What do you think?
Rate this book
The Black Bothy
A year after her sister disappears in the Scottish Highlands, Mara Fraser returns, searching for answers.
But the bothy where Sorcha vanished holds more than memories. It echoes. It watches. And it’s been waiting.
Inside the remote stone shelter of Shena Vall, Mara finds her sister’s journal, a dying stove, and a voice recorder that plays back things she never said.
footprints that appear in perfect circles. Symbols etched in stone. And knocking that begins just after dark.
The land doesn’t want her to leave.
It may not even let her.
The Black Bothy is a haunting folk horror debut that blends the raw ache of grief with the slow-burn dread of isolation, memory, and myth. For readers who like their horror atmospheric, deliberate, and rooted in ancient ground.
Perfect for fans The Haunting of Hill House – Shirley JacksonThe Ritual – Adam NevillGhost Wall – Sarah MossThe Loney – Andrew Michael HurleyDark Matter – Michelle PaverYou’ll A remote Highland bothy that breathesA recorder that speaks in your voiceFootprints where no one should beAnd something waiting that never left The Archive Files is a new folk horror series about places where memory lingers, silence feeds, and the past reshapes the present.
Each book can be read as a standalone.
About the AuthorAidan Blackwood writes unsettling fiction about the ghosts we carry. Grief, memory, and everything unspoken. Raised in West Dunbartonshire, he writes from the edge where myth and memory blur.
You’ll find him where the silence thickens.
But the bothy where Sorcha vanished holds more than memories. It echoes. It watches. And it’s been waiting.
Inside the remote stone shelter of Shena Vall, Mara finds her sister’s journal, a dying stove, and a voice recorder that plays back things she never said.
footprints that appear in perfect circles. Symbols etched in stone. And knocking that begins just after dark.
The land doesn’t want her to leave.
It may not even let her.
The Black Bothy is a haunting folk horror debut that blends the raw ache of grief with the slow-burn dread of isolation, memory, and myth. For readers who like their horror atmospheric, deliberate, and rooted in ancient ground.
Perfect for fans The Haunting of Hill House – Shirley JacksonThe Ritual – Adam NevillGhost Wall – Sarah MossThe Loney – Andrew Michael HurleyDark Matter – Michelle PaverYou’ll A remote Highland bothy that breathesA recorder that speaks in your voiceFootprints where no one should beAnd something waiting that never left The Archive Files is a new folk horror series about places where memory lingers, silence feeds, and the past reshapes the present.
Each book can be read as a standalone.
About the AuthorAidan Blackwood writes unsettling fiction about the ghosts we carry. Grief, memory, and everything unspoken. Raised in West Dunbartonshire, he writes from the edge where myth and memory blur.
You’ll find him where the silence thickens.
162 pages, Paperback
Published May 31, 2025
16 people are currently reading
31 people want to read
About the author
Aidan Blackwood
9 books11 followersAidan writes folklore, horror, and crime rooted in loss, identity, and the quiet spaces between them.
His work grew out of a reckoning that followed his mother’s death, a search for belonging shaped by early abandonment, adoption, and the lifelong sense of being slightly out of place. Those experiences lend his stories a haunted intimacy and emotional precision.
Aidan describes himself as a writer who listens to the silence and finds meaning in what most people turn away from.
Follow for Updates, Giveaways & Exclusive Content!
Connect with Aidan:
Instagram: @Aidan.Blackwood
TikTok: @aidanblackwood
His work grew out of a reckoning that followed his mother’s death, a search for belonging shaped by early abandonment, adoption, and the lifelong sense of being slightly out of place. Those experiences lend his stories a haunted intimacy and emotional precision.
Aidan describes himself as a writer who listens to the silence and finds meaning in what most people turn away from.
Follow for Updates, Giveaways & Exclusive Content!
