"Even the echo of a god is a dangerous thing."
Who just found a new favorite author? This girl! Loved... absofreakinglutely LOVED this book. It was mixed parts horror, urban legend creepy and even tidbits of family bonds and strength. If you follow me on bookstagram you know I have a thing for the otherwise strange and obscure and this novel checked off all of the boxes. Parallel (echo) worlds, urban legends, things in the mist, your reflection not necessarily "reflecting," secluded and downright creepy island with generations of people going missing. Think Roanoke but slightly more nuts and a heck of a lot more skin crawl.
The atmosphere is chill-down-the-spine delicious. I made the mistake of reading a lot of this at night and definitely had moments of looking over my shoulder into the shadows. Marshall has a talent of setting the stage to draw the reader in, the mystery slowly builds and the character development was really well done. There is more than just creepy monsters and I was impressed to find myself laughing at banter and loving the odd family dynamics. There's a message of the power of a mother's love for her children that fit the plot, adding that horror movie ray of hope. Slight romance but nothing that takes over the plot or makes your eyes roll thankfully.
The setup makes me feel like this could be a Netflix series (hear that Netflix?? Wink wink.. nudge nudge). Alternating POVs as well as back and forth between video transcripts (mixed media writing) from past to present. There are instances where the characters transition from one "world" to the next and I am even more impressed with the fluid flow of this in the chapters. A lot of times this can get really confusing but I had no issues following the scene changes. I adored this novel and look forward to grabbing her other books.
If you're squeamish this may not be for you. I do think overall it could've been shorter but honestly I was so engrossed half the time that I blame my impatience on the need to know the ending. There are graphic scenes of disfigured creatures, gore and other horror atrocities. I really hope that Marshall does a second book to cover Abby and her story. I am hands down all for that!
Thank you Penguin Teen for the gifted arc in exchange for an honest review. I also need to thank you for another new author to add to my shelves!
Who just found a new favorite author? This girl! Loved... absofreakinglutely LOVED this book. It was mixed parts horror, urban legend creepy and even tidbits of family bonds and strength. If you follow me on bookstagram you know I have a thing for the otherwise strange and obscure and this novel checked off all of the boxes. Parallel (echo) worlds, urban legends, things in the mist, your reflection not necessarily "reflecting," secluded and downright creepy island with generations of people going missing. Think Roanoke but slightly more nuts and a heck of a lot more skin crawl.
The atmosphere is chill-down-the-spine delicious. I made the mistake of reading a lot of this at night and definitely had moments of looking over my shoulder into the shadows. Marshall has a talent of setting the stage to draw the reader in, the mystery slowly builds and the character development was really well done. There is more than just creepy monsters and I was impressed to find myself laughing at banter and loving the odd family dynamics. There's a message of the power of a mother's love for her children that fit the plot, adding that horror movie ray of hope. Slight romance but nothing that takes over the plot or makes your eyes roll thankfully.
The setup makes me feel like this could be a Netflix series (hear that Netflix?? Wink wink.. nudge nudge). Alternating POVs as well as back and forth between video transcripts (mixed media writing) from past to present. There are instances where the characters transition from one "world" to the next and I am even more impressed with the fluid flow of this in the chapters. A lot of times this can get really confusing but I had no issues following the scene changes. I adored this novel and look forward to grabbing her other books.
If you're squeamish this may not be for you. I do think overall it could've been shorter but honestly I was so engrossed half the time that I blame my impatience on the need to know the ending. There are graphic scenes of disfigured creatures, gore and other horror atrocities. I really hope that Marshall does a second book to cover Abby and her story. I am hands down all for that!
Thank you Penguin Teen for the gifted arc in exchange for an honest review. I also need to thank you for another new author to add to my shelves!