Cold Snap

by Lindy Ryan

A grieving mother and son hope to survive Christmas in a remote mountain cabin in Pennsylvania, in this chilling novella of dread, isolation and sinister spirits lurking in the frozen woods. Perfect for fans of The Only Good Indians, The Shining and The Babadook.

Two weeks ago, Christine Sinclaire’s husband slipped off the roof while hanging Christmas lights and fell to his death on the front lawn. Desperate to escape her guilt and her grief, Christine packs up her fifteen-year-old son and the family cat and flees to the cabin they’d reserved deep in the remote Pennsylvania Wilds to wait out the holidays.

It isn’t long before Christine begins to hear strange noises coming from the forest. When she spots a horned figure watching from between frozen branches, Christine assumes it’s just a forest animal—a moose, maybe, since the property manager warned her about them, said they’d stomp a body so deep into the snow nobody’d find it ’til spring. But moose don’t walk upright like the shadowy figure does. They don’t call Christine’s name with her dead husband’s voice.

A haunting examination of the horrors of grief and the hunger of guilt, perfect for readers of Stephen King, Christina Henry, and Chuck Wendig.

Genres: Horror, Christmas, Novella, Fiction, Holiday, Adult, Short Stories

127 pages, Kindle Edition

First published October 15, 2024

About the author

Lindy Ryan is an award-winning author, anthologist, and short-film director whose books and anthologies have received starred reviews from Publishers Weekly, Booklist and Library Journal. Several of her projects have been adapted for screen. Ryan is the current author-in-residence at Rue Morgue. Declared a “champion for women’s voices in horror” by Shelf Awareness, Ryan was named a Publishers Weekly Star Watch Honoree in 2020, and in 2022, was named one of horror's most masterful anthology curators. ​Born and raised in Southeast Texas, Ryan currently resides on the East Coast.​​​ She is a professor at Rutgers University.

Reviews

[Jamie · Rating 2 out of 5]

Most important things first: Does the cat live? Nope, and it's an awful death and there's lots of talk about it for the rest of the book. Definitely don't read this book if you can't handle cat death and mutilation.

So, yeah, I have no idea what I just read. This started off as a fairly typical “people in a remote cabin in the woods have scary things happen” horror story, and then it got very, very weird. I mean, people are passing out and there's a moose and it maybe talks and everything gets fever-dreamy and I don't even know what that ending was supposed to be. And then I dozed off and had a half-dream that the food that I'd eaten at the Greek festival earlier in the day was drugged and that's why I couldn't understand anything that happened in this book … and to be honest, that's still my best guess as to why this story is so weird because the only other solution I can come up with involves the author and an entire sheet of LSD. One way or another, I'm positive that hallucinogenic drugs were involved.

I did enjoy the beginning. Well, perhaps “enjoy” is a strong word because it's all rather depressing, but I was definitely invested in the story because I am a big fan of the whole “broken people go into the woods and get monstered” trope. And then a moose maybe started talking and I'm sure there is some sort of deeper meaning to everything that happened but it obviously all went right over my head. The Goodreads blurb says it has something to do with “the horrors of grief and the hunger of guilt” so I guess I'll just go with that.

Moose aside, however, the most baffling part of this book is why Christine brings groceries into the house, cooks and eats dinner, and then puts the groceries away afterward. I mean, if it's all shelf-stable pantry-type stuff, okay, I guess. But there were obviously cold/frozen items and now that I think about it, maybe it was the main character who was on drugs because that is the only way that the grocery thing makes sense.

Anyway, if you enjoy fever dreams and cat mutilation and defrosted groceries, definitely give Cold Snap a read – perhaps you'll like (and understand) it more than I did. 2.15 stars, rounded down.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Titan Books for providing me with an advance copy of this book to review. Its expected publication date is October 15, 2024.

[Lala BooksandLala · Rating 1 out of 5]

genuinely perplexed how someone published this.

[Jakob J. 🎃 · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ambiguous grief creature horror with literary flare clops glacially toward some kind of survivor’s guilt wish fulfillment. My patience was thin, naked, and died of exposure, yet style still snapped me into something approximating appreciation.

