I received a free copy to review from Netgalley, Below is the blurb:

"After the tragic death of their father and surviving a life-threatening eating disorder, 18-year-old Ellis moves with their mother to the small town of Black Stone, seeking a simpler life and some space to recover. But Black Stone feels off; it’s a disquieting place surrounded by towns with some of the highest death rates in the country. It doesn’t help that everyone says Ellis’s new house is haunted — everyone including Quinn, a local girl who has quickly captured Ellis's attention. And Ellis has started to believe what people are saying: they see pulsing veins in their bedroom walls and specters in dark corners of the cellar. Together, Ellis and Quinn dig deep into Black Stone’s past and soon discover that their town, and Ellis’s house in particular, is the battleground in a decades-long spectral war, one that will claim their family — and the town — if it’s allowed to continue."

I really loved the concept of this story, without ruining it for you, the story behind what was going on and the imagery was really good. I liked how the story developed flipping between different character's. What I did struggle with was some of the characters, I didn't necessarily develop an empathy with them and I couldn't tell you why. Overall a good read, it does come over more of a teen/young adult fiction type story (not sure if that is intention or not). In addition, at the end I was wondering what happened to one pivotal character.

Tried to read it but the constant use of 'them/they' made my brain hurt. It's definitely something I need to get used to. A great beginning though. Perhaps this type of writing is better in small doses at least for myself for now.

If I could ask for anything from Withered, it would be “more”, especially as relates to the inner workings of Ellis’ mind. At times, it felt like we were privy to their inner thoughts, but others, they seemed to keep hidden and revealed after the fact. I would have liked to feel like I was there with them the whole time.
It was refreshing (if a bit idealistic) to read a story with a queer protagonist surrounded by acceptance and support.
The. most effective portions for me were those describing Analiese’s experiences - they were haunting - in the way that grief haunts - and beautifully described.
I also appreciated the Easter Egg for Faculty of Horror fans in the names of the curiosities shop owners (not to mention the name drops of numerous classic and not-so-classic horror films).
Withered feels like a cozy horror to me and I would recommend to anyone who thinks they would enjoy something that sounds like that.
Thanks to. NetGalley for the copy in exchange for my honest review. #NetGalley #Withered

[arc review]
Thank you to NetGalley and ECW Press for providing an arc in exchange for an honest review.
Withered releases April 16, 2024

2.5

After the death of their father, Ellis and their mother move back to their mother’s small hometown called Black Stone, where they take up residence in the towns haunted house.

I enjoyed the nonbinary and ace rep with our main character Ellis, but I wanted more of the sentient house as its own character, as well as more interactions of the ghosts that inhabited and made up a large part of the town.
The use of multi-pov could have been executed better for it to feel like one seamless story instead of little fragments pieced together.

cw: body dysmorphia, recovering anorexic, trichophagia, brief misgendering

I found Withered to be a meandering horror that doesn't ever quite pick up the pace enough to be thrilling, but the queer representation and sweet relationships help it along just enough to be worth the read. The concept is enticing- a house that can breathe on its own, a town terrified of its own history. Ellis is a lovely main character and it was a joy to be in their head through most of the story- they are gentle, intelligent, and curious enough not to leave the reader frustrated about the mystery to be solved. There is some tough content surrounding disordered eating and recovery, but it is handled in such a way that enhances the story rather than feeling like a trauma for the sake of a traumatic backstory. I feel this story would be better suited to the YA category, and I hope that the author returns to the fictional little town of Black Stone to explore more of its backstory. The characters are truly strange and fascinating, the town itself clearly has more to offer, and there is so much potential that could truly make for a beautifully horrifying sequel or spinoff.

I requested and received an ARC of this book for NetGalley, and my opinions are my own. I would recommend this to fans of YA horror, YA romance, and queer literature.

The premise is my horror catnip, so I went into this one with sky-high expectations. And while this novel didn't 100% live up to those expectations, it's still got immaculate vibes and some truly great character work. The overall themes are interesting, poignant, and well-executed too.

DNF at 50%

I wanted to enjoy this haunted house story, as I was excited to read some non-binary representation in horror. Unfortunately it seemed to lean heavily into YA romance that slowly trodded along, which disrupted the horror aspects. The dialogue was laden with witty remarks and superfluous chit chat that I found hard to relate to, and found myself skimming over.

The story may have benefitted from editing the dialogue, the repetitions of discoveries, and sped up the action into horror. The glimpses of horror felt delayed and brief. I wanted more reflective and creepy aspects, some breathing space to let those horrors emerge. I struggled to mesh with the emotional aspects as well, which didn’t feel fully fleshed out. The differing elements felt fractured, and I wanted to know more about these elements - such as Tessa, and the introduction of Death. There were some creepy moments, and I loved the description of the town in relation to the house. I stuck it out for a while hoping to glean more intense mysteries, but I felt bored through the first half, which primarily depicted young romance that I decided life’s too short.

