It Will Only Hurt for a Moment

by Delilah S. Dawson

In this highly atmospheric thriller from the Bram Stoker Award–nominated author of The Violence, a young woman hopes to reinvent herself at an isolated artists’ colony . . . only to be drawn into its dark, twisted past.

Sarah Carpenter is starting over.

She’s on the run—leaving behind her unsupportive, narcissistic ex-boyfriend and alcoholic, abusive mother—and headed for a new beginning at Tranquil Falls, a secluded artists’ colony on the grounds of a closed hotel. There, with no cell signal or internet to distract her, she hopes to rediscover her love for pottery and put the broken pieces of her life back together.

But when Sarah uncovers the body of a young woman while digging a hole for a pit kiln, things start to fall apart. Her fellow artists begin to act in troubling ways. The eccentric fiber artist knits an endless scarf. The musician plays the same carousel song over and over until his fingers bleed. The calligrapher grins with ink-stained teeth. Not to mention the haunting dreams Sarah has night after night.

When she discovers glass shards in her clay, Sarah wonders if someone is out to get her—or if she’s losing her grip on reality out here in the wilds, where the pounding of the waterfall never, ever fades. As she investigates the beautiful valley and the crumbling resort looming over them all, she unearths a chilling past that refuses to remain buried . . .

Genres: Horror, Thriller, Mystery, Gothic, Adult, Fiction, Audiobook

368 pages, Hardcover

First published October 22, 2024

About the author

Delilah S. Dawson is the New York Times-bestselling author of Star Wars: Phasma, Black Spire: Galaxy's Edge, and The Perfect Weapon. With Kevin Hearne, she writes the Tales of Pell. As Lila Bowen, she writes the Shadow series, beginning with Wake of Vultures. Her other books include the Blud series, the Hit series, and Servants of the Storm.

She's written comics in the worlds of Marvel Action: Spider-Man, Lore's Wellington, Star Wars Adventures, Star Wars Forces of Destiny, The X-Files Case Files, Adventure Time, Rick and Morty, and her creator-owned comics include Star Pig, Ladycastle, and Sparrowhawk.

Find out more at www.whimsydark.com.

Reviews

[Me, My Shelf, & I · Rating 1 out of 5]

To be brutally honest-- I think I legitimately hated this. Which is wild since I previously read Bloom this year and it dug its way into my skull and stuck with me for weeks and I weirdly kinda loved it? So this was definitely not the expected outcome of this book.

The Characters:
The characters feel very 2D and like a Boomer who is totally adrift, trying to fit modern culture and personalities into these neat little boxes from yonder-year that are hella reductive. As far as I know this takes place in modern day (they definitely have MacBooks and iPhones and Priuses) so why does she literally keep saying the teenager in 2024ish should be playing "Smells Like Teen Spirit" by Nirvana. A musician teen who is classically trained in viola/violin/piano/etc... that song came out over 30 years ago and about a decade and a half before this hypothetical child was born, ffs.

But they're all like that. She's constantly reducing the characters to one or two simple attributes that fit a stereotype, then the narration and the characters themselves laugh and affirm that she's right. So these are the author's thoughts, not just Sarah's. (Though speaking of Sarah, she's totally stuck up and annoying and I hate her.)

The Writing:
One of the things she loves to do is point out that they're artists. But she uses "artists" to explain everything. Dress like a goth? That's an artist. Act bitchy? That's an artist. Introvert? Well duh, artists are introverts. Extrovert? Oh yeah, that just screams artist, doesn't it? -_-

Which is also very repetitious-- another common writing quirk in this! There are so many things that are repeated over and over and over again, and a ton of paragraphs that could be straight up edited out because they provide no new information at all.

Pet Peeve: One other thing the writing does is a personal pet peeve which is a lot of handwaving. Phrases like "it doesn’t make sense, but she feels it in her bones" or "in the dream, where she seems to just know these things like the omnipotent narrator in a book." You can't just tell me "it doesn't make sense" and pretend like that's good enough to move on. You were right! It doesn't make sense! It's your job as a writer to make it make sense!

The Plot:
I was not ready for the multiple references to and on-page instances of sexual assault. The rapes made me incredibly uncomfortable and I just don't think it was handled well. Like I understand what the messaging was (cause seriously it was very repetitive), I just really didn't vibe with how it was handled. Do not ignore the trigger warnings here if you're at all sensitive.

The Ending:
Seriously that's it? Nothing adds up, no catharsis was reached, the last 20 pages sprinted by and felt completely unfinished. Random villain reveals and cameos and blacking out so that they can quickly summarize to Sarah (and the reader) all the crazy shit that happened off page.

In ranting about this to my partner, I've also realized just how many elements were left completely loose and dangling at the end. I feel like my rage is only gonna grow as I think of/remember more of this book.

Themes:
It's unfortunate for this novel that I recently read another thriller/horror new release (One Of Us Knows) because I was constantly comparing the reveals and developments to similar ones that happened here but were handled sooooooo much better there.