Connect with Aidan:
Instagram: @Aidan.Blackwood
TikTok: @aidanblackwood
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 27 of 27 reviews
December 15, 2025
This story was a slow burn rural folk horror, a sort of Scottish "Blair Witch Project".
A young, grief stricken, woman could not get over the loss of her sister, who had gone missing while hiking in the remote Scottish Highlands. No trace of her body had ever been found. The young woman decides to retrace her sister's footsteps, in an attempt to solve the mystery.
Setting out on a long and lonely trek she comes across an old hikers refuge, a Bothy as they are called in the Highlands. However, this Bothy is not just a stone building, it is a portal into a world before humanity existed. A world where the land itself is alive and possesses intelligence. Time and space are flexible in this dimension, both can be bent and transformed at will.
Unfortunately, for any unintentional tresspasser who ventures into this dimension, once the land notices you, escape becomes nigh on impossible.
A well written and highly atmospheric tale and well worth a read.
A young, grief stricken, woman could not get over the loss of her sister, who had gone missing while hiking in the remote Scottish Highlands. No trace of her body had ever been found. The young woman decides to retrace her sister's footsteps, in an attempt to solve the mystery.
Setting out on a long and lonely trek she comes across an old hikers refuge, a Bothy as they are called in the Highlands. However, this Bothy is not just a stone building, it is a portal into a world before humanity existed. A world where the land itself is alive and possesses intelligence. Time and space are flexible in this dimension, both can be bent and transformed at will.
Unfortunately, for any unintentional tresspasser who ventures into this dimension, once the land notices you, escape becomes nigh on impossible.
A well written and highly atmospheric tale and well worth a read.
December 17, 2025
I stumbled across this book on KU after falling into a huge slump, and I'm so glad I did! The Black Bothy saved me from the dreaded slump.
I don't normally look at the reviews of a book before/while I read as I like to make my own mind up. However as I got to 50% in and was absolutely loving it, I HAD to see what others we're saying.
I can understand some of the reviews, if your head isn't 100% in this book, it's easy to get confused. However I think this was BEAUTIFULLY done.
I absolutely love short & stabby sentences, especially when they are executed correctly, it can make the impact so much more dramatic. I love how the writing changed, became erratic, repetitive and all short and stabby, when Mara was losing herself in the Bothy.
I got a huge insight into Mara's state of mind depending on the writing and I think that's so clever.
The ending is open to interpretation, I personally think books like this are important to have. I don't always want to know what happened or why, sometimes the eerienes lies in unanswered questions.
I'm not one for a book making me feel scared. Being autistic my logical brain is like "Amy this isn't real 🙃🙄" , but there's something about this book. The chaotic writing style, the descriptions and monologue, that just got me. The last time I was as freaked out reading a book it was Follow You Home - Mark Edwards, and that was 8 years ago.
The Mirror scenes got me the most 😩😩😩😩😩😩😩😩
I personally believe you have to be all in with a book to feel what the writer wants you to feel and I was ALL IN.
Someone said this was the Scottish Blair Witch and YESSS 👏
My advice for anyone who wants to read this is;
🌙 Recognise the writing is done purposefully, to show you the characters state of mind, this is not bad writing
🌙 Be prepared for an open ending, if you're like me and love this, you'll enjoy this book so much
🌙 Pay attention 🖤
I don't normally look at the reviews of a book before/while I read as I like to make my own mind up. However as I got to 50% in and was absolutely loving it, I HAD to see what others we're saying.
I can understand some of the reviews, if your head isn't 100% in this book, it's easy to get confused. However I think this was BEAUTIFULLY done.
I absolutely love short & stabby sentences, especially when they are executed correctly, it can make the impact so much more dramatic. I love how the writing changed, became erratic, repetitive and all short and stabby, when Mara was losing herself in the Bothy.
I got a huge insight into Mara's state of mind depending on the writing and I think that's so clever.
The ending is open to interpretation, I personally think books like this are important to have. I don't always want to know what happened or why, sometimes the eerienes lies in unanswered questions.
