What do you think?
Rate this book
Transformation
What would you give for a clean slate? Garrison Russo was an angry, overweight slob until he found himself quite suddenly alone in a cruel world without a mother that doted on his every need. Soon after her death, he makes a vow to change, to do better, and to start off, he was going to hike the full Pacific Northwest trail as penance for all the wrong he had done. After that, he would start over with a clear mind and a clean slate. Life on the trail is not all that Garrison expected it to be, with danger around every tree and lurking in every shadow. Before he finishes his penance, Garrison will find himself transformed in ways he never dreamed possible.
- GenresHorrorEbooksWerewolves
176 pages, Kindle Edition
First published October 21, 2023
18 people are currently reading
123 people want to read
About the author
Candace Nola
113 books294 followersI am Candace Nola, and I am a multiple award-winning author, editor, and publisher. I write poetry, horror, dark fantasy, and extreme horror content. My books include Breach, Beyond the Breach, Hank Flynn, Bishop, Earth vs The Lava Spiders, The Unicorn Killer, Unmasked, The Vet, and Desperate Wishes.
I have short stories in The Baker’s Dozen anthology, Secondhand Creeps, American Cannibal, Just A Girl, The Horror Collection: Lost Edition & The Turquoise Edition, just to name a few.
Beyond the Breach, won the “Novel of the Year” and my Debut Novel, Breach, was nominated for “Debut Novel of the Year”, for the 2021 Horror Authors Guild awards. I am also the publisher and editor of the 2022 Splatterpunk Award Winning Anthology “Uncomfortably Dark Presents: The Baker’s Dozen.”
I am the creator of Uncomfortably Dark, which focuses primarily on promoting indie horror authors and small presses with weekly book reviews, interviews, and special features. Uncomfortably Dark Horror stands behind its mission to “bring you the best in horror, one uncomfortably dark page at a time.”
Find me on Twitter, Instagram, TikTok and Facebook and the website, UncomfortablyDark.com. Sign up for the Patreon for exclusive content, free stories, and more.
I have short stories in The Baker’s Dozen anthology, Secondhand Creeps, American Cannibal, Just A Girl, The Horror Collection: Lost Edition & The Turquoise Edition, just to name a few.
Beyond the Breach, won the “Novel of the Year” and my Debut Novel, Breach, was nominated for “Debut Novel of the Year”, for the 2021 Horror Authors Guild awards. I am also the publisher and editor of the 2022 Splatterpunk Award Winning Anthology “Uncomfortably Dark Presents: The Baker’s Dozen.”
I am the creator of Uncomfortably Dark, which focuses primarily on promoting indie horror authors and small presses with weekly book reviews, interviews, and special features. Uncomfortably Dark Horror stands behind its mission to “bring you the best in horror, one uncomfortably dark page at a time.”
Find me on Twitter, Instagram, TikTok and Facebook and the website, UncomfortablyDark.com. Sign up for the Patreon for exclusive content, free stories, and more.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 21 of 21 reviews
May 9, 2025
4.5 rounded down
Garrisons whole world is flipped upside when the one person in his life, his mother, dies unexpectedly. His mother doted on him hand and foot and he repaid her by being rude, cruel and disrespectful to her on a daily basis. After her death, he feels immense amount of guilt and sorrow and vows to change his ways. He decides to hike the PNT and encounters a severity of emotions while on the trail. But what he doesn’t expect is a predator hunting hikers.
I really liked our MC. You hate him and then you kinda root for him. From an obese irritable glutton to a man on a mission of rediscovery. He knows absolutely nothing about the real world or how to care for himself, even though he’s an adult. Garrison learns (with some help) how to cook, to do laundry, to drive, to do yard work and household chores and to deal with finances. He really does turn his world around in such a positive way. Guilt and self loathing can go a long way when it comes to remaking and improving yourself.
While on the trail, Garrison encounters a strange animal. Neither wolf nor bear. Little does he know, two different unknown species are living in these woods….and they don’t get along.
I really was invested in this story and in the writing. Garrison was looking for a second chance on life. And then a little more than halfway the REAL story begins and I was still hooked as it becomes a creature feature. I absolutely loved it!!
This was honestly such an amazing story, but I have to dock .5 stars for the surprising amount of grammatical errors. This story definitely needed a few more rounds in the editing department which pains me to say.
