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Daughters Unto Devils
God bless the little children
When sixteen-year-old Amanda Verner’s family decides to move from their small mountain cabin to the vast prairie, she hopes it is her chance for a fresh start. She can leave behind the memory of the past winter; of her sickly Ma giving birth to a baby sister who cries endlessly; of the terrifying visions she saw as her sanity began to slip, the victim of cabin fever; and most of all, the memories of the boy she has been secretly meeting with as a distraction from her pain. The boy whose baby she now carries.
When the Verners arrive at their new home, a large cabin abandoned by its previous owners, they discover the inside covered in blood. And as the days pass, it is obvious to Amanda that something isn’t right on the prairie. She’s heard stories of lands being tainted by evil, of men losing their minds and killing their families, and there is something strange about the doctor and his son who live in the woods on the edge of the prairie. But with the guilt and shame of her sins weighing on her, Amanda can’t be sure if the true evil lies in the land, or deep within her soul.
When sixteen-year-old Amanda Verner’s family decides to move from their small mountain cabin to the vast prairie, she hopes it is her chance for a fresh start. She can leave behind the memory of the past winter; of her sickly Ma giving birth to a baby sister who cries endlessly; of the terrifying visions she saw as her sanity began to slip, the victim of cabin fever; and most of all, the memories of the boy she has been secretly meeting with as a distraction from her pain. The boy whose baby she now carries.
When the Verners arrive at their new home, a large cabin abandoned by its previous owners, they discover the inside covered in blood. And as the days pass, it is obvious to Amanda that something isn’t right on the prairie. She’s heard stories of lands being tainted by evil, of men losing their minds and killing their families, and there is something strange about the doctor and his son who live in the woods on the edge of the prairie. But with the guilt and shame of her sins weighing on her, Amanda can’t be sure if the true evil lies in the land, or deep within her soul.
272 pages, Paperback
First published September 29, 2015
141 people are currently reading
9219 people want to read
About the author
Amy Lukavics
10 books489 followersEver since she was little, Amy was especially intrigued by horror books and movies. Raised in a small mountain town in Arizona, she sustained herself on a steady diet of Goosebumps, Fear Street, and Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark books before discovering Stephen King in her mother's bookshelf.
Amy lives with her husband, their two precious squidlings, and an old gentleman cat by the name of Frodo. When she isn't writing, she enjoys cooking, crafting, and playing games across many platforms.
Amy lives with her husband, their two precious squidlings, and an old gentleman cat by the name of Frodo. When she isn't writing, she enjoys cooking, crafting, and playing games across many platforms.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 960 reviews
August 12, 2017
UPDATE: 99 cents on Kindle US today 8-12-17
Holy crap on a cracker! I put this book off for a long time because I had seen so many negative reviews when it first came out, but I'm sure glad I decided to start reading what I want because this book was down right creepy!
***SOME SPOILERS***
Amanda Verner is secretly seeing a boy named Henry in the woods and you know what they are up to! Then when he finds out Amanda is pregnant he leaves her; she's thinking he is going to marry her. NOT!
Amanda keeps this secret from her parents. Then one day her Pa decides to move the whole family out to the prairie thinking they will have it better out there. Yeah . . .
So Ma, Pa, Amanda and her brother and sisters, Hannah (blind and deaf baby), Emily, Joanna and Charles set out to their new home. There were supposedly some empty homes out there and you can just move into one. They pass one on the way and their is some family just waving to them as they go on by and it's a little weird.
I just felt the weird vibe as soon as I started reading the book and I LOVED it. There is nothing major going on and there really are only some really whacked out creepy stuff toward the end but it's just there. Always there!
Amanda just knows she's going to hell because she keeps having thoughts that she wants her baby and her little baby sister (the one that's blind and deaf) to die. Be careful what you wish for . . .
Then they find this big old house at the end of the line and the inside is covered in blood. Good times! But their father says he can scrape it off and replace the floor and blah blah lets all stay in the killer house because there is nothing creepy about that! I mean who did all of this?
Then this boy (Zeke) shows up with a gun after Pa leaves to go do some stuff. Zeke scares Ma and the kids to death. He tells them it's okay, he was just there to get water from the well, that him and his dad (Dr. Jacobson) live 2 miles away. Later on the Dr. comes over to check out Hannah and he gives her a clean bill of health. Zeke comes around a few more times and hangs out with everyone, he seems to have kind of a crush on Emily.
Then some bad stuff happens. Some other bad stuff happens. Add in the creepy stuff that happens when said bad stuff happens and it's a cluster. Next thing you know, Amanda, Emily, Joanna, and Charles are heading back to the mountain to their old house.