Overall:
I thought the beginning had a strong sense of atmosphere, and I love Dawson's love of vocabulary and just dropping words like "prevaricate" here and there. But from the moment I met Bernie onward, reading this was my personal hell.

Does he wear a Henley?:
I know this is a Horror and I usually only include this spoiler in my Romance reviews, but genre lines are blurry and I guess this is where we at. "...the sleeves of his Henley rolled up to show muscular forearms..." 👀👀👀

Does the ~dog die?:
SO MANY ANIMALS ARE HORRIBLY MUTILATED IN THIS. It started with a dead possum and a dead snake being left around and that was described more in smell and threats than anything else. But there are some bunnies and the book is GRUESOME about it. AND NO RESOLUTION OR EXPLANATION LATER EITHER. If you can't tell, I am incensed.

Thank you to Del Rey and NetGalley for granting me an ARC. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

[Matt Milu · Rating 3 out of 5]

Overall I enjoyed this ghost story! However, we only got the ending of some of the characters… I think they accidentally forgot the epilogue because there are 7 more characters that we learned a lot about, but we have no idea what happened to them? 3 Stars ⭐️⭐️⭐️!

[Sadie Hartmann · Rating 4 out of 5]

I will have a full review for my Patreon members a week from today, I like to take some time to marinate on the book before I dive into unpacking all my thoughts, notes & highlights. I will say for those considering a pre-order:
-Delilah S. Dawson is quickly becoming one of my favorite authors. I vibe with her storytelling style.
-An intricately plotted story with strong character development. Easy to invest in their fictional lives
-An ensemble cast of quirky characters in an adult camp-like setting, so that's fun
-Follows that trope of strangers gathering at a recreational resort full of secrets or something sinister
-Feminist
-Adjacent to Gothic horror
-Exploring an abandoned, possibly haunted resort/hotel
-Artists/Creatives
..
More soon
Be careful!
-Scenes of SA (sexual assault)
-Domestic violence
-Animal cruelty/harm

[Brend · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sarah Carpenter is starting over.
And she feels so much lighter, like a feather!

This was closer to a 3.5 star but then I got to the author's note.

[♡ retrovvitches ♡ · Rating 4 out of 5]

i really enjoyed this!! it was spooky, unsettling, lots of things happening making it fast paced and intriguing. was it super spooky? not really, it was subtle a lot of the time but not really a bad thing. the only thing i didn’t like was that ending!!! what do you mean that’s how it ended 😭😭 the ended could’ve definitely been elaborated on, felt very rushed

[Dennis · Rating 3 out of 5]

In this atmospheric thriller by Delilah S. Dawson, a young woman named Sarah Carpenter arrives at an isolated artists' colony, hoping to leave behind her painful past and find solace in her pottery. Escaping an emotionally abusive mother and a toxic ex-boyfriend, she’s drawn to the quiet of Tranquil Falls, an abandoned hotel turned artists’ retreat with no cell signal or internet. But instead of achieving peace and tranquility, Sarah finds herself uncovering a body and gradually becoming suspect of the unsettling behaviors of her fellow artists and the dark history haunting the the complex.

Dawson once excels at immersing readers in her richly described settings, making the eerie artists' retreat vivid and tangible. The retreat, set deep in a rural setting, provides a claustrophobic and ominous environment as the suspense begins to unravel. The story’s atmosphere is very strong, but slow moving, so you really get a feel about Tranquil Falls, but I did want the story to move faster.

The story moved beyond Sarah’s artistic journey into chilling topics that may need Trigger Warnings (message me if you want them). Though suspenseful, the ending didn’t quite hit me in a very profound way. Although I wanted a more satisfying ending, I think the author's note provided me with context with why the book developed the way it did. While IT WILL ONLY HURT FOR A MOMENT fell a bit short of the two previous books I've read by this author, THE VIOLENCE and GUILLOTINE, I do really enjoy her writing style and I will continue to pick up what she has coming up next for readers.

[hollyreadit · Rating 5 out of 5]

Um hi, why is this book not all over Bookstagram?

I LOVEEEEEEED IT! From the dark atmospheric setting of an abandoned hotel - to the dark and disturbing accounts of Sarah and Emily’s life, this book grabbed me and did not let go. Dawson does an incredible job of emphasizing female rage and the absolute HORRORS of what was considered “insane” in the 19th century. Not only was this a perfect spooky season read - it also is a book that is going to stay with me for a LONG TIME. BRAVO!

TW: SA, Gaslighting, R*pe

[Rachel the Page-Turner · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a book about a woman going to an artist’s retreat, escaping her psychologically abusive ex-boyfriend and alcoholic mother who has dementia. This is also a book about feminism, gaslighting, fear and control. I read “The Violence” by this author, and absolutely loved it - I still think about that book. This is another one I won’t stop thinking about for a long time…

So Sarah is at this six-week residency at the retreat, getting back into pottery after her ex made her stop. We of course have other artists there, like a calligrapher, photographer and sculptor. They all live and work in cabins outside of a ritzy resort from the 1800s. They are never to try to go in there; the floors and roof are rotting and it’s not safe, but of course, that rule is begging to be broken.