[Debra · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cold Snap is a chilling, haunting, and atmospheric novella about loss, guilt, and grief. This is a book which is unique and left me reeling and thinking about the plot after I finished reading. I often questioned what I was reading and have a feeling that I will read this novella for a second time just to let everything sink in. Like other reviewers have mentioned, I often wondered what did I just read?

Christine Sinclaire has decided to bring her son and their cat to a remote cabin in Pennsylvania which they have rented for the holidays. It has been two weeks since her husband fell off their roof while putting up Christmas lights and died. After arriving, Christine begins to see a figure who talks to her in her husband's voice.

As I mentioned above, this book is atmospheric and chilling. It oozes with grief and loss. I must give big props for Lindy Ryan for originality and setting a gloomy yet brilliant mood for this novella.

Lindy Ryan first came on my radar with her book, Bless Your Heart, and she left me feeling unsettled and chilled with Cold Snap. This riveting book can easily be read in one sitting.

I can't wait to read what Lindy Ryan writes next.

Dark, chilling, atmospheric, and unsettling.


Thank you to Titan Books and NetGalley who provided me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. All the thoughts and opinions are my own.

Read more of my reviews at www.openbookposts.com 📖

[Erin · Rating 1 out of 5]

ARC for review. To be published October 15, 2024.

There’s a cat named Haiku. You know he’s going to end oddly. I made that up myself. I definitely see a huge future for me in comedy, right?!?!?!

This book is eighty-five pages long. My synopsis might be longer. It will probably be less stupid. And that gives it a lot of room to be dumb.

Two weeks ago Derek Sinclaire died when he fell off the roof of his family home while hanging Christmas lights, so probably the best thing to do is take your young son (and your cat) and isolate for Christmas. Or maybe it is. What do I know, I don’t have kids?

Anyway, now widow Christine, fifteen year old Billy and cat, Haiku are headed to a cabin deep in the Pennsylvania woods. They haven’t been there long when Christine starts to hear strange noises in the forest and this is the problem with nature. I would be long gone at this point and in a nice Hilton, with a bar.

So, out of the last four books I have read, three of them have mentioned Stephen King. Either a character is reading one of his books or his name just comes up. Can you imagine looming that large in the culture?

This story is ridiculous. Every move Christine makes is the wrong one. I only finished the book because it was so short. No one would do what this woman does. I won’t spoil it, I guess, in case you care.

[AllyP Reads Books · Rating 1 out of 5]

Such an irritating book. Seems like a good premise but the MC is so annoying and it's so repetitive and nothing happens. If it wasn't so short I would have stopped reading it because of the stupid repeated phrases. Derek's foot slips. Derek's foot slips. Derek's foot slips. Derek's foot slips. Derek's foot slips. Derek's foot slips. Derek's foot slips. Derek's foot slips. Derek's foot slips. Derek's foot slips. Derek's foot slips. Derek's foot slips.
Did his fucking foot slip? I'm not sure; maybe I missed it.
Plus- Just the three of us and the trees. Just the three of us and the trees. Just the three of us and the trees. Just the three of us and the trees. Just the three of us and the trees. Just the three of us and the trees. Just the three of us and the trees. Just the three of us and the trees. Just the three of us and the trees. Just the three of us and the trees. Just the three of us and the trees. Just the three of us and the trees. Just the three of us and the trees. Just the three of us and the trees. Just the three of us and the trees. Just the three of us and the trees. Just the three of us and the trees. Just the three of us and the trees. Just the three of us and the trees. FUCK YOU! WE GET IT, OKAY! What the fuck even is this? It's not mysterious or spooky or thrilling or grief or anything like that to repeat the same phrases over and over every other page. It's just plain irritating.
And then what was the ending but nothing? I seriously don't know what the MC's problem was. She wants to be dead? Why? Instead of her husband? Why is he better than her? The son even says he's not mad at her for the dad dying so there's no issues there. So go see a therapist and join a grief group and save us from this nonsense.

[Rachel (TheShadesofOrange) · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.0 Stars
I am always on the lookout for winter and Chrismas so I was excited to receive this novella. I liked the premise because grief can be such a powerful theme in horror.