There are those kids and people waving again but they are even weirder than the first time. Sometimes scary stories you hear are real!
Then when you think you are safe, you hear a creepy fiddle and song outside in the night!
I totally enjoyed this book. It's short but I couldn't put it down and loved every creepy little minute of it! Also, if your some huge horror fan, it's probably not for you but don't go on my opinion or anyone else, just read what you want =) I also said CREEPY about 15 million times in my review!
MY BLOG: Melissa Martin's Reading List
Holy crap on a cracker! I put this book off for a long time because I had seen so many negative reviews when it first came out, but I'm sure glad I decided to start reading what I want because this book was down right creepy!
***SOME SPOILERS***
Amanda Verner is secretly seeing a boy named Henry in the woods and you know what they are up to! Then when he finds out Amanda is pregnant he leaves her; she's thinking he is going to marry her. NOT!
Amanda keeps this secret from her parents. Then one day her Pa decides to move the whole family out to the prairie thinking they will have it better out there. Yeah . . .
So Ma, Pa, Amanda and her brother and sisters, Hannah (blind and deaf baby), Emily, Joanna and Charles set out to their new home. There were supposedly some empty homes out there and you can just move into one. They pass one on the way and their is some family just waving to them as they go on by and it's a little weird.
I just felt the weird vibe as soon as I started reading the book and I LOVED it. There is nothing major going on and there really are only some really whacked out creepy stuff toward the end but it's just there. Always there!
Amanda just knows she's going to hell because she keeps having thoughts that she wants her baby and her little baby sister (the one that's blind and deaf) to die. Be careful what you wish for . . .
Then they find this big old house at the end of the line and the inside is covered in blood. Good times! But their father says he can scrape it off and replace the floor and blah blah lets all stay in the killer house because there is nothing creepy about that! I mean who did all of this?
Then this boy (Zeke) shows up with a gun after Pa leaves to go do some stuff. Zeke scares Ma and the kids to death. He tells them it's okay, he was just there to get water from the well, that him and his dad (Dr. Jacobson) live 2 miles away. Later on the Dr. comes over to check out Hannah and he gives her a clean bill of health. Zeke comes around a few more times and hangs out with everyone, he seems to have kind of a crush on Emily.
Then some bad stuff happens. Some other bad stuff happens. Add in the creepy stuff that happens when said bad stuff happens and it's a cluster. Next thing you know, Amanda, Emily, Joanna, and Charles are heading back to the mountain to their old house.
There are those kids and people waving again but they are even weirder than the first time. Sometimes scary stories you hear are real!
Then when you think you are safe, you hear a creepy fiddle and song outside in the night!
I totally enjoyed this book. It's short but I couldn't put it down and loved every creepy little minute of it! Also, if your some huge horror fan, it's probably not for you but don't go on my opinion or anyone else, just read what you want =) I also said CREEPY about 15 million times in my review!
MY BLOG: Melissa Martin's Reading List
October 27, 2015
This book was a disappointment. It was described as Little House on the Prairie meets Stephen King. Well, you can take both out of it, because it's neither scary nor fun. It bears little resemblance to my beloved Little House on the Prairie because the people in that series had common sense and the main character wasn't a whining little feather-brained twit.
This book is not a horror. It's a psychological tale, which is to say, it is boring as fuck. Don't expect anything to happen. Don't expect any scares, you won't get it. The entire book feels much like the result of a teenaged girl's twisted, guilty mind combined with the result of cabin fever and isolation that plays tricks on the mind (which was poorly depicted, else I would have given it a higher rating).
In a psychology-driven book, a character's emotions has to feel real, a reader must feel empathy for the character, and the author has to bait the reader with the reveal. There was no clear motive for the main character's guilt, and she ended up annoying me so much I completely lost all liking for her.
This is how the book goes. Girl lives in 19th century-or-so time in an isolated place. Don't expect any setting, don't expect any explanations. You won't get it. It's just some vague historical place, and the only reason I could deduce the era was by the Little House in the Prairie blurb and the use of Ma and Pa.
So girl makes a mistake like so many girls who came before her and after her did. She spreads her legs for a guy, thinking that he loves her (he doesn't) and that he'll marry her (he won't), and when she inevitably falls pregnant with the asshole's child, she thinks he will do the right thing and marry her (he won't). All this time there's multiple hidden mysterious spooky OOOOOOOOOH referenes to how she went nuts last winter (don't worry, you won't find out The Secret) for a long time.