Before that though, Sarah is digging a kiln pit, and ran into a cheap coffin containing a young woman with blonde hair. After that, her dreams take her through this woman’s life, from being the child of wealthy parents who married her off to a banker, who expects her to fulfill her “wifely duties”, despite her being only 19 and not familiar with sex (this is the 1800s, of course). When she tries to fight her husband off on their honeymoon, she is sent to a hospital in the basement.

This hospital reminds me of the Glore Psychiatrist Museum in Missouri (iykyk) - its doctors trying new “remedies” that are mostly torture. Once Sarah enters the hotel/hospital, the other artists…change. Disappear. Die. As the corpses of both humans and animals pile up, and the artists begin acting more crazy than regular artists, Sarah knows she need to do something. But what?

Emily and Sarah have similar stories, and they are tied together well through the dreams. This had beautiful writing, and a very original, heartbreaking story. Women still don’t get a break when it comes to healthcare - imagine 100+ years ago with diagnoses like wandering uteruses and hysteria. This was also a fantastic ghost story interwoven with a great story from the present. Like “The Violence”, I give this 4.5 stars, rounded up.

(Thank you to Del Rey, Delilah S, Dawson and NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for my review.)

[myreadingescapism · Rating 2 out of 5]

It will only hurt for the 368 pages of this book...

[Stacy (Gotham City Librarian) · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was the third book I’ve read by Delilah S. Dawson and it was my least favorite out of the three, but it was one of those books that made me feel like I had physically gone somewhere. Dawson is great at atmosphere and world building, and even if this book didn’t quite hit as strongly as the other two in the end it was still an experience.

I loved the vivid way she described the artists’ retreat. I really understood the layout of the place and felt like I had been there before. Dawson appeals to all of the senses with her writing. This story took place in the Fall and the retreat was located in the woods, so that added an extra layer to everything, also. I think that Dawson is very skilled at visualizing her stories and where they occur, then translating that for the reader.

While the GR blurb for this book absolutely drew me in and made me want to read it, I do think it gives away too much about the plot. There are little details in there that don’t occur until pretty far into the story and would’ve been more fun to be surprised with as I was reading.

A mutual Friend/Reviewer on here recently mentioned that she is tired of seeing the “Goth girl is a bitch” stereotype in books, and honestly it hadn’t really occurred to me until I saw her talk about it but now I’m noticing it more. It totally happens in this novel. I kind of got the feeling that Ingrid was supposed to be a mean version of Lydia Deetz. (The book even references “Beetlejuice” at one point.) She did end up growing on me a bit by the end. But the timing was humorous and that Reviewer was absolutely right.

The plot takes a bit of a turn in a surprising direction that I was not expecting. It gets very dark, and then even darker. Part of me was hoping that the story would stay focused on the art aspect because I love art horror, but I didn’t really mind the other stuff that was going on, (though heed the trigger warnings.) The book straddled the line of feeling like two different stories stitched together, but the author made them harmonize for the most part. Just as main character Sarah was determined to explore her creepy and moldy surroundings, I was intrigued to find out just how deep this horrific plot would go. By the end, though, it did feel like one of the plot lines was left hanging and with a few gaping holes. As I read other reviews, I realized more and more threads that were left dangling. Based on “Guillotine,” another Dawson book that I just read an ARC for recently, I feel like she typically gives a lot of thought to her plots so honestly this surprised me.

The action also got a bit repetitive after a while, with Sarah doing the same things over and over but for different reasons. There was a lot of “Once she made it back outside into the sunlight, she could breathe again” or variations of that sentence.

Parts of this story were admittedly tough for me to read. There isn’t much that gets to me when I read horror, but the specific things that I don’t care for were there in this book and they were handled in a graphic way.

I was mostly having a good time with this read overall until I got to the last ten percent. The ending was just a big jumble of disappointment. I felt like Riley Sager suddenly took over. (Sorry for the shade!) I took a whole star off because of it. Sarah seemed to be doing things that were very out of character, after everything I had come to learn about her and after this little journey we had taken together, and it felt like a betrayal. A big reveal occurred that wasn’t surprising at all. There were those big questions left unanswered and two things happened out of nowhere, partially for the sake of plot convenience. But I found them difficult to believe or accept. All of this also made the ending overall feel a bit abrupt and unfinished. *I thought the book deserved a better conclusion. There was so much buildup to what amounted to a mixture of over the top villainy and a long passage of telling rather than showing in the aftermath. (“Let me catch you up on what happened in this dialogue.”)

I liked “Bloom” and “Guillotine” quite a bit, and this one had a lot of potential but didn’t quite hit the mark for me. I think a different ending would really elevate the story. But I’ll definitely continue to read more from this author!

2.5 rounded up because I really did like it until the ending.