I'm not one for a book making me feel scared. Being autistic my logical brain is like "Amy this isn't real 🙃🙄" , but there's something about this book. The chaotic writing style, the descriptions and monologue, that just got me. The last time I was as freaked out reading a book it was Follow You Home - Mark Edwards, and that was 8 years ago.
The Mirror scenes got me the most 😩😩😩😩😩😩😩😩
I personally believe you have to be all in with a book to feel what the writer wants you to feel and I was ALL IN.
Someone said this was the Scottish Blair Witch and YESSS 👏
My advice for anyone who wants to read this is;
🌙 Recognise the writing is done purposefully, to show you the characters state of mind, this is not bad writing
🌙 Be prepared for an open ending, if you're like me and love this, you'll enjoy this book so much
🌙 Pay attention 🖤
June 3, 2025
This mysterious and haunting novella kept me wanting more.
This book, started off as I would call it realistic and then moved into the fantasy/ancient history world and I wanted more of that! I felt like the book was too short!
A great book overall though, even if it did leave me wanting more!
This book, started off as I would call it realistic and then moved into the fantasy/ancient history world and I wanted more of that! I felt like the book was too short!
A great book overall though, even if it did leave me wanting more!
September 12, 2025
Was very repetitive. Probably won't continue to the next book but not a bad read just not my style.
September 18, 2025
2.5 stars. Reads like a creepy fever dream.
October 15, 2025
A tale full of sound and fury signifying nothing. I seem to be very much in the minority but I found this book contrived, pretentious and very dull. Some reviewers call it a 'slow burn horror': it burns very slowly but with no horror. Not once did I feel the slightest frisson. As another reviewer mentioned, there seems to be chunks of text just repeated while some sentences don't end. I don't know if this is a literary trick or just poor proof reading but it makes a contrived narrative even more obscure. There's no actual resolution either.
August 18, 2025
Intriguing, haunting and mysterious. If you’re looking for a little number that’ll give you a high number of goosebumps then this is it. I was genuinely creeped, to the point that I woke my cat up and carried her with me through to the bathroom in the early hours of the morning because I didn’t want to go alone.
August 29, 2025
Loved this book! It really reminded me of some of H.P Lovecraft’s stories, as it heavily feeds on the feelings that horror gives you. I also loved the way it went about grief and cycle breaking, while also making the story consistently interesting. I will say, the writing is a bit repetitive, but it works for the story. I truly cannot wait to read more from this author!
June 4, 2025
'The Black Bothy' by Aidan Blackwood
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
I could hear this eery background music as I read this story. The Scottish Highlands is always the best setting for a haunting story! It sets the scene perfectly, and the weather helps to create that atmospheric eeriness. I finished this story in one sitting. With only 137 pages, it hooks the reader from the start with the epilogue and then goes into the main story. You felt the grief from Mara and the eagerness to find out what happened to her sister Sorcha all this time ago. It was so intense, and I felt that as a reader. You are in the story with Mara and experiencing the loss, confusion, and guilt with her every step of the way. This story was very well written, and the descriptive text just added to the readers' experience. This is my 2nd book read by Aidan Blackwood, and what a great 2nd book this is. Very well done on this debut novel 💯
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
I could hear this eery background music as I read this story. The Scottish Highlands is always the best setting for a haunting story! It sets the scene perfectly, and the weather helps to create that atmospheric eeriness. I finished this story in one sitting. With only 137 pages, it hooks the reader from the start with the epilogue and then goes into the main story. You felt the grief from Mara and the eagerness to find out what happened to her sister Sorcha all this time ago. It was so intense, and I felt that as a reader. You are in the story with Mara and experiencing the loss, confusion, and guilt with her every step of the way. This story was very well written, and the descriptive text just added to the readers' experience. This is my 2nd book read by Aidan Blackwood, and what a great 2nd book this is. Very well done on this debut novel 💯
June 23, 2025
This was spookily brilliant and so haunting but in a good way if you love books that give you goosebumps in the best way then this book is the one for you xx
December 21, 2025
DNF @40% Couldn't get past the repetition and inconsistencies. I tried, because the story was decent, but it was just too much work to enjoy.
