At first glance, Hole of Darkness comes across with a juvenile writing style that makes it difficult to fully engage in the narrative. While a straightforward approach can work in some stories, here it often undercuts the complexity the book seems to aim for. Beyond the writing style, many aspects of the story don’t add up or make sense, mainly underdeveloped explanations and things that don’t happen in the real world or things that can’t happen result in a reading experience that is more frustrating than immersive. Character development is unearned, with individuals abruptly transforming without the necessary buildup to make their changes believable. This lack of gradual progression weakens the emotional investment in the characters. Another major drawback is the absence of vivid, descriptive writing. Imagery is scarce, leaving scenes feeling hollow rather than atmospheric or captivating. Without strong sensory details the story struggles to establish a compelling world.

Ultimately, Hole of Darkness comes across as half-baked. An unfinished draft rather than a polished story. While the premise has potential, the execution leaves much to be desired.

My synopsis: Amber, Jenny, Josh and Tiffany all met as toddlers. They were inseparable until Josh moved away before high school and Tiffany became a popular girl in school.
Now Amber and Josh bump into each other at a party. Josh moved back for senior year and Amber always had a crush on him, but now he’s dating Tiffany. To rekindle the friendships Josh suggests the four of them go on a camping trip together in the woods, like they used to as kids. In the same woods, a 15 year old girl disappeared and was presumed murdered a few years prior.

“Who knows? It could be fun. What’s the worst that can happen?”

My review: The books opening had me intrigued, but it fell flat for me. I wanted more from the character’s past friendships to build a connection with them, but I just found the characters cringy and none of their conversations particularly exciting.
I wish it was creepier and stressful in the hole, but it the falling into the hole and getting out scenes went far too quickly. The writing wasn’t bad but it was just far too short for good visual descriptive writing. The characters grinding on each other was mentioned a lot which felt unnecessary. For me, walking in the wrong direction made no sense and neither did Jenny’s personal motive for why she planned what she did. The story ends on a cliffhanger which I am never a fan of unless it’s a big series.

a quick and short book with a great premise, i wish it was a tad bit longer to understand the characters views.

Hole of Darkness has an interesting premise, but it felt much more like an excerpt from a longer story than a short story that can stand on its own. Not much really happens, and the introduction feels a bit long for little payoff. The general tone doesn't lend itself toward any kind of scariness or worry, so I didn't feel particularly invested in the outcome.

This was an easy read, and the characters were interesting enough, that I think I'll be looking into reading Stadnyk's longer works, though, because I feel like there's a lot of promise there.