This was a short read, that kept me interested until the end. Even tho I felt like characters could have had more depth and the story would have benefitted more if it was longer, I really enjoyed it. There are a lot of gore and shocking moments. It's fast paced and keeps you interested. Perfect if you are looking for a quick book for a spooky season.

W. T. F.

I knew I was signing up for something weird when I picked this up, but honestly what was that?

I will say it did do a good job of inciting horror - or more aptly, disgust. There were scenes when I felt physically sick, which isn’t something I’ve had happen before.

Sometimes the point of view would switch mid chapter between paragraphs which was annoying and could be a little jarring.

It was an interesting premise and I kept reading because I just wanted to know how it’d all end. I can’t say the ending was satisfying exactly but it wasn’t bad.

I don’t know. If you’re looking for something weird and gory then this might be for you.

The Shadow Family is the kind of horror story that makes you jump when any noise distrurb the silence while reading.

The story begins when Olivia gets an email from a cousin she never met, inviting her to a remote residence to celebrate her 18th birthday. Intrigued by this part of the family - very wealthy - that she does not know, Olivia decides to accept this invitation, and brings to the celebration her boyfriend and her younger sister. However, nothing goes as planned...

I thought at first that I wouldn't like the fact the characters are young adults (as I'm more used to characters in their thirties) but the characters are interesting and well developped.

The author sets up an atmosphere and a plot that get you hooked until the end, and didn't hesitate to detail the scenes, using all the senses so that the reader is fully immersed.

The shadow family is a good plot-driven story with the right blend of mystery, gore and plot twists.

2.5 stars rounded up.

I’m a little confused about who the target audience for this book was. The characters were teenagers and the story was riddled with Gen Z slang, but then there is a pretty horrific rape scene. It’s hard to balance the inbreeding and rape with sayings like “holy shit nuggets.”

I thought the plot was decent, but it was very The Hills Have Eyes. I think it would have been better and creepier as a short story that didn’t give all the answers.

On a positive note, the story is fast moving and easy to fly through and I didn’t like the excerpts from The Shadow Family Book.

Thank you to NetGalley C.K. Morris, and the publisher for the ARC of The Shadow Family I really really enjoyed this journey.

This is a fast paced, dark, and unsettling horror novel that kept me hooked from beginning to end. The writing is sharp, the atmosphere is chilling, and the protagonist felt raw and real. Graphic at times, but always gripping, this book is perfect for horror fans who love their reads intense, unflinching, and impossible to put down I highly recommend this read, and cant wait to see what else this author has in store

Thanks to NetGalley and CK Morris for this book in exchange for an honest review!

I don’t think I knew what I was getting into when I started this one, but I really enjoyed it! It was definitely dark, and often too gory for my taste, but the somewhat simple story was entertaining. Some parts were even (darkly) funny! I haven’t found many slasher/horror books that manage to be consistently funny.

I’d like to see some more from this author. I’ll be keeping my eyes peeled!

Disclaimer: I have read an early copy of the book via NetGalley, thank you!

Oh boy. This book was a lot. It doesn't seem so from the premise - just another "your family has a dark secret" type book but damn, this was one hell of a secret.

The Shadow Family follows Olivia, who reconnects with an estranged cousin (supposedly) and decides to go to her eighteenth birthday party together with her sister and boyfriend. The premise sounds familiar and it's not really something that stands out between other horror books but the plot goes into some really wild places.

First thing first, this is a very disturbing book. It has some potentially very triggering scenes so do check the warnings before going in. I personally liked how messed up it got and in the first half it was really good at building suspense. Unfortunately, I think it suffers a bit from revealing its hand a little too early and the second half is more action-focused than I would have liked. It's a shame because the beginning horror vibes were great.

When it comes to the charaters, they were just okay but I felt like they didn't reach the potential of what they could have been. I liked them well enough but in the end I don't think I will remember about them after some time passes. When it comes to the villain, I think they were the least well-written, to the point of being almost cartoonish at the end.

The book was very fast-paced and readable. I was always engaged and curious to find out what came next. All in all, this is a solid horror read, bordering on extreme horror. I'd recommend it but not without checking the trigger warnings.

Horror comedy with a kick! C K introduces us to Olivia a teen that has already had some significant trauma in her life. She is invited to her cousin's, that she's never heard of before, birthday party for 25,000. So of course she goes, Expect darkness, gore, splatterpunk, blood, a spot on portrayal of teens, and some semblance of hope--all laced with comedic tones. Can't wait to read more from C K.

