Rating: ⭐⭐⭐
Genre: Horror + LGBTQ

This is a queer horror story that revolves around a university student in her early twenties called Alex Nguyen. Alex has profound problems that push her to commit suicide. So, after the failed suicide attempt and staying for a long time in the hospital, she needs to stand on her own two feet. But financial struggles, as well as relationship difficulties, make things even more difficult.

The story’s main focus is on the character rather than the plot, so not a lot happens there in terms of events. The primary emphasis is placed on Alex's complicated personality and the challenges she faces.

A book like that is expected to be full of challenging themes, such as trauma, struggle, healing, isolation, and mental health. It has the potential to be an intriguing investigation into the human capacity for resilience and vulnerability. Many readers may be able to identify with the character and the problems she faces as a result.

This is the second queer horror novel I have read within the past week, and I must say that I am not particularly fond of the horror aspect. The story lacked the atmosphere of the horror genre that is supposed to keep you on your toes. I’m not sure that categorizing it as a horror novel is even accurate. As a story with hard-hitting themes, it is a decent one, but still, it is not something that I have not read before. Overall, it was a mixed bag for me.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC of this book.

Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review:

3.5
please check trigger warnings for this one.

I really felt for the main character and her mental health struggles, I felt that part of her was really well written and it resonated with me.
I really wanted the horror to show up at some point during the book but it just never really actualized and maybe that's a marketing mistake.. this read more as dark literary fiction. I did really enjoy RJ McDaniel's writing style and would read more of their work in the future!!
Overall I did enjoy it, just wasn't ultimately what i was expecting as a book labeled as horror.

Thank you to Netgalley and the author/publisher for the ARC!

2.5 stars rounding up. That being said, without giving too much away, this was not my kind of book. I'd love to just hug the protagonist in hopes to make them feel better.

3.5

Thank you to Netgalley and publishers for the review copy!

I mostly enjoyed this. I thought it was a fantastic read about being unapologetically queer, finding belonging, mental health issues and toxic relationships. I especially enjoyed the way it was told, it was very disjointed and, as the reader, you felt the way Alex felt which was mostly confused and on edge. Despite the page length, it was quite a slow burn to get to the stage where you felt the pieces interlock together, but it was very satisfying when it did.

My main issue with it, and it’s really a minor one, is that I feel like Alex should have gotten extended mental health treatment within the book. It’s possible that they probably got that treatment when their life continued after the book ended, but we don’t know that for sure. Also, gentrification felt like it was going to be touched upon as a theme, but ended up being something that was vaguely happening in the background.

Overall, I would really recommend this (although check the trigger warnings first).

💛💛Book Review💛💛
3.5 Stars
All things seen and unseen by #rjmcdanielauthor

This was a @netgalley read! It was not what I expected but unique and kept me questioning. Alex, a troubled human, was just released from a hospital due to psychiatric incidents. Now that Alex is out, they must figure out how to survive day-to-day with no job, no money, and no family to help. Alex bumps into their rich ex-girlfriend who offers Alex a job for the summer to house-sit their hideaway mansion on an island. Alex jumps on this and heads out! However, weird things start being seen and happening. Alex thinks they are crazy but when a new friend is made, Amara, Alex soon find the direction that is best to take. Alex needs to heal. This book is a journey of finding oneself while trying to push through the deprt

I'm not sure if I'd classify this as horror, it's definitely disturbing but I found nothing about it to be horror. Alex is a deeply disturbed individual with a history of mental issues, drug and alcohol abuse, and attempted suicides, who goes off all her medications against medical advice after their latest psychological breakdown and hospitalization. Antipsychotic medication is specifically mentioned so Alex is at best an unreliable narrator and at worst deep in a psychotic episode. Alex's constant worry and self doubt are exhausting and Amara is over accommodating and unable to see the very serious mental and emotional stare Alex is in. I'd definitely like to have seen the end of the book resulting in Alex seeking and receiving medical treatment fir her issues as well as her mysterious physical malady.

This is one of those slower than slow burn that entices you in with a great synopsis but the final product just doesn't have the outcome you were hoping for.

For something advertised as horror, it includes nothing of the sort, and I'd say it was one of the ones where nothing literally happens, and they only want to to believe that something is happening under the surface.

Not for me, unfortunately.

I absolutely adored this book and I’m so sad that it’s finished!! The writing was stunning and really pulled me into the story. I was able to climb inside Alex’s head and experienced everything alongside her. She was a brilliant protagonist and her character development was some of the best I’ve ever seen. I’m so excited to see what this author writes next.