June 21, 2025
Intriguing, confusing, isolating, and mysterious. This short story is heavy with deep loss, grief, and an emptiness that’s hard to understand unless you’ve experienced something within similar parameters. In a strange way, it helps you to feel slightly less alone, yet not always in a good way.
September 28, 2025
Thought provoking, mysterious and a tad haunting.
The Black Bothy is a story about grief and cycle breaking. When Mara's sister visits the Scottish highlands never to return, a year later Mara decides to go in search of answers. What she finds isn't what she bargained for, the bothy holds more than memories.
Firstly i will say i did enjoy the story if if i felt i'd missed things initially. There were times throughout where i had goosebumps and was holding my breath, expecting something to jump out in the dark. The idea that everyone knows something isn't quite right out there on the trail but choses to ignore it and never investigate is very horror movie and something we do see in day to day life, we know its bad but we don't understand so we ignore.
Behind that horror feel there is a deeper story of loss, confusion, denial and hopelessness. A search for answers where there are none as so frequently happens in real life, sometimes things just are. The strength behind breaking a cycle is not one that is easy and most people do not just stumble across it. No matter what that cycle is, it has to be you who chooses it and that's exactly what Mara came to realise.
My only gripe is the repetition but that is my own personal feelings and it worked with the story and works for Aidan. i'm just fussy and constantly questioning if i've zoned out or not.
The Black Bothy is a story about grief and cycle breaking. When Mara's sister visits the Scottish highlands never to return, a year later Mara decides to go in search of answers. What she finds isn't what she bargained for, the bothy holds more than memories.
Firstly i will say i did enjoy the story if if i felt i'd missed things initially. There were times throughout where i had goosebumps and was holding my breath, expecting something to jump out in the dark. The idea that everyone knows something isn't quite right out there on the trail but choses to ignore it and never investigate is very horror movie and something we do see in day to day life, we know its bad but we don't understand so we ignore.
Behind that horror feel there is a deeper story of loss, confusion, denial and hopelessness. A search for answers where there are none as so frequently happens in real life, sometimes things just are. The strength behind breaking a cycle is not one that is easy and most people do not just stumble across it. No matter what that cycle is, it has to be you who chooses it and that's exactly what Mara came to realise.
My only gripe is the repetition but that is my own personal feelings and it worked with the story and works for Aidan. i'm just fussy and constantly questioning if i've zoned out or not.
November 4, 2025
I don't usually write reviews but I felt compelled to write one for this book in the hopes of finding someone who had a similar experience to me reading it.
I found The Black Bothy while looking for books with bothies as characters or main plot points specifically. I have lived in Scotland and have been fascinated and in love with bothies ever since. I love the idea of a house being alive and playing a character in itself, which is why I was drawn to the book in the first place.
First of all, The Black Bothy is an intriguing story with a unique premise and a very relatable theme of processing grief. The author does a good job at setting an eerie atmosphere and uses nicely crafted metaphorical descriptions. It would make a great short film.
While I can appreciate the author's personal writing style, I don't entirely jell with it. It can feel a bit choppy with unnecessary separations between phrases. Although short sentences (of sometimes just one or two words) can definitely be effective, 120 pages of constant interruptions can feel a bit jarring. You could argue that this was the intention behind portraying the harshness and unpredictability of grief, but I found that the narrative could have used more fluency.
In terms of the editing, I found sentences with missing words entirely or strange formatting. Here are two examples (please someone correct me if I am wrong):
Page 48: "Any reasonable person would've packed up and left. Mara knew that. Instead," And here the line is left blank with what looks like an unfinished sentence until the new paragraph starts.