Thank you to Netgalley and to the Publisher for this ARC in exchange for an honest review! All opinions are my own.

TW: Substance Abuse, Animal Death, Sexual Assault, Domestic Abuse, Misogyny, Self-harm (graphic), References to Abortion

[Shannon · Rating 5 out of 5]

Inspired by a deeply personal incident, this atmospheric, haunting thriller is an infuriating feminist story featuring Sarah Carpenter, a woman on the run from her abusive ex who finds solace in a remote artist colony where she wins a place to work on her sculpting and gets caught up in a decades old murder mystery after she stumbles on a dead body.

Set in a former mental asylum/hospital, this book highlights how women have suffered gaslighting, rape, forced institutionalization and other untold horrors for years in a creepy modern psychological thriller that was great on audio narrated by Carlotta Brenton and makes for a perfect spooky season read. Recommended for fans of books like The sanitorium by Sarah Pearse.

Many thanks to @prhaudio for a complimentary ALC in exchange for my honest review! This was my first book by Delilah S. Dawson and I couldn't put it down. While it was a touch long the story was extremely compelling and full of an eccentric cast of secondary characters.

⚠️CW: gaslighting, rape, forced institutionalization and more

[KellyJ1028 · Rating 3 out of 5]

After reading Dawson's last horror Bloom, I was super excited at the opportunity to read ,It Will Only Hurt For a Moment however it didn’t quite hit the mark for me.

One thing the author does is create an incredible atmosphere. It makes reader feel very immersed in the book & I loved that. She did the same in the book Bloom.

I just felt like this book was too long, didn’t really go anywhere and the ending was pretty abrupt , without the closure I thought there should be.

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House Publishing for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

[Bbecca_marie · Rating 4 out of 5]

This one was hard to rate… I’m going to say 3.5 rounded up with a full review to come. If you are sensitive to trigger warnings/content.. FYI this has scenes of SA, DV, and death of animal(s)

Review 👇🏽

➡️ Thank you so much partner @delreybooks for the gifted copy!

It Will Only Hurt for a Moment
by Delilah S. Dawson

About the book 👇🏽

Sarah Carpenter is starting over. She’s on the run—leaving behind her unsupportive, narcissistic ex-boyfriend and alcoholic, abusive mother—and headed for a new beginning at Tranquil Falls, a secluded artists’ colony on the grounds of a closed hotel. There, with no cell signal or internet to distract her, she hopes to rediscover her love for pottery and put the broken pieces of her life back together.

But when Sarah uncovers the body of a young woman while digging a hole for a pit kiln, things start to fall apart. Sarah wonders if someone is out to get her—or if she’s losing her grip on reality out here in the wilds, where the pounding of the waterfall never, ever fades. As she investigates the beautiful valley and the crumbling resort looming over them all, she unearths a chilling past that refuses to remain buried . . .

🍂My thoughts:

I found myself frantically turning pages until there was nothing left. I just needed to know what was happening the entire time and thought it was wonderfully paced. It really is an atmospheric read too… I could just feel the dread creeping in. It’s a great spooky season read and although this is my first time reading Dawson’s work, I’ll be eagerly going back to read others. And before I forget, I do want to mention that If you are sensitive to trigger warnings/content... this has scenes of SA, DV, and death of animal(s). This Will Only Hurt For a Moment is out 10/22/24!

[Jody Blanchette · Rating 4 out of 5]

In fiction, nothing good ever happens at an artist retreat. Put that retreat on the same property as an abandoned Victorian era medical resort? Nothing good. I’m pretty sure when the resort owner tells you that the abandoned building is off limits, you are definitely going in there. And again, nothing good will come of that either.
Setting is everything in this book. It is deliciously creepy, with tiny moments that will disturb you. There is a ghosty aspect to the story that is frightening and sad. How it ties in with the main character is brilliant. The parallels between Sarah and the spirit of Emily, are disturbing.
Yes the book is thrilling, with a ton of suspenseful moments. But that’s not the story. Delilah Dawson is shining a light on the history of violence against women. Rape, domestic abuse, and gaslighting barely touch the injustices brushed on. The incidents at the resort are based on truths. These things did happen. It’s incredibly horrific. Yet, what happens to women in our modern time, is no different. We may not have doctors working against us anymore, but we are still victimized. This is the horror of the story.
Definitely read this book for the ghost story. It’s creepy and well written. But don’t turn your head away from the message.

[Justine · Rating 3 out of 5]

Generally I’m a fan of Dawson, but this one was not my favourite of hers. Dawson has this great take no prisoners ability to write stories that are over the top without seeming ridiculous. The Violence is a great example, as is her recent novella, Guillotine, which I loved.

It Will Only Hurt for a Moment is a good story, with the elements of feminist empowerment I’ve come to expect in Dawson’s work, it just didn’t all come together in the same kind of tight and snapping way as those other two.

I did enjoy it while I read it, though, which is mostly what I’m looking for anyway.

[Natalie HH · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ms Dawson can do no wrong.

