The Night Birds features a unique and haunting setting – an old, sunken shipwreck that was recovered and now features an ecological marvel – a mangrove forest. Book and his team are scientists documenting this unique environment with the hopes that it can be someday transformed into America’s smallest national park. When the story opens, a horrible hurricane is sweeping across the coast, but it’s expected to bypass the ship. Book heads out to sleep, but he encounters his ex-girlfriend who’s on the run with her dead sisters’ baby. He offers them shelter, but he hasn’t the slightest idea that the people searching her will be able to find her anywhere… because they’re witches.

I had high hopes for this book, particularly with the unique setting (I love ships!) and the idea of a forest growing on it, along with a whole slew of unique wildlife. Unfortunately, the horror of the story is more about the witches than anything else.

There’s a large cast of characters in this book, and we get to know them quite well as the story progresses. That said, the larger cast does make the first half of the book much slower, particularly as we’re introduced to everyone in the context of the terrible weather. (There’s only so many times we need to be told a hurricane is coming through!)

That said, the book picks up and doesn’t release its iron grip. The story becomes more and more unhinged as the novel progresses. The second half does read more like a gory action film than a horror, as there are a lot of cogs in the machine, with the various characters each trying to save one another.

I was hoping the setting would play a larger part in the story, possibly even play as a character in itself, as many horror novels tend to explore anthropomorphizing of setting.

All in all, this is an entertaining horror book with a unique setting.

Many thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the opportunity to review this eARC. All opinions are my own.

This was an enjoyable reading experience.

I so wanted to love this book, but it didn’t hook me at all. I’m starting to think that Golden’s books just aren’t for me. The premise is great - a Galveston storm, an abandoned/beached ship, and witches? They should work together, but for me they just didn’t. I was intrigued for the first half of the book, but then it was a struggle to get through. Thank you NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for the eARC.

✨ The Vibes ✨
Genre-bending horror with a focus on the paranormal

📖 Read if…
✨ You like witchy horror
✨ You want a book that feels like a season of American Horror Story
✨ You like a Texas setting

It was the cover of The Night Birds that drew me in. It’s a true work of art that really conveys the eerie atmosphere of the story within. However, as much as I love the cover, the book as a whole was much more of a like than a love.

The Night Birds follows Charlie and Ruby, former lovers who are brought together when a young woman seeks their help to escape a coven of witches who are after her baby. I loved how unique the story was. I can truly say I’ve never read a book like this one and had a difficult time predicting where the story was going to go, which made for a fun reading experience. The setting was also a high point, and I was really hoping that the story would lean into the creepiness of the sunken ship.

As you can tell, there’s a lot going on in this story from the haunted ship setting to the love story between Book and Ruby to the coven of witches. All of these elements make for an interesting story, but at times it felt like too much was going on. It’s a shaky foundation that’s difficult to build upon as the story progresses, which also makes it hard to become invested in the characters. While I wanted to know how the story ended, I also didn’t really care what happened to any of the characters, which is unusual for me.

The Night Birds is out now. Thanks to St. Martin's Press and NetGalley for the eARC in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you for a copy of this ARC!

I think this author had the potential for the story to be good but it fell short for me. I wasn't as connected to the story as I expected and was a little bummed cause it sounded like one I would have liked.

The Night Birds is the horror book that had me intrigued from the beginning. This takes place off the coast of Texas on an almost sunken freighter ship that is falling apart. It follows two women who are on the run and end up on this ship. Why are they on the run? Well make sure to read this one to find out. The book was written well and every character in this one was great. It was a dark and creepy read that has an amazing setting, witches, terrifying birds and so much more. a perfect Halloween read! I loved this read so much and would recommend to any reader, especially to those who love horror books. Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for this eerie read in exchange of my honest review of The Night Birds by Christopher Golden.

It may be my fault for continuing to pick up novels by Christopher Golden, but he continuously lets me down. He has an interesting pitch, then blows it by false advertising and boring plotting. I grabbed this in want of a good ship/sea horror — it’s none of the above. I finished to see if it improved. Spoiler alert; it doesn’t.

This is a fantastic witchy read! Action packed and will keep you on the edge of your seat. Loved the setting of this one, super creepy and Golden does an amazing job of putting us right into the scene with his colorful descriptions.

There is a hurricane coming and Charlie opts to head to the ship, while the others opted to hunker down into safe places. Little does he know, he will have Ruby, Mae and baby Aiden that are in need of shelter that will be with him. He doesnt know exactly why but will soon findout!

The main characters in this read are:

Charlie Book, "Book" – Charlie is a researcher for the Parks and Wildlife department that lives aboard a freight liner ship that is half sunken called the Christabel which over the years has turned into an eerie place due to nature partially taking over.

Research Team (Luisa, Gerald, Alan) – Charlie’s colleagues

Ruby Cahill – Charlie’s past girlfriend, Bellas sister and Aidens aunt.

Mae – Bellas past girlfriend, a witch and protector of Aiden.

