I will eat up any and everything from this author, for real! Never disappoints.

Strange circumstances throw rival musicians, Haden and Deacon, along with their band mates together, stranding them on the way to a rock show. Among muck and swamp, they come upon a decaying old house and take shelter inside, but the house has been waiting for them...

The atmosphere in this book IMMEDIATELY starts unsettling the reader. There is obviously something off, but managing to put your finger on it, or watching as the characters struggle to figure it out... so freaking good! Then, there is the whole creepy swamp and the haunted house vibes. It all just blends so well together. I loved the characters, loved the intensity, loved the whole eerie vibe. This was SO good.

Sometimes a book or movie will have subject matter that reminds me of something that was an absolutely primal fear for me and one of those fears for me was leeches. I was always terrified if I went into a lake or swamp that I would immediately be covered with bloodsucking leeches. Well, if you’re like me have I got a book for you.

The Devouring Light is a suspenseful, fun, and at times very freaking scary book. It follows a group of young musicians that have a Final Destination-level bus accident and end up trying to survive at a very, very messed up house.

Two bands are headed to a music festival, and Ellis adds a fun layer of drama with the two lead characters having competed in an American Idol-style competition that ended very badly for one of them.

There are Faustian undertones, cool found footage aspects, and one wicked ending. I had such a great time with this one and definitely recommend you check it out this October!

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

THE DEVOURING LIGHT by Kat Ellis

Thank you Netgalley and Harper Collins for the earc (Oct 7)

When the bus carrying Haden and her rival Deacon + their bands crashes, the worse thing in Haden's mind is missing the gig they were headed to. When the group comes upon a house and a swamp, and the horror that soon ensues, she realizes things can get worse.
THE DEVOURING LIGHT is a YA horror book that is utterly creepy. Ellis paints an eerie picture with words and the mist that is a constant in this book as it overshadows everything. This book is haunting, ghostly, and well-written. Full of creatures, strange occurrences, and an glowing light, THE DEVOURING LIGHT is a must-read for those who want to be creeped out and terrified while entranced as you continually read---eventually binging---this book just to see what happens to the group, the deal with the house, etc. And let me tell you, this book was crazy, but that ending really blew my mind. I enjoyed this book. I thought the characters were likeable, and I rooted for their survival, though I can't say whether or not they do.
I have a few books by this author on my TBR, and reading this makes me excited to read those.

This was an enjoyable young adult horror. I loved the storyline of this book as well as its atmospheric setting. I loved following the characters as they were lost in a weird swamp and as they discovered a creepy house. I appreciated how this book incorporated mixed media elements like found footage, transcripts and news reports as it helped to make this a more immersive read. Overall this was a great horror read, perfect for the spooky season.

I felt about this one how I felt about Incidents Around The House, I was in until the last few pages and then I was out.

I liked the story and the not knowing what was going on. I was sure this was a liminal space and was interested in learning what was actually happening. There's a ton of great build here but the end came too fast for me. The characters weren't fully flushed out and their issues weren't really explored or resolved.

The ending wasn't my jam.

But, it's certainly well written and if you like music-tinged horror with small amounts of gore and some mystery this might be for you!

The Devouring Light promises a wonderfully spooky time with its gorgeous cover, and the story within lives up to that promise!

After an accident that leaves them cut off from civilization, a group of young adults finds themselves lost deep in an ominous swamp. When they see a light through the gloom and find an old house, they expect to be rescued. But the house, and the light, are not what they seem, and the group finds themselves caught in a trap far worse than any swamp. Alone, frightened, and stalked by something unexplainable, they will have to fight for survival; but what, exactly, are they fighting?

This story did not go where I expected it to, and I really enjoyed that. Ambiguous, unexplained monsters / villains are always interesting and scary, and I love that the author really took her time unveiling the full threat; the reader is just as confused and frightened as the characters, making The Devouring Light an immersive reading experience. The found footage elements added to the story as well, making the story more realistic.

This is marketed as Young Adult, but I would recommend it for older teens; there are some references throughout that lean more mature. But older teen or adult fans of horror will love this story.

