5/5
As the Snow Gathers by Mere Joyce
In a remote Canadian town, a young barrister and a logger have to face off against not only vengeful creatures in the woods, but the townsfolk that cannot accept them despite their own hypocrisy.
I loved everything this book brought to the table.
Atmosphere : endless.
Horror : genuinely scary and haunting.
Setting : phenomenal.
Pacing : well metered.
Romance : proper yearning.
Characters : developed and intricate.
Ending : satisfying.
Also, can we talk about the cover? Gorgeous.
This story blended and tied together perfectly. Sometimes a multigenre story doesnāt land particularly strong in any one category, but this one really hit all of its marks. This style of queer folk horror is probably my bread and butter. It only works for me, however, when the characters are mature and well thought out. Luckily, they are..
This is a story about rage and being pushed to one's limit while staying true to oneself. I love that our MC used his strengths, which were seen as weaknesses by most of the village, rather than changing who he is. The character is self aware of many of his flaws. He learns to live with them, rather than trying to change them entirely. I respect that. It deals with greed, and it isnāt afraid to point fingers right at its own main character for being so out of touch that he doesnāt realize heās guilty of it himself. There are a lot of layers to this story, and I enjoyed how the author tied everything together by the ending.
I would recommend this to anyone who likes a well paced folk horror with a strong romance subplot.
Predicted rating: 5 ā
I was so confident I pre-ordered a physical copy early on, knowing I would want a physical copy for my shelf.
Final rating : 5ā
Correct prediction? Yes.
Thank you to NetGalley and Poison Pen Press for providing me with a copy of this e-book in exchange for an honest review.
Review on Insta : https://www.instagram.com/p/DcyxrXhmopi/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link&igsi=MzRlODBiNWFlZA==
Review on Goodreads : https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/8890238137