Hel

I DNF'ed at 13%, I am not a fan of the writing used. I am not sure if this is a translated work but it reads like that where the words chosen, especially for the dialogue, just do not read well for me or seem like natural dialogue.

I have discovered that I am a person who enjoys reading horror, which is an eye-opener, really. This sounded like previous horror books I've enjoyed by other authors, but i failed to connect properly.

This is - at the start of the book - a family story and nightmares have a part of the story. This later turns out to be pretty real dreams and a real monster. Very much body horror, I'd say, but not horrific enough to make an impact on my "ew"-nerve, which is preferable in this genre.

Reading this book felt like a Christmas induced nightmare and I loved it. From the creatures appearance oddly being reminiscent of Krampus, to his name, and the little dream village we get to see, it all worked together perfectly to paint the vibes. Seeing it through the eyes of a child always makes the story feel more harrowing and intense. Parts of this book were gory and depraved but in the best ways. I'd recommend this book to anyone who enjoys horror or has religious trauma and wants to experience it all over again.

This blood-soaked fairy take is not for the young or light-hearted!

I didn’t love this, but there was a lot to applaud. Starting with that, I like the overall vibe, and the idea of taking an existing mythology and building on it, even though it isn’t clear that is happening until the end. The story read like a fairy tale, told from the perspective of a distant, uninterested narrator. Ultimately I feel like this didn’t work in the story’s favor, but I appreciated how it established the parameters of the story and located it within this genre that somehow straddles the whimsical with folk horror, which is actually resonant with older fairy tales, a la the brothers Grimm. The scenes of violence were quite horrific and did not shy away from the gore, and they did a great job at reminding you this was a normal morality tale. Plus, I appreciate any attempt at wrangling with ideas of control, marginalization, and societal and familial expectations in art, and that was a very clear intention with this story, which I appreciated.

Here is how it didn’t quite hold together for me, and why my three stars are being generous from a two and a half. Everything felt ham-fisted and forced. Firstly, the characters have almost no nuance, especially the father and mother, and by extension the domineering, patriarchal religious community they are part of. I am 100% onboard with the targets the author is aiming at, but there isn’t any finesse, and it reads more like a diatribe than a critique. It is easy to root against stereotypes, far more interesting to root against characters that have at least some sympathetic, normalizing characteristics, making the self-righteous violence they inflict all the more monstrous. I thought the plotting and pacing were good, it is a short story and it moves at a good pace, but none of it felt believable. Part of that was the decision to narrate it in the style that was used, in this fairy tale approximation, which really did not give me nearly as much interiority to the characters as I would have wanted. I just didn't feel like there were stakes or like I cared about anyone. And the way the characters act, especially in the second half of the story, are just absurd. None of their decisions make sense, and it felt reminiscent o a mediocre horror movie where the characters make all the wrong decisions just because any semblance of survival instinct or logic would ruin the plot, which ultimately feels cheap. The characters should make smart decisions and still meet the same fate, and nothing in the second half felt grounded in reality. Lastly, the decision for the monster to only speak in rhyme, while I guess trying to fit the fairy tale motif and also make the monster more terrifying, it just didn’t work for me. It felt really, really forced, and I dreaded every time it spoke, I almost would have rather it stay silent. Lastly, the driving character was a five-year-old child, and that never felt real to me. He was constantly making emotional decisions that were far beyond what a young child would be able to understand. I enjoy stories that come from the perspective of children, especially as they can be remarkably unreliable narrators, yet this story never felt like it nailed the tone or perspective in a convincing way, I always felt the artifice right up in front of the story.

The long and short? A really fun premise, a gory and disturbing story harkening back to fairy tales of old, but instead of being some sort of morality tale highlights the destructive natures of religio-patriarchy and the suffocating control of familial expectations. The skillfulness of the story’s construction doesn’t quite live up to the overall idea, which is a shame. If you want your whimsical folk horror to have nuanced characters making situation-appropriate decisions and yet still finding punishment for daring to want independence, well, this story might leave you out in the cold. If you want a quick, bloody winter romp that plays on your fears of what might wait in the dark then you can find a good time here.

I want to thank the author, the publisher BTW LLC, and NetGalley, who provided a complimentary eARC for review. I am leaving this review voluntarily.

Let me tell you about the rollercoaster ride I just experienced in Hel by Gitte Tamar. From the very first page, I was hooked. Picture this: Joel, a guy who's just lost his job, gets a mysterious email about a fat inheritance. Desperate to secure his family's future and maintain his image within an extremist community, he takes his family on a wild trip to Europe, expecting a life of luxury. But boy, does he get more than he bargained for!

I couldn't put this book down. It's like the author threw me headfirst into this twisted story and I couldn’t stop turning the pages.

A gripping story filled with suspense, family dynamics, and unexpected twists. Hel centers around Joel, a man desperate to provide for his family after losing his job. When he receives an invitation promising a large inheritance, he impulsively embarks on a trip to his ancestral village in Europe, hoping to secure a better future. However, what awaits him there is far from the wealth he anticipated.

Gitte Tamar's storytelling is impeccable, keeping me on the edge of my seats from start to finish.

Thank you to NetGalley and BTW LLC for the ARC in exchange for an honest review. Also thank you to the writer for all the hard work!

This certainly was an interesting take on Krampus. At least it's very similar. An evil entity named Jingles is hunting our main character. This book is filled with terror, gore and malevolence. I couldn't stop reading this the moment I picked it up unless I had no choice. The fear is definitely felt in the writing.

The writing is written beautifully and with such detail. I could definitely feel the anger, sadness, fear and adrenaline. You could imagine the scenes play out and its just a great piece.

This certainly will Male you want to know if there is any curses or Dark things in your family's past.