First off, the imagery in this book was amazing and it started super strong with a scene that captured the oppressive and ominous nature of the situation and environment in a very poignant way. There were a few moments like that peppered throughout the book. If you like an author who can bring the scenery to life, you'll probably vibe with Marino's style.

My problem with this book is that not all POVs had the same polished feeling and therefore I enjoyed certain POVs A LOT more than others. There's one POV which I think would have made the whole story better (by way of improved pacing) if it had been removed entirely. Also, the way cult stuff was handled really wasn't it for me and every time it came up, I threw me off and I had to get back into it which got harder and harder every time.

The idea for the story, the evolving menace, the teeth (so many teeth), and the perfect ending (again with Marino's magnificent ability to set the stage) there's still a lot to enjoy in there just could have used a little trimming in my opinion.

Disclosure: I received an eARC from Redhook Books through Netgalley (many thanks to both for the opportunity to read and review this title).

The Swarm is full of ick and ew and SO MANY CICADAS!

I live in a part of the country with no cicadas. I’ve always been happy about that but, after reading this book, I’m now ecstatic. Even now I can feel them crawling and clicking and burrowing and NO!

The scope of the book is definitely epic and there’s something not quite right (of course) about our buggy beasties.

Now, while I like epic, I did find the book just a touch longer than it needed to be. I found myself ready for the story to end quite a bit before the author ended it. But aside from that, it was definitely a good read and I’d recommend it to anyone who is not squeamish!

• ARC via Publisher

Thanks to Redhook Books and NetGalley for the ARC of Andy Marino's 'The Swarm.'

I probably shouldn't have read this at a time when the brood has been constantly cacophonous for weeks down here but, nevertheless, I did.

This is great fun - a creature feature, monster movie on the page. Oddly behaving cicadas cause an almost overnight global apocalypse and our band of disparate and desperate survivors try to combat them and save humanity. The action centers on upstate NY (cops, 'fixers,' and parents), Manhattan (tech magnates), and Louisiana (forensic entomologist) and it's difficult to expand on that without spoilers so I won't even attempt.

Honestly, I hadn't much of a clue as to how some key strands tied together - again, very hard to describe that without introducing immediate spoilers - but it didn't affect my enjoyment too much. Just go with the flow and if you're at all squeamish, especially about bugs, do not even attempt to read this one.

You know if horror is good if it begins with a realistic plot and believable characters. A small town, perhaps, with a hardworking policewoman who is a devoted single mother. Private detectives investigating sex trafficking and kidnapping and finding something worse. Staged murders. It’s all here in The Swarm and it isn’t subtle. Crime in town coincides with the emergence of a multitude of cicadas, one year early. They swarm from trees and settle on residents and it isn’t pretty.

Here I, a horror fan, stopped reading. I now have a cicada problem (the mouth to mouth!) and I had to stop. I think The Swarm would make a great movie. Horror is supposed to grab you and terrify you and this happened to me to the point of closing my Kindle. I’ll definitely try this author again once he moves away from the cicadas! 3 stars.

Thank you to NetGalley, Redhook Book and Andy Marino for this ARC.