Wow! Jamison Shea sure does know how to explore the darkness of humanity. I loved their dulogy and was eager to read this standalone novel. I loved the richly crafted world they created--the stark contrast between the haves and have-nots and the interludes of other characters' perspectives. Winnie and Apollo are characters who show growth, and I liked the romance between them. The end felt a little rushed, but overall,l a great book!

The characterisation, mystery, horror and world-building of this were great. Shea’s writing is delectably dark and brings these incredible concepts to life wonderfully. I just felt that the ending didn’t quite work for me.

Jamison Shea's third novel takes us into an entirely new world, told through alternating chapters from our two main characters. This structure lets us deeply explore their thoughts and emotions. I loved how the story moved not just between perspectives but across timelines, blending past and present in a way that added depth. These shifts give important context to the longstanding feud between the two families—those of our protagonists—as well as the mysterious external conflict surrounding Morning Star, the eerie bone-white box at the center of it all.

At first glance, it opens like a familiar story: a loner girl with psychic powers—Winnie—and a non-binary rebel from a wealthy family they never felt at home in—Apollo. Their meeting is predictable, sure, but watching their relationship evolve was incredibly satisfying. The story read like a modern take on Romeo and Juliet—two feuding families and a couple caught in the middle, ultimately pulling people together through their bond. What really set this novel apart for me compared to Shea’s earlier work was the character development. Winnie's choices and dialogue were grounded in her backstory—it all felt believable, never forced.

That said, the one part of the plot that did feel forced was the sudden POV shift to the human villain, which sparked a fight between our lovebirds. I just didn’t buy Apollo’s quick decision to side with his cousin after all the trust that had been built up. I kept thinking, This has to be a trick—they planned this, but no, it was just a convenient way to launch the finale. I really think Shea could’ve found a more natural way to get there.

Still, I quickly forgave the misstep once the ending started heating up. I devoured the last six chapters, staying up until 1 a.m. to finish. The conclusion was satisfying and didn’t feel rushed at all. The mystery of the box unfolds gradually, with the reader piecing things together alongside the characters. I felt like part of the investigation team, especially with Morning Star’s coded messages and the codex. I even used the key on Shea’s website to decode some of it—though I’ll admit, I skipped a few parts when it slowed the pace too much. Thankfully, Shea included translated versions of the heavily coded chapters, which I really appreciated.

Overall, I really enjoyed this book—even if it took me longer to finish than expected. It’s one of those stories that rewards you for taking your time, letting the mystery unravel as you learn alongside the cast.

Thank you to NetGalley and Fierce Reads for the opportunity to read and review this novel and share my honest thoughts.

his took me a bit to read as it was a bit convoluted. I found myself having to reread page after page . I’m not sure if it just was an early draft or my brain just wasn’t meeting with the writing style but it made me disconnect. I unfortunately was never able to overcome that and connect with the characters.

I did love the trans character representation as just a regular person and not focused on the characters transition. The book showed the dark and twisted social dynamics that can occur with the more financially privileged members of society. It interwove that with the supernatural which did excite me. Hopefully others won’t have the same issues I had.
I’m thinking I may look for this on audio come closer to publication as it may be a better experience.
I am thankful to have gotten a complimentary eARC from Henry Holt through NetGalley to read which gave me the opportunity to voluntarily leave a review.

My general rating system is below. Since I primarily read ARC books I rate according to how I think like minded readers will receive the book. I will round up or down depending on many factors and try not to let my personal wants affect a books ratings.

⭐️ Hated It but pushed through as so don’t DNF ARCs I have received.
⭐️⭐️ Had a lot of trouble, prose issues, content issues, poorly edited.
⭐️⭐️⭐️ Meh, it was an ok read but it had something that stopped me from rounding up. Usually the book may have much more potential than what was given. I recommend it but with reservations.
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ I Really enjoyed it or think others will. These are solid reads that I definitely would recommend for a variety of reasons.
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Outstanding! These are books that remain rent free in my head for well after unfinished the book. It can be for a variety of reasons from being very well written or just the vibes that captured my mind. These books are also ones I would probably read again.

Roar of the Lambs is my first book from Jamison Shea and it has me so excited to go back and read their other books. This book is amazing!! It begins in a mine with an orphaned girl and the mine comes crashing down. Then it jumps to the present and follows a girl named Winnie. The story jumps back and forth between the present and the past through chapter breaks and also through Winnie’s visions.