And so stupid girl has to tell family she's pregnant (in due time). And all of a sudden Da decides to move them into a new house. No idea where the house is, but sure, new house. Because that's so easy to get in this time and age. New house turns out to be covered in blood from within.
The end.
Well, not really, but I swear on my most beloved stuffed animal's life that NOTHING HAPPENS.
If you're looking for a good Halloween read, look elsewhere.
This book is not a horror. It's a psychological tale, which is to say, it is boring as fuck. Don't expect anything to happen. Don't expect any scares, you won't get it. The entire book feels much like the result of a teenaged girl's twisted, guilty mind combined with the result of cabin fever and isolation that plays tricks on the mind (which was poorly depicted, else I would have given it a higher rating).
In a psychology-driven book, a character's emotions has to feel real, a reader must feel empathy for the character, and the author has to bait the reader with the reveal. There was no clear motive for the main character's guilt, and she ended up annoying me so much I completely lost all liking for her.
This is how the book goes. Girl lives in 19th century-or-so time in an isolated place. Don't expect any setting, don't expect any explanations. You won't get it. It's just some vague historical place, and the only reason I could deduce the era was by the Little House in the Prairie blurb and the use of Ma and Pa.
So girl makes a mistake like so many girls who came before her and after her did. She spreads her legs for a guy, thinking that he loves her (he doesn't) and that he'll marry her (he won't), and when she inevitably falls pregnant with the asshole's child, she thinks he will do the right thing and marry her (he won't). All this time there's multiple hidden mysterious spooky OOOOOOOOOH referenes to how she went nuts last winter (don't worry, you won't find out The Secret) for a long time.
I believe a part of myself may have died last winter.But the book will smack you with the reference for the rest of it.
And so stupid girl has to tell family she's pregnant (in due time). And all of a sudden Da decides to move them into a new house. No idea where the house is, but sure, new house. Because that's so easy to get in this time and age. New house turns out to be covered in blood from within.
There is a dark substance, a stinking liquid that covers the entire edge of the torn out floor. Even as much as I don’t want to believe it, I know that the liquid is, unquestionably, blood. There is more of it splattered up the sides of the peeling bark walls, and a broken chair amongst the wreckage is also ruined with the red. Fat black flies the size of coins buzz against the filthy glass window that lines the back wall.Ma and Da are like "oh, no biggie, it's just some blood, let's clean it up and move in." Excellent idea.
The end.
Well, not really, but I swear on my most beloved stuffed animal's life that NOTHING HAPPENS.
If you're looking for a good Halloween read, look elsewhere.
January 29, 2026
2.5 stars
The last winter was absolutely terrible.
Amanda's sickly mother was pregnant and began wasting away. Mom gave birth to a blind and deaf child who cries...and cries...and cries... Amanda went stir crazy - or maybe just crazy.
Things are just starting to get marginally back to normal, when her dad began shaking things up.
Amanda tried to be good - studying the bible and saying prayers....until a boy starts visiting her father.
A few months later and Amanda is now expecting...and absolutely terrified of what her father would do to her once he finds out.
But then they move, leaving the reluctant father-to-be behind and Amanda carrying her secret with her.
The Verners find an abandoned cottage on their new land and despite it being covered in blood, they decide to move in.
Whispers are abound - that the land itself is tainted by the devil...but surely, that cannot be true.
Once Amanda begins hearing the whispers in her head, she begins to wonder - what if she isn't the crazy one?
Judging from the cover, I was expecting some really...weird and inconsistent writing...like a bad horror movie.
It ended up be rather intriguing - the whole mystery whether she's crazy or if the world really is going mad.
However, it bugged me that nothing was truly explained. Things happened, and then more things happened. I really wanted to know who was the cause of it and why it was happening.
There could've been so much more to round this story out!
YouTube | Blog | Instagram | Twitter | Facebook | Snapchat @miranda_reads
Amanda Verner, sixteen, lives with her parents and siblings in a remote mountainside cabin.
"I'm starting to believe that hell is everywhere."
The last winter was absolutely terrible.
Amanda's sickly mother was pregnant and began wasting away. Mom gave birth to a blind and deaf child who cries...and cries...and cries... Amanda went stir crazy - or maybe just crazy.
Things are just starting to get marginally back to normal, when her dad began shaking things up.
Amanda tried to be good - studying the bible and saying prayers....until a boy starts visiting her father.
A few months later and Amanda is now expecting...and absolutely terrified of what her father would do to her once he finds out.
But then they move, leaving the reluctant father-to-be behind and Amanda carrying her secret with her.