Witches or "Weavers" - they are after Aiden

This book was not bad, but it definitely wasn't my thing compared to the other book I've read by this author.
I spent the whole book bored and didn't like how the plot played out. Overall it was well written and could be enjoyable, it just wasn't a book for me.

Boot lives in a sunken freighter in the gulf that a mangrove forest has grown through. There’s a huge storm coming and he’s settling in when his ex shows up with a friend and a baby! He has to help protect them from the witches that are after the baby.

So, I loved the setting on this. Creepy and atmospheric. I like the set up. I like the diversity of the characters and I enjoyed the writing of the action scenes. I was not sold on the witchcraft (not that I’m an expert) and there was so much action that there wasn’t enough time to get really invested the characters. I was more interested in the side characters than the main ones. So in the end it all kinda evened out and I’m not mad I read it.

2.5 stars rounded up

I wasn’t terribly invested in the characters, and the witchcraft element was more action-heavy than I expected. The setting was unique and atmospheric, but the story leaned more into fast paced danger than eerie buildup. The relationship between Charlie and Ruby lacked emotional depth, and the supernatural plot moved too quickly to fully develop the tension. This might work for readers who enjoy an action horror/thriller with a magical twist, but I was hoping for something a bit more grounded and haunting.

Thank you to St. Martin’s Press and NetGalley for the e-ARC in exchange for my honest review.

This was one of the books I was most anticipating this year and while it was a good read, it wasn't particularly memorable for me. The setting was a bit predictable and chaotic, however the story itself was deeply unsettling. I recommend this one to those looking for something to chill their bones, and look forward to his future books!

The Night Birds felt like horror gold! The story and lore was amazing. The description of the transformations was intense. I was on the edge of my seat the whole time and I loved every second of it. It was very reminiscent of Hitchcocks’ The Birds and I loved it. There were so many parts I loved but, after not totally being invested in his last book, I was so thankful that this one was a home run for me! All the stars for this contemplative horror!!

I wasn't exactly sure what I was getting into when reading The Night Birds, but the synopsis sounded interesting, so I figured why not. And the story was interesting. It was witchy and atmospheric and had a creepy setting. But, in all honesty, I wasn't terribly invested in any of the characters and the story drug a bit for me in the middle. But, towards the end I was interested in what would happen and how everything would wrap up. This was a decent read, and if you are a horror fan, I can see how you would love this. It just wasn't my favorite.

I always enjoy reading books that have a horror element in the ocean. This one felt very titanic, and honestly I was here for it! Obviously we are also adding some horror and thriller elements to the book, plus we get cool creepy forest too.

I think that if this sounds entertaining to you, you should pick it up! Thanks to Netgalley & the publisher for my early e-arc copy.

𝚁𝚊𝚝𝚒𝚗𝚐: 3.5⭐️
𝙶𝚎𝚗𝚛𝚎: mystery/ thriller 📚

𝙼𝚢 𝚃𝚑𝚘𝚞𝚐𝚑𝚝𝚜:
Honesty this book was not that I was expecting at all lol and I’m more sure how I feel about it lol

𝚁𝚎𝚊𝚍 𝚒𝚏 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚕𝚒𝚔𝚎:
Atmospheric horror
Occult thriller
Isolated “locked room” horror
Intense storm setting
Witchy/ shapeshifter vibes
Emotional stakes

𝚃𝚑𝚒𝚗𝚐𝚜 𝙸 𝚕𝚒𝚔𝚎𝚍:
Fast paced- everything happens in one night
Intriguing and bizarre plot

𝚃𝚑𝚒𝚗𝚐𝚜 𝙸 𝚍𝚒𝚍𝚗’𝚝 𝚌𝚊𝚛𝚎 𝚏𝚘𝚛:
I wanted more of the coven mythology
I didn’t really understand some of the book, there was a lot going on and I feel like not all of it was explained well
A little repetitive

I've had a frustrating relationship with Christopher Golden novels. I've read a decent amount and most of those have been due to the premise. Upon completion of most of those books, I've been disappointed. The story never quite lived up to the premise. The idea never seemed to be executed well. Good -- but not great. However, I'm happy to report, that this book has broken that curse. The premise of this is gold. The imagery conjured was something I couldn't pass up, and I'm glad that the story lives up to that. The book is not without it's flaws. Some of the gripes I have with Golden's writing (mostly due to the meandering of the minor characters) are still there, but the action and climax still hit hard. This is a good horror novel. Maybe not quite the highs that Stephen King or (a new favorite) Ronald Malfi hit, but the imagination and talent is there. Hopefully this is just the first book in a long line of enjoyment.

Another great read from Christopher Golden. He always has great characters, with a great story/plot and pacing. Always look forward to a new book from Christopher Golden.

I really liked this plot. I don't read a whole lot like it, and it gave me ghost ship vibes. I felt like it was a lot longer than it needed to be at times, but that's truly the only negative thing I'd have to say. If you're looking for something unique - check this out.

I always enjoy this authors books! The Night Birds was a captivating, creepy, horror that kept me on my toes the entire time. I loved the plot and was invested in the characters!