Thank you to NetGalley & the publisher Del Rey for providing me with an eARC of this book!
Release date: October 22, 2024

I’ve thought about my review for a little bit now and I have finally decided on my thoughts. I absolutely loved the haunting atmosphere of this book. The horrors in this book are all too real and hit all too close to home for some of us out there. For that reason I suggest you check trigger warnings for this one!

With that being said, I adored this book & I couldn’t put it down! We follow our main character Sarah who is escaping an abusive ex-boyfriend. She decides to join this art retreat at a remote location with other fellow artists so that she can restart her life & tap into her artistry again. Little does she know that the horrors that lurk under the surface are begging to be seen.

This book had such a wonderfully creepy and eerie atmosphere. As I said, the horrors are all too real & that was super effective for me! I do think that the point of the book is so necessary & it drives home the fact that female presenting people put up with a lot of shit in relationships sometimes. And often at the expense of our sanity, personality, & autonomy. Sarah is trying to piece together who she is after this relationship, all the while creepy things keep happening at this remote art retreat. We have an abandoned hotel surrounded by individual cabins, all in the middle of nowhere, as our setting & let me tell you it’s super effective as a backdrop for all the creepy, spooky things happening.

This book drives home the fact that female presenting people deserve bodily autonomy & that they shouldn’t put up with abusive, shitty relationships. Gaslighting is a big theme, as well as choice, bodily autonomy, narcissistic relationship, and so much more.

My only complaint with this book is that I think it drove home the point of how women have been scorned for centuries, a little too much for my taste. But again, that’s just me. I highly recommend you read this book if it at all sounds interesting to you!!

“Now look. I have been terribly patient with you. I brought you here for your honeymoon, and it is not cheap. You have tasted the finest foods, enjoyed the waters, had your every need met. And now you must meet my needs. That is how a marriage works, sweetness.”

This is a really atmospheric thriller. A woman's body is found and everyone at the artists colony of Tranquil Falls soon starts acting strange. Sarah, who is running away from an abusive ex, starts having dreams about the woman every night.

This is my second read from Delilah Dawson who I've been lucky enough to discover from netgalley and I definitely will continue to read her books. Thank you random hoise publishing group ballantine for giving me an advanced review copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

This book disappointed me so much and I am big sad about it. I really enjoyed Bloom.

There is so much description to the point where the book could have been half the length and just as (in)effective. There is literally a paragraph describing rain that wasn't even actually happening in the story. I ended up skimming most of it. I also felt like the author put all of her potential purple prose phrases into one sentence in a draft but never went back to edit it to make it sound coherent. I think this author should stick to shorter books (Bloom is 203 pages and this was 368).

The pacing was terrible. It took 50% for anything interesting to start happening and even then there were many things that never got an explanation at the end. Admittedly, I did not finish this book but I did read spoiler reviews to find out what happened and I'm so glad I didn't waste my time trying to push through. They explained that everything towards the end felt rushed and the ending was unsatisfying.

There's a lot of triggering content, including on page sexual assault, that felt gratuitous and unnecessary to put on page. It did not feel "feminist" to me at all.

Overall, I do not recommend this book.

Great take on a dual timeline historical fiction utilizing paranormal elements and a true crime feel. The events keep you on the edge of your seat while the characters keep you invested. I really enjoyed the spooky setting, the cool artistic influences and the great reveals.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for my copy. These opinions are my own.

**My thanks to Random House Ballantine for providing me with an advanced review copy via NetGalley**

4 stars

It Will Only Hurt for a Moment is a horror novel that works on multiple levels, even featuring a bit of a dual timeline story that keeps me invested in both the past and the present narratives. The plot progresses at a nicely paced slow burn, gently ramping up the creeps until you’re left unsure just how things got so terribly out of hand.

If you enjoy isolated settings for your horror, you’ll love Tranquility Falls, the off-grid artist’s retreat set on the same land as an abandoned 19th century health resort. If you like small groups being picked off one by one, you’ll also enjoy this narrative. Each side character is distinct and memorable, so I never mixed them up, and I loved the creeping dread as fewer and fewer people were left as buffer between our protagonist Sarah and the haunting landscape.

My only complaint relates to the ending. After the brilliantly executed crescendo of the previous 90% of the book, the last few chapters left me a little cold; they felt far more rushed and less deliberately paced than the rest of the book. That said, I was still satisfied with the conclusion of the plot and left with a positive impression of the book overall.

CW: on-screen depiction/memory of rape/sexual assault.

It Will Only Hurt for a Moment was a beautiful complex story. I was instantly sucked into Delilah’s writing, like I always am. She has such a way with storytelling that I can’t get enough of. I really loved uncovering the complex mystery in this one. The Authors note at the end was very eye opening. Some parts I wanted more of a conclusion on but overall I really enjoyed this one.
4/5 Stars

Thank you so much to the publisher and Netgalley for sending me an arc copy in exchange for my honest review.