The Verners find an abandoned cottage on their new land and despite it being covered in blood, they decide to move in.
Whispers are abound - that the land itself is tainted by the devil...but surely, that cannot be true.
Once Amanda begins hearing the whispers in her head, she begins to wonder - what if she isn't the crazy one?
I was surprised by this one.
"You are stronger than you think you are. You are not your thoughts. The only devil inside of you is the one you created yourself."
Judging from the cover, I was expecting some really...weird and inconsistent writing...like a bad horror movie.
It ended up be rather intriguing - the whole mystery whether she's crazy or if the world really is going mad.
However, it bugged me that nothing was truly explained. Things happened, and then more things happened. I really wanted to know who was the cause of it and why it was happening.
There could've been so much more to round this story out!
YouTube | Blog | Instagram | Twitter | Facebook | Snapchat @miranda_reads
December 1, 2015
So if in some twisted universe, a Laura Ingalls Wilder type accidentally got pregnant and moved onto a farm that may or may not be cursed, would she:
a. abandon her home and force her sister to raise her child until she can return for it
b. lose the baby and fear that it watches her from the woods with its dead eyes
c. run for her life as Ma and Pa go crazy and chase everybody with pickaxes
d. find a boy with a twisted smile who helps her battle the unknown forces and live happily ever after with him
e. turn into a vampire and suck out her best friend's soul?
Depending on which of these appeals to you, I can tell you whether or not you'll like this book, because it sure ain't for everybody.
I have to admit, the writing, overall plot, and characterization didn't quite gel for me, but there are some really great creeptastic moments in this book--not just your typical banging closet thing either, but closer to the seething, feral nature of Another Little Piece. Between the horrible things conjured out of the Amy Lukavics' mind and the atypical ending, I'd definitely try another book by this author.
a. abandon her home and force her sister to raise her child until she can return for it
b. lose the baby and fear that it watches her from the woods with its dead eyes
c. run for her life as Ma and Pa go crazy and chase everybody with pickaxes
d. find a boy with a twisted smile who helps her battle the unknown forces and live happily ever after with him
e. turn into a vampire and suck out her best friend's soul?
Depending on which of these appeals to you, I can tell you whether or not you'll like this book, because it sure ain't for everybody.
I have to admit, the writing, overall plot, and characterization didn't quite gel for me, but there are some really great creeptastic moments in this book--not just your typical banging closet thing either, but closer to the seething, feral nature of Another Little Piece. Between the horrible things conjured out of the Amy Lukavics' mind and the atypical ending, I'd definitely try another book by this author.
November 3, 2015
*3.75*
This book definitely freaked me out and gave me the chills!
This book definitely freaked me out and gave me the chills!
October 16, 2015
HEY, LOOK! I MADE A WALLPAPER OF THIS! Stop by the blog to download this and many more!
I may or may not have pissed my pants after reading this book.
Spoiler: I definitely did piss my pants after reading this book.
Horror aficionados, come and meet your match(made in hell). After reading Rin Chupeco's Girl From the Well and The Suffering, I've been on a frenzy hunt for the next book that would tickle my scary bone and leave me trembling in the night. I'm not sure if you guys know, but I
relish
the feeling of getting scared. When my imagination goes out of control and when it feels like something is whispering to me or is floating beside me or is following me all because of a book - well, let's just say, I feel absolutely thrilled by it. Yes, it is probably weird, but no, I am not crazy. Baby, I'm just born this way, yo!
But let's face it, not every book has the moves to pull that off. I've read countless horrors through the years, but only a small percentage of them legitimately gave me goosebumps. Heck, I tried Nightfall not too long ago (a supposedly creepy thriller), and my eyes were halfway closed 10% into it. I tried R.L. Stine's FEAR STREET (in hopes his type of horror would work on grown-up me), but the most emotion it got from me was a 'harumph'. And a very indifferent 'harumph' at that.
And then, I read Daughters Unto Devils.
And, I reiterate, shit my pants.
What are you to do when the coming winter would be too brutal for your family to bear, and there's a praire in the far distance with abandoned houses where one could be your next homestead? Would you brave the blizzard and stay where you are, or would you take a gamble and up your chances of survival? But what if this prairie is more than what meets the eye...? What if this prairie is the home of whispers and secrets and mysteries, the kind in which horror stories are made of?
Welcome to Amanda Verner's life, the oldest of five children in a strict Christian family, who has live all her life up in the mountains. The previous winter, after helping her mother bear her youngest sister, Hannah, she saw the devil come to her, with its raging eyes and peculiar voice, calling her SINNER for her wicked thoughts. Everything changed since then, and things are going to keep on changing especially when her father announced they would be moving away to avoid the brunt of the storm.