A Twisted Family Reunion in the Woods
In this eerie and suspenseful horror novel, we follow Olivia as she reconnects with an estranged family member who offers her a generous sum of money to attend a birthday celebration at a luxurious cabin tucked away in the middle of nowhere. Intrigued and perhaps a bit wary, Olivia brings along her sister and boyfriend—but what begins as a seemingly innocent getaway quickly spirals into a nightmare.
From the moment they arrive, strange occurrences begin to unfold. The cabin harbors dark secrets, including a terrifying basement where an inbred family member roams freely, adding a grotesque and chilling layer to the story. The atmosphere is thick with dread, and the remote setting amplifies the sense of isolation and danger.
This book delivers strong The Hills Have Eyes vibes, blending psychological tension with visceral horror. The pacing keeps you engaged, and the storyline is both creepy and compelling. It’s the kind of book that makes you want to keep the lights on—and maybe rethink any invitations to remote family gatherings.
A perfect pick for spooky season, this novel is sure to satisfy fans of unsettling horror with a twist of family drama.

1⭐️

This was not for me… I’m want to throw up. This book needs trigger warning. It started out fine but the further I read, it got more disturbing and disgusting. I’m not into extreme horror and I wish I had know that this was a borderline extreme horror. I don’t mind the gore but the other disturbing scenes….. the characters were meh, more on the annoying side. The only good thing was the pacing.
Think Crude Until Dawn with The Hills have Eyes. Sweet home Alabama..



SPOILERS!

Again this book needs trigger warnings.
When chapter 18 happened, with Keenan getting raped by the inbred. I didn’t sign up for that. And the grooming inbreeding….

Overall, this book was not for me.

Horror and laughs?! Yes, please! This book had me genuinely scared and laughing out loud at the same time. Can’t wait to read more from this author—they’re officially on my radar!

3.5 STARS
A fast paced thriller with dark family secrets, cult behaviour and promises that are too good to be true.

The pacing of this book was it's best quality. It was fast paced and constantly intriguing, it was one of those books that keeps you on the edge of your seat as things just keep happening.
The plot was something I've seen in media quite often, an isolated family in an isolated setting that have perhaps gotten into all the wrong things. But it was fun to read regardless, it's one of those tropes that's cliche because it's so interesting and I found that I wasn't bored.

The biggest downside was that I found a hard time tolerating the characters. The whole premise of the book involves the main character, Olivia, choosing to attend her long lost cousin's birthday for the money. I understand that it's a plot device but throughout the book, i couldn't help but constantly think about how avoidable this was and how suspicious the whole thing was from the very beginning. This made it a bit difficult to root for the characters' survival because it felt like they had brought it upon themselves for the most part.

Still, I overall enjoyed the plot and the fucked up elements involving the extended family and learning what the title even refers to.

This book was absolutely crazy and not even close to how I saw this story developing in the best way possible.

Olivia is a bit of a loner and an outcast who never really fits in with the kids at her school. She’s introverted, introspective and has dreams of moving after high school to break out into a career in the movie industry. She still manages to make a connection with the most popular boy in the school, Keenan. She doesn’t understand why he wants to date her but he loves that she’s authentically herself.

In direct contrast to Olivia’s rather surly temperament, her sister, Amy, is everything she’s not. She’s popular, smart, and wants to fit in more than anything.

While the sisters couldn’t be more different, they still share a strong bond after an extremely traumatic incident from their childhoods.

Out of the blue, Olivia receives an invitation to go to a long lost cousins birthday party. She knows very little about the other side of her family, as they’re estranged, but she knows that they are very wealthy. In fact, her cousin, Eleanor, is so desperate for her company and to have someone attend her birthday party, that she offers Olivia $25,000 to come. Olivia talks about it with Keenan and while they feel the odds are likely that it’s not a sincere offer or Eleanor isn’t who she says she is, Olivia can’t pass up the opportunity to receive 25k when she so desperately wants to start her life.

Olivia ends up also convincing her sister to attend this party at their cousins remote home in the mountains and Keenan agrees to drive them there. Immediately upon arrival, they start to sense something is wrong with their cousin, and something is very wrong in her house.

This book is absolutely not what you think it is and all I can say is sit back and enjoy the ride.

