Although the story line and theme of the book is fun, I found pretty much all of the characters insufferable. The main character, Dag, is an egotistical misogynist. I think Carni was a really great idea, and would make a great B rated movie. But it would help if there was at least one likeable character who didn’t make you annoyed and frustrated.

It's ok not to like these people because they're meant to be terrible. Evil clowns, child murder, this is a horror for the sake of horror. From the beginning to the end, there were terrible things happening, and it was written well enough that I felt like I was watching from the front row.
Thanks to NetGalley for letting me read this.

It wasn’t bad and may be for another book lover just not me, I am however happy I had the chance to read it and fascinated that such an island exists

A disgraced journalist, looking to get back into his career meets a semi cult woman fascinated about an abandoned amusement park with a dark history of a clown known as Carni. He soon finds himself involved way over his head

This book had me wanting more of Louie at the beginning but became same ish / predictable with other clown horrors

It has its fair share of gore, possession, blood, death ect

Thank you
to Netgalley and R. Saint Claire for an advance copy of this book in exchange for a honest review.

This one starts with a bang. The beginning of Carni sets the scene. You're introduced to the amusement park and a few of its major players, including the very violent mascot, Carni. It's quick, violent, and gory. I was immediately hooked, but I'm a sucker for carnival-type environments and clowns.

***

The body of the book jumps in time to Dag, an unlikeable writer trying to make a return to his former glory. I thought maybe I'd grow to like him. I didn't. But, I don't think he's meant to be likeable. Still, it's odd to just abhor the main character of a book. It was enough to take me out of the story itself, unfortunately.

I thought the whole Carni process was interesting. If you like clown horror, give it a look and decide for yourself.

2.5*

From the epigraph which is a quote from the song “she’s one in a million “ by The Tubes to an awesome forward by Andrew Lyle which helps you add to your TBR and TBW pile and including the main story of Carney it seems this book was destin to be amongst my favorite. Dag Alton was a reporter he was a man on the rise and had even won a Pulitzer win his ex-girlfriend Stephanie decided to re-post a tweet he sent her during an argument and it didn’t take long before Dag Alton was canceled. The unemployed reporter was in his 30s growing a paunch and broke this is why he found himself living at home with his mom and dad Ivy and George. Soon after moving in he got a job as a paper boy gave up his heavy drinking and the Internet and decided to take some downtime after a couple of months when he’s finally feeling better he decides he’ll have to rebuild his life on his own and this is how he comes up with the idea to look for a story to start a blog from his first post he gets in touch with a girl name Aurora who is hot as can be despite her pink hair and tattoos it seems Aurora wants to save Burlington Island in between New Jersey and Pennsylvania but first we must go back to 1928 to Wonderland Park on Burlington Island. We learn about a boy name Lewis who is beaten by his father and his only consolation was an old Turkish psychic and his imaginary friend Carney the clown after a severe beating from his father which happened on most days but this day would end like no other and and would begin the islands bloody history when Dag goes to meet Aurora he finds her floating in the boat with pink balloons tied to the hall she is very sexy and she knows it yet she has child like tendencies and keeps referring to her ex Keen. They take a trip to the island and despite a few strange things happening one of which is Aurora feeding blood from a splinter the clueless reporter let her take out in feeds the blood she collected in a bottle cap to the water and tells him she’s given it to Carney. This isn’t the first strange comment she is made about the clown and eventually he will learn why and OMG I was not prepared for that. I could go on and on about how Dags reputation gets built back up to the point where The Rolling Stones wants him to do A feature on The island and the clown in those who absolutely love him I could talk about how they reopen the park how Carny soon had Dag as his new buddy oh yes and I can’t forget to mention how Carney cannot let an opportunity pass when it comes to a really gruesome murder but I believe Regina Saint Clair could tell you better and so I totally recommend carny by Regina Saint Clair to anyone who loves really great campy horror this is a great horror story that will rival all great horror stories. It has everything an isolated location, a weird sexy woman, humans who are willing to help with murder, and a paranormal entity who strength comes from blood. If this doesn’t sell you on the book then it probably isn’t for you but OMG I am glad it works for me I totally enjoyed it and highly recommend it. I want to thank Books Go Social and Net Galley for my free arc copy please forgive any mistakes as I am blind and dictate my review.