Despite it's potential, I found this one to be only fine. It leaned heavily into familiar tropes and didn't do much particularly new.

I would primarily recommend this one to fellow readers who are also looking for wintery Christmas books.

Disclaimer I received a copy of this book from the publisher.

[STEPH · Rating 2 out of 5]

Reading this makes me shiver. I felt the hairs on the back of my neck rise, and it was quite uncomfortable.

The eerie atmosphere added to the unsettling feeling within me. And what happened to the cat—Haiku. OMG. I don’t even want to go there. That alone made me close the book and breathe for a while. It was suffocating.

If you’re not brave enough to read about animal mutilation, don’t even bother picking this up. I had to stop reading at that point. Nope! I can handle anything—the darkest, most disturbing thriller, the dirtiest, bloodiest Splatterpunk—but not this. No, sir.

To Titan Books & Netgalley: Thanks for the ARC. I tried to finish it, but I failed. Miserably.

[Connie G · Rating 2 out of 5]

A grieving widow, her fifteen-year-old son, and their cat go to a remote Pennsylvania mountain cabin that her deceased husband had reserved for the Christmas holiday week. They never expected the days of horror that awaited them.

The book was very repetitive and a bit too "out there." I've read other thrillers in remote locations where I felt the fear of the characters because there were more believable events in the story. I just felt like I was on the outside looking in on what was unfolding in "Cold Snap."

[Elizabeth · Rating 1 out of 5]

Worst book of the year? Trigger warnings upon trigger warnings culminating in an ending that seemed to almost stop mid sentence. This book was not for me.

[Diana · Rating 3 out of 5]

COLD SNAP is an atmospheric novella about a grieving widow who takes her teenage son to a remote cabin over Christmas. She's carrying a lot guilt over the circumstances of her husband's death two weeks prior, and feels that going through with the family getaway he planned would be best.

I've seen mixed reviews for this book, and I can understand where some of the harsher ones are coming from. There is a lot of repetition of certain words and phrases that got old, and some scenes with animals are quite gruesome. Not a fan.

That said, I feel like the book did a good job portraying someone slowly going mad from grief and guilt. The descriptions of the snowy, creepy woods and isolated cabin were excellent, and added a sense of dread to the story. I also thought that the strained relationship and interactions between mother and son were spot on given their situation.

The ending is ambiguous and left up to the reader's interpretation, I guess? Kind of weird, but leaves you with something to think about. It's a quick read, about 128 pages.

[Michael Erickson · Rating 1 out of 5]

I wanna say this was a swing and a miss, but it felt more like watching someone who had no business being there at all walk up to bat - without a bat - and get nailed in the face with a speedball. Genuinely don't understand what message I'm supposed to walk away from this story with.

Sometimes a book flounders because it's trying to do too many things at once, and gets pulled in too many directions. Not the case here. Instead we have a singular focus on a newly-widowed mother with intense survivor guilt trying and failing to reconnect with her brooding teenage son by honoring her dead husband's wish to spend Christmas in a cabin in the woods. Which on its own sounds like a strong enough prompt to work with, but it doesn't go anywhere. She remains a high-strung and irrational victim of the same repeating flashback throughout the story and the only action she decides to take during the climax (if you could even call it that) doesn't result in any character changes. She was created to suffer and on that front I suppose she was a resounding success.

Maybe this was actually a super clever postmodern rejection of the classic three-act story format that went clean over my head, but somehow I doubt that. Despite the lack of spelling and grammatical errors this managed to feel like something less than a first draft, like a one-half draft; a concept of a story.

[theliterateleprechaun · Rating 2 out of 5]

What did I just read?! 👀

[Michelle Graf · Rating 2 out of 5]

Thanks to NetGalley and Titan Books for the ARC.

Honestly, the mundane conversations between Christine and Billy were better written than the horror parts. It showed the tension within a family after the death of one of their own. There was a lot of potential for whatever that was haunting Christine, and it kinda got too muddled from the cabin onwards. I felt like I was lacking a lot of context for the monster, beyond it being a manifestation of her grief and guilt. It felt too short to really build on what it had going.