I’m a big fan of creepy buildings in my horror books. Mix in a secluded setting, an interesting cast of characters, and long buried secrets and I think Dawson crafted a winning formula!

This is definitely a tricky story to talk about without giving any of the plot details away, so I’m going to try and stay as vague as possible with my thoughts.

Our main character, Sarah, is the focus of the story in that we need to know about her past, her present time at the retreat, and be able to use her as a vessel into the past in order to find out what really happened at this abandoned hotel. In addition to Sarah, the reader is able to get to know a handful of secondary characters. I really would have enjoyed getting to know the artists staying at Tranquil Falls more, but recognize that this might not have added to the plot.

I think what really sold my love for this book was the atmospheric writing from Dawson. The story dripped with eerie vibes thanks to how vividly Dawson crafted the setting. I felt uncomfortable and like someone or something was going to creep out of the shadows several times as the story progressed.

⚠️There are several trigger warnings in this book, particularly those dealing with sexual assault and domestic violence. As always, I recommend checking out a full list on Storygraph.

1.5, not sure whether to round up or down. For enjoyment, it was a 1 but I could see other people enjoying it more than me so that would round up to a 2.

What I liked
-The beginning was a decent start. It set up the tension pretty well, though that tension fell off quickly afterwards.
-I liked creepy abandoned retreat setting. It was described well and it evoked an eerie feeling.

What I didn't like
-The book is supposed to be a horror thriller and even as a horror baby, I didn't really get any scary or creepy vibes after the first like 15%.
-The side characters all felt very stereotypical and we dont really get much depth from any of them. They seem like they were just there to add to the creepy vibes, but that didn't really work either.
-I didn't particularly dislike the main character but she also didn't really do much to make me like her either. It felt like the story was happening to her and the she was just kind of moving through it.
-There's some graphic content that I'm not sure was handled well. I admit to skimming the decently sized scenes because it didn't really feel like the details added anything to the story.
-The ending was so fast and there were a lot of questions left unanswered. I was hoping that there would be some interesting reveals but overall it was very unsatisfying.

Thank you Netgalley for the advance reader copy of It Will Only Hurt for a Moment by Delilah S. Dawson in exchange for an honest review. I was so pulled in by this story, I read it all in one day. I am really enjoying the writing of Dawson and how she builds her characters and storylines. There is a great depth that has the reader plunging through the layers to find out the full story. This book is a keeper.

I unfortunately did not get along super well with this book. I really like Dawson’s The Violence from a few years ago and this premise really intrigued me. But from pretty much the beginning I was not vibing with Sarah and the story from there on just felt very repetitive. There would be a few pages sprinkled in that kept my interest but for the large majority I was slogging through.

I received an eARC via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House (Ballantine) for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This book held the perfect combo of thriller and scary ghost story for me. The atmosphere is creepy and haunting and beautiful. The backstory and the main plot beautifully intertwine. The characters are unique and well built, even the ones barely on the page for long. While it will be a VERY tough read for anyone who has been in an abusive relationship, I thought it was very well handled. This is not an experience I’ve had so I cannot speak to how well the topic is covered but I felt it was done tactfully and beautifully.

I only read the first four chapters before deciding to dnf. I thought it was boring and it wasn't holding my attention. I read a couple of reviews saying that there are multiple graphic depictions of rape and animal cruelty and death. And that isn't something I'm interested in reading.

This book had me completely gripped and turning the page the whole time. Getting these glimpses of what happened to these poor women was absolutely horrifying and made me sick. But then between those flashbacks our main character is slowly piecing together her own past which is equally horrifying in its own way.
The atmosphere was great and so eerie, it definitely kept me on the edge of my seat. I think a bit more could've been done with the ghost aspect of it. She really only came in to go after men randomly for any reason and then at the very end. Feels like it could've been played up a little bit more.
My biggest gripe is the ending though. It wrapped up far to quickly and felt like a mess. It didn't feel like any of the characters or the ghost really got justice. You're just kinda left hanging there having to assume that something comes to light about the resort. Kinda lame and why I'm giving it 4 stars.

This supernatural thriller is not only creepy and filled with a building dread and a cast of characters that could be hiding anything, it's also a solid expression of feminine rage and the way that misogyny hasn't gone away but morphed over time. I really enjoyed the slow burn mystery of what is going on at the Tranquil Falls artist commune, as artist Sarah is trying to leave her broken life behind only to find herself in a dark mystery. A msytery involving a wellness retreat from the past and the way that women would be sent away if they were deemed inconvenient to society and the men in their lives. It's stark and pointed and at times a very hard read, but I really liked the comparisons between Sarah's own experiences with abuse and the abuse the women of the past had to endure. And Dawson definitely pulls out some really freaky moments. This is a highly enjoyable horror novel, and if you are looking for something to read before Halloween is over I would recommend this one!