This one might be a mild spoiler, read at your own risk:
Page 39: "Mara flipped through Sorcha's journal the headlamp glow." Should there be a word between journal and the headlamp glow?
I also find there are too many words in bold and italic throughout the story. I understand the intent behind emphasis, but after a while it feels as though the author does not trust the reader enough to pick up on the importance of certain points intuitively in their own way, which made it feel like a textbook at times. Phrases are also sometimes repeated within the same paragraph.
Overall, I think that the idea of the story is great but needs more fleshing out. I found myself feeling frustrated at the lack of further development of both Mara's journey of finding out what happened to her sister and the story behind her disappearance itself. The author introduces a few different and interesting aspects and possible side or backstories but then leaves them just as quickly. The story has a very promising and interesting start but then suffers from a stale sort of middle place where scenes feel like copies of each other with no deeper meaning or significance, causing the reader to feel disconnected. I understand this sort of physical and psychological back-and-forth process of grieving from personal experience but it feels as though it offers no real growth within the story, which is a shame.
SPOILER: The ending felt underwhelming and I didn't feel rewarded for the investment I put into reading it. Maybe this is more of a reflection of me, but I still don't fully understand why Sorcha died but Mara didn't, simply by saying "no" to the stone and thus breaking the cycle? Seems too simplistic and lacks deeper reflection. I also wish there had been more conversations between Mara and the villagers, for example, or more of an active effort to understand what they know about the hills and the bothy. I got excited when Mara meets Sorcha in the in-between place where Sorcha confirms she is dead but, again, the conversation ends abruptly and provides very little satisfaction to the reader for having stuck until that point. This conversation between them could have been the turning point of the story and I wish it was longer and carried more weight. END OF SPOILER
I did enjoy the idea behind the story and loved the bothy setting but the narrative felt repetitive and disconnected. It might be one of those books which I have to re-read to gain a new or better understanding of it, which is actually not a bad thing necessarily. It reminds me a little bit of I'm Thinking of Ending Things by Iain Reid, which made you go back to certain parts of the book to see if you missed anything, which I really enjoyed!
I haven't read anything else by Aidan Blackwood but I would be interested to read another story similar to this one, especially one set in Scotland or in a bothy!
I found The Black Bothy while looking for books with bothies as characters or main plot points specifically. I have lived in Scotland and have been fascinated and in love with bothies ever since. I love the idea of a house being alive and playing a character in itself, which is why I was drawn to the book in the first place.
First of all, The Black Bothy is an intriguing story with a unique premise and a very relatable theme of processing grief. The author does a good job at setting an eerie atmosphere and uses nicely crafted metaphorical descriptions. It would make a great short film.
While I can appreciate the author's personal writing style, I don't entirely jell with it. It can feel a bit choppy with unnecessary separations between phrases. Although short sentences (of sometimes just one or two words) can definitely be effective, 120 pages of constant interruptions can feel a bit jarring. You could argue that this was the intention behind portraying the harshness and unpredictability of grief, but I found that the narrative could have used more fluency.
In terms of the editing, I found sentences with missing words entirely or strange formatting. Here are two examples (please someone correct me if I am wrong):
Page 48: "Any reasonable person would've packed up and left. Mara knew that. Instead," And here the line is left blank with what looks like an unfinished sentence until the new paragraph starts.
This one might be a mild spoiler, read at your own risk:
Page 39: "Mara flipped through Sorcha's journal the headlamp glow." Should there be a word between journal and the headlamp glow?
I also find there are too many words in bold and italic throughout the story. I understand the intent behind emphasis, but after a while it feels as though the author does not trust the reader enough to pick up on the importance of certain points intuitively in their own way, which made it feel like a textbook at times. Phrases are also sometimes repeated within the same paragraph.