[Heather Ann Reads 📚 · Rating 3 out of 5]

this is a symbolic and tragic winter horror novella about loss and grief manifesting into an eldritch-like monstrosity.

let's get into it.

**SPOILERS AHEAD**

book triggers & CWs: animal mutilation, blood/gore, emotional manipulation (parent to child), trauma, falling to one's death, supernatural entity akin to skinwalker


THE GOOD.

🪾 the descriptions were so vivid and thorough—a verbal illustration of a movie playing out in front of my eyes. i loved that aspect of this book.

🪾 as many of the reviews accurately point out, this book was repetitive. but... ok, don't slaughter me for this, but i actually liked the repetition. LET ME EXPLAIN.
there were specific phrases repeated every couple of pages.

"just the three of us and the trees."

"Derek's foot slips. His features go wide, one eyebrow arching [...] the whites of his eyes grow bright."

and of course there was the "snap" imagery carried throughout the book—branches snapping, Christine snapping at her son, wood snapping in the fireplace, did I mention Christine snapping at her son?—reminding us of the snapping sound Derek's back made when it broke.
i viewed the over-repetition as an allegory to trauma, to deep-seeded guilt and how our biggest regrets will play over and over in our heads, intrusive thoughts plaguing moments of mundane, our actions or inactions the singular point of unredeemable failure. and BY THE ELDRITCH GODS is that an accurate fucking way to depict trauma.


THE BAD.

🪾 Christine was an unbearable character.  I got the feeling we were supposed to feel sympathy for her—the "I'm a victim" tone was transparently clear—but instead I felt nothing but anger toward her. Call Christine a Britney Spears song because that woman is TOXIC.
--> The way her son was portrayed as a "mopey" teenager "glued" to his phone instead of as a kid trying desperately to navigate the loss of his father without any help or consolation from his mother? TOXIC. 
--> The way she projected her insecurities and biases onto her son's actions, assigning hostility to neutrality and hidden meaning when there was none, almost to paint him as an adversary? TOXIC. 
--> The way she made her son act like a parent for 96% of the book because she was too crippled by her guilt to remember she still had obligations as a mother? TOXIC.
--> The way she made absolutely no steps to heal, to forgive herself, to stop lashing out, and instead held her self-resentment until the bitter end, essentially justifying leaving her son an orphan because 'it's better this way'? TOXIC.

((One therapy session vs Christine))

🪾 what the fuck was that ending? the most abrupt ending I've read to date.
the point of ambiguous endings is to give readers just enough material to build a conclusion but not enough to definitively state what really happened (e.g., was it really paranormal, or was it just in his head?). if your ending is to cast the reader into a black abyss of confusion and leave them looking around like John Travolta in Pulp Fiction, you have executed your ending poorly. 

🪾 Armentia was slighted by Christine's unnecessarily vicious POV and i'm not ok with it. call it the Pick-me Perspective™️ or Mean Girl Intuition™️. but I haaaate when women are pitted against each other and then sympathy is manufactured for the woman who more stereotypically fits into the dainty white woman mold.
Armentia is the keeper of the cabins. she's described by Christine as having a "nasal voice" (?) and "mismatched gaze" because "one eye opens bigger than the other" (rude).
then almost out of nowhere Christine states Armentia "is one of those tough old broads no one ever considered attractive" (p. 23). 
what image are you trying to paint here, Lindy? whose likeliness did you intend for readers to conjure up with this description? is Armentia's alleged attractiveness supposed to add credence to Christine's warped victim mentality? and I'm sorry; if you walk into my office with glazed-over eyes, tell me you have a reservation under a different name than what I have on file, then when I explain that to you you stumble over your words like you're caught in a lie, I would be skeptical of you, too. 

🪾JUSTICE. FOR. HAIKU.