[Krissy (books_and_biceps9155) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thank you so much @delrey books for my copy of this. Dawson is quickly becoming one of my “must read” authors. Her storytelling is just so smooth and her characters are always very fleshed out. This is no exception. An adult style “summer camp” with locked room mystery scenarios, interesting characters and all the feminist rage! Hell yeah! I loved the atmosphere and gothic style “mansion”.

This has more of a paranormal vibe and I also enjoyed the message behind the story. I have been in a similar situation as Dawson (read the authors note) and it did not have a pleasant ending. It is scary and the story may trigger some folks. This is powerful and thought provoking!

[Nev · Rating 2 out of 5]

After reading and absolutely loving Bloom by Delilah S. Dawson I was really excited to read more from her. So this……….. did not live up to my expectations. It’s weird, because I enjoyed what this book was going for in exploring abusive relationships, abuse of power, and the horrific history of women’s health and mental health. But just the way it all played out did not work for me. I found the book to be so boring and the plot conveniences to be extremely frustrating.

[Amanda · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.75 ⭐️- thank you NetGalley and Random House Publishing for the ARC. I enjoyed the spooky feelings of the book, there wasn’t many huge plot twists but enough tid bits to keep it interesting and enjoyable. The ending wasn’t my favorite but overall a good thriller.

[Stephanie · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 stars ⭐️

[Allison · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 ⭐️ rounded down

I did actually enjoy this book quite a bit! It had a great pace and the atmosphere Dawson created through her narrative was spooky and intriguing. Ghosts, a haunted hotel/resort, dual timelines done well? Count me in. However, there are some loose ends that I feel didn’t get tied up and ya girl wants answers!!

Sarah is on a new adventure. Having recently left her abusive, narcissistic ex-boyfriend, she goes to a 6-week artists retreat in the mountains of northern Georgia. This retreat is hosted at Tranquil Falls, what was once a posh health spa/resort for well-to-do men and women in the late 1800s. Tranquil Falls is withholding a dark past and traumatic secrets that start to affect the artists staying in cabins built on the land south of the old hotel. It throws their work off center and Sarah starts having a lot of dreams associated with past guests at the resort where the secrets of the past start coming to light. Sarah then has to decide if she’s going to pursue justice for the ghosts of Tranquil Falls past or keep herself safe.

There are SEVERAL things that Dawson brings up throughout this book that aren’t resolved in the end. I’m going to wait to add in all those things in more detail when I have my computer and can format this so spoilers will be hidden 🙃🤪😂 some people in these reviews are complaining about stereotyping the artists, but that didn’t really bother me. What was getting on my last nerve was Dawson’s use of short hand in the prose! If it were part to the dialogue it wouldn’t bother me since that’s how people talk, but in the narrative itself saying things like “pic” instead of “picture” or “veg” instead of “vegetable” might be my new biggest pet peeve in writing. It was something I’ve never noticed in books before but DANG it happened a lot here and every single time I would get so annoyed lol.

Thanks to NetGalley and Del Ray for the advance copy of this book!!

[Jamele (BookswithJams) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thank you to Del Rey Books / PRH Audio for the copies to review.

I’ve read two books by Dawson and I am a fan. Her stories are dark but have a purpose, and I loved that this had a paranormal element to it and I thought it was done well. The audio was great and added to the story, which focuses on Sarah, who is on the run from her unsupportive, narcissistic ex and alcoholic, abusive mother, taking refuge in a secluded artists’ colony within the grounds of a closed hotel. There is no cell signal or internet to distract her, and she’s hoping to get back to pottery while there. Until she finds the body of a young woman. Then the fellow artists start acting weird, and she begins having haunted dreams nightly.

This was an intense and excellent read, going back and forth from the past of the young woman who died as well as the current day with Sarah and the artists and it all comes to a head at the end. I love Dawson’s writing and how her stories come together and how she perfectly captures female rage and how horrific women were treated back then when they tried to fight back from abuse. This is another one where you don’t want to miss the author’s note just FYI.

[Carrie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Review coming soon.

[Robin (Bridge Four) · Rating 3 out of 5]

This review was originally posted on Books of My Heart

Review copy was received from NetGalley. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

I want to first preface this review with, I do not read a lot of horror.  But it is fall and getting closer to Halloween and so I usually fit a few in this time of year.  It will Only Hurt for a Moment is a stand alone novel with a really cool and spooky setting.  Tranquil Falls is in the middle of nowhere and completely cut off from the world.  It used to be a place the posh went to "recover" and "take the waters", now the old hotel is condemned and fenced off but the surrounding area has been set up as an artist's retreat and Sarah needs to retreat from her live of the last few years.

Her fingers twitch for social media, for that pleasant, slot-machine call of scrolling. Somewhere, a baby wombat is getting weighed in a mixing bowl, and a rescue kitten is having a name reveal, and a high school friend is thanking Jesus for the new Chick-fil-A milkshake flavor, and Sarah is missing it all. She tells her brain to calm down and relax; her brain tells her to find a button and click it.