Overall, I think that the idea of the story is great but needs more fleshing out. I found myself feeling frustrated at the lack of further development of both Mara's journey of finding out what happened to her sister and the story behind her disappearance itself. The author introduces a few different and interesting aspects and possible side or backstories but then leaves them just as quickly. The story has a very promising and interesting start but then suffers from a stale sort of middle place where scenes feel like copies of each other with no deeper meaning or significance, causing the reader to feel disconnected. I understand this sort of physical and psychological back-and-forth process of grieving from personal experience but it feels as though it offers no real growth within the story, which is a shame.
SPOILER: The ending felt underwhelming and I didn't feel rewarded for the investment I put into reading it. Maybe this is more of a reflection of me, but I still don't fully understand why Sorcha died but Mara didn't, simply by saying "no" to the stone and thus breaking the cycle? Seems too simplistic and lacks deeper reflection. I also wish there had been more conversations between Mara and the villagers, for example, or more of an active effort to understand what they know about the hills and the bothy. I got excited when Mara meets Sorcha in the in-between place where Sorcha confirms she is dead but, again, the conversation ends abruptly and provides very little satisfaction to the reader for having stuck until that point. This conversation between them could have been the turning point of the story and I wish it was longer and carried more weight. END OF SPOILER
I did enjoy the idea behind the story and loved the bothy setting but the narrative felt repetitive and disconnected. It might be one of those books which I have to re-read to gain a new or better understanding of it, which is actually not a bad thing necessarily. It reminds me a little bit of I'm Thinking of Ending Things by Iain Reid, which made you go back to certain parts of the book to see if you missed anything, which I really enjoyed!
I haven't read anything else by Aidan Blackwood but I would be interested to read another story similar to this one, especially one set in Scotland or in a bothy!
October 21, 2025
I thought this was a great concept, I loved the idea of the land and bothy being alive, to me bothies have always felt comforting but also spooky, kind of places of unsettled energy. I think it’s the remoteness of them, the slightly wild left to their own devices feeling but somehow still standing and maintained just enough. Also, being Scottish and living in the Highlands I love anything set there, particularly a book that brings the land and its beauty into the spotlight. Much gratitude to the writer for this.
I thought the writer did a fantastic job of helping me to really feel the atmosphere and the terror, that real dependency on self, your mind and body, when out alone in remote places but particularly with the grief Mara carried and our need to know what exactly happened to our loved ones to make them just ‘gone’ to allow us to process our grief.
However, I struggled with the writing. Not the style of the writer, as I think the descriptive writing and plot were good but rather, the book perhaps needing a better editor/proof reader.
There were sentences where Mara was outside, walking back to the bothy, then did a full circle in the room (the bothy), and in the next sentence was still outside the bothy, approaching it. Another part, the bothy door didn’t creak, it wasn’t rust, it was wood, which didn’t make sense as even if it was a wooden door it would still have hinges, which could rust. There was use of past and present tense in sentences about making tea. The first few chapters I was very confused as Mara was in the village, then she was off on the hike, then she was back in the village. I don’t think it would have detracted from the atmosphere to explain the sequence of this. For me, none of this added any value to the story and distracted me from really immersing myself in it. If my mind is questioning the small practicalities and details, I’m coming out of the atmosphere the writer is trying to create and the story I want to be pulled into, I was thinking, has she spent 1 or 2 nights at the guest house? Is this one big long hike, or a short hike, then a long hike? Did she go to the bothy, come back and then go back again? I think flashbacks only work if you’re really clear with sequence. A few simple sentences would’ve resolved this, and then on with the story for me, the reader.
Perhaps this is just the way my mind works but I do feel if the writer takes care of these things, without it taking up too much space, then the reader is free to lose themselves in the bigger more important questions, is the land alive, is the bothy haunted, will Mara find Sorcha?
I’m so sorry, I couldn’t get to the end as I just kept losing any momentum in living and feeling the story because of this, which is a shame because it’s a brilliant concept/plot and the writer has a talent for creating atmosphere with his descriptions.