RATING:
⭐️⭐️¾
(2.75/5 stars)

[Carol · Rating 3 out of 5]

Cold Snap - Lindy Ryan - (Pennsylvania)
Genera: Novella, Christmas
3★
A grieving mother and son hope to survive Christmas in a remote mountain cabin in Pennsylvania. Two weeks ago, Christine Sinclaire’s husband slipped off the roof while hanging Christmas lights and fell to his death on the front lawn. Desperate to escape her guilt and her grief, Christine packs up her fifteen-year-old son and the family cat and flees to the cabin they’d reserved deep in the remote Pennsylvania Wilds to wait out the holidays.It isn’t long before Christine begins to hear strange noises coming from the forest. When she spots a horned figure watching from between frozen branches, Christine assumes it’s just a forest animal—a moose, maybe, since the property manager warned her about them, said they’d stomp a body so deep into the snow nobody’d find it ’til spring. But moose don’t walk upright like the shadowy figure does. They don’t call Christine’s name with her dead husband’s voice.
It's exactly what the book cover say it is..."a chilling, haunting, brilliant, and atmospheric novella about loss, guilt, and grief". I often question what I have read, and I often question why I kept reading?

Christine Sinclaire had not made one of her best decisions when she decided to bring her son and their cat, to a remote cabin in Pennsylvania which they have rented for the holidays. It has been two weeks since her husband fell off their roof while putting up Christmas lights and died. After arriving, Christine begins to see a figure who talks to her in her husband’s voice.

As I said above, this book is chilling. It simply oozes with grief and loss. I must give Lindy Ryan a round of applause for originality and for setting a gloomy, yet brilliant mood for this novella. She managed in just a few pages to leave me feeling unsettled and chilled. The 3-star rating is for several things....1. the shortness of the book. There was so much room to further expand on the "voice" that sounded like her husband and what that voice was attached to ...2. I knew going in that it was a novella, but there was room for more chilling events to occur. These two characters begged for it. 3. I should have stopped before, but of course I didn't, so I have only myself to blame, but I hated what happened to the cat. Animal lovers need to be aware that the cat DOES NOT have a Merry Christmas....or a "Merry" anything else.

[destiny ♡ howling libraries]

DNF @ 40%

I was really excited for this novella, but the grief was a little too much for me. It felt like nearly every other paragraph involved the MC reliving the moment of her husband's death, and I couldn't really focus on anything else that was happening.

Thank you to the publisher for the gifted copy! All thoughts are honest and my own.

[thevampireslibrary · Rating 5 out of 5]

A chilling (literally) novella about grief and guilt, this was terrifying and the ending had me reeling, Ryan has created an atmospheric haunting story with a pervasive sense of paranoia that had me on edge and uneasy throughout, showing just how insidious grief can be if left to fester, we see the repercussions of Christine's unfounded guilt as it mutates into a tangible monster hell bent on tearing her to pieces, a gut punch of a novella emphasizing that no matter how far we  attempt to distance ourselves from the pain of grief, it remains an inescapable presence. At times the narrative felt jarring, peppered with flash backs and intrusive thoughts but this was intentional to convey Christine's fragile mental state and mimics a true to life depiction of PTSD.

This was gritty, frigid, upsetting and incredibly heartbreaking.

[Pennywise just needs snuggles · Rating 1 out of 5]

Bruh’

It’s bad! Probably one of the worst books ever read!

[Jessica DeLucca · Rating 2 out of 5]

The first half of this book was really good (arriving at the cabin, the conversation with Armentia, etc.), but as soon as the fever dreams/hallucinations started, I spent the rest of the book feeling confused and not being able to follow along with what was happening. The ending made zero sense and nothing that happened in that scene had been spoken of or referenced at any point in this book. Also, not really sure what the point of the cat mutilation was, as it played absolutely no role in the development of the plot, but okay I guess... And I have to say one thing that bothered me this whole book, as a life-long Pennsylvanian... THERE ARE NO MOOSE IN PENNSYLVANIA. WTF?

[Justine · Rating 2 out of 5]

No. Not for me. I guess I see what Ryan was trying to do, but I don’t think it was successful.

The combination of grief, mental decline, and terror made real is a solid framework for a horror story, but in this case that framework was not hung with sufficient character and plot. The writing was just ok for me; I’m not a fan of the loose fever dream type of writing sometimes used to indicate mental fragility in a narrator. It has to be wielded very skillfully to be effective and it was not effective here.

