Thank you to NetGalley, Dreamscape Media, and Freddie Kölsch for the advanced copy of the audiobook.

The story had potential, but unfortunately, it just wasn’t for me. I often found myself confused about what was happening, and I didn’t like any of the characters, which made it harder to stay engaged.

That said, I was genuinely surprised by the reveal about Junie’s identity.

I also want to commend the author for their inclusivity, especially in representing trans characters.

I loved Now, Conjurers, and this book is phenomenal. Religious cult, being from another world, human sacrifice, and a witch made me not be able to put this down! There are also other themes like friendship, love, LGBTQ representation, and dark pasts of SA that make this book complex and bingeworthy. Darian vacations in a small New England town each summer with her best friends who live there. Darian lives in NYC and loves going away to see her friends. When she comes back around Halloween to surprise them, she is not met with the excitement she thought she'd receive. There is a weird festival and a sinister being that they worship. I loved the characters in this book and was absolutely invested in them and their struggles. Such an amazing book!!!

I absolutely loved the folk horror vibe of this, especially as a New Englander. With every page this book got creepier and creepier, and listening to it on audio genuinely made me feel that unnerved uneasiness. This book had so many things I love — strong narrative voice, queer representation, found family friend group, a creepy small town belief system, and foreshadowing that’s subtle enough to up the tension without being too revealing. The characters felt like real teenagers — goofy and headstrong and genuinely close.

Kesuquosh seems like the perfect idyllic town, and is Darian’s place to escape for the summer. When Darian surprises her friends with a Halloween visit she becomes caught up in the strange local harvest ritual. It might be time for her to finally find out that there’s more to the towns patron, Good Arcturus, than she thought.

Once again, Kölsch manages to write complex characters who are and get extremely traumatised - but the way that the other characters react to this is like an actual friend group would and the trauma isn’t the only part of their identities. You can really tell that these characters care for each other in their words and actions.

Kölsch also captures the insane chaos and comedy of a friend group trying to get anything done (even if they’re running for their lives). They’re always ribbing each other and doing outlandish things but still get the job done. I would’ve loved to get a flash back of them all meeting or befriending each other like we did it ‘Now, Conjurers’ but ultimately it wouldn’t have been necessary for the plot.

There is so much going on in this book and I think that doesn’t help the pacing at times. I feel like we didn’t quite know what the end goal was until 60% through and then it was go go go until the end. In saying that I was never bored and would definitely love to revisit this book and see all the foreshadowing.

The love of music and the music scene also is very important to the plot. I really enjoyed that aspect of the book and seeing what kind of music each character was into really felt like it fleshed them out just that bit more.

9/11 being a plot devise used to force Darian back to Kesuquosh after avoiding it all year was bit wild to read. But I guess if you’re setting your book from 2000-2001, and your MC lives in New York majority of the year, it is right there. From reading some reviews from American’s it seems like a thing that did actually happen with kids from major cities but as an Australian was abit strange to hear used as a plot point in a horror novel.

Ultimately this was a pretty fun, folky horror about queer people in a small town of America. With Kölsch’s signature style of addressing the reader, you really feel included in the storytelling. Can’t wait to see what she does next!

Thank you Dreamscape Media and NetGalley for the ARC

I think a trigger warning is definitely needed for this book and hopefully will be included in the finished novel if not from what I can remember. CW - body horror, grooming/pedophilia (acknowledged and talked about but not graphically), suicide, drug use, parental abuse and neglect, deadnaming

Thank you to the author, narrator, publisher and Net Galley for providing an ALC.

This YA fantasy / Queer / LGBT horror novel was an engaging and unexpected read. Blending horror with a sense of hope and sharp dialogue with friendship at it's core, it contained chilling, suspenseful moments that keep you reading or listening. But what stands out most is the bond between the characters, the friendships give the story it's emotional path.

This was my first read from this author, but I found the writing to be evocative, honing in on a time and place in a special way. I can picture this town, this place in time. I didn't connect with the characters, but that may be due to being out of the target audience. But I still found this a worthwhile and enjoyable book.

This book falls into the YA category in tone and style, but it was an enjoyable and compelling read for anyone looking for a mixture of horror, suspense, humor and heart.

4 stars