This book was great, it was hopeless throughout even when it seemed things were going well for Sammy he was never able to fully let go of his grief which came in the form of an online addiction. I feel like the characters were done really well and it was written in a way that felt different, I will definitely be checking out more from this author in the future

The character is a racist. Did not enjoy. Thanks to NetGalley, the author and the publisher for this free eARC in exchange for my honest opinion.

Thanks to Netgalley and Kensington Publishing for this free ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This could have been so good, a dark look into the dark web and what we commonly associate with incel behaviour but instead it was just a little too far fetched to the point where it was unenjoyable.

There is countless parts where the main character uses casual racism yet this doesn’t seem to be a character flaw or issue, in fact it’s simply who he is. I can appreciate a protagonist who is unlikeable but this wasn’t even that, he just….wasn’t a fun, engaging or enjoyable character to follow.

It could have been good but it simply lacked too much, whether that be world building, character development or even cohesion within subplots.

3.75 stars rounded up to 4 stars.
What initially drew me to rekt by Alex Gonzalez was its premise—using technology as both a form of horror and a way to process grief. I’ve never read a book that explored these themes in quite this way, and I was captivated by how the darker corners of the internet could shape someone’s coping mechanisms in such a destructive way.
Sammy, the main character, is a tragic figure whose grief and lack of family support lead him down a dangerous path. When his loving uncle dies during his childhood, Sammy starts coping by creating stories about the Wax Man—a character who, as the story unfolds, seems to represent both his uncle and, ultimately, himself. With no one to guide him through healthy grieving, Sammy turns to the internet, where he and his friends watched disturbing and graphic videos as a form of distraction.
Years later, after losing the love of his life in a car accident, Sammy once again seeks refuge in the online world, but this time, it pulls him into a much darker abyss. He becomes obsessed with watching increasingly violent and gruesome videos, ultimately getting lured into a site called chinsky. The way the book portrays how technology amplifies grief and fuels self-destruction is both chilling and compelling.
While I was drawn in by the premise, I did find the pacing to slow down a bit around the 40-50% mark. I struggled to stay fully engaged during this section, though I do think this could have been partly because I was reading in the midst of a big move. That said, I’m glad I pushed through because the unique format kept me hooked. Each chapter begins with short context snippets, almost like posts Sammy might find online, which adds a layer of immersion. The experimental style in the final section, with emails, texts, posts, and comment threads, was a brilliant way to bring the narrative to life.
Overall, rekt is a deeply depressing book—in the best way possible. It’s a raw and unflinching look at grief and self-destruction, with Sammy making the absolute worst choices for himself at every turn. The Wax Man, as a symbol of both his uncle’s death and Sammy’s own spiral, adds another layer of emotional complexity. It’s not an easy read, but it’s one that stays with you, making you reflect on those around you who might be struggling with their own losses or trauma.
Thank you to Netgalley and Kensington Publishing for theis eARC. All opinions expressed are my own.

rekt is about Sammy, a young man who grew up watching online videos he probably shouldn't have and writing creepypasta. When his girlfriend dies, he copes by delving deeper into that dark online world until he spirals out of control, both mentally and physically.

This is a dark, dark book. It made me feel kind of sick, and I almost regret reading it. Sammy is a haunted person, and his grief is heavy and ugly.

But the thing is, I couldn't stop reading. I had to find out how far he would go, and I honestly wanted to know if he would be okay. And I say it that way because his thoughts felt so real, like he was talking to me, and I grew to genuinely care about him.

When I picked up rekt, I had no idea what I was getting myself into. It was like the first time I read a Palahniuk book (too young)—by the time I realized how upsetting it was, I was too hooked to stop. rekt is sad and highly disturbing, yet somehow beautiful. I cannot stop thinking about it, and I don't know that I ever will.

I had a bit of a challenging time ranking this one. I think others are very likely to give it a solid five star rating. This book is very dark and incredibly frightening, as horrifically, it could actually happen. The premise is incredibly interesting and reminds us of the horror that happens on the dark web. The ending wasn’t completely satisfying to me and felt sudden. The variety of blurbs at the end were confusing (but maybe it’s just me feeling that way) and I didn’t really know what I was meant to take from them. Of note, there is an incredibly difficult part of the book involving a baby that I could have gone without reading.

This was the second ARC of a book that I've received and I massively enjoyed it. I can hardcore relate to Sammy's character as I'm a person who experienced a loss and found myself seeking out disturbing content online as a coping mechanism that I had a lot of trouble explaining to others. At its heart, this is the story of a person who has no idea HOW to grieve. His family culture and traumatic childhood experiences have left him with the inability to process his losses so he goes to incredibly dark lengths to try and teach himself how to navigate this very human experience.

Gonzalez does an incredible job of making my heart ache for someone who does truly awful shit throughout the book. He also carefully weaves in several mini-twists throughout the course of the story so that I could NOT put it down.

I was prepared to give it five stars because I was enthralled the entire time, but I found the end to be slightly unsatisfying. That's more of a personal thing for me, I still found the book an incredible read and would recommend to anyone.

Well. This is...timely. A story about greed, ego, and toxic masculinity, this was an honest look at the world we're living in. For better or worse.