Garrisons whole world is flipped upside when the one person in his life, his mother, dies unexpectedly. His mother doted on him hand and foot and he repaid her by being rude, cruel and disrespectful to her on a daily basis. After her death, he feels immense amount of guilt and sorrow and vows to change his ways. He decides to hike the PNT and encounters a severity of emotions while on the trail. But what he doesn’t expect is a predator hunting hikers.
I really liked our MC. You hate him and then you kinda root for him. From an obese irritable glutton to a man on a mission of rediscovery. He knows absolutely nothing about the real world or how to care for himself, even though he’s an adult. Garrison learns (with some help) how to cook, to do laundry, to drive, to do yard work and household chores and to deal with finances. He really does turn his world around in such a positive way. Guilt and self loathing can go a long way when it comes to remaking and improving yourself.
While on the trail, Garrison encounters a strange animal. Neither wolf nor bear. Little does he know, two different unknown species are living in these woods….and they don’t get along.
I really was invested in this story and in the writing. Garrison was looking for a second chance on life. And then a little more than halfway the REAL story begins and I was still hooked as it becomes a creature feature. I absolutely loved it!!
This was honestly such an amazing story, but I have to dock .5 stars for the surprising amount of grammatical errors. This story definitely needed a few more rounds in the editing department which pains me to say.
November 22, 2025
Not gonna lie, at first I detested the main character Garrison. He starts off as an angry mean slob, then turns into a simpering emotional wreck. I didn't start to enjoy his character until about half way through the book. That's when he turned into someone I could admire. He stood by his friends and did what he could to save them.
That being said I really enjoyed this book. I went into it blind because I'm a fan of Nola and will read anything she writes no matter what it's about. What an emotional slow burn. I loved the developing relationships between the hikers, they felt like real people quickly becoming friends.
The gore doesn't show up until 3/4 through, and honestly it's not that bad. However, the description of the sound of the creatures eating the people "like pasta salad being stirred makes me never want to hear that ever again. As I read that description I could hear it and it made me cringe.
Maybe we'll see what happens next for Garrison, I know I'd be interested in his continuing story!
That being said I really enjoyed this book. I went into it blind because I'm a fan of Nola and will read anything she writes no matter what it's about. What an emotional slow burn. I loved the developing relationships between the hikers, they felt like real people quickly becoming friends.
The gore doesn't show up until 3/4 through, and honestly it's not that bad. However, the description of the sound of the creatures eating the people "like pasta salad being stirred makes me never want to hear that ever again. As I read that description I could hear it and it made me cringe.
Maybe we'll see what happens next for Garrison, I know I'd be interested in his continuing story!
April 11, 2025
“Transformation” by Candace Nola gets 2.5 out of 5 stars.
This is my first experience with Nola’s work and, after reading, I have to agree with some of the other reviews. This book would’ve benefited from additional editing. The story lagged, was predictable and fell flat with the creature feature. There was repetition in descriptions. The POV and timeline (memories) are all over the place and grammatical errors worsened these issues. It felt as though the writer may have changed direction during execution of the story. This is also more of a self-discovery story with a dabble of lycanthropy to help the book fall under the horror genre.
Please visit my GoodReads or Instagram (Ashesandlore) profile for more reviews. Thank you!
This is my first experience with Nola’s work and, after reading, I have to agree with some of the other reviews. This book would’ve benefited from additional editing. The story lagged, was predictable and fell flat with the creature feature. There was repetition in descriptions. The POV and timeline (memories) are all over the place and grammatical errors worsened these issues. It felt as though the writer may have changed direction during execution of the story. This is also more of a self-discovery story with a dabble of lycanthropy to help the book fall under the horror genre.
Please visit my GoodReads or Instagram (Ashesandlore) profile for more reviews. Thank you!
November 26, 2024
Great stuff as always from CN didn't even read what this was about and it didn't disappoint. 😀
March 8, 2025
A good concept held back by too many types and inconsistent pacing
To be honest, I don't write reviews often, but I wanted to for this one. I
heard about this book through Tik Tok, which I try not to make assumptions about, but the premise was interesting. I was looking forward to reading this.
Overall, the story wasn't awful. The idea of ending differently than one started is great, especially when it comes to horror. I felt like the beginning was a great start, but then it just kind of dwindles.
Not much happens after the first instance of seeing the creature for a very long time. And then all of it happens in the last few chapters, where so much is thrown at you that it becomes overwhelming.