Shades of "It" as an old evil, the clown (aren't they all evil?), weaves it's way through blood and death to gain a new form. Gory, creepy, insidious, and you may avoid carnivals ...

This book started a little slow to get to the point which started boring me slightly, waiting for the action and horror to pick up.

This was one of the few protagonists I’ve disliked in a book and I couldn’t help not caring about his views and his outcome, although he was credible. With the killer clown trope, I expected a lot more horror but I wasn’t moved by that aspect with the lack of Carni being present in the book, or maybe I had just expected that from this kind of idea.

The ending was predictable and felt forced. Add on the slow suspense, with hardly likeable characters and barely any character development, this wasn’t at all what I had expected.

Dag is a disgraced journalist looking to fix his broken career after meeting a woman called Aurora she introduces him to an abandoned amusement park with a dark history of a clown known as Carni. Dag soon finds himself involved in something in which he isn't sure what's real and what isn't. Can Dag get away, or does Carni have him in his grip already.

This book had me gripped from the first 6 I couldn't stop reading ! Clowns are my ultimate scary in horror, so I had high hopes on the scare factor, and this did not disappoint!

Thank you to Netgalley, Books go social and R. Saint Claire for an advance copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I am definitely not a clown fan or person. Only for weird old Pennywise and Twisty from AHS.
This novel of sorts definitely reminded me of the old carnival dark feelings. Curious as to where your fears take you. Complete carnage and chaos. A real quick read as you want to know what seriously comes next.
Horror fans will enjoy this book.
I just reviewed Carni by R. Saint Claire. #Carni #NetGalley

A lot happened, very quickly.
I didn't hate this but I'm not sure if I liked it either.
Clown horror might not be my thing.
I received a copy via Netgalley and all opinions are my own.

Clowns aren’t my favorite, but I’m scared of them either, so whenever I came across this on the “Read Now” section, I decided I would do just that.
Carni is an entity of urban legend, located in and around an abandoned, derelict amusement park that has definitely see better days.
The story is centered around one main character, who is Dag, a journalist who is very flawed. He strives to redeem his once amazing career, through finding more out about Carni, his origin, & what exactly/who exactly Carni is.
I don’t wanna give away too much of the plot/storyline, but if you like clowns and/or are into horror, this will definitely be your jam.

Dag Altan is a disgraced journalist, named as an abuser by an ex-fling, that is always on the look out for a scoop that could possibly get his name back on top. Enter Aurora and her blog about the legend of Carni, the mascot of Island Wonderland Park, a carnival that saw terrible tragedy in 1928 when the abused son of the owner claimed the lives of multiple people. Aurora believes it's all because of Carni. Dag decides to see what all of this is about because if nothing else, Aurora is half his age and attractive.

Dag is a terribly unlikable character with many misogynistic views and a user mentality. I know that sounds like a bad thing, but hear me out: it works amazingly for the plot. As things slowly start going off the rails as he learns more about the park and its surrounding events, if he was someone you wanted to cheer on, the unfolding of events would not make sense.

That said, the pacing of the story was a little off. I think we spend so much time learning that Dag is probably not redeemable, that when things start happening, you truly notice how slow the first 45% of the book actually moves. There is somewhat of a character arc for Dag, but it seems like every other character is stagnant, seemingly the same from the time they are introduced until the very end.

Overall, I really enjoyed this. This book is a bit like It with a slasher feel that is a fresh take on the creepy clown trope. I *hate* clowns and this did not help. Fellow sufferers of coulrophobia beware. Just don't skip it.

Thank you to NetGalley and the author for the opportunity to review this book.

