Tuesday, December 29, 2020

Book Review: Dark Hollows

Just hang in there with me because I am going to have a few posts this week and I am going to hit my 125 goal for my Goodreads Challenge but it only counts if I get my reviews up (my stupid rule, just go with it) so I am going to bomb you with books this week and it's going to be OK. You'll make it. You might be broke by the end of the week but it's 2020 still and we have no rules. 

Dark Hollows - Steve Frech

Jacob Reese enjoys the quiet life, running a coffee shop and renting out his cottage in The Hollows, Vermont.

But the calm is shattered when a woman who looks eerily similar to his ex-girlfriend Laura turns up to stay in the cottage, and leaves a mysterious note in the guest book.

Now Jacob’s seeing Laura everywhere—a glimpse of her face across the street, her music box left outside his house, a gift he gave her years before hanging from the trees.

But it can’t be Laura. Because Laura’s dead.

Someone knows Jacob’s secret—what really happened the night Laura died—and they’re out for revenge…
I was so excited to read this book and it turned out to be for good reason because this was exciting with some interesting twists. I know I have some animal lovers in her and I just want you to know this book features a great dog named Murphy and I can't tell you what happens per say, but I will tell you it is OK and to not quit the book. Murphy ends up being a huge piece of this book and I'm here for it. If you are a dog lover, this is a book where the dog is a star without it being a giant soap opera. 

Seriously, don't ask me otherwise I'm going to spill my guts about this book because it was just so damn good and once I started figuring things out it was like a rollercoaster making that last turn before a big drop, that's the exact feeling I had during the last third-ish of the book! With that though, I will say the ending wasn't amazing. I felt like it could have been stronger but I can't say I hated it. 

The book is written kind of strangely, and once you figure out what voice we're reading, it makes the book a little more bizarre, but I liked it. Normally I have a hard time with alternating voices, especially when we're flip flopping between past and present but I didn't struggle with this one. 

We have Jacob, he is running a local coffee shop in a little Hallmark town, and a cottage as an AirBnB. Super normal, chill life. Enter a guest who looks astonishing similar to his ex, Laura. He knows it can't be Laura because she's very dead and he knows it, but she is everywhere. Literally everywhere. The more that he sees her the more paranoid and crazy he seems to be getting. This becomes a really creepy thriller and keep in mind, I'm reading this in between listening to paranormal podcast episodes so between all of that, I was freaked out. 

Overall? I liked this one, definitely a 4 star for me. It really was as good as I thought it was going to be and that's perfect for me. I can see how some readers might not be fulfilled but I kind of felt like it was spot on. If you are a fan of Gilmore Girls you will like this because it really had all of the vibes of that... just spooky? Like Gilmore Girls meets Scooby Doo. How's that for a description? 

I am super grateful to Harper 360 for sending me a copy of this for review. I wish I had read this around Halloween because this book gives me October vibes. 

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1 comment:

Shooting Stars Mag said...

This sounds really good. Love a good thriller!

-lauren
www.shootingstarsmag.net