Winnie has this amazing gift of seeing how someone is going to die. She can also see very intimate things that no one else could know about a person. She lies to people for a living and she is very snarky, but she is such an amazing character for me.

One day a bright haired person named Apollo asks if Winnie knows his cousin named Cyrus and it opens a whole can of worms when Apollo, Cyrus and Winnie find that they have a connection together through their family. Apollo is one of my favorite characters and is non-binary. The whole Rathbun family is very posh and rich. The book explores issues with race and queer representation as well as elitism.

I absolutely loved how balanced each element of the story was and around the halfway point, things started to pick up with some horror scenes. There is also a romance situation that occurs.

I love the big reveal at the end and how the story wraps up. I definitely recommend this book!

Roar of the Lambs
Jamison Shea continues to serve hit after hit!

Roar of the Lambs is a dark, high stakes, mystery thriller. I had no idea what I was getting myself into when I requested this arc of NetGalley…and I’m so glad I got it!

This YA speculative fiction novel gave the right amount of eerie, jaw-dropping, and pear clutching. I love how Shea continues to influence the genre by highlighting queer characters and cultural themes of mythology and family dynamics.

There were a few times where I felt the pacing could’ve been better. I also think some dialogue feels forced and redundant. That being said, I still enjoyed the book and would recommend it to fans of Shea’s other works and black-led thrillers and mysteries.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for gifting me this arc in exchange for an honest review!

There’s so much to like about this book!

Let’s start with the outside of the book: I love the title of this book, and I love the cover. I found both to be really striking, and they certainly got my attention!

Then we get inside the book, and I have to say that this book definitely delivers on what was promised! I think my favorite part was the haunted box—it was giving eldritch horror vibes while also showing dark visions of the future, which was so compelling! It reminded me of the real-life Dybbuk box in a good way, so well done to the author on creeping me out with that element of the story.

I liked all of our characters, especially when it comes to our protagonists, Winnie and Apollo. While I think their relationship felt a bit rushed at times, I still liked seeing how it unfolded. And I liked how they complemented each other. AND I liked seeing how intertwined their family histories were with one another—in fact, I actually wish we got to see more of that! Apollo was an interesting antagonist, even if he was a bit mustache twirling at times.

I thought the dual timeline was really interesting. I liked learning more about the history of the box, and actually wish we got more of the lore behind the box. But the box was still one of my favorite elements of the story regardless.


Thank you so much to Macmillan and Netgalley for letting me read the digital ARC!

It's giving spooky. It's giving cozy. It's giving us *all of it.* This was my first book by Jamison Shea but it will not be the last.

Sixteen year old psychic Winnie Bray must team up with outcast rich kid Apollo Rathbun to stop the end of the world being caused by none other than Apollo's cousin who seeks to repair his family's once prestigious status.

I loved the dual timelines to flashback to the origin of the mysterious box at the center of the plot. It truly was the classic case of white people messing with things they know nothing about. As the story unfolds, we find Winnie's ancestors have been trying to save the world from the power of this box since it was discovered in a mine hundreds of years ago.

This book was so fun! I really enjoyed all the characters and the nonbinary representation was absolutely fantastic. I loved Winnie's character development and seeing her learn that her powers can be more than just a parlor trick.

I also absolutely loved the addition of the cipher that was needed to translate what the box was communicating. It was so fun to try and figure out on my own (the author does have some tools and a translation on their website if you aren't in to that).

The only negative that I can really think of is that the ending was a tiny bit rushed.

This had horrors within my comprehension and I loved it. The spooky feel to it really hits when you're cozied up and reading in the dark.

This was such a good book. I loved the story and the writing so much. The characters were great and the story flowed smoothly. Will definitely read more books by this author in the future.

The author’s writing style is engaging and expressive, and the story itself was both interesting and well-paced. I appreciated it and the way the plot unfolded. A great read from start to finish—I'm glad I gave it a chance.

Roar of the Lambs is partially a retelling of Pandora's Box in a more modern setting, mixed in with supernatural horrors and occult mystery. Everything revolves around the discovery of a box with unknown power that negatively affects the world and people around it.