Sarah couldn't wait to get to Tranquil falls.  She has just escaped her mentally abusive boyfriend and is looking for a restart to her life and her love of building pottery.  This is supposed to be the perfect place but there are issues from the beginning.  She ends up in a cabin not meant for the artists and the person she needs to share the shop with is a loud jerk with some issues playing well with others.  Still she can do this; she is going to get back to her life before she let a man derail her dreams.

“You seemed different in your application essay,” Gail says wistfully. “Everyone is different when they want something,”

The setting really makes this book.  Old cabins in the woods, trails throughout going to various spots and the looming old hotel that is forbidden.  It sets the gothic tone so well and helps to build the suspense of the story with all the spooky feelings.  I think I liked the setting and descriptions more than anything else in the story.  Especially once Sarah makes it inside the forbidden hotel that has been shut off for a hundred years.

Sarah's time in Tranquil Falls is strange.  Her dreams seem to be invaded by the ghost of someone from that time.  Through those we learn of the hotel's history and secrets until those final moments when we learn how the fire started and why it shut its doors forever all that time ago.  It is an interesting way to build the tension and mystery while also making us question how reliable is Sarah as the narrator, as in our glimpses of her past it is clear she has experienced some trauma she is suppressing.

Besides the setting, I liked a few of the characters at the artist retreat and wanted to know more about their lives.  Especially when they all start doing some strange stuff like only writing one word in calligraphy on a paper before tossing it to the floor, knitting a never ending scarf or playing a creepy old time song over and over again.

I did have some issues with this book though.  There were a few times it didn't seem to know what it wanted to be horror, romance, both.  There is an almost romance that I was ready to get behind until it just fizzled due to some weird stuff happening, but then we never get closure on why the weird thing happened and where it went.  I also warn anyone sensitive to rape that there are a few scenes.  While well written with just enough detail before drifting out, but clearly rape was involved, it was unsettling and could be difficult for some readers.  My last complaint is that the ending seemed really rushed and there were numerous things that seemed unresolved or left open.  I don't know if that is just because this was an arc and there will be some revisions after but as is the ending was a let down.  I couldn't decided if they were so unresolved because Dawson wanted to do another book at the Tranquil Falls or because she wanted the reader left in the dark to the fates of various characters and the Artist retreat.

I would say for the spookiness and setting this book is well worth a read for those that enjoy horror, but go in knowing that the resolution at the end may be unsatisfying.

Sarah buys these e-books on a discount site and devours them like popcorn. Something about terrible things happening to women is comforting to her, probably because she’s a woman to whom terrible things have happened and it’s reassuring to know she’s not alone.

[A. R. Young · Rating 2 out of 5]

Thank you NetGalley for the free ARC in return for my honest review.

