Thank you to Bookish First and Penguin Teen for ARC copy!
My actual first thought upon finishing: "HOW DARE YOU DO THIS TO ME?!"
This book left me speechless. It's a horror/romance and it delivers on both accounts. I was pining for the love interests. I was terrified of the cult. The ending had my sitting still with my head in my hands for a solid 2 minutes. If you've never been afraid of the woods before, which honestly if you haven't, good for you, this book will make you question the sights and sounds of the world of the forest.
Wilhelmina Greene is a tough-as-nails, no nonsense girl who just wants answers about why her mother suddenly disappeared. When the inept police department in her small town in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan stops their active investigation, Wil is hot on the tail of the Clarke family, whose members include the town's pastor and her former best friend, Elwood. Having broken Wil's heart for not believing his family capable of anything foul toward another, Wil and Elwood have become enemies and she will do whatever it takes to get him to talk.
Elwood Clarke is on the cusp of his 18th birthday. Just after Christmas, he will graduate early and leave for higher pursuits in line with his father's teachings. What Elwood wants doesn't matter. His life is predetermined by his father. When he friends convince him to go out to a party before he leaves, Elwood gets so drunk he's having hallucinations while throwing up half a keg's worth of beer. He's throwing up leave and twigs and finally, a moth. How is it possible to have a forest inside you?
These two are the perfect mix of strong willed FMC and scared out of his mind MMC. He has silently loved Wil for years and has no idea how to get back on her good side. Wil has always denied that they were a "thing" and were just really good friends. You know, except for that one kiss one time.
When the revelations of Wil's mother's and El's fates are linked, the two band together, albeit unwillingly to fight against a cult no one knew was there. The Morguewood Forest holds all the secrets and the answers.
Are you prepared to love a monster?
I absolutely loved Skyla Arndt's writing style. Her comedic timing as a coping mechanism for these characters was spot on. I laughed at some pretty great jokes, my favorite being the Grease reference to Sandy and Danny not singing about ritualistic sacrifice. That got me good!
Together We Rot comes out on August 29th. Skyla, what's next in your amazing brain?! Can I just live in your stories?!
My actual first thought upon finishing: "HOW DARE YOU DO THIS TO ME?!"
This book left me speechless. It's a horror/romance and it delivers on both accounts. I was pining for the love interests. I was terrified of the cult. The ending had my sitting still with my head in my hands for a solid 2 minutes. If you've never been afraid of the woods before, which honestly if you haven't, good for you, this book will make you question the sights and sounds of the world of the forest.
Wilhelmina Greene is a tough-as-nails, no nonsense girl who just wants answers about why her mother suddenly disappeared. When the inept police department in her small town in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan stops their active investigation, Wil is hot on the tail of the Clarke family, whose members include the town's pastor and her former best friend, Elwood. Having broken Wil's heart for not believing his family capable of anything foul toward another, Wil and Elwood have become enemies and she will do whatever it takes to get him to talk.
Elwood Clarke is on the cusp of his 18th birthday. Just after Christmas, he will graduate early and leave for higher pursuits in line with his father's teachings. What Elwood wants doesn't matter. His life is predetermined by his father. When he friends convince him to go out to a party before he leaves, Elwood gets so drunk he's having hallucinations while throwing up half a keg's worth of beer. He's throwing up leave and twigs and finally, a moth. How is it possible to have a forest inside you?
These two are the perfect mix of strong willed FMC and scared out of his mind MMC. He has silently loved Wil for years and has no idea how to get back on her good side. Wil has always denied that they were a "thing" and were just really good friends. You know, except for that one kiss one time.
When the revelations of Wil's mother's and El's fates are linked, the two band together, albeit unwillingly to fight against a cult no one knew was there. The Morguewood Forest holds all the secrets and the answers.
Are you prepared to love a monster?
I absolutely loved Skyla Arndt's writing style. Her comedic timing as a coping mechanism for these characters was spot on. I laughed at some pretty great jokes, my favorite being the Grease reference to Sandy and Danny not singing about ritualistic sacrifice. That got me good!
Together We Rot comes out on August 29th. Skyla, what's next in your amazing brain?! Can I just live in your stories?!