Thanks to Angry Robot and NetGalley for this ARC for an honest review.

I wanted to love this book. It started out so promising, with what seemed like a clear direction of what to expect. Then, the plot shifted into a new direction. When the two directions were brought together, it felt forced. Everything just seemed to go off the rails after that. I wanted to DNF many times, but as this was an RTR book, I felt I owed it to the author to follow through.

It's difficult to write about points of the book without spoiling the plot. Plots? The characters aren't very likeable, I hope to never read the word 'babe' again, and some of the action scenes felt like they were there just because the author wanted to write them rather than because they made sense with the plot. I believe that with more time, the author has potential. He has ideas and writes well. While this is not a book I would recommend, I would be interested in reading future works by the author to see how they have progressed

Jenna's has experienced a traumatic past with her mother seemingly disappearing into thin air which was only the beginning of the downward spiral she encounters into her adulthood. She is met with abusive relationships or relationships that she cannot keep for long until she meets Holly and decides a camping trip would be great for the both of them. She is then thrusted into this world of darkness, bringing back her abuser and some other dark entities into her life.

The only thing intriguing about this book is the cover. The characters are insufferable, and this is a perfect stereotype of "men not being able to write female characters". Jenna is obnoxious, annoying and overly dramatic. Holly is the worst partner someone could ask for. James is a slime-ball for obvious reasons, but there was no empathy garnered for any of the characters. Even Jenna's mother is obnoxious.

The story starts in the past, but then makes the jump to present day without a smooth transition. There is a scattering of medieval folklore spread throughout the novel breaking it up, but it does not seem to have any ties to the story. Was it show that evil has always lingered throughout time? Who knows. All I know is that this book took A LOT for me not to DNF.

There was an overuse of the words bitch, lovey and babe which of course were all done by the female characters which tie back into my initial statement of why some men should not be writing female characters.

Would I recommend this book? No. Would I reread or attempt to read other books from this author? Nope.

<i>Thank you NetGalley for providing an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.</i>

This is not my usual genre, but I really, really liked this book!

Characters
Jenna: Appropriate development and understanding of her situation. LOVE the connection to Holly! She is tough, focused, and determined. Nice, strong female character.
Holly: Her kindness both lends itself to softening Jenna and motivates her to find Jenna and help her. The climax is great with these two characters.
The villains are pulled off very well.

Setting
The forest and river, and bigger cities all work well together to add to the essence of the story.

Plot
I was wondering if the inclusion of the templar information was even necessary. By the end of the book, the readers get there. It works as a nice literary element throughout.

The book is fast-paced and exciting to read.

Based on the marketing done for and around this book I don’t think the author and publisher want the reader to have too much information going in. This horror/fantasy features Jenna who lost her mother in a very mysterious way when she was a teen. She is just recently shed of a controlling boyfriend and now she has a new love in her life, Holly. But there is also evil, lots of evil in her world and it does not want to let her go.

When I was actually reading this book I liked it fairly well, with its reminder that there is generally a price to pay for what one receives; I did not li e the ending, though. However, now that only a week or so has gone by I find that I don’t even remember much about it, so it didn’t make a big impression. Three stars, to be fair.

There are certain books which almost defy explanation. This is one of those books. By trying to explain the plot you'll simply give too much away or not do it justice.

So I'll just say that this novel has a monster, a great protagonist who's being kidnapped just to make babies, and it involves a dream world and history of the Knights Templer.

And this author makes all of it work in a terrifying and full speed ahead manner which makes this novel absolutely fun to read.

The monster is, indeed, loathsome and evil while the protagonist is a loner. She's also very outspoken and sarcastic as well as a bit of a badass!

Some of the scenes in this book are the stuff of action films. They're exciting, thrilling, and you never know what the outcome will be. But the meat of the story is the protagonist herself. From a traumatic experience when she was fifteen to her now lonely lifestyle, putting up so many walls that even a tank couldn't break through, to her new relationship which she believes is going to go belly up because "everybody leaves eventually".

Her life is really an out of control wreck already. Then comes the monster and the kidnappers. It just makes for a fantastic and horrifying read.

I highly recommend this book. You've never read anything quite like it.

A lot of what bothered me about this book is impossible to articulate without giving spoilers, so for a full comprehensive review, please see my link below.

The story started out strong with an autumnal atmosphere and a frightening hook but after the trip to Wales, the story swerved into territory I wasn’t expecting and kinda spiralled from there:

● I really wish there’d been content warnings so I’m adding some of the bottom of this review. Some might be a bit spoilery, just fyi. There was one thread in particular that deeply upset me that I’d wished I’d known about beforehand. I probably wouldn't have requested it if I'd known it was such a core theme of the book.

● This author has a preoccupation with overly dramatic gun shootout scenes that just don’t fit the setting or the vibe he’s going for with UK folk horror. Plus, an obnoxious overuse of the word “babe”, which I never want to hear again after this

● Jenna was really difficult to root for: she was obnoxious, facetious, and uncommunicative.

Despite all of that, for this reader, The Ravening was an improvement over The Hollows and scaled back a lot of what I felt ruined that book. I’d cautiously give Church’s next novel a read as he’s clearly developing as a writer but at the same time, I don’t think I’d seek out another one of his books in a hurry.

⚠️ Additional Content Warnings ⚠️
Death of parent, gore, violent assault and injury, forced confinement, kidnapping, imprisonment, rape, forced birth, gun violence, murder, violation of consent, attempted suicide, homophobia, bullying, violence, excessive swearing

I was privileged to have my request to read this book accepted through NetGalley. Thanks for letting me give it a go, Angry Robot! 🤖

This was not for me I afraid.
It was nearly a DNF early on due to how annoying I found the main character, but I carried on, intrigued by what could be happening.
It's fair to say a lot is happening, some of it pretty wild.
If that's your cup of tea, you will love this.
I just didn't.
I never need to hear the word "babe" again after this.

An utterly gripping and twisty thriller, that left me feeling like I'd been hit by a truck. Jenna was a great character and most unusually for me, I did not see a lot of the plot beats coming. I just need to catch my breath now!

This book has so many twists and turns , just when you think you know what’s coming NOPE twist!

The villain was awesome and done so well! Loved it

Wow, this book was like five books in one. When I thought I knew where it was going it threw me for a loop again and again. The twists were very difficult to see coming, the villain is one for the ages and Jenna is one amazing heroine. Great until the final satisfying word.

Angry robot have some amazing books coming out lately!

Jenna’s story was awesome one of the best thrillers I’ve read

It’s dark it keeps you guessing and the twists and turns you don’t see coming!