I would say that this book is horror in the same way that The Haunting of Hill House is horror in that it is mainly psychological and deals a lot with trauma. A lot of the story's horror comes from the main character experiencing paranoia and anxiety due to being gaslit by an emotionally and physically abusive partner for years to the point that they feel that they’re crazy, struggling with mental illness and s*icidal thoughts, being chronically ill, losing touch with most of their friends, having no familial support, and almost becoming houseless. There was also horror in the sense that Alex is a queer and trans person of color surrounded by white people who wish them ill-will and harm in the village that they move nearby to, which was especially disturbing with the men who would follow them on the road and taunt them. I appreciated the portrayal of the main character’s struggle with their gender and how confusing it all is–from my understanding, the main character identified as nonbinary at one point and got top surgery before socially detransitioning after being invalidated by their abusive ex who said he would only view them as a girl. Towards the end of the story, as the main character is enveloped into a small trans group of friends and gets a transmasc love interest, they slowly start to become comfortable enough to identify as trans again and come back out of the closet. I loved how the pronouns switched throughout the story as the main character tried to figure themself out, and I thought it was extremely well done.
I also thought that the main character’s anxiety was portrayed so well, and I have so many of the same overthinking anxious thoughts as them, which was nice to see represented. Overall, I loved Alex’s character, and they felt so real to me. Their humor was great, their thought processes and actions made sense to me, and I overall loved reading from their point of view. They reminded me a little bit of Mae from the game Night in the Woods with how they think and talk, which I enjoyed. I genuinely cared for Alex as a character and wanted the best for them-I was invested!
I do think that I got a little confused as to what was happening at certain points in the story, such as when Alex goes up the elevator, and the whole storm scene in general, but I also feel like that was the intention since the main character was so disoriented during that scene? I was also often confused about why Amara would get upset with Alex, especially for wanting them to pull over to let the truck driven by racist white men pass when they were in danger. I wish there had been some resolution to the dog killer subplot since that felt unresolved. It also felt like the story was building up to Amara not being who they said they were for a while with Alex’s suspicions of him and nobody having heard of him, but I’m glad that he ended up being someone that cared for Alex when they had no other support. I kind of wish more of the story took place in the creepy mansion they were housesitting because there was so much setting detailed there and so much anticipation built up with the security cameras in the creepy basement, the voice system to activate the lights, the shadow of a person at the door of the mansion in the security cameras, the security codes for everything, and the elevator they weren’t allowed to use, but very little of the plot actually happened there, which makes sense because it was so inaccessible, which is its own kind of horror for a disabled person. I did like the ending with Alex getting a mobility device that works for them, as well as living with their old friend group of queer and trans people because I think that they deserved and needed to have that support system.

3.75 stars for this one!

I really enjoyed this, it takes you on a journey, fills you with MULTIPLE emotions, dread and hope being the main ones - respectively. I feel like I can't really put into words exactly how I feel about this book.. it can be difficult to read in parts so I would check trigger warnings for this one before reading as suicide, mental illness and abuse is gone into in depth, but if you can get past that I would recommend giving this a go.

I was a bit confused by the actual PLOT at times but still enjoyable.

Thank you to Netgalley, RJ McDaniel, and ECW Press for this ARC copy in return for an honest review.

!!THIS REVIEW CONTAINS MINOR SPOILERS AND PLOT POINTS!!

I really wanted to love this book and in the first half I genuinely did. I enjoyed RJ McDaniel's writing style, I thought they were really good at world building and immersing you in the story. It's definitely a slow build, creating atmosphere, but I prefer books like that over ones that are trying to do to much. The setting on 709 and the small tightly knit community was great, and I definitely found myself becoming nervous alongside Alex and invested in the community/distrust of outsiders.

The reason I gave this book three stars, rather than the five I thought I would have given early on, was because I felt like this book changed pace a little too much and I wasn't sure what it was trying to be? I was so invested in the island, in the house and Alex's unease of everything - I felt like it started to really build suspense. But then when the Alex and Amara narrative began I felt like that all got lost, the focus felt like it was now on this new healthy relationship and the contrast to Adam.

Don't get me wrong, if the book had just been about Alex and Amara/Adam and the relationships aspect (sort of like a dark/sad romance) I think I would have rated it higher and found it a moving read. But once I got to this point it left me wondering a bit what happened to 709, the suspense around the other people on the island, etc. All the built suspense just fell a little flat for me. I appreciate that this all came back at the end in an attempt to tie it all together, but by this point I think I was lost.

There are some content warnings which others have mentioned. This is definitely something to be aware of before reading, but I think these were well handled and made the book feel very raw and heartbreaking!

In summary, I think RJ McDaniel has a way with words and I thoroughly enjoyed their writing style. The story and plot of this one just wasn't for me in the end, but I am glad that I read it!

WOW, just WOW!

All Things Seen and Unseen follows Alex, an ill student who can't seem to catch a break. They (thankfully) survived a suicide attempt and after trying to figure out some financial situations, get an opportunity to house-sit for a friend's large mansion on an island. While there, things take a strange turn and Aex begins to question their sanity.

This book truly surprised me. It is powerful and unapologetically queer. Readers might not immediately know what is going on when this book starts, but as it progresses and the puzzle pieces start to align, I found myself shocked. No, actually my breath was taken away. This book HURT and it was scary and it made me feel things. But I enjoyed it when I started to figure out what was going on. Everything clicked and it shook me. This book tackles some very hard things (check trigger warnings) that people experience and RJ McDaniel's writing style laid this out in a way that made this very realistic.