When I'd heard that this novel was to be a feminist horror/ thriller, I was really excited for the opportunity to receive and read this ARC. While the contents are technically of a feminist nature, the execution of the concept fell flat for me.
We are following 26-year-old Sarah as she flees from her abusive ex and senile alcoholic mother to seek solace at an "off-grid" artists' retreat. It quickly becomes obvious that escaping her troublesome past won't be as easy as Sarah had anticipated.
I feel that the beginning of the book should include certain content and trigger warnings as there is animal abuse and death as well as explicit rape scenes which I wasn't entirely prepared for and which threw me off guard. While we are on the topic, I found the barbarism to be unnecessary and simply for shock value, as it did not add anything to the plot. The use of animal cruelty didn't reveal any new information, didn't accelerate the pacing and was only included for "gore factor" which feels tactless and lazy, in my opinion.
For a book which dubs itself a "feminist horror", I feel that it fell short on feminism. The whole book, Sarah was degrading and projecting her own insecurities and standards onto the other woman at the retreat. For instance, Gertrude Rose is too dramatic, Antionette is too regal, Kim only cares about male validation and Ingrid is some weird goth. Sarah is so judge-y, I honestly was rooting for her downfall the whole book.
For a lack of better ways to describe what I mean to say; it felt as if the author was just using Sarah as a way to project her own thoughts and beliefs into the narrative. For instance, goths are weird, gory, and angry. 19-year-old boys should be angsty, eating all day and listening to Nirvana. The chef was just an angry, controlling snob. I could go on!
Sarah is over all just a very negative and unlikable character. The entirety of the novel she is looking down her nose at all the other artists for being "weird" and "unorthodox" with their mediums; music, fashion, calligraphy, sculpting, glass cutting, but may I remind you that Sarah makes vases and plates... VASES AND PLATES. I could cut her some slack if she chose to be original with her medium but it's so anticlimactic and run-of-the-mill. I don't see where she gets off on being an absolute prick.
As for the writing itself, I felt that the author tried using 3rd person perspective but it fell flat. Instead of telling us her feelings and what she's thinking, it was used as a way to "question prompt" the audience. If the writing was executed well, I would be asking myself those questions and it wouldn't need to be prompted for me. In addition, I felt it to be redundant and often many chapters were extraneous and offered no real value to the rest of the text other than to show us how millennial the author is. For instance, referencing Taylor Swift and Nirvana and using the word "pic" unironically (repetitively). I know not everyone minds pop-culture references in their books but when it's used on every other page, it begins to feel like a brand deal and product placement. I think that if I had to read any more mentions of Apple and their products. TikTok, and Instagram than I did, I was going to DNF this ARC. AirPods could be generic earbuds and it wouldn't have affected the story at all (except for making it better). I am 22-years-old and I know that if I was planning to go on a 6 week retreat sin internet or cell reception, I would think to bring a few books with me. But naturally 26-year-old Sarah is still relying on her phone to use the reading app... because that makes sense.
I felt that there were so so so so so many plot holes:
1. The animal deaths added nothing to the plot and we never learn the reason they were maimed and killed.
2. A character died and Sarah thought they looked like they died of fear and they were found holding a certain recurring object in their hand, but we never learn the significance of the object nor how the character really died.
3. There are glass shards found in some clay but we never learn why or how it was put there- it's implied that a ghost would have done it but there was never any ghost! And the "ghost" only manipulated the glass shards...
4. THE ENTIRE CONCLUSION!
There are many many more but I don't want to be a spoiler.
Sarah has vision-like dreams about the retreat in its earlier years of operation but if this is a feminist novel, and we can all agree the 97% statistic is valid, then why is Sarah the only woman at the retreat with this connection? Shouldn't all the women be affected? And, with the 97% in mind, why does Sarah walk around the place thinking she is the only person who has gone through some life-altering traumatic event? Sarah's attitude is justified but all the other characters are just dramatic cry babies dealing with their first ever inconveniences?
I think this book would be better categorized as a thriller than a horror because WHERE WAS THE HORROR? Unless the scariest thing was meant to be Sarah's superiority complex, nothing was scary! I could predict the ending less than 30% through the book and I'm the kind of reader who believes in suspension of disbelief to enjoy a book... there was no suspending my disbelief with this novel. It was as easy as 1+1. I expected page-turning. heart pounding, mind racing horror and instead I got a glowing blue orb 10 pages from the end of the novel...
I feel that if this was to be a well-done feminist horror novel, the rape scenes would have to be less tacky or just not exist. We know rape is bad! We know marital rape was once normalized. We know the feeling of having our "no," go unappreciated. Was there meant to be a moral or theme or was it just an explicit example of what rape can look like? If the point of the scenes were meant to show how women feel about getting raped then I feel the same effect could have been reached without the play-by-play and, instead, the 3rd person narrator could have dome what a 3rd person POV is meant to so and just show us her thought process and how he feels without telling us what is being done to her. It felt like a 6th grade execution of a women's rights poster board project. "Raping women is bad!" "Consent is key!" "Men used to use women as incubators which is not fair!" Like yes, these are all very obvious points only left to be doubted by incels and ingrates. The only reason this book was given two stars by me, instead of one star, is because of Ingrid. She was the only likable character in all 328 pages!! Over-all I absolutely hated this book and would probably not recommend it to a friend. Maybe I'd recommend it to someone I hate- not for them to learn anything but just because I want them to suffer as much as I did.

[Karina (shedreamsinwords) · Rating 3 out of 5]

”He is completely unaware, this man, her husband, that women always wake when danger is near. That they are always listening, always watching, that they can sense how the air changes when they are targeted. Like those of wild creatures, their eyes pierce the darkness, taking in every detail of the approaching enemy. If only, like wild creatures, they had ready claws.”

This was an eerie and atmospheric book that came to life from a terrifying real life experience of Delilah S. Dawson herself in which she goes into detail in the authors note at the very end.

I wish this had a more satisfying end with the “bad guy”, but as displayed here & the authors previous work— the writing was incredible!

[Melissa Leitner · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 rounding up to 4 for GoodReads. This was the first book I read by Dawson and right off the bat the writing was spectacular. She has a way with words that really captivated me and engrossed me in the story. But the story itself was quite long for what actually came of the end and the wrap-up. I was a bit disappointed by the end because I saw the twist coming from a mile away and therefore the payoff for the end of the one was just lacking in my opinion. I liked the build up but as the story kept going there was less and less I was invested in as it became a bit repetitive in the middle. I would definitely read something else by Dawson in the future.

[Jonathan Koan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Delilah Dawson is a very good writer. She has a niche of writing style that focuses on women, particularly women taking action and taking control of their own lives. I think that for the most part, whether it is Star Wars, the Hit Series, or The Violence, that has really worked well for her. And based on that premise, this seems like a very fitting story for Delilah Dawson to write.

Unfortunately, it was only just "fine". Not bad by any means, but not great.

This book moves along fairly slowly for the first 150 pages. It really isn't until the second half of the book that it really gets most interesting and the more supernatural elements finally start kicking in. It's really a realistic thriller that has 1 element of supernatural in it that makes it unrealistic.