Unfortunately, my biggest issue came with all the formatting and grammatical errors. I felt like every other page had some slip, from missing spaces to apostrophes. Even worse, in many of Garrison's chapters, when referring to himself, it would go from saying "I" to "he" in multiple sentences. This became very distracting and unfortunately, it lessened the enjoyment I got from the book. There were also multiple repeated phrases and strange conclusions made by the characters that the average person wouldn't make.
Truthfully, this book could have been a lot better, but it does too much telling and not enough showing. It lacked a lot of depth and really just hit the mark.
To be honest, I don't write reviews often, but I wanted to for this one. I
heard about this book through Tik Tok, which I try not to make assumptions about, but the premise was interesting. I was looking forward to reading this.
Overall, the story wasn't awful. The idea of ending differently than one started is great, especially when it comes to horror. I felt like the beginning was a great start, but then it just kind of dwindles.
Not much happens after the first instance of seeing the creature for a very long time. And then all of it happens in the last few chapters, where so much is thrown at you that it becomes overwhelming.
Unfortunately, my biggest issue came with all the formatting and grammatical errors. I felt like every other page had some slip, from missing spaces to apostrophes. Even worse, in many of Garrison's chapters, when referring to himself, it would go from saying "I" to "he" in multiple sentences. This became very distracting and unfortunately, it lessened the enjoyment I got from the book. There were also multiple repeated phrases and strange conclusions made by the characters that the average person wouldn't make.
Truthfully, this book could have been a lot better, but it does too much telling and not enough showing. It lacked a lot of depth and really just hit the mark.
January 30, 2024
WOW… I’m gonna start by saying that I felt like I was out there on the trails while reading this book. The description of the forest and to the small details while hiking on the trails like receiving packages while out for a week or more and stocking up while entering new towns while hiking really made this feel real in a way. Now let’s get to Garrison, what a peace of work, you really wanna hate the guy in the beginning for how he speaks and acts but has you read the story and his development you really see how far he comes. I didn’t wanna write any spoilers but damnit this book needs more readers and more attention. There’s something in the woods with a fury body and humanoid shape and they’re after hikers….Garrison becomes friends with a couple and after hanging and getting to know them,one of them gets taken, a pursuit through raining damp woods occurs and garrison and a friend find themselves trying to find they’re companion and stumble upon a cave where there is a show down between these creatures ,Garrison and friend and some Wolfs. My goodness the last 35% of the book was such a page turner I couldn’t put it down. Everything Leeds up to the ending and Garrison finds what he’s been looking for. Gosh it’s hard not to say anything else without delving to much into the story and giving things away…Read it!!! I’m definitely reading Candace Nola’s Bishop next.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
February 5, 2025
Transformation
By Candace Nola
“As painful as it was, I understood that there was nothing I could change about my past, but I could be a better person now, and as I moved through this life.”
Nola can paint one hell of a picture using words, and that’s one of the many reasons I love her books so much. This story, as always, was amazing! I always tend to read one of her stories at random, and they’re always what my soul needs without me even realizing it beforehand.
Per usual, I highly recommend this to all horror lovers. Plus it’s free until the 7th so run and grab it now! 🏃🏻♀️
By Candace Nola
“As painful as it was, I understood that there was nothing I could change about my past, but I could be a better person now, and as I moved through this life.”
Nola can paint one hell of a picture using words, and that’s one of the many reasons I love her books so much. This story, as always, was amazing! I always tend to read one of her stories at random, and they’re always what my soul needs without me even realizing it beforehand.
Per usual, I highly recommend this to all horror lovers. Plus it’s free until the 7th so run and grab it now! 🏃🏻♀️
August 28, 2025
This was my first Candace Nola book and although I wasn’t a fan, I think I’d still try other books by her. The first half felt like a drag. I think it was because of how introspective it was from the main character who lived a life that was very unlikable. Yes he’s hiking have his own “transformation” but I wasn’t a fan of him. Then when the other characters are introduced, they felt pretty bland. On top of all this, and I’ve seen a lot of other reviews saying this, it needed another round of edits. Sentences weren’t well structured and sometimes the main character who is mainly in first person would then switch to third person. I thought about DNFing but honestly I was curious to see where the story went.
A little passed halfway through, the action turned up and the plot became more intense. It was then that I experienced the horror of this story. It was good! I enjoyed that part which was the creature feature portion of the story. The ending was okay.