I thought the writer did a fantastic job of helping me to really feel the atmosphere and the terror, that real dependency on self, your mind and body, when out alone in remote places but particularly with the grief Mara carried and our need to know what exactly happened to our loved ones to make them just ‘gone’ to allow us to process our grief.
However, I struggled with the writing. Not the style of the writer, as I think the descriptive writing and plot were good but rather, the book perhaps needing a better editor/proof reader.
There were sentences where Mara was outside, walking back to the bothy, then did a full circle in the room (the bothy), and in the next sentence was still outside the bothy, approaching it. Another part, the bothy door didn’t creak, it wasn’t rust, it was wood, which didn’t make sense as even if it was a wooden door it would still have hinges, which could rust. There was use of past and present tense in sentences about making tea. The first few chapters I was very confused as Mara was in the village, then she was off on the hike, then she was back in the village. I don’t think it would have detracted from the atmosphere to explain the sequence of this. For me, none of this added any value to the story and distracted me from really immersing myself in it. If my mind is questioning the small practicalities and details, I’m coming out of the atmosphere the writer is trying to create and the story I want to be pulled into, I was thinking, has she spent 1 or 2 nights at the guest house? Is this one big long hike, or a short hike, then a long hike? Did she go to the bothy, come back and then go back again? I think flashbacks only work if you’re really clear with sequence. A few simple sentences would’ve resolved this, and then on with the story for me, the reader.
Perhaps this is just the way my mind works but I do feel if the writer takes care of these things, without it taking up too much space, then the reader is free to lose themselves in the bigger more important questions, is the land alive, is the bothy haunted, will Mara find Sorcha?
I’m so sorry, I couldn’t get to the end as I just kept losing any momentum in living and feeling the story because of this, which is a shame because it’s a brilliant concept/plot and the writer has a talent for creating atmosphere with his descriptions.
October 22, 2025
DNF'd at 50%.
Really intriguing idea, and right up my street, but the writing style let it down for me. With a better editor, I think there's a far better book in here. I understand the author is trying to make it atmospheric and claustrophobic, but there were just far too many short and incomplete sentences for me. I found it really hard to keep up with at times because of this. I also found that the protagonist leaps to the supernatural too quickly, it would've benefited from letting this build a bit longer.
I can see why some will really enjoy this, and I wanted to, but the style just isn't for me.
Really intriguing idea, and right up my street, but the writing style let it down for me. With a better editor, I think there's a far better book in here. I understand the author is trying to make it atmospheric and claustrophobic, but there were just far too many short and incomplete sentences for me. I found it really hard to keep up with at times because of this. I also found that the protagonist leaps to the supernatural too quickly, it would've benefited from letting this build a bit longer.
I can see why some will really enjoy this, and I wanted to, but the style just isn't for me.
October 29, 2025
Whilst an interesting story idea, the typos and the repetitive and identical sentences distracted from the telling. Also, it could have been condensed by at least a quarter. A lot of repetition made it go on too long.
But, on a positive note; the description of the surroundings were so illustrative that I could imagine the scene of the bothy and what the valley it sits in looked like. Really enjoyed the visual painting the book gave.
But, on a positive note; the description of the surroundings were so illustrative that I could imagine the scene of the bothy and what the valley it sits in looked like. Really enjoyed the visual painting the book gave.
October 30, 2025
eerie but it felt a little flat. I just wished there was MORE. more utter horror. more reason. more creepiness.
June 13, 2025
⭐️⭐️
I really wanted to enjoy The Black Bothy, but I found myself struggling to stay engaged with the story. The writing style is atmospheric, and the setting had potential, but the plot felt repetitive and slow to develop.
By the time I reached 63% of the book, I was still unclear about where the story was headed or what the main purpose was. Much of the narrative focuses on the main character walking, observing, and feeling unsettled within the bothy, but without a strong sense of progression or deeper development.