Hated the main char, loved the book AJ much it was so creepy. Ominous clown that went completely crazy. Always a good sign for a cool horror boom and this one was good

YEOW!!! Stephen King and Chuck Wendig look out..here comes R. Saint Claire, I wonder if she went through Derry to write this creepy book. It's got an IT clown in it so similar in looks to Stephen Kings. I love this noire clown freakout story...Incredibly vulgar, scary, explicit and bloody. What an imagination...R. Saint Claire has. I look forward to reading more of her books. Every fan of King and Wendig needs to read this, but keep the lights on!!

Se você curte um bom suspense, Carni é uma ótima dica. Impossível para de ler. Cada capítulo fica aquele gostinho de querer saber o que vai acontecer com os personagens. R Saint Claire constrói uma história sólida, com personagens reais (o personagem masculino me irritou bastante com certas atitudes), mas mesmo assim, fiquei torcendo por ele. Uma bela homenagem a Stephen King. Não preciso dizer mais.

Thank you, R. Saint Claire and NetGalley for the ARC. I leave this review voluntarily and happily. Also, thank you publishers for your hard work!

Oh my God! I absolutely loved this book! Of course, the only thing I wished it had was more lore explaining Carni and just overall more of him. He truly was an interesting character. The momentshe you get to experience him were truly interesting, sinister, eerie, and I loved every moment of it. Is he a ghost, phantom, demon, or something else entirely? He could even be something that was created from pure rage and menevolent actions. Who knows. I just know I absolutely lived learning about him, and the book was full of murder, mystery, cult like atmosphere, and more.

The main character wasn't my favorite, but he was needed for something far more sinister than any of us can realize until the end of the book. What he's needed for suits me just fine in the end. He did, in a way, get what was coming to him. Does that make me cruel? Perhaps somewhat, but you read the book and tell me what you think by the end of everything. Did he deserve better or worse?
I loved the fact they added the small tide but about slender man and Carni being similar for this book. For this book, it certainly is true. Death follows Carnis story wherever it goes, and it keeps his story going, making him more famous. So, do you dare read and find out the story? I certainly did and now am a fan myself.

I plan to read this again in the future, if not soon.

Delicious horror: scary clowns, gore. cults, possessions, a rising body count. No cheating or skimping on the macabre here that's for sure. A pretty solid story too. The last several pages had me captivated.

I got arc for review on netgally.

I liked some parts if it. The myth and such about Carni and the whole idea around it. But I just didn't like the main character Dag. It put my way out of the story.

Talk about an opener. It was pure carnage with all of the casualties that Carni wreaked havoc on the carnival. From this point I was hooked. It was a while before Carni made an appearance again. So, if you are looking for an instant horror scare read, this is not that book. Yet, if you are looking for a very well written, creepy horror that is not in your face, then this is the book for you.

Aurora is a free spirit. She definitely gave off "cult" vibes. I was never sure what she was going to do next. To be honest, Dag is one of those people that is kind of unmemorable but due to what was happening to him, it makes him interesting.

The voice of Carni is creepy. The last several chapters of this book is where it really amps up. This book will not calm your phobia of scary clowns.

This is a fantastic slasher type novel that brings the scares with many different tropes that I just love in a novel like this.

The setting is an abandoned island that was once home to a permanent carnival. After a brutal series of murders take place (which we get to read in the first chapter), it's shut down. But what caused these tragic events lives on.

In the present day, our protagonist is a journalist, a young man who was cancelled after some tweets and video footage were released that painted him in a very bad light. He moves back in with his parents but accepts a writing job with the small local paper. After he meets a strange, cryptic, but beautiful woman who agrees to show him around this abandoned island he thinks he's back because the story she tells is too incredible not to go viral.

But, as these things tend to do in a horror book, separating fact from fantasy becomes blurred. The clown known as Carni is itching to come back. And he's very thirsty for blood.

This novel is well written, suspenseful, and doesn't cheat on the carnage. As events start to unfold and the body count rises, the full extent of this urban legend becomes apparent and it's horrifying. But it might be too late for everyone.

I really enjoyed this novel and the legend behind Carni. It made for a creepy, brutal read and I highly recommend it.