[Sara Bosquez · Rating 1 out of 5]

This was honestly one of the worst books I’ve ever read.
What even happened? lol.
If I had to read: “just the three of us and the trees” one more time I was going to kms. 🤣

[Andi · Rating 2 out of 5]

This short novella was more or less about a moose? that we don't see until the last 20 pages or so.

I give credit to the snowy landscape and the 'CRACK' that kept being repeated (triggering the FL's PTSD of watching her husband's neck snap while hanging Christmas lights), but the horror just kind of failed for me.

[Lauren · Rating 2 out of 5]

If you like repetative, undefined fever dreams with a heaping helping of suicidal ideation this may be the book for you!

[Milt Theo · Rating 4 out of 5]

This one has gotten lots of hate, primarily (if not exclusively) for reasons which have to do with pet death. This is totally unfair, since a) the death is integral to the plot (it prepares the ground for the attack to follow), and b) this is not a criticism touching on either plot or the writing. It might reflect badly on the characters, though, since the pet's death neither shakes them up as much as it should (however, they're already shook up enough by the father's death) nor do they consider the pet an equal member of the family (see especially the teenage son's initial reaction to this idea). I personally found everything realistic and pretty much the natural attitude of most people.

OK, enough with the pet. I'd easily give this five-stars: the writing is excellent, the dialogue between mother and son (such as it is) totally real and as annoying as any attempt at conversation with a teenager might be - and the plot has all the surprises and the chilling moments one might wish for from a novella of grief horror and creature feature. The characters are portrayed with great attention to detail: the mother has been obviously traumatized by the father's death, evidently suffering from PTSD; the teenage son has so much to say, feels so much, and never actually reveals anything except once - typical teenage behavior.

I withdrew one star for the glaringly absurd ending. Admittedly, it's meant to be ambiguous (though it's supernatural through and through), but totally unfair to the reader. If its purpose is to stay in the reader's mind, it succeeds perfectly - I spent more than half an hour trying to understand its meaning. It would be nice to have a solid grasp of what happened though.

[Ash · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's time to dive into my thoughts on Cold Snap by Lindy Ryan. I received this book as an e-arc thanks to NetGalley.
The book follows Christine as she tries to work through the death of her husband. He tragically fell to his death while hanging up Christmas lights on the roof. He had originally booked them a snowy Christmas in the mountains of Pennsylvania, so Christine decides to take her son to the cabin. She needs to get out of the house.

When they get to the cabin, they're warned of the moose in the area. And Christine sees one. Or at least she thinks it's a moose. That is until it starts calling her name with her husband's voice...

This book is a super quick read, sitting at just a little over 100 pages. It's got a great isolated atmosphere. This one was compared to The Shining and The Babadook and I think that's a great comparison. It has the psychological and isolated feel of The Shining mixed with the emotional grief of The Babadook.

I think this book portrayed a great example of grief and ptsd. Christine is still processing her husband's death. She blames herself for not being able to save him. Throughout the book she has constant flashbacks of the incident.
My biggest complaint with this one was the ending. I left with more questions than answers. I wanted to know more. To me it felt like the book ended mid chapter.
Also be warned that there is a gruesome animal death in this one. So if you're sensitive to that you may avoid this one!

I have a full review on my Patreon if you're itching to know more.

Patreon link: https://www.patreon.com/posts/1131013...

[Sassy Sarah Reads · Rating 1 out of 5]

1 star

I found this book at an indie bookstore and was quite interested in it. I had not heard a single person talk about Cold Snap and then Kayla, from BooksandLala, talked about how much she hated this book. I thought to myself there was no way it was that bad and I moved it up even higher on the top of my to-read piles. I was wrong. Kayla was right and this book was so... unnecessary.