Reading Amanda's narrative was a unique experience. Growing up with pretty hardcore Christian parents, she oftentimes spoke of how the Lord would not have wanted her sinner-like ways, and how she would burn in hell for her wicked thoughts (and trust me, some of 'em were pretty wicked). It was hard to appreciate her at first because I found many of her internal thoughts personally disturbing ("This boy had saved me from my Hell on Earth with the wonderful distraction that was his body" ->> wat) but later on, I found her to be an interesting individual stuck in an equally interesting family dynamic. She was constantly internally conflicted with what she was taught she should do and think with the things she actually does and think. She was frustrated with her life and how she felt 'stuck' in it, and how she was seemingly the black sheep in her family.
That's why when the horror elements came to play, it was so engaging (and nail-biting!!!!) to see how she and her family would cope with them. A multifaceted heroine in a fast-paced horror book?! Can that actually be possible?! This book proves that yes, it can be done, and it can be done very, very well. Throw in a Christian family and demons and devils in the middle of nowhere, plus a heroine who is still finding herself, and you have one pretty kick-ass and creepy book. This was a mix of quiet horror that plays with your mind and drives your imagination to overtime, and jumpy horror that makes you want to throw your book at a mirror (just in case) and run away screaming bloody murder.
Seriously, demons + middle of nowhere + abandoned house + SCARECROWS... hahahahahahahaha bye, world.
There's no other way for me to review this book any further lest I go the spoiler-zone, which I absolutely do not want to do. Let's just say this book surprised me in many ways - it wasn't just the horror that was amazingly done and built-up (the crescendo going to the climax was spine-tingling delicious), but how certain scenes and endings played out. There were so many unexpected outcomes here that pretty much broke my heart and left me saying, "No. No. NONONONONONONONONOOOOOOOOO. YOU DID NOT JUST DO THAT, BOOK!!!!"
Get it, guys. This is ASBOLUTELY PERFECT for October. GET IT, GET IT, GET IT, GET IIIIT!
FOLLOW ME ALL OVER THE INTERWEBZ!
The Social Potato | Xpresso Reads | Not So Literary | Youtube | Twitter | Instagram | Facebook | Ask.fm
I may or may not have pissed my pants after reading this book.
Horror aficionados, come and meet your match
But let's face it, not every book has the moves to pull that off. I've read countless horrors through the years, but only a small percentage of them legitimately gave me goosebumps. Heck, I tried Nightfall not too long ago (a supposedly creepy thriller), and my eyes were halfway closed 10% into it. I tried R.L. Stine's FEAR STREET (in hopes his type of horror would work on grown-up me), but the most emotion it got from me was a 'harumph'. And a very indifferent 'harumph' at that.
And then, I read Daughters Unto Devils.
And, I reiterate, shit my pants.
What are you to do when the coming winter would be too brutal for your family to bear, and there's a praire in the far distance with abandoned houses where one could be your next homestead? Would you brave the blizzard and stay where you are, or would you take a gamble and up your chances of survival? But what if this prairie is more than what meets the eye...? What if this prairie is the home of whispers and secrets and mysteries, the kind in which horror stories are made of?
Welcome to Amanda Verner's life, the oldest of five children in a strict Christian family, who has live all her life up in the mountains. The previous winter, after helping her mother bear her youngest sister, Hannah, she saw the devil come to her, with its raging eyes and peculiar voice, calling her SINNER for her wicked thoughts. Everything changed since then, and things are going to keep on changing especially when her father announced they would be moving away to avoid the brunt of the storm.
Reading Amanda's narrative was a unique experience. Growing up with pretty hardcore Christian parents, she oftentimes spoke of how the Lord would not have wanted her sinner-like ways, and how she would burn in hell for her wicked thoughts (and trust me, some of 'em were pretty wicked). It was hard to appreciate her at first because I found many of her internal thoughts personally disturbing ("This boy had saved me from my Hell on Earth with the wonderful distraction that was his body" ->> wat) but later on, I found her to be an interesting individual stuck in an equally interesting family dynamic. She was constantly internally conflicted with what she was taught she should do and think with the things she actually does and think. She was frustrated with her life and how she felt 'stuck' in it, and how she was seemingly the black sheep in her family.