I would recommend The Devouring Light to fans of scary houses, found footage horror, and unique monsters / antagonists.

Thank you to NetGalley & HarperCollins Children’s Books for the arc! All thoughts & opinions in the review are my own.

A solid horror read, with body horror and a creepy swamp setting. It stayed creepy and often made me genuinely disgusted. It was a good read

in the earth. Is it a canyon or something else? Our two MC’s Haden and Deacon are rivals who find themselves in a swamp where it seems like everything is trying to kill them. Then they find a house and things get worse.

There is definitely something supernatural happening making them question reality. We are also given glimpses into the MC’s past which lead to the issues between Haden and Deacon. This does help provide some context to their relationship and adds to the overall story. There is gore but it is not over done and it serves a purpose.

Overall this was a solid read. I found the story fun and well done. I would recommend giving it a read.

This was.. pretty cool, not gonna lie. Though whoever categorizes these books needs to rethink “children’s fiction” given they talk about blowjobs in here. Other than that, I have no complaints.

The Devouring Light is definitely creepy and a bit gory, and has you turning page after page to see what’s happens next.
Not only do you get the story in present time, but you get a glimpse into what happened in the past and a little forward in the future. And what you find out will leave your jaw dropped.

I love Kat Ellis' writing. And like usual, she did not disappoint. The Devouring Light was a perfect blend of horror and intrigue. It was scary and deep in its own way. The characters are messy but oh bso real. The plot was way to put down. I read this in a single sitting. A very easy 5 star. Another new fave. It is authors like this who have returned my faith in YA.

There are two bands on their way to a music festival on their way. The car with one band breaks down, but ran into another band on their way to the same festival that was in a tour bus. It is clear that there are a couple members from each band that have a history that is challenging, but they did decide to all go in the tour bus together to get to the festival. Soon after though the tour bus also breaks down on the road.
After the bus crash, most of the people can’t be found right away. There was a dead girl found in one of the suit cases though but no one seems upset by it.
Deacon and Haden leave the bus explore the swamp and find a creepy house in the swamp but also in the swamp is fog and whispers.
Turns out a couple years ago, the owner of this house that the group finds through a party, but none of the guests were seen again they find a videotape and some Polaroids of the guests who are at the party there was a question of this house ever existed or if it was just a ghost story. It’s not just a ghost story and weird things happen!
If you like mystery, a little paranormal, and creepy this book is for you!
The characters are hard to connect with, but the storyline is really good and unique.

It took me a while to get into this, but once I did, I enjoyed it! I would recommend this as a "horror beach read" type book. I wasn't super drawn into the characters but I loved the house and the atmosphere. This is my second Kat Ellis book and I felt the same way about her first, so perhaps she just isn't for me. If the pitch and concept appeal to you, I would still recommend this though!

Thank you Netgalley for the advanced copy.
I enjoyed this book. It had a good storyline, characters and just enough horror and spookiness to keep me wanting to keep reading. I didn't expect the story to end like it did but it was a good surprise. Will read more from this author!!!

The Devouring Light was a spooky swampy read surrounding Haden and a crew of musicians as they survive a bus crash and find themselves stranded in a creepy house in the swamp called The Light. It goes back and forth between mixed media and I think this really adds to the story and the history surrounding The Light and its weirdness. There was definitely a lot of weird happenings and creepy moments and as much as the swamp was a perfect gloomy and foreboding setting for the story I would have loved more spooky swamp details to add to the vibes. There wasn't a single alligator, sad me! There was however great detail about the house and I loved that. This one definitely had a lot of weird things going on but I enjoyed that it had a strange twist!

The Devouring Light was absolutely fantastic! The author wrote a story that was so well written I found myself flying through the pages, unable to put the book down, pondering what would happen next. My favorite piece of this entire story was how believable the characters were.

The writing is clear and clean, and very immersive. The book hums along at a good clip, but the pacing makes sure we're given time to breathe between plot-intensifying moments. The story was absolutely engaging and the work that went into the settings was noticeable and superb. I felt absolutely transported and I'm so incredibly glad I was able to read an arc of this story.