DNF'ing this at 40%. It's not bad. The writing is really good, the chapters are really short, and that cover is so cool, but I felt like nothing was happening and I couldn't get into the folklore and legends about the lake as much as I hoped. It's possible that if I kept at it, the story could get engaging, but I lost interest. From where I left off, it seemed to be a two-to-three-star read. But that doesn't mean I won't want to try to pick it up in the future and see what the heck is going on at Devil's Lake and if Galen finds true peace and happiness. If you are interested in reading a horror/mystery/thriller book amid the great outdoors, this book might be for you!

Content Warnings: depression, anxiety, negative self-talk, blood, invasive thoughts, intrusive thoughts, loss of a parent, gun violence, substance abuse, suicidal ideation, suicide, death

Thank you to Dark Journey Press for the arc via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. All opinions and statements are my own.

#DoNotTRIPAlone #NetGalley

A.J. Humphreys’ Trip is a mind-bending, genre-blurring journey into the heart of myth, madness, and the murky space where reality fractures. Equal parts psychological thriller, supernatural mystery, and existential exploration, this novel asks one haunting question: What if the stories we dismissed as legends were simply truths waiting to be seen?

Set against the haunting backdrop of Wisconsin’s Devil’s Lake State Park, the novel follows Galen Ramsey-Cantrip, an author obsessed with uncovering the hidden truths buried within folklore. But as Galen’s investigation deepens, so too does his descent—into a world shaped by grief, paranoia, and the hallucinatory grip of a powerful psychedelic. His journey is as internal as it is external, complicated further by the looming presence of a sociopath who may or may not be tied to the sinister forces at play.

Humphreys excels at building atmosphere, crafting a wilderness that feels alive with secrets and shadows. The prose is immersive and at times disorienting—perfectly reflecting Galen’s fragile grip on reality. The pacing alternates between slow-burning unease and bursts of frantic tension, mimicking the ebb and flow of a psychedelic trip.

What makes Trip truly compelling is its refusal to offer easy answers. Are the horrors Galen experiences manifestations of trauma, symptoms of his altered mind, or proof of something ancient and unspeakable lurking in the woods? Humphreys allows readers to teeter on that precipice, delivering an experience that is as intellectually intriguing as it is emotionally unsettling.

Fans of Annihilation by Jeff VanderMeer or House of Leaves by Mark Z. Danielewski will find Trip a worthy companion. It’s a wild, cerebral, and chilling ride into the unknown—where truth and myth may be one and the same.

This psychological horror novel, set to release on April 4th, 2025, promises to be a mind-bending experience. The story follows author Galen Ramsey-Cantrip as he delves into the murky legends surrounding Devil's Lake State Park in Wisconsin. Humphreys, known for his "Season of the Monster" saga, delivers another chilling tale that blends supernatural elements with psychological thrills. Take a Trip on a harrowing journey through dark thoughts, vivid psychedelics, and a confrontation with a homicidal sociopath. If you're a fan of spooky thrillers and dreadful tales, this book should definitely be on your radar. Can't wait to see how it stacks up against Humphreys' other works!

This book is a psychological horror with mature themes of potential triggers that readers may find throughout this novel.

Anxiety, Blood, Death, Depression, Gun Violence, Intrusive Thoughts, Invasive Thoughts, Loss of A Parent, Murder, Negative Self Talk, Substance Abuse, Suicidal Ideation, Suicide. This is the author's warning.

I know this book will not be everyone's cuppa tea ☕☕

This book is about a man called Galen who is a writer who is struggling with his writing. He is handing in a new manuscript, and he's very doubtful his publisher is going to like it. After his mum's passing, he's being struggling. His publisher Glen and also a good friend decide to try and help his friend to get some inspiration whilst still having some fun as well. They decide to go on a camping trip to the Wisconsin wilderness which is at the Devil's Lake State Park, which is massively isolated, what could go wrong I hear you say, grab this book to find out!!!

Will Galen find the inspiration he is looking for or will be uncovered more than he was expecting. Will he be able to survive his anxiety and his dark thoughts and also a homicidal sociopath. This book went where I really didn't expect it to be quite shocking and really surprised me.

It's filled with horrors of the mind and also horrific scenes that will still linger long after in my own mind too, it will take a while to move on from this book. I'm looking forward to reading more by this author. I absolutely loved it !!!!!

A decent into madness that grips you and takes you on a trip of a lifetime.
Humphreys has created something that crawls into your psyche and holds you tight in its grasp that doesn't let go until the very last page.

Galen has been through a lot and feels as though he is heading toward rock bottom. Even before doing LSD with Glen (his writing agent and good friend) in the woods, we experience every intrusive thought Galen has. Trip is mostly written with Galen's stream of consciousness.

The whole book is very surreal and takes place in my home state of Wisconsin. Tripping in the forest is never a good idea and things get worse for him. It’s written in a way that you feel like you're sharing Galen's brain. I really enjoyed how chaotic this book is. There's a ton going on literally and within his mind. Some things are truly unreal, while some aren't. We hope reality is only a hallucination, but we know that isn't true. We see his frantic state of mind while he reacts to the horrible events that start to happen midway through the book. I really enjoyed this psychological horror book!

Galen is an author struggling with self doubt. He hasn't put out anything worthwhile since his first book, and the publisher is giving him one last chance to release something good. He goes to his agent and the only person left in his life, Glen, who suggests going with him on a weekend trip to Devil's Lake State Park so they can get high on acid and he can find inspiration for his next novel. He has doubts about the trip, but goes along begrudgingly. In those woods, he finds that there fates worse than never again having a best selling book.