That's why when the horror elements came to play, it was so engaging (and nail-biting!!!!) to see how she and her family would cope with them. A multifaceted heroine in a fast-paced horror book?! Can that actually be possible?! This book proves that yes, it can be done, and it can be done very, very well. Throw in a Christian family and demons and devils in the middle of nowhere, plus a heroine who is still finding herself, and you have one pretty kick-ass and creepy book. This was a mix of quiet horror that plays with your mind and drives your imagination to overtime, and jumpy horror that makes you want to throw your book at a mirror (just in case) and run away screaming bloody murder.
Seriously, demons + middle of nowhere + abandoned house + SCARECROWS... hahahahahahahaha bye, world.
There's no other way for me to review this book any further lest I go the spoiler-zone, which I absolutely do not want to do. Let's just say this book surprised me in many ways - it wasn't just the horror that was amazingly done and built-up (the crescendo going to the climax was spine-tingling delicious), but how certain scenes and endings played out. There were so many unexpected outcomes here that pretty much broke my heart and left me saying, "No. No. NONONONONONONONONOOOOOOOOO. YOU DID NOT JUST DO THAT, BOOK!!!!"
Get it, guys. This is ASBOLUTELY PERFECT for October. GET IT, GET IT, GET IT, GET IIIIT!
FOLLOW ME ALL OVER THE INTERWEBZ!
The Social Potato | Xpresso Reads | Not So Literary | Youtube | Twitter | Instagram | Facebook | Ask.fm
October 7, 2018
Flip me over with a spatula. This book did the very rare job of truly giving me the creeps. I mean, really and truly. Hairs on the back of my neck stood up, I had moments of forgetting to breathe and it was like a really bad idea to read it in the dark with the Kindle light turned down low. I had to keep cuddling my cats for comfort.
This is one of those books that seems to start with a fairly low-key plot and energy, still very intriguing and interesting, not boring in anyway but I did NOT expect some of the chilling moments that were to seep in through the cracks of the pages to sear on my brain forever.
You can read the synopsis to get the idea, but honestly, don't even worry about that, just read it if you like to get your creep on. The characters in this book will haunt me, scenes in this book will haunt me, I am worried other things in the book might haunt me. For real.
I read it with wide open eyes from the first word to the last without stopping, once it sucked me in it did not let go, I read through the early hours of the morning not caring how tired I was. It's one of those stories where you are utterly fascinated and then the author just throws in a scene, an image, a word, a sentence, a moment and you just stop, need to catch your breath and gather yourself and possibly, like me, read that bit a few times.
As the book propelled towards it's conclusion I was on the edge of my seat, well the edge of the bed really. I could not absorb it fast enough and I was chilled to the bone, horrified and mesmerised all at the same time. This book just seeped a kind of evil from it's pages, almost tangible. It's not a gore filled book, but scenes are brutal on the emotions. There are some scenes that I pictured as though I was watching a movie and it was just terrifying. I think I would have a pillow half over my face.
I loved this book, it gets five easy stars from me because it was readable, enjoyable, stirred emotion, gave me the chills and the creeps and was just refreshing in the way it is written. An author I will be looking out for for sure. Those that like a bit of fear in their bookcase will really enjoy this little gem. Positioned as a Young Adult book, don't let that put you off, anybody could enjoy this book.
For more of my reviews, book competitions, author talk and more:
https://www.facebook.com/BookloverCat...
To follow me on Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/promotethatbook
I received a copy of this book thanks to the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review, many thanks.
This is one of those books that seems to start with a fairly low-key plot and energy, still very intriguing and interesting, not boring in anyway but I did NOT expect some of the chilling moments that were to seep in through the cracks of the pages to sear on my brain forever.
You can read the synopsis to get the idea, but honestly, don't even worry about that, just read it if you like to get your creep on. The characters in this book will haunt me, scenes in this book will haunt me, I am worried other things in the book might haunt me. For real.
I read it with wide open eyes from the first word to the last without stopping, once it sucked me in it did not let go, I read through the early hours of the morning not caring how tired I was. It's one of those stories where you are utterly fascinated and then the author just throws in a scene, an image, a word, a sentence, a moment and you just stop, need to catch your breath and gather yourself and possibly, like me, read that bit a few times.
As the book propelled towards it's conclusion I was on the edge of my seat, well the edge of the bed really. I could not absorb it fast enough and I was chilled to the bone, horrified and mesmerised all at the same time. This book just seeped a kind of evil from it's pages, almost tangible. It's not a gore filled book, but scenes are brutal on the emotions. There are some scenes that I pictured as though I was watching a movie and it was just terrifying. I think I would have a pillow half over my face.