The book starts off with a rocky first chapter. The character of Sarah treating her mom so horribly did not endear me to Sarah at all. I understand the relationship she had with her mom as part of her backstory, but the actions that Sarah takes are not only unlikeable, but also offputting, especially to readers who believe in second chances and believe in forgiveness and in supporting our family. It's just a frustrating opening to the book.

The concept of the art retreat was really interesting, and the setting of being in the woods/mountains of Georgia works well (not only because Dawson lives in this area of Georgia, but also because she's written this style of setting before). I thought the characters here were fine. Nothing to stand out, nothing particularly bad. I was so hoping for Reid to have a much bigger part of the story than he had. Dawson obviously wanted the story to go in one direciton, and I really wanted it to go in another.

Dawson does tackle some themes really well, particularly the treatment of women in older times and how that compares with today. I disagree with a lot of Dawson's worldviews, but her exploration of these themes is nothing short of captivating. This is a book that will make me think about its' ideals afterwards.

The book does have a psuedo-mystery to it, and I did enjoy that. The mystery behind what was happening really is what made the book work overall. Otherwise it would have been much more of a slog.

The ending of the book was fitting based on the themes explored throughout the book, even if I didn't love it.

Overall, the book is fine. It's well produced and is competently written, plotted, and executed. It simply didn't really work for me because of the slow nature of the book, the worldviews espoused, and the characters not particularly standing out. Overall, this book gets a 6 out of 10.

[Kat (Katlovesbooks) Dietrich · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.5 stars

It Will Only Hurt for a Moment by Delilah S. Dawson  is a psychological thriller about an artists retreat.

First, let me thank NetGalley, the publisher Random House - Del Rey, and the author, for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

  

My Synopsis:    (No major reveals, but if concerned, skip to My Opinions)
Sarah Carpenter is one of eight artists at Tranquil Falls, an isolated colony on the grounds of an old hotel which hasn't been in operation for many years.   She is there for a fresh start, having escaped both her controlling boyfriend and her alcoholic mother.   Sarah really needs this time to be something for herself.  She used to be a potter, and looks forward to having her own space to work her magic.  With no outside distractions like cell service or wi-fi, she is sure she will find the peace she needs.

But things go wrong almost from the start.  Sarah ends up sharing her working space with a man who seems to hate women.  When she decides to build a pit kiln, she uncovers the body of young woman, who Sarah thinks may have been buried alive.  She keeps her thoughts to herself.  Her fellow artists are all a little strange, and when Sarah finds one of them dead, and glass in her own clay, she starts wondering if she's being targeted.

Meanwhile, Sarah has been having dreams about a young woman, maybe the one she found that had been buried alive.  In her dreams, this young woman was spending her honeymoon at the closed hotel, when her husband becomes abusive, and she is sent to the hotel's basement, where the doctor will remove her rebellious attitude.

When Sarah and another artist break into the hotel to have a look around, Sarah realizes that she recognizes these rooms from her dreams.  She also realizes that this was more a nightmarish sanatorium than it was a hotel.

 

My Opinions:
I loved this book.  It will stay with me for a long time.  It sucked me in at the start, and held me captive til the end!

It was a very dark, atmospheric tale.  Dawson's vivid descriptions help immerse you in the story, without adding unnecessary details.  The story continued to build suspense as it progressed.   It is part psychological thriller, part horror, part supernatural, but it truly about a woman who learns to stand up for herself.

Okay, I could have used a heads up about the dead animals in this book.  I don't care if people die, but animals is a no-no for me.    There were actually a lot of tough topics in the book, including strange medical treatments (torture), sexual assault, masculine aggression and controlling behaviour, and pure misogyny.   But there were also a couple of strong female characters which balanced things out.  I liked both Sarah and Ingrid.

I loved the ending.



For a more complete review of this book and others (including the reason I chose to read/review this book, author information and a favorite quotation or two from the book), please visit my blog: http://katlovesbooksblog.wordpress.com/

[Sarah · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars rounded down. I think Dawson really excels at novella length books rather than long ones.

This started really well. I was intrigued. I was immediately sympathetic to the character and enjoyed being in her head and seeing her stand up for herself.

But around the midway point the pacing just gets bogged down. This book utilizes the trope of main character dreams about dead character in order to relay the story of dead characters life, and it’s just not one that really works for me. At one point the MC, Sarah, says “I have to know why, I have to go back.” And I was just like, do you? Because to me what makes the most sense is to get out, get away. So the motivations in this situation are questionable.

It felt a little repetitive in places. I think the blurb reveals WAY TOO MUCH. One of the things mentioned in the blurb didn’t even happen until page like 298 (out of 351).

I loved the ending. I do like Dawson’s writing. I will continue to read from her, at least her shorter length books.

I would recommend this to fans of Simone St James. This book finds itself in that curious little place between horror and thriller where it’s not wholly one or the other. I could have used an epilogue, I think, but otherwise not a bad read.