I'm not going to lie, this one was slow going for me at first, but it was necessary exposition and build up to the second act. I love the formatting of this book, how the times were displayed at the beginning of each chapter, and how it evolved as Galen went further and further along into his trip (which had SEVERAL different meanings throughout - I wasn't expecting that).

There were necessary and painful moments throughout the second half, ones that hurt to witness. Characters grew, evolved, devolved, and terrified me in such a real life way.

AJ's writing style is beautiful and intriguing, I love the way the words flowed across the pages - well, screen since I read it on my kindle. I'm really going to have to bump up the Seasons series on my already forever long TBR.

I found this to be a tough read. The story did not grasp me so it was a DNF at 40%. Appreciate the author's efforts.

Trip starts with a mature content warning containing many topics, the strongest being negative self talk and suicidal ideation that is consistent throughout most of the novel. The story centers on Galen, a highly depressed man who recently lost a girlfriend and has had little success with his writing career. Glen, his publicist, suggests taking a trip into the woods hoping to spark some life back into this suicidal man and his writing. Many of the reviews say the pacing was slow but I disagree. It was fairly quick that Glen and Galen are at Devils Lake Wisconsin, where the Ho-Chunk speak of people living more than 300,000 years ago, and plan on taking LSD for some inspiration. Humphrey beautifully describes the scenery and brings in some Native American folklore, making a perfect setting for an acid trip. The trip starts out well, Galen starts getting ideas for his new novel, but then it all goes to shit after an accident and a bizarre run in with an unlikely group of drug makers. From here it turns into a fight for survival, inside Galens mind, as he hallucinates, and lives out his new novel in real time. The prose puts you right into a mind under the influence of LSD, and other heavy drugs. Overall I enjoyed the character of Galen, watching his mentally drastically change throughout the story. Excellent psychological thriller with plenty of action, and a bit of humor (Agent McNut). Book will be available April 4, 2025.

I couldn't get into this. The writing style was difficult for me and I couldn't connect with any of the characters.

Thank you AJ and Dark Journeys Press for the opportunity to review this novel.

Unfortunately, I could not get into this novel. I gave it so many opportunities but could not connect with the characters.

Since this would be considered a DNF. I will not leave a Goodreads rating.

Thank you again for the opportunity!

Thanks for the opportunity to read an ARC of Trip! I had really high hopes for this one, as the premise mentions an author struggling with his own dark thoughts/anxiety, then add a strong hallucinogenic into the mix, and homicidal killers?! Unfortunately, it just didn't work for me. The first half of the book was really slow for me to get to, and since it's pretty lengthy, I kind of lost interest by the time it picked up a bit in the second half, when things start happening. I did enjoy the way the time morphed to show how high our MC was, but sometimes reading all the trippy anxious rambling thoughts proved to be a bit difficult (for me! It may work well for a different reader!) The cover of the book is gorgeous, and I really liked the concept here, but it felt like a chore to get through.

'Trip' by AJ Humphreys is (believe it or not) a trip! Humphreys brilliantly and accurately writes about depression, jealousy and being off your face. There's a fine line when writing a character like Galen, they can be easy to dislike, however the reader is compelled to feel for him and encourage him to keep going. The moments of humour throughout are genuine and help to contrast the dark situation Galen has found himself in. Loved every moment.

Normaly I am excited for something that is trippy like this was supposed to be. Unfortunately this one made following everything unbearable.
I was hoping more trippiness I guess i can say, instead got more confusion.
Not bad, but not what I was hoping for.

With a great build up towards the more fast paced plot this books is a real trip. I need more books from Humphrey! Thanks to NetGalley, the publisher and the author for a chance to read this eARC in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

Galen is a writer stuck in a rut—his creative well has run dry, and he's drowning in self-doubt. He agrees to go on a camping trip with his editor and friend, Glen (yes, the names are close enough to get mixed up more than once!). What starts as a retreat quickly turns into a chaotic adventure when the pair decide to take LSD in an attempt to spark Galen's creativity. For me, the build-up to this point felt a bit slow, as there was a lot of inner monologue and reflection from Galen, which made the pacing drag.

Once the trip kicks in, the story definitely picks up. The psychedelic journey is a mix of surreal and insightful, but just when it starts to feel meaningful, the pair’s experience takes a dark turn. They get tangled up in a brutal situation with a dangerous group of drug lords. This part of the book was by far the most intense, and I loved how unexpected and thrilling it was.

The tension doesn’t stop there. Galen and his hallucinations (or maybe they’re real?) try to escape, and the narrative gets increasingly surreal. I’ll admit, there were times I got frustrated with the constant flow of dialogue and bizarre events. Galen’s somewhat detached reaction to the chaos happening around him kept me at arm’s length from fully connecting with the story. The hallucinations were strange and disorienting, which is probably the point, given that Galen is trying to process everything through a fog of drugs.

The final stretch of the book is a whirlwind—action-packed, violent, and full of twists that left me questioning what was real and what was just another product of Galen’s drugged mind. While I appreciated the ambition of the ending, it did leave me with mixed feelings. The action is gripping, but the heavy monologue and philosophical moments made it feel uneven.

This really is a horrifying journey into what appears to be a pit of madness.
It’s a slow start but the second half grips you, catapulting the reader into a race for survival, chilling revelations and an atmospheric spiral of terrifying proportions.
An assortment of dysfunctional characters set in the wilds keeps you on your toes with twists that make you gasp out loud.
Fantastic, thrilling and utterly demented.