This is a dark, scary and all too timely book about just how far people will go for greed and entertainment. This book uses social media and the dark web to explore toxic masculinity, violence towards women and misogyny in general. It is not for the faint of heart but it is very good and there is much to learn from the ideas here.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read an advanced copy of Rekt.
I was drawn in by the premise due to my morbid curiosity about the dark web. However, my reading experience for this book was unusual because I really enjoyed the first 50% but lost interest around the 70% mark and unfortunately started skimming from that point on…(last third of a book is usually the best part).
Reading about Sammy grieving Ellery's death felt authentic and the story about his uncle's death further humanized him (I enjoyed/ appreciated the character development). I was sort of enticed by who / what was behind the videos online of people dying but once Sammy joined Jay and Izzy I really struggled to keep reading. Their time together seemed to drag and I lost interest in how the book was going to end.
The final 10% of the book reminded me of The Sluts by Dennis Cooper in that you have to read a variety of online postings and piece together what it all means... I unfortunately didn't have the capacity to put much thought into it.
I enjoyed the author's writing style and can appreciate the formatting at the end but I couldn't get into this one personally. If you read creepypasta / are chronically online maybe this ones for you??
Overall this book is hard to rate, but I suppose my reasoning for the low rating is quite simple- the book felt too long and it wasn't for me.

Thank you so much to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with an ARC to review!

3.5 stars! Rounded up!

The way this kicked off and the first half had in locked in and reading away. There's stuff that's scary but when it involves people online and what we have such easy access to this day in age, it's honestly terrifiyig when you think about it, and also the other things people will consume on the internet and how it influences or changes them.

I loved the start of this and how dark it was. How Sammy went from grief to a spiral that watching certain stuff online to then all hell breaking loose.

The middle and then the end really stopped me from rating this higher because it just became so unrealistic with the sense of how things were panning out with relation to the first half of the book. Like I was reading almost two books. Regardless of this, this is a fantastic dark read and I'm beyond happy to find a new author to keep an eye out for!

The internet is a scary place and this book really dug into that fear for me. It really made me think about my life and what I have on social media. This book was fantastic! I highly recommend!

3.5/5 stars

Alex Gonzalez's Rekt is a great novel that examines the sinister depths of the dark web, and toxic masculinity. It follows the main character, Sammy, as he wanders into the side of the internet that most people hear about in secret, uncovering unsettling mysteries and irreversible consequences. This read contains extremely graphic descriptions of abuse and torture and feels awfully close to real life.

What gives Rekt its impact is the gripping narrative, which vividly captures the isolation and paranoia that come with digging too deep online and Gonzalez uses these themes to fuel a psychological tension that escalates throughout the story. Seeing Sammy's character development, and realizing how deep he has gone and how impossible it is to turn back now, truly left me with shivers down my spine. As intense as this book is, there were a couple of funny and heartfelt moments that were well-placed and memorable which I really appreciated as they added a layer of realism.

Ultimately, Rekt is a cautionary tale about the dark side of the internet and how curiosity can lead to terrifying places if one is not careful. By the end of this book, I found myself uttering the exact words of one of the characters, "I want to not want to be online."

This comes out this spring, and I can highly recommend it when it does. Along with exploring the many paths grief can take, you've got the deeper, darker underside of the internet (think snuff films but crypto and betting gets involved), creepypastas, and a man who, while well intentioned, just keeps making the absolute worst choices possible. Especially a fan of the ephermea at the end of this. Pick this up this spring, and enjoy the descent.

✨REVIEW: 4/⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️✨
📹 Rekt by @nahitsjustalex 📹

⌨️synopsis: Once, Sammy Dominguez thought he knew how the world worked. The ugly things in his head—his uncle’s pathetic death, his parents’ mistrust, the twisted horrors he writes for the Internet—didn’t matter, because he and his girl, Ellery, were on track for the good life in this messed-up world.

Then a car accident changed everything.

⌨️my opinion: I don’t usually read these kinds of books… (actually, I’ve never been a huge fan of the stuff that’s out there on the internet🫠) BUT, this one caught my eye because of its cover and well, I don’t regret it.

The story follows Sammy, who recently had a loss and is dealing with grief and the “ghosts” of his past.
His life ends up falling apart when he opens a link on the internet that shows him videos of people’s deaths 🫨 (apparently, there is a huge online group of people who create those videos by betting which way people will die) I know, it's crazy. 🫣

So this story delves into the consequences that the dark web can cause, toxic masculinity, grief, and the internet in general. 🤫

📀Highly recommended if you:

✨Like CreepyPasta.
✨Like the dark web.
✨ If you’ve ever liked Slenderman.

I would like to thank @erewhonbooks and @netgalley for the advanced e-copy. <33

Damn, this book was right up my alley in terms of what scares me. This story will totally be on my mind for a long while. I flew through the book in a day, I had to see how it ended! It was bleak, gory, intense, and scary.

This book definitely does what it sets out to do but I still ended up not enjoying it. I have read other novels that take a similar subject matter but still manage to be fun to me and some way and this is definitely not it.

darkly and ominously interesting internet horror-type vibes feels like a creepypasta work and definitely has that same sort of sensibilties. unique, in one word.

Thanks to NetGalley for allowing me to read this in exchange for an honest review.

This was too much for me. I appreciate the unique plot and the idea of how easily a traumatized person could get sucked into the dark web, but it was too disturbing and felt like much was for shock value. Well-written but not for me and I was let down by the ending.

3 stars, for me, others will likely rate it higher.

Before the car accident Sammy Dominguez thought he had a handle on the world even though things weren’’t pretty - his uncle died a sad, lonely death, his parents didn’t trust him and his dark thoughts came out in the stories he posted online, but he had his girlfriend Ellery and the two of them were going to make it.

And then it was all over.

Spiraling, Sammy is drawn toward some of the darker parts of the Internet. Then someone emails him a video of Ellery dying. He watches that, then hundreds of other deaths, including those of people still alive.

What is this mysterious website and who runs it? Are all of the videos deepfakes? Is anything real?

This was much more gory and disturbing than my normal reads but I don’t know that it quite rises to the level of splatterpunk. Or perhaps it does, not sure. But it’s well-written and will likely find its audience, it just isn’t me.