While I appreciate the mood the author was trying to create, the lack of forward movement and the repeated scenarios made it difficult for me to stay connected. Ultimately, I wasn’t able to finish the book, as I found my interest had waned. That said, readers who enjoy slower, more introspective storytelling might still find something meaningful here.
BookBound and Blushed
I really wanted to enjoy The Black Bothy, but I found myself struggling to stay engaged with the story. The writing style is atmospheric, and the setting had potential, but the plot felt repetitive and slow to develop.
By the time I reached 63% of the book, I was still unclear about where the story was headed or what the main purpose was. Much of the narrative focuses on the main character walking, observing, and feeling unsettled within the bothy, but without a strong sense of progression or deeper development.
While I appreciate the mood the author was trying to create, the lack of forward movement and the repeated scenarios made it difficult for me to stay connected. Ultimately, I wasn’t able to finish the book, as I found my interest had waned. That said, readers who enjoy slower, more introspective storytelling might still find something meaningful here.
BookBound and Blushed
August 16, 2025
The Black Bothy is a haunting and atmospheric novella that explores grief with intensity and depth. Set against the evocative backdrop of the Scottish Highlands, the story weaves realism with the supernatural, creating a sense of unease that lingers throughout. The author’s use of metaphor and vivid description draws the reader into Mara’s journey of loss, guilt, and confusion, making her struggles deeply relatable. Despite its brevity, this tale covers a wide range of themes and leaves a lasting impression. I particularly liked the folklore feel. I am looking forward to the next one.
December 22, 2025
The author definitely knows how,to,create an atmosphere, really nicely done. you could almost feel the mist and cold but..... I had to stop reading half way through because there was something not quite right about the edit.... paragraphs and sentences kept being repeated. At first I thought it was part of the authors style but soon realised it couldn't be as it was happening to frequently. shame it was a good book before that started happening
August 15, 2025
The story isn't particularly long however it covers a lot of themes within it. Loss and longing, realism and the supernatural, sense and the unexplainable, The tale is so vividly written, that you can feel the cold and the confusion which surrounds Mara and at times you want to shout out to her, to warn her or guide her. Very atmospheric.
December 30, 2025
This book was difficult. The idea was good, but I would be very, very surprised if I found out that it wasn’t written by AI.
It was so robotic. Everything was about describing breathing etc in the standard AI format.
Ugh. Such a let down
It was so robotic. Everything was about describing breathing etc in the standard AI format.
Ugh. Such a let down
January 12, 2026
This story had so much potential, but it felt at times like reading an unedited draft, paragraphs were repeated quite often throughout.
The story itself was really creepy, which I loved, very atmospheric and descriptive. Just wish it had been better edited
The story itself was really creepy, which I loved, very atmospheric and descriptive. Just wish it had been better edited
June 19, 2025
Wow, what an amazing read! This story sucks you in and doesn't let you leave until you finish it. Spooky, tense and heart thumping!
September 11, 2025
Loved this book and the writing style,very easy to read and continually shouting run, don't do it. Looking forward to book 2 from Blackwood
September 4, 2025
A chilling slow-burn folk horror set in the haunted stillness of the Scottish Highlands. When Mara returns to the bothy where her sister vanished, she uncovers a place that doesn’t just remember. It keeps things.
This is horror done right: quiet, eerie, and emotionally charged. The writing is lyrical without being overdone, and the tension builds with every unsettling knock, footprint, and whispered voice on the recorder.
If you liked The Haunting of Hill House or The Ritual, this is for you. Haunting in the best way.
This is horror done right: quiet, eerie, and emotionally charged. The writing is lyrical without being overdone, and the tension builds with every unsettling knock, footprint, and whispered voice on the recorder.
If you liked The Haunting of Hill House or The Ritual, this is for you. Haunting in the best way.
Displaying 1 - 27 of 27 reviews