The Shuddering

Ania Ahlborn does it again. This is my fourth Ahlborn book and I think she’s steadily becoming an auto-buy author for me. I borrowed this one on KU a few months ago and finally got around to reading it. Creepy cabin in the woods? Group of friends stuck in a snow storm? Scary creatures that only come out when it’s dark and snowing and no one seems to be able to escape them? Check, check, check, and check. I love how fleshed out the characters are even though the story itself is pretty short (less than 300pages) and the monsters are too. The prose is easy to read and the deaths are chilling and heartbreaking because you really end up liking the characters. You really get the visceral scared feeling while picturing the goings on in and around the cabin which can be hard to do when reading and I think she does a great job of writing it.There’s a great battle against the creatures and definitely a few martyrs in the group. I think I’ll always get a chill down my spine when I hear or see trees shuddering from now on🥶

I can't complain about the creep factor in this book, it definitely did creep me out, the pace of the story was great and it kept me turning the pages late into the night. The story itself was also good. I usually prefer thrillers and stories of evil presences, not so much of blood thirsty monsters as I think that adding blood and gore to the a story doesn't necessarily make it good or scary,but I must say I did like the antagonists of the book. In a way I felt sorry for them because they weren't evil for the simple sake of being evil, they were, like the protagonists just trying to survive, pushed to breach their wilderness sanctuary by the elements of their environment, pushed by starvation which I think makes the story even more scary then if they were killing for pleasure because this means that at this point they have nothing left to lose. The only problem with the story was that the monsters were not given a back story I would have liked to know more about them such as where did they come from, what are they and how long have they been around that no one has ever seen or experienced problems with the until now, that they have been just legends up to this point. The rest of the characters were ok, nothing crazy about them and not much character growth happened through out the book. I've read a lot of reviews where people complained about Ryan and Jane but I actually liked Jane. She was the only one that seemed genuine and caring. Lauren seemed a little too needy and the relationship that developed between her and Ryan was way too rushed, I've heard of love at first sight but not like this. She was described as an amazing, wonderful and fascinating person but aside from being overly flirtatious and trying way to hard to get Ryan to fall for her by showing her cleavage during a pool game she didn't really have much going for herself. The ending was another issue I had with the book. To me it felt completely rushed, I wanted to know exactly what happened to Ryan and Oona not be left to assume I mean it's pretty self explanatory but I would have liked to read about it rather then the story being cut short and me having to guess at what is happening to them.

The thought of the story was beautiful. It wonderfully portrayed the realization of a hopeless cause. That not every person in dire situations are able to immediately make sound judgement. That hopelessness that no one will and can save you. It was that kind of scare that sinks right in to you. And the ending, I love the ending. I love the thought of the last character being dragged back to the place where all her nightmares had begun. That she would have to relived that kind of hell again. That feeling of despair was what was portrayed in the last few pages. But thats just about it of what I liked in this story. The scariness didn’t reach its peak potential because of how the characters were portrayed. The drama that was part of the story was, for me, irrelevant and childish. Honestly all of their problems and issues could have been fixed or at least be ironed out had they decided to f****** talk. They were children in an overgrown adults body. Don’t even get me started about the whole supposedly love triangle. Oh my god! For f***s sake, Jane and Sawyer had broken up 10yrs ago, more or less, but everyone acts like April (Sawyer’s current girlfriend) stole him from her like recently. You’re to walk on eggshells with Jane because she might get hurt, like she’s some glass ornament or some sort. Don’t even get me started with how much of a hypocrite she is. April was just there, literally just existing and everyone else thought of her as the b**** who doesn’t deserve Sawyer. And for the love of all things bright and beautiful, I hated everyone in that story, but Sawyer takes the cake. The grand prize as the most hateful character ever. Dude didn’t want April ragging along because he had hopes to have some secret meet up with Jane in an empty room and bang all night. Like wt* dude? If you want your ex back could have just broken up with your current girl. But no, he wants to try river rafting in two different rivers all at the same time. The author made it look like they were protecting one another but for someone who was looking from the outside, it was just all pretty selfish. There’s not a spec of “protecting the one they love” in the way it was handled. It tried to tug in your heart strings but man that was awful. I’m not one to vote poorly just because of the characters. Characters, no matter how dumb or hateful they are, help’s the story push forward. But this one was just unnecessary. All the drama and selfishness they had did not contribute to pushing the story at all. It was just there to either make you feel sympathetic to them or either full blown hate them. And I’m of the latter.

Ugh what DIDNT I like about this book?!? This is one of the most horrifying books I have read in a while. Gripped my interest from chapter one to the very last page. Kinda wish I didn't read it, because now I am never going to look at snow the same way and I live in Northern Michigan where it snows a LOT. Read this book!

This was a very good horror story, which was enhanced by the creepy snow storm. Somehow, horror in bad weather always seem that much worse. I enjoyed the drama between the characters, but my favourite parts were the very cool monsters. This ought to be read by all horror fans.

I was yelling at the car speakers the whole last half of the book as I listened on a road trip!

for all the horror/thriller fans it great, its got good writing, good plot and just overall a great book, would reccomend. i bought it for my mother for her birthday and she loved it

French and English review : The delivery was fast (Amazon after all), and the book in mint condition. Now, if you want a review from a book from a stranger on the internet you have no idea if their tastes matches yours... Well, it's a good book. If you liked the game Until Dawn, it's basically the same but without any twist. If, by reading the synopsis you think that the book will end "this way", there is a 99.99% chance you're right. But, there is gore, the characters are empty enough that even if they are Gary Sue you don't mind. I loved the creatures and boy was I left with nothing to chew but a bone, craving for more more about them. Anyway, it's a good book, but don't buy it too high of a price, it's not worth it. But if it's for sale, go for it asap. -- Livraison rapide (amazon en même temps), et bouquin en parfait état à la réception. Pour la review du livre en lui-même, bah... Si vous voulez l'avis d'un inconnu sur internet avec qui vous ne savez pas si vous avez les mêmes goûts... C'est un bon bouquin. Il ne casse pas 3 pattes à un canard, le scénario est couru d'avance et les personnages creux, Gary Sue au possible. Cependant ils sont justement si creux qu'on les oublie, le livre bien rythmer permet de vraiment se plonger dedans. J'ai été laissé sur ma faim pour les créatures que j'ai adoré, j'aurai apprécier avoir plus de lore à leur sujet. Bref, payez pas trop cher le livre, il n'en vaut pas la peine. Mais si il tombe en promo, foncez.

Uma história de terror de arrepiar, The Shuddering faz você ficar tenso do início a fim! Não lia uma história de terror assim há anos. Ania sabe mesmo como prender a atenção os seus leitores.

Wow! Absolutely stunned. Love your writing style and the way you insert tension into the story. The creatures were awesome and the characters well written. Well done!!

Just finished this book. Fantastic. I enjoyed every page, one minute you are reading calmly then you are on the edge of your seat it was like a roller coaster if i could have given this book a 10 i would. Will definately be reading more from this author. Thanks for the ride