Recommended for people who don’t mind errors and a slow burn horror.
A little passed halfway through, the action turned up and the plot became more intense. It was then that I experienced the horror of this story. It was good! I enjoyed that part which was the creature feature portion of the story. The ending was okay.
Recommended for people who don’t mind errors and a slow burn horror.
December 24, 2025
When Garrison receives startling news, his whole outlook changes. On his journey to fix the brokenness of his life, he finds healing. But first, he must go through hell to get there.
TRANSFORMATION introduces a troubled, young man, Garrison, who is coping with the loss of his father and taking out the pain of the situation on his mother. When she passes away, the officer sent to his home to notify him is an unlikely guide who helps him to see a new path forward.
So begins a trek along the Pacific Northwest Trail, PNT. He makes friends and builds a community. Garrison is going to need all the help he can get. There’s something out in the woods, and it's coming for him and the family he just built. And this predator doesn’t play nice.
TRANSFORMATION takes the title and carries the theme throughout for a layered and, forgive me, transformative ride. The emotional core of the story resonated with me. It upped the stakes for Garrison and the other hikers he met along the way. The writing gave a clear, almost cinematic, view of the conditions and was very immersive. All around a great, quick (at least it felt that way to me) read in the survival /outdoor horror genre.
If emotional and mental healing, found family, and survival horror are your jam, TRANSFORMATION by Candace Nola is for you.
TRANSFORMATION introduces a troubled, young man, Garrison, who is coping with the loss of his father and taking out the pain of the situation on his mother. When she passes away, the officer sent to his home to notify him is an unlikely guide who helps him to see a new path forward.
So begins a trek along the Pacific Northwest Trail, PNT. He makes friends and builds a community. Garrison is going to need all the help he can get. There’s something out in the woods, and it's coming for him and the family he just built. And this predator doesn’t play nice.
TRANSFORMATION takes the title and carries the theme throughout for a layered and, forgive me, transformative ride. The emotional core of the story resonated with me. It upped the stakes for Garrison and the other hikers he met along the way. The writing gave a clear, almost cinematic, view of the conditions and was very immersive. All around a great, quick (at least it felt that way to me) read in the survival /outdoor horror genre.
If emotional and mental healing, found family, and survival horror are your jam, TRANSFORMATION by Candace Nola is for you.
February 7, 2024
A Bibliophilia Templum Review
https://bibliophiliatemplum.wordpress.com/2024/02/07/transformation/
Transformation by Candance Nola is an aptly named story of pain, growth, and terror. It has dark introspection that speaks to things we keep hidden, terrifying encounters with things beyond our ken, and a powerful storyline about perseverance and camaraderie.
This is a vivid, sensory, and evocative reading experience. Nola’s expressive style brings every sight, sound, smell, feeling, and horror to stark life, even as cleverly done foreshadowing builds suspense, pulling you willingly forward with each turn of the page. It’s a story about a man and his quest to transcend and exorcise his past, but it has thought-provoking, far-reaching symbolism; unexpected, wicked twists; suspense and intensity; and an intense 5-star ending.
Fans of Bishop will love Transformation and do not want to miss it!
https://bibliophiliatemplum.wordpress.com/2024/02/07/transformation/
Transformation by Candance Nola is an aptly named story of pain, growth, and terror. It has dark introspection that speaks to things we keep hidden, terrifying encounters with things beyond our ken, and a powerful storyline about perseverance and camaraderie.
This is a vivid, sensory, and evocative reading experience. Nola’s expressive style brings every sight, sound, smell, feeling, and horror to stark life, even as cleverly done foreshadowing builds suspense, pulling you willingly forward with each turn of the page. It’s a story about a man and his quest to transcend and exorcise his past, but it has thought-provoking, far-reaching symbolism; unexpected, wicked twists; suspense and intensity; and an intense 5-star ending.
Fans of Bishop will love Transformation and do not want to miss it!
February 21, 2025
Enjoyed the story aspect, but this book could have really benefited from a good editor. There were quite a few spelling, grammatical, and tense/POV errors in my Kindle edition that were a bit distracting. In some places, it looks like it was rewritten from the third-person to first-person POV, and the pronouns weren't properly swapped out. I did submit some of the errors via Kindle but gave up a quarter of the way through. The story itself was original and interesting. I love stories that happen out in the wilderness, and this one also incorporates an imagining of some of my fave beastie, which is a definite plus. Giving a 3-star rating due to errors.
