Wow! The twists in this book hit me so hard, one after another! I was left speechless for a few minutes—it felt like a sucker punch!

Fact: I'm a huge fan of Karina Halle's darker works, even more than her recent romance novels about royalty or her earlier books like the Sins & Needles series and standalones. Her EIT series blew my mind, and I rooted so hard for Perry and Dex! Naturally, I jumped at the chance to read her new gothic horror set in a secluded, isolated lodge on a fog-shrouded inlet of Vancouver Island, where ghosts lurk not only in the woods but also in the creaking hallways, and mutilated animals appear as if straight out of The Last of Us set.

Sydney Denik, an aspiring mycologist, has just lost her scholarship at Stanford after an incident spiraled out of her control. She heads to Vancouver Island, where the Madrona Foundation is located—a place dedicated to curing Alzheimer’s and other terminal illnesses through the use of special fungi harvested from the indigenous land they lease.

After losing her scholarship, family support, and financial stability, Sydney’s last resort is to commit herself to research at Madrona. She's captivated by Everly, a brilliant researcher who becomes her guide and mentor. At the same time, she feels drawn to Wes Kincaid, a mysterious psychologist and her professor, who starts appearing in her highly erotic dreams. While trying to fit in, she clashes with Clayton, who always has a snarky comment, and senses that something isn’t right after seeing disturbing visions—like Amina, a recently dismissed student, or other girls appearing in eerie places. It becomes clear there’s something sinister about this place, or perhaps her own mind is betraying her. Though her chemistry with Wes is undeniable, she can't shake the feeling that he isn’t entirely trustworthy.

I’ll be honest: during the first half, I even considered stopping. The pacing was slow, the multiple plot threads left me in the dark, and I was frustrated whenever Everly insisted Sydney was "special," without any evidence to support it. The smug exchanges between Wes and Sydney had me rolling my eyes because their relationship seemed to be going nowhere. I felt lost and struggled to stay motivated through the second half. But, thanks to the glowing reviews and my trust in Halle’s talent, I kept going. And I’m so glad I did! The last third of the book felt like a bomb exploding in my face—brilliant and shocking! I didn’t see any of it coming. It may have stretched plausibility, but at least all my questions were answered and the characters' strange behavior was explained.

My initial 2 or 2.5-star rating for the first half quickly shot up to 4 stars (I even considered giving it 5, but the slow start took a bit of my enthusiasm away, even though it served a purpose). Maybe I’m just too impatient, wanting to cut to the chase quickly. That’s why waiting for the plot to pick up pace was frustrating for me.

Overall, this is a fantastic blend of sci-fi fantasy romance and gothic horror—a perfect choice for celebrating Halloween! Be patient with the pacing because the mind-blowing payoff is absolutely worth it.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Metal Blonde Books for providing me with a digital review copy of this mind-bending fantasy romance in exchange for my honest thoughts.

The perfect spooky season read!

I was so intrigued by this book as I've never even thought about picking up a horror/ romance before but I am so glad I did. Karina Halle writes so many sub-genres of romance with such skill and this was no exception.

This book was creepy enough to have me thinking about the imagery after I turned the lights off at night, and mysterious enough that I was constantly trying to figure out what was going on. Even so I NEVER saw the twist coming.

Surprisingly, as a romance lover, I found the spicy scenes superfluous to the story. I didn't really feel like they added anything or moved the plot along, with the exception maybe of the first scene. I also felt, and this will be a bit vague to avoid spoilers, that there was so much more we could have unpacked relating to the things Sydney saw and felt during the story and what that actually meant for her future.

Well that was certainly a twisty turny tail that I didn’t see coming!
Very atmospheric, lots of little bread crumbs that I couldn’t make sense of until the grand reveal, I love Karina Halle’s writing style and this book was no exception.
I don’t want to say too much and risk giving anything away so do as I did and go in blind and enjoy!

This was ok! I don't know what I was expecting but it was ok and a very quick read. Loved the cover and the concept of the book. Idk if I would consider reading this a second time

It gives the perfect spooky vibes. It’s told from first person POV. So you have no clue if what Sydney is seeing is real or not. And what could go wrong spending your summer on an island with no connection to the outside world. This book kept my interest and I did not see the twist coming! I loved every second of this book!

Thank you NetGalley and Metal Blonde Books for the ARC.

This book gets an all the stars, two thumbs up, let me fan myself and one moment I need to call my therapist recommendation from me. I have loved all Karina Halle’s books but horror romance was a new genre for her and I was worried because for me it is a genre where the book is either amazing or awful with no in between. I shouldn’t have been worried though Karina as always wrote a book I couldn’t put down.

I don’t want to risk even a glimpse of a spoiler but if you are into psychological horror, questioning your own sanity, really hot sex scenes, and a whole lot of fucked up things that make you worry why it turns you own. Then go buy this book, you’re welcome. Also, I’m sorry if you read this book and discovery a few things about yourself; don’t worry we have a club and cookies welcome to the dark side.

This is such an insanely good book I don't know where to begin.

I was blown away. I am running on two hours of sleep right now and am sick, so I did not think I would be able to inhale a book like this.

This is a new favorite. I feel like I've been exposeed to a whole new subgenre of horror and fantasy and sci fi mixed together that I need more of. This was so wonderfully written, and masterfully ececuted.

I highly recommend this book for your spooky season reading list.

Thank you for this advanced reader copy! I received this beautiful book for free and am leaving this review voluntarily.