The introduction of some of the characters at times, felt weirdly forced and I wasn't sure how they were going to mesh overall with the plot of the novel. However, when the final twists start unfolding, everything makes sense. I could go on for a while about how exceptional this book is, but I think you should just read it for yourself and learn how great this book is.

Check it out! You won't be disappointed.

In this queer/racial modern gothic horror, Alex, after a period in rehab, is kicked out of school and student housing, leaving her homeless. She gets a job house-sitting in a large home on a small island and must try to survive as an outsider in a remote, insular community, living through the trauma she has repressed to survive.

This was really good! I love a good gothic horror and this hit the spot for me.

Maybe it’s a Kindle thing but that’s how I read ARCs and it seems like a lot that come from this company/agency are really messed up. It’s hard to read a book you’re getting a headache trying to read.

I love a book that makes me feel something. I want a story to be emotional and evocative and leave me feeling raw or elated or sad or frustrated. When I feel, I know a writer has done their job.

All Things Seen and Unseen by RJ McDaniel made me feel. At various points throughout this beautifully written novel, I felt so many conflicting and wonderfully raw emotions. Pain, fury, fear, confusion, sadness. Alex’s journey in this novel is hard to read at times, because they are clearly a victim of abuse, bullying, extreme toxicity, and that has made them question themself and doubt their own experience, doubt their own identity. And therein lies the horror of this novel: the brutality of toxic relationships, the struggle to have an identity and embrace and love yourself when so many deny you that fundamental right.

This isn’t a story that is easy to read. It confronts themes of suicide, mental health, abuse, discrimination, harassment, and hate. But in the end, it is a very honest and affective novel of social horror that builds and holds tension very well. I recommend All Things Seen and Unseen to anyone who loves horror with heart and social horror.

Thanks to NetGalley and ECW Press for a digital ARC! All opinions are my own.

As someone who’s experienced some of the situations in this story, I appreciated the frankness displayed here with regard to mental and physical illness. Alex is a very real protagonist, with all her doubts, fears and secret hopes. She seems buffeted by events at first, but slowly finds her way, and her journey was an interesting one.

The writing is beautiful, even when dealing with difficult situations and perspectives. I did find it hard to read at times, but that was precisely because of how accurate some aspects of the tale were. It’s sensitive, never patronising, and I’m grateful to the author for that honesty. This isn’t my usual sort of read, but I was drawn in, which was the main thing!

I think the only stumbling point for me were the relationships, which seemed a little forced at times. But an engaging book, nonetheless.

I liked this one. it felt trippy in the best way and our protag was super cool! the flaw was, though, at times the pacing felt extremely weird, and that might be intentional but to me it didn't gel. thanks for the ARC

Main TWs: suicide thoughts/attemps, domestic abuse, transphobia, racism, ableist, physical and emotional abuse.
Other TWs: minor description of animal death.

We follow our main character, Alex Nguyen (she/they), who have hard time with the school, job and her, both physical and mental health. Once their friend offers them to stenp summer in her huge house, surrounded by forest and ocean, everything starting to get worse and better: her health, paranoia, and her past.
It took me some time for the book to grab me. The first chapter (really long chapter) was hard to read. It was long, heavy and sometimes i had to stop because I started to feel awful.
Then at the second part of the book, I've read it in one sitting. This saved the book so much in my eyes.
Alex deals with a lot of mental health problems and past trauma. I think that this book was good at portraying the way mental health can affect your live.
I still have a hard time understanding what was real and what wasn't and this is the main reason I've enjoyed this book so much.

First off I want to thank NetGalley and the publisher for a copy of this book to read. I started it over a month ago and couldn’t seem to get into it. I read this because of the genre being LGBTQ and was super excited it was publicized as a “dark horror”, I do think the author needs to put some SERIOUS trigger warnings on this book. This could seriously be triggering especially as this book has TONS of suicidal thoughts. For this alone if I could rate this book as a zero I would, it’s not something I enjoy reading, this isn’t a feel good type of book. Also a majority of the book just felt repetitive and it felt difficult to stay present on what the plot is

I put this book down for several months because the opening chapter just didn’t grab me. When I returned to it, I found it got better as the book went on. I think the problem is the pacing. There are only 6 unevenly weighted chapters in this 200+ page book. Much too much weight is given to getting the story started. It actually “starts” when Alex arrives on the island, and takes off when they meet Amara. The “horror” element, too, is suspect here. I thought we might be going with the home invasion angle, but that’s all smoke and mirrors for a backstory about domestic abuse—which, while horrifying, does not amount to horror here. I rooted for Alex because they’re clearly the underdog... but in the end I’m not sure if they win? Too much gets lost between the layers of suicidal ideation, drug abuse, and paranoia.