In glimpses we are shown the history of the box from its potentially initial discovery to its current location in-between the modern-day chapters. While it sometimes feels like it slightly breaks the flow of the story being told with main characters Winona, Apollo, and Cyrus, it reinforces the mystery and intrigue around the box -- in each part of history from the early 1900s to the modern decade, someone becomes enamored with the box, trying to solve its eclectic mystery with tragedy and misfortune following its cursed existence.

The main characters Winona and Apollo are fleshed out, three-dimensional humans with various thoughts and feelings depending on the circumstances they find themselves in. Unfortunately, it felt like Cyrus was more stereotypical in his archetype, making it easy to dislike him as a character and dismiss his viewpoint of the events occurring. Relationship-wise, the romance between Winona and Apollo seemed a little too fast, even based upon the circumstances they find themselves in. They (Apollo) seemed to go from wary observation of Winona to friendship to something more in the span of just a few days.

Overall, Roar of the Lambs is cosmic horror wrapped up with interpersonal drama and examination of identity - what our actions speak about us versus what we ourselves believe ourselves to be.

What I Enjoyed:
- mysterious cosmic horror box with the power to rend the world apart into chaos
- Winona and her ability: the good (accepting it and using it), the bad (being dismissed or outright ignored because of it), and the occasional lamenting of said power
- the build-up of the mystery of the box and what it contains/can do
- having fun deciphering the box's language

What May Be Improved:
- the quick relationship development between Winona and Apollo
- the sudden climax and sudden resolution within the span of 20 pages

Roar of the Lambs was a good read and I believed it captured queer identity appropriately/respectfully. The storyline was amazing - LOVED the gothic detail. There are multiple timelines throughout the book, however the transition within the chapters where the characters reference back to their memories was a little difficult to grasp. I personally feel there could have been more description when it came to this aspect.

I really, really wanted to like this, but I just didn’t. There was both too much and not enough happening with the plot. I was also very upset reading it at times, which didn’t really help my reading experience. It was very real in the worldly sense, and instead of escaping, I felt like I was more in the world than ever before, which negatively impacted my experience.

The pacing is also a little all over the place with how much is going on.

Thank you very much to Fierce Reads for an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Jamison Shea's Roar of the Lambs thrusts readers into a high-stakes speculative thriller where a seemingly ordinary psychic's lies unravel to reveal a terrifying truth. Sixteen-year-old Winnie Bray has been using her genuine psychic abilities for personal gain, offering comforting falsehoods to fund her escape from Buffalo, New York. But her carefully constructed world shatters when a vision leads her back to the ashes of her childhood home and a chilling discovery: a whispering box made of bone, untouched by the decade-old fire.

This ominous artifact unleashes a vision of apocalypse, placing Winnie at the heart of a destined catastrophe alongside wealthy siblings Apollo and Cyrus Rathbun. As Winnie and Apollo reluctantly team up, they uncover deeply intertwined family histories and a looming threat that goes far beyond their own lives. Shea expertly crafts a narrative that explores the ties that bind us to places and people, even when those ties are steeped in ancient, malevolent forces.

Fans of Andrew Joseph White and Tochi Onyebuchi will appreciate Shea's ability to blend speculative elements with intense suspense and complex characters. Roar of the Lambs is a gripping read that will keep you on the edge of your seat as Winnie and Apollo race against time to unravel the mystery of the hungry box and prevent the end of the world.

Roar of the Lambs is a multi-timeline horror mystery.

We dive head first into the story of two families as they collide together to uncover the truth of a mysterious box found long ago.

Perfect for those who like dual timelines, mysterious cursed objects, and an end of the world adventure.

This book jumps around a lot timeline wise so if you are not into that this may not be the book for you! But if you enjoy learning the history and jumping from time to time then this was a fun read! This read has high stakes, queer characters, and a dark family history wrapped up into one story!

This is a Young Adult horror that touches on some touchy subjects that are often hard to discuss within media! A good read overall!

3.5 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

All of Jamison Shea's books have one thing in common: they devour me, and I happily let them.

I was enthralled from start to finish. The captivating writing, the enchanting characters, the original premise and intriguing themes, they assembles to form a mysterious paranormal horror-imbued thriller that opens itself to the reader like an animal's maw, and you're uncertain if it will bite your hand off or not.

Wild trip. The interweaving between Apollo's family and Winnie's for literally generations is neat and the book was convincingly suspenseful. The involved mythos is interesting as well. Not one I see written about often.