them murder each other if they look into an infected persons eyes. No one knows if it can also happen by pictures, mirrors, how the plague works, or what rules they should be following. This is a story of slow-building insanity that can occur with prolonged isolation in horrific situations. In the end, it is hard to tell what is real and what isn't. It was a well-written short, definitely worth the time.

Your Shadow Half Remains on audio was a chilling and thrilling experience! Riley’s story was gripping and the narration was A+!

Thank you, Netgalley, the author, and MacMillan Audio for the gifted audiobook! ❤️ #gifted. My review is comprised of my honest thoughts.

Read this book if you like: Dystopian worlds, LGBTQ representation, deep reads

I received the audiobook. It's narrated by the author. I really enjoyed it. This is a queer dystopian novella with some horror aspects. A lot happened, which kept me very drawn in. It was so deep and thoughtful. I highly recommend it.

I really loved the tension and eerie atmosphere of this dystopian isolation horror. The paranoia and unreliability of the narrator made for such a compelling and fast-paced read. The world was really interesting to me I almost wish the book was longer so we could learn more about it. If you're fine with a little gore, I definitely recommend this!

Thank you Netgalley for providing a digital ARC.

2.75✨

Your Shadow Half Remains takes place in a post-apocalyptic world where one day, eye contact started causing people to descend into a rabies-like rage. The story follows Riley, a woman who’s been isolated since the onset of this“pandemic.” But that changes when she gets a new neighbor and her grasp on reality begins to break.

This had a lot going for it. I love myself a good horror novella with an unreliable narrator. I thought the writing was beautiful and atmospheric, and the maddening ambiguity of the end was by far my favorite part! And the horrific bits were just the right amount of creepy. I thought the fact that the story was narrated by the author was cool. They weren’t my favorite narrator, but they did a good job.

However, this story didn’t quite work for me. Most of the story, while beautifully written, was slow and didn’t really keep my attention. Part of the reason why was because I felt unattached to the MC. Since we were so much in the MC’s head and I wasn’t really invested in her, this read like a dull fever dream. The premise had so much potential (The Last of Us meets Bird Box!), but I was mostly bored while reading this. Also, the parallels to the pandemic, though intriguing, gave more the monotony of quarantine than a compelling read.

Although this story wasn’t for me, I definitely think this could work for anybody who loves a character-driven, atmospheric horror with a psychological twist.

[Note: I read this on audio, though there isn’t an audio option under “Editions.”]

Thank you to NetGalley for an advanced reader copy of this book for my honest review.

I've been struggling to write a review of this book for weeks because I've had a hard time figuring out how I feel about it. Basics, first: the audiobook narrator was great and the writing was solid. The story was confusing and weird and disturbing and kind of gross and I think I liked it? I couldn't get a handle on the main character, which I think was the point? Overall, this book was unique and compelling, and I've been thinking about it on and off for weeks, so it definitely had an unsettling impact, and I'm very interested in reading future books by Moraine.

This book was very interesting to me. The concept was intriguing, but the execution of the story didn't go well for me. I feel like the story wasn't fully thought out. It was very confusing in some parts to understand what the author was trying to get at. The last couple of chapters is where it felt the most rushed and unfinished.

Although it was out of my usual genre, I really enjoyed this short, compelling, and pleasantly creepy audiobook. The author’s narration was also great—her voice was a perfect fit with the main character and overall mood.

❤️ Eerie, unsettling atmosphere
❤️ Interesting narrator
❤️ Short, compelling read
❌ Long ramblings
❌ Slightly repetitive
❌ Ending a little rushed

Trigger Warnings: pandemic/epidemic, confinement, paranoia, madness, blood and gore, violence, animal death, murder, body horror, car accident, etc.

Plot:
A strange virus causes those infected to succumb to a murderous rage when they look into another person’s eyes. It’s been two years since Riley moved to a remote area, cutting herself from a society that’s falling apart. Two years since Riley has seen another human being. Two years since she has seen her own eyes. But when a stranger moves next door and bizarre events start to happen, Riley begins to question her own sanity while repressing the increasing desire to look.

Think COVID-19 paranoia, but on steroids. The plot was straightforward enough, with simple but compelling worldbuilding (perfect for a novella). The complexity was in Riley’s emotions, reconsiderations, hesitations, contradictions, and opposing desires. Her downward spiral into paranoia and madness was very interesting and almost relatable. The whole time, I kept asking myself: Would I have done something like this eventually? Would I be totally mad? The unreliable narrative technique was on point, with just the right amount of confusion, although I felt that some of Riley’s ramblings were a little too long and the ending felt slightly rushed.

Characters:
There are basically two characters: Riley and Ellis. It’s hard to say much about Ellis, because all we know about them is tinted by Riley’s perspective. But Riley, RILEY. What an interesting character. I would not like to have her as a neighbour, but I really enjoyed experiencing this dystopian society from her POV.

Writing:
The writing was spotless and sharp, slightly poetic without sounding pompous. I’d be curious to read more of Moraine’s work.

A beautifully written story that feels part Birdbox and part The Crazies. I am enjoying the fact that modern horror has started to embrace the dark an dreadful vibe of early horror stories.

15% in, I knew I had a new favorite novella. I recommend going into this terrifying tale blind, so I won’t go into any details. Just know that this little post-apocalyptic story is INTENSE. I was lucky enough to receive an ARC of the audiobook from NetGalley and I can HIGHLY recommend it. Plus, the audiobook is narrated by the author who is a fantastic voice actor. If you loved Bird Box from Josh Malerman or the movie The Happening, RUN to your closest bookstore and pick this up.

This one didn't quite pull me in. The narration style, while unique, didn't resonate with my preferences. Despite my anticipation for a captivating dystopian, gothic atmosphere, I found myself feeling a bit lost in the narrative. Reading preferences vary, and while this book might not have been my cup of tea, others with different tastes may find it intriguing.

Ok, right off the bat if you loved BirdBox or any M Night Shyamalan movie, then Your Shadow Half Remains is absolutely a book for you! The setting is so creepy and post apocalyptic. It’s so rich with that feeling of not knowing what’s truly happening because communication is lost and you’re too scared to ask a live person as you don’t know if they’ve gone crazy or not. A total descent into madness, and that was my absolute favorite part of this book! I love that psychological game where you aren’t sure if you can trust the main character because they aren’t sure they can trust what they know.

If you want a quick and creepy read (or listen), then I highly recommend you grab this one immediately! Also, the author narrated their own book. How freaking cool is that?!?

Thanks to NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for the ALC of this audiobook.

In a dystopian world, looking another person in the face can drive someone insane and lead to a gruesome death. Riley has been alone for longer than she can remember, but when a new neighbor moves in down the road, all she wants to do is look at the stranger. As Riley and Ellis grow closer, Riley fights the urge as she loses her grip on reality.

I enjoyed this quick, horrifying, and exciting read. It gave me Bird Box vibes, but I daresay I enjoyed it more than Mallerman’s book (and definitely more than the screen adaptation).

It’s as much psychological exploration as twisted romance. Who among us would be fully sane without years of human contact? Riley’s unraveling is fascinating, and there is a cool twist or two that adds to the tone of the book