I loved this book, it gets five easy stars from me because it was readable, enjoyable, stirred emotion, gave me the chills and the creeps and was just refreshing in the way it is written. An author I will be looking out for for sure. Those that like a bit of fear in their bookcase will really enjoy this little gem. Positioned as a Young Adult book, don't let that put you off, anybody could enjoy this book.
For more of my reviews, book competitions, author talk and more:
https://www.facebook.com/BookloverCat...
To follow me on Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/promotethatbook
I received a copy of this book thanks to the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review, many thanks.
November 20, 2015
Find all of my reviews at: http://52bookminimum.blogspot.com/
3.5 Stars
“I’m starting to believe that hell is everywhere.”
This was a bit of a pleasant surprise.
Amanda Verner’s family has always lived in mountain territory, but after a rough winter the previous year and the farmers all warning to prepare for an even worse one her father decides the family should relocate to the prairie. It is rumored that woods surround the area which will provide work for Pa in the form of furniture making and there's supposed to be plenty of abandoned cabins of former settlers who have moved on. While Amanda is not thrilled with the idea of moving, her plans of running away with the boy of her dreams didn’t pan out and she’s been left with a little souvenir . . . .
The family is thrilled to find out everything they have heard is true, and after passing up one cabin that was way too small discover a huge place to create their homestead. However, upon entering their new abode the Verners are struck with a horrible smell and the realization that something happened . . .
But Pa is still all like . . .
And swears he can get the place back in tip-top shape in no time. He also is positive the uhhhhhhh mess left by the previous inhabitants must have been due to them butchering an ox inside the joint. Because yeah, that sounds totally legit.
Anyway, then some stuff and things happens and Amanda learns a real tough lesson about . . . .
Daughters Unto Devils gets a bit of a bump in the rating department from me for daring to take risks. The “horror” niche in YA has gone from nearly nonexistent to laughable in its absurdity. This was pretty creepy and it definitely kept me turning pages. I can only imagine how this could make youngsters poop their drawers.
The only thing keeping my half star rounded down rather than up was all the talk of how Amanda had “prayed for this, oh my God, I prayed . . . .” to the point where I was making notes like “STFU YOU BROKEN RECORD!!!!” and wanted to . . . .
Other than that, though, this was a pretty decent read and definitely a quick one. Just watch out the next time you hear some fiddlin’ . . . .
3.5 Stars
“I’m starting to believe that hell is everywhere.”
This was a bit of a pleasant surprise.
Amanda Verner’s family has always lived in mountain territory, but after a rough winter the previous year and the farmers all warning to prepare for an even worse one her father decides the family should relocate to the prairie. It is rumored that woods surround the area which will provide work for Pa in the form of furniture making and there's supposed to be plenty of abandoned cabins of former settlers who have moved on. While Amanda is not thrilled with the idea of moving, her plans of running away with the boy of her dreams didn’t pan out and she’s been left with a little souvenir . . . .
The family is thrilled to find out everything they have heard is true, and after passing up one cabin that was way too small discover a huge place to create their homestead. However, upon entering their new abode the Verners are struck with a horrible smell and the realization that something happened . . .
But Pa is still all like . . .
And swears he can get the place back in tip-top shape in no time. He also is positive the uhhhhhhh mess left by the previous inhabitants must have been due to them butchering an ox inside the joint. Because yeah, that sounds totally legit.
Anyway, then some stuff and things happens and Amanda learns a real tough lesson about . . . .
Daughters Unto Devils gets a bit of a bump in the rating department from me for daring to take risks. The “horror” niche in YA has gone from nearly nonexistent to laughable in its absurdity. This was pretty creepy and it definitely kept me turning pages. I can only imagine how this could make youngsters poop their drawers.
The only thing keeping my half star rounded down rather than up was all the talk of how Amanda had “prayed for this, oh my God, I prayed . . . .” to the point where I was making notes like “STFU YOU BROKEN RECORD!!!!” and wanted to . . . .
Other than that, though, this was a pretty decent read and definitely a quick one. Just watch out the next time you hear some fiddlin’ . . . .
October 23, 2015
Okay. It might be YA, but to me, it's horror all the way, baby.