Well, that was CREEPY.
Kinda simple writing style, but very atmospheric. It got dark. I feel like this would be a good read at a cabin, or on a dark rainy day. Fast read with enjoyable characters, specially the MC was quite good.

The Shadow Family - C.K. Morris
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Synopsis:
Olivia escaped a kidnapping at the cost of losing one of her legs. Now, at 17, she’s somewhat of a local celebrity due to the tale.
When a long-lost cousin reaches out to invite Olivia to her birthday party, Olivia is not interested...until her cousin discloses her wealth and offers Olivia $25,000 in exchange for her attendance.
With her sister, Amy, and boyfriend, Keenan, in tow, Olivia hesitantly accepts the offer in hopes that this will help to fund her filmmaking dreams. Keenan is strongly opposed and Olivia soon finds he was right: some offers really are too good to be true.

Review:
“The Shadow Family” is a thoroughly terrifying read that really shocked me to my core. I wish I could’ve seen my face while reading some of the scenes! The body horror is truly disgusting in the best way. I loved the disability representation from our main character and how it was depicted. She didn’t think of her disability as a super power; she is still haunted by her past but uses her experiences to her advantage. At 222 pages, this was a fairly quick read but wow, does it pack a punch.

“The Shadow Family” is out now!

❗️Content warnings: SA, animal death, gruesome depictions of animals, gore, body horror, death of minor, kidnapping

I want to highlight a heavy content warning for SA. If that is something that bothers you, it is quite intense in this book.

Thank you to NetGalley and C.K. Morris for a ARC of this book in exchange for my honest review!

I loved that this is a horror book but was also funny. Like I literally laughed out loud at times. I really enjoyed that. Overall, it was a great book. I am excited to read more work from this author, so they will definitely be on my radar.

This book was pretty good, I would definitely recommend

~This was given by NetGalley in exchange for an honest review………..

Oh wow!

Stuck in a remote cabin in the mountains with your estranged creepy cousin. What could go wrong? Not sure how Olive was so naive, but her choices were enraging throughout.

The story definitely is creepy but also has some stomach turning incest and gore that made me cringe.

A lot of the descriptions used in this book were long winded and seemed to go off track quite a bit. It made me want to skip whole paragraphs to get to the point.

All in all, a creepy & quick read but while I enjoy horror, this one had some scenes that I could have done without. .

This is an excellent debut horror novel, reminiscent of the 2017 horror-thriller film, Get Out (with an emphasis on eugenics and generational trauma rather than racism) - it was fun to read, emotionally heavy at all the right places, intricately plotted and with a strong, satisfying ending! In fact, it doesn't even read like a typical debut as far as pacing and characterization are concerned; though the rather weak premise and its awkward execution may put some people off from staying with the book after the first third. Indeed, for the basic idea to work (that is, a group of people exploring the impact of their abruptly discovering a horrible family history), the main character, Olivia, has to somehow accept the email invitation of Eleanor, a little known. estranged cousin living in the Colorado mountains, literally in the middle of nowhere. If one can get over Olivia's bizarre thought processes in this part of the story, there's a huge treat waiting right after: a story full of tension, mystery and suspense, incredible twists, and scary monsters! and that's just the tip of the iceberg: Olivia herself carries her own trauma (psychologically and physically both), and her choice to bring her boyfriend and her younger sister along complicates the story so much, one can hardly put the book down! By the time I realized what "the Shadow Family" actually is, I was already hooked!

It's easy to recommend this book to horror readers: it checks all the right boxes, leaves no questions unanswered, interestingly plays with different story formats, and delivers exactly what it promises: an entertaining adventure full of horrifying secrets, terrifying revelations, and enormously relatable characters.

Did I read this book because my name is also C Morris? Maybe! But I also loved the cover, so I thought those reasons alone were good enough to request it on NetGalley.

The Shadow Family is a fun little horror story. It's like The Fall Of The House Of Usher meets Us which I loved. Dark family secrets, a gothic house that's rotting from the inside, a touch of a body horror, and characters willing to sacrifice absolutely anything.

At only 199 pages, this is the perfect length for an entertaining horror like this, keeping you on your toes, but wrapping up quickly enough to keep you fully engaged.

At times I found the dialogue quite "youthful" and almost like a teenage boy had written some of the dialogue. I didn't enjoy this YA feel to it at times, but this was my only negative, and fortunately it wasn't used too often.

Other than that, I had a lot of fun with this book. A great read if you like a quick, fun and effective horror.