February 7, 2024
Oh hell yes.
Transformation is aptly titled. What starts out as a story about an entitled, extra large jerk, who disrespects his mom and pretty much everyone, ends up being totally different.
I thoroughly enjoyed his journey, and the other characters were marvelous. The food, well that's a story in itself and I greedily devoured every word written about that. I didn't know what to expect and loved this.
Transformation is aptly titled. What starts out as a story about an entitled, extra large jerk, who disrespects his mom and pretty much everyone, ends up being totally different.
I thoroughly enjoyed his journey, and the other characters were marvelous. The food, well that's a story in itself and I greedily devoured every word written about that. I didn't know what to expect and loved this.
July 5, 2025
Just… no good. Very, very bad. Full of spelling errors, strange word substitutions that suggest it was written with talk to text (for instance, the word ‘word’ subbed in for the word ‘heard’), choppy sentences, random switching from 1st to 3rd person perspective (often in the middle of sentences). Stilted dialogue. The premise for this book had great potential but the execution was just terrible.
November 25, 2023
Just another killer story from Candace about a man who was trying to become a better person and what happens as he travels that path to get there. I've read most of Candace's work and I'd say this is probably one of my favorites, if not my favorite. I would recommend this to anyone no matter what you read it's just that good.
April 14, 2025
This book came highly recommended on TikTok, I was super excited to read this book to be mostly disappointed.
The beginning was SO rushed, I felt that the author just wanted to get the back story over and done with so they could jump into the actual plot. I would have liked it better if we weren't force-fed Garrisons back story and had a slower introduction.
There were so many grammatical errors, spelling mistakes, and random switches between 1st and 2nd person, literally in the middle of a sentence. I was so confused the majority of the time. Do books not go through multiple editors and peer checks before being published? It actually got ridiculous, I can forgive a couple of errors, but to this extent, it was unbelievable.
There was a big section of the book where it was just filler, no real relevance to the story, in my opinion. All the action happened in the last few chapters of the book and, again, was super rushed.
This book was not much of a thriller/ horror, more of a self finding book? Garrison found his purpose in life towards the end, which was nice, I guess.
The beginning was SO rushed, I felt that the author just wanted to get the back story over and done with so they could jump into the actual plot. I would have liked it better if we weren't force-fed Garrisons back story and had a slower introduction.
There were so many grammatical errors, spelling mistakes, and random switches between 1st and 2nd person, literally in the middle of a sentence. I was so confused the majority of the time. Do books not go through multiple editors and peer checks before being published? It actually got ridiculous, I can forgive a couple of errors, but to this extent, it was unbelievable.
There was a big section of the book where it was just filler, no real relevance to the story, in my opinion. All the action happened in the last few chapters of the book and, again, was super rushed.
This book was not much of a thriller/ horror, more of a self finding book? Garrison found his purpose in life towards the end, which was nice, I guess.
April 25, 2025
3.5 but I’ll give it the benefit of the doubt. I really enjoyed the beginning, a self transformation book about a guy who “used to be a piece of shit”. He really wanted to better himself. It was a nice first half.
And then the fucking werewolves came and I’m thinking to myself how did this happen again
And then the fucking werewolves came and I’m thinking to myself how did this happen again
April 26, 2025
Ok ok ok, so this had a bit of a slow start but I was honestly just enjoying the descriptions and kinda wishing I could go backpacking right now. Then it picked up and the journey? The ending? The epilogue? Absolutely loved it. Fully recommend if you want a short creature read.
October 22, 2023
Fantastic!
Another great story by Nola, who has quickly become one of my favorites. I'm looking forward to anything she releases. Highly recommended!
Another great story by Nola, who has quickly become one of my favorites. I'm looking forward to anything she releases. Highly recommended!
February 27, 2025
Really loved this one. Yeah, it’s horror. But it’s so much more than that. I didn’t want it to end!
March 31, 2025
I loved this book !
Such a great read, I devoured it in one sitting.
I will be looking for more from this author.
Highly recommend it.
Such a great read, I devoured it in one sitting.
I will be looking for more from this author.
Highly recommend it.
April 7, 2025
3.5, not exactly horror but fun and short
Displaying 1 - 21 of 21 reviews