I love grief horror. I am a big fan of it and some of my favorite horror novellas and novels are in that subgenre. However, Lindy Ryan's writing was way too roundabout and uncertain. It was obvious that there were ideas of substances and traces of the story wanting to go somewhere, but it would circle back to nothingness. One of my biggest complaints was the unnecessary dismemberment of the family's dead cat to fit it in the freezer. What was the purpose of this? It was absolutely unnecessary and did nothing for the plot or characterization of the narrator or her tension with her son. There were a ton of unresolved conversations and the ending left me so unsatisfied that I can give it no higher than a 1-star rating. Congrats, Cold Snap, you are my first extremely bad book of 2025 and you even beat out Paradise Rot (I thought nothing could).

[Courtney Townill · Rating 2 out of 5]

um.

cold snap is the kind of book where you make it to the end and it feels so abrupt and out of no where that you have to go back and read the last two paragraphs several times to understand what the heck just happened.

there were some unsettling moments in here, but also being isolated in a cabin in the woods is inherently unsettling. it was unfortunately overwritten where it didn’t matter (in a SHORT book, i don’t need seatbelt sounds or descriptions of cutting boards and spice rubs), and underwritten where it mattered the most (the last 20%). i get what the author was trying to do with the spiral of repetitive thoughts in the trenches of grief, but every time i read “Derek’s foot slips” it felt like too much or it could’ve been presented differently after a certain point.

also: justice for haiku the cat. animal death in books is not always hugely triggering for me, but it typically needs to mean SOMETHING but the monster and everything around it felt underdone to where it felt senseless. meh.

[Codylyn Hazel · Rating 3 out of 5]

"Time moves different when your world stop turning." -Christine

"Just the three of us and the trees" -Christine

In my honest opinion, this book was very confusing to follow, but first for the good parts...l very much enjoyed having the pictures, so well described, that I could see them. I also liked that it was a pretty quick read.

Now on to the things that weren't so good. I was severely confused on why Christine kept repeating
"Derek's slips" and "Snapped" because, yes | get PTSD, but it really had no relevance to the story.
I'm also still trying to figure out why in the world the antagonist in the story was a moose. Yes I get that they are strong and very powerful creatures, but what significance does it hold to her struggles or even her deceased husband? Now these are all MY thoughts about this book and maybe I just didn't understand it, but it's how I felt.

So, in conclusion, this book wasn't a bad book to read, but it may not be for everyone.

[A.M. (ᴍʏ.sᴘᴏᴏᴋʏ.ᴡᴀʏs) · Rating 3 out of 5]

Cold Snap by Lindy Ryan is a quick, atmospheric holiday horror read with a promising premise, but unfortunately, it didn’t fully land for me. The opening pages were engaging and set the tone for a creepy, guilt-ridden tale, but as the story progressed, it lost its spark. The themes of grief and guilt are compelling and exactly the kind of emotional depth I enjoy in horror, but something about the execution didn’t click.

One thing the book does well is atmosphere: it’s vivid and eerie, immersing you in the isolation of the Pennsylvania Wilds. I could almost feel the chill and see the shadows moving in the snow. However, despite the strong setup, the story started to unravel, leaving me confused about its direction. Every time I thought I had a grip on where it was headed, it veered off course.

And then there’s the animal mutilation. It’s a dealbreaker for me and overshadowed the parts of the story I might have otherwise enjoyed. Also — 🚨 spoiler alert 🚨— the cat does not make it. I REPEAT: THE CAT DOES NOT MAKE IT! As an animal lover, that alone made it hard for me to stay invested.

Another thing that pulled me out of the story was the repetition of certain phrases, flashbacks, and statements. It started to feel redundant and weighed down the pacing, which didn’t help when the plot already felt like it was losing focus.

The premise itself is intriguing: Christine, struggling with grief after her husband’s tragic death, retreats to a remote cabin with her son and their cat to escape the holidays. But the forest around them isn’t as peaceful as it seems, with strange noises, a horned figure lurking in the trees, and a haunting voice that mimics her dead husband. There’s so much potential here, which makes it even more frustrating that so much of it felt underdeveloped!!!

This review marks my second read for my “5 Before 2025” challenge, where I’m pushing myself to finish five books before the year ends. While Cold Snap wasn’t a total win for me, I’m still glad I gave it a shot, it’s always exciting to discover new holiday horror.