The story had promise, but perhaps better suited for YA audiences, particularly those struggling around eating disorders, grief and queer identity.

Thank you to A.G.A. Wilmot, ECW Press and Netgalley for this advanced readers copy. Publish date will be 16 April 2024.

I really wanted to like this as I love the non binary character representation and the exploration of grief and mental illness through the lens of the paranormal and horror should have had me gripped. Unfortunately I just didn't connect with this, a lot of the writing was clichéd and the dialogue felt really unrealistic, almost like conversations or quips that you'd wish you made when reflecting back on a conversation rather than grounded in reality. I think this would be good for a young adult/teen audience as they may find the MC/other characters more relatable than I did.

Initially I found this book to be too slow paced for me however it did pick up pace in the latter half. Once Death is introduced to be a character I found myself much more interested in the supernatural elements and the haunting of the house as before that I was only interested in the relationship between Ellis and Quinn.

Ooh this was creepy. It wasn't my cup of tea but if you like horror and very creepy horror then this is for you

Is Blackstone a real place? Let's hope not. The title is Withered - there is decay in this novel.

Creepy and then some

Thank you NetGalley, A.G.A Wilmot, and ECW Press for the early access copy of Withered.

Withered tells the story of Ellis and their experience of moving to a new town, where their new house is the center of supernatural experiences. Ellis’s story also follows their grief and loss after losing their dad, their mental health (anorexia and body dysmorphia), and their search for answers about the house they moved into at the end of Cherry Lane.

Withered is written with excellent queer representation. The writing style is a great fit for those who enjoy a focus on the setting with heavy description. As Ellis is 18, the book has a Young Adult feel to it.

I really enjoyed this fast paced gothicy horror. The representation in the book was also something I didnt know I needed, I loved it! The character dynamics are funny and interesting.

This book was absolutely AMAZING. I cannot say enough good things about it. This book is horror so well done and it is so haunting and tragic and beautiful but also has top tier humor. The banter between Ellis and their mom and friends is so funny I laughed out loud. This story is so fast paced without cutting corners, and it’s told with incredible detail without being daunting. The character development was phenomenal and I just truly absolutely loved this book beyond words. I am so incredibly grateful for the opportunity to read this advance copy. Thank you so much, Netgalley and ECW Press!

I loved the premise and was excited to read the book. I found parts of it to be a bit confusing, especially towards the end. The pacing was a bit slow at times and felt like the book could have used a bit more editing. Overall, I enjoyed the story and writing.

This was such a great read. Got to love a book about a haunted house and also has trans and queer representation!

I wanted to enjoy this novel so much because I love a haunted house novel, but this was not all horror as we usually would see. This novel touched on mental health issues, eating disorders and grief and the haunted house could have been a completely separate story with that in mind. When Ellis moves to her mother's small hometown, they feel that there is something strange going on in the town. Death has a different meaning here and the house on Cherry Lane may have something to do with it, but what kind of power can a house have?

This was a brilliant read. The story was well played out and had proper representation of the queer community. I only wish I could read it again for the first time!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC!

I was hoping that I would adore this book. I went into it hoping for the best, and unfortunately I didn't find quite as much as I would have hoped. First off, I did really enjoy how hard this book tried to make a point of diverse identities. I admire and appreciate that the author did their best with this, and wrote the characters well in respect to this.

That said, I did not connect with the characters well. I struggled to like them, even through all their efforts, and I didn't feel like they were particularly connected to their story. They could have been substituted in with any other person or character and the same result would have come out. I just did not feel they had substance.

The main plot as well I felt lacked - there wasn't much of a twist or exploration of the story, and unfortunately I didn't feel like this was a pure horror novel. Conceptually I enjoyed the idea, but didn't find it enough to carry for a whole novel.

I just loved everything about this book! It had everything you could think of in a horror! You had death, grief, mental health issues, eating disorder, a deep dark cellar (NO, just NO). This is a queer psychological thriller and if you love horror you will have this book read in a matter of hours and not want to put it down! I would HIGHLY recommend this to all my horror fans!

Thank you to Netgalley, the author, and the publisher for allowing me to ARC read this masterpiece! LOVE IT! I was not paid to review this book and it is my honest review.

I loved this book for many reasons. The cast of characters, especially Ellis and Quinn, are a delight to follow. I enjoyed the story and the characters, but this didn’t strike me as horror. More like a ya supernatural mystery, but that isn't necessarily a bad thing.