Thank you NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine | Del Rey for this ARC Copy! 4.5. Stars

This is the perfect spooky season / fall book. When our FMC escapes her narcissistic by being accepted at an artists retreat it sounds like the perfect time to unwind and get back to herself away from her ex, but thinks just keep going wrong. Paranormal presences start to disturbed the peace and secrets that have long since been buried are starting to make their way back to the surface, and no one knows who will be the next victim, or if they are really even victims at all.

Also, there is a creepy old condemned hotel that is on the same property with its own secrets to hide, and a place where we learn that true horror of the whole story was just being a woman in the 1800's.

There are three star reads that are only three star reads because of a mix of things that just made the books less than what it could have been, and then there are books that were simply forgettable because they not only could have been more than they were but also managed to not be memorable in any way.

This was how I felt when I finished It Will Only Hurt for a Moment. I felt like reading it had added nothing to my life and I had essentially just lost six hours reading it when I could have been reading something else. It’s not that the book is bad or poorly written; it’s simply that I didn’t feel it added anything to my life or that I had gained anything from reading it.

I was provided a copy of this title by the author and publisher via Netgalley. All thoughts, opinions, views, and opinions expressed herein are mine and mine alone. All reviews three stars and under will not be posted on my social media. Thank you.

File Under: Murder Thriller/Psychological Fiction/Psychological Thriller/Supernatural Fiction

This is a book about a woman going to an artist’s retreat, escaping her psychologically abusive ex-boyfriend and alcoholic mother who has dementia. This is also a book about feminism, gaslighting, fear and control. I read “The Violence” by this author, and absolutely loved it - I still think about that book. This is another one I won’t stop thinking about for a long time…

So Sarah is at this six-week residency at the retreat, getting back into pottery after her ex made her stop. We of course have other artists there, like a calligrapher, photographer and sculptor. They all live and work in cabins outside of a ritzy resort from the 1800s. They are never to try to go in there; the floors and roof are rotting and it’s not safe, but of course, that rule is begging to be broken.

Before that though, Sarah is digging a kiln pit, and ran into a cheap coffin containing a young woman with blonde hair. After that, her dreams take her through this woman’s life, from being the child of wealthy parents who married her off to a banker, who expects her to fulfill her “wifely duties”, despite her being only 19 and not familiar with sex (this is the 1800s, of course). When she tries to fight her husband off on their honeymoon, she is sent to the police hospital in the basement.

This hospital reminds me of the Glore Psychiatrist Museum in Missouri (ifkyk) - it’s doctors trying new “remedies” that are mostly torture. Once Sarah enters the hotel/hospital, the other artists…change. Disappear. Die. As the corpses of both humans and animals pile up, and the artists begin acting more crazy than regular artists, Sarah knows she need to do something. But what?

Emily and Sarah have similar stories, and they are tied together well through the dreams. This had beautiful writing, and a very original, heartbreaking story. Women still don’t get a break when it comes to healthcare - imagine 100+ years ago with diagnoses like wandering uteruses and hysteria. This was also a fantastic ghost story interwoven with a great story from the present. Like “The Violence”, I give this 4.5 stars, rounded up.

(Thank you to Del Rey, Delilah S, Dawson and NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for my review.)

Do not skip the CN warnings, there is a lot of horribleness going on here.

A slower burn than I am used to from Dawson, but there's a reason for that: she gets deep into the mind of an abused woman, a woman who has been second-guessing everything in her life for years, maybe a lifetime, and struggles to find meaning anywhere. There is no quick fix, there is only damage.

I really enjoyed this eerie and atmospheric book. Dawson has a gift of making you feel like you are there, whether in a creepy old hotel or its stunning surroundings.

I had such high hopes for this book and I was really into it for the first quarter of the book, but them it started to lose me. The pacing started to slow and I had trouble really paying attention and staying captivated by the book. And that should not happen. Especially in this spookier type of genre.

This was another one of those books where the characters felt so two-dimensional and as if they weren't fully thought out yet. They felt more like the ideas of characters than fully developed and planned out people. I want characters to feel more real than that. It made them rather unlikable.

This book really does have so much potential, I mean, it takes place at an artist's colony AND it's a thriller! That is crazy cool potential to be a crazy cool book! A lot of thriller novels that fall flat to me feel like they'd be better as a movie and I could see this being a pretty decent movie. Maybe the pacing would work better in that format??

Thanks to NetGalley for the e-ARC of this book in exchange for my honest review! My Goodreads review is up and my TikTok (Zoe_Lipman) review will be up at the end of the month with my monthly reading wrap-up.

Let me start by saying this book will not be for every reader, which is totally okay! This was another tough but important read about female rage. For me, while horrific, I think many of the topics in this are so necessary to discuss as sadly they are the reality for many. Dawson’s writing was strong and very atmospheric, although I felt like this book could have been a bit shorter. Make sure you check the TWs before diving in as there a quite a few (including animal stuff which you all know I hate).