I may not care all that much about old-tyme american settlement, little house on the prairie - type fiction, but there's a goodly number of creepy frontier horror out there in the wide world, and I seem to be stumbling upon them a bit more in the last few years. As I was reading this one, I was reminded about how much I like my Rasputina collection, and a special little song in the Violent Femmes collection, too, but more than anything, I felt like I was sitting down to a good homemade meal by one of my favourite authors. Was I reminded of SK? Yes. Pleasantly so. And I was gratified at the end to see him in the acknowledgements. :)
So, first of all, most of the story is all character development, slow reveals, creepy setup, and then we get the zinger in the last quarter that puts me at the edge of my seat. It was a perfect execution. Nothing was out of place. The story flowed so very nicely. We knew something had either gone very wrong in the past or something was going to go very wrong in the future, and either reveal would have been perfect, but we were sandwiched between both the entire trip and they both love to feed on the reader from both ends until everything goes to hell.
Ah, so lovely. It feels like a very old ghost tale done with modern sensibilities because that's exactly what it is, although it doesn't matter a whiff whether there are actual ghosts in it. It draws us in from all the angles it had set up, made us care, and then slammed us up against the wall. I love horror. I seriously love horror when it's done right, and this was done right.
The taste of a moral message nearing the end was probably just a passing glamour. The real end made everything just right.
I may not care all that much about old-tyme american settlement, little house on the prairie - type fiction, but there's a goodly number of creepy frontier horror out there in the wide world, and I seem to be stumbling upon them a bit more in the last few years. As I was reading this one, I was reminded about how much I like my Rasputina collection, and a special little song in the Violent Femmes collection, too, but more than anything, I felt like I was sitting down to a good homemade meal by one of my favourite authors. Was I reminded of SK? Yes. Pleasantly so. And I was gratified at the end to see him in the acknowledgements. :)
So, first of all, most of the story is all character development, slow reveals, creepy setup, and then we get the zinger in the last quarter that puts me at the edge of my seat. It was a perfect execution. Nothing was out of place. The story flowed so very nicely. We knew something had either gone very wrong in the past or something was going to go very wrong in the future, and either reveal would have been perfect, but we were sandwiched between both the entire trip and they both love to feed on the reader from both ends until everything goes to hell.
Ah, so lovely. It feels like a very old ghost tale done with modern sensibilities because that's exactly what it is, although it doesn't matter a whiff whether there are actual ghosts in it. It draws us in from all the angles it had set up, made us care, and then slammed us up against the wall. I love horror. I seriously love horror when it's done right, and this was done right.
The taste of a moral message nearing the end was probably just a passing glamour. The real end made everything just right.
March 19, 2018
⭐️⭐️⭐️ / 5
This is my second time reading a book by Amy Lukavics and I know I can count on her for some creepy, horror YA fiction. Daughters Unto Devils wasn't as creepy as The Women in the Walls, and it actually had much more of a regular story to it than I expected it to. The last 40 pages were the creepiest for me, and the most... bloody.
The blurb pretty much tells you what you need to know about this one so I won't go into it, but I thought this was a relatively creepy, very quick read. I'm sure not everyone will think this novel is creepy (i.e. my buddy read partner lol), but I think a lot of people will find it nice and creepy. Probably a good one to read around Halloween as well!
Daughters Unto Devils in 3 words: Creepy, Paranormal, & Quick
*This title was published on 29 Sep 2015 and is Lukavics' debut novel*
This is my second time reading a book by Amy Lukavics and I know I can count on her for some creepy, horror YA fiction. Daughters Unto Devils wasn't as creepy as The Women in the Walls, and it actually had much more of a regular story to it than I expected it to. The last 40 pages were the creepiest for me, and the most... bloody.
The blurb pretty much tells you what you need to know about this one so I won't go into it, but I thought this was a relatively creepy, very quick read. I'm sure not everyone will think this novel is creepy (i.e. my buddy read partner lol), but I think a lot of people will find it nice and creepy. Probably a good one to read around Halloween as well!
Daughters Unto Devils in 3 words: Creepy, Paranormal, & Quick
*This title was published on 29 Sep 2015 and is Lukavics' debut novel*
July 14, 2017
Well there is one thing I can say about this book...it was short! Reading Amy Lukavics 'Daughters unto Devils' was one of the most disappointing reading experiences of my life. When a publisher walks up to you and says, 'You must read this! It's like Little House on the Prairie meets The Exorcist', expectations are naturally high. This book fell oh, so short.
The characters were completely flat and two dimensional, and Lukavics' world building leaves a lot to be desired. Her language choices felt forced (there are only so many instances of characters referring to each other as 'sister' or 'daughter' a reader should ever have to take), and instead of building a time and place through her prose, she instead chose to use a superficially tacky form of 'Ye Olde Englishe' to let us know it was set in the past.
There was absolutely no tension, and very little build up of suspense through the plot. I can actually count a total of three horror filled supernatural occurrences in which the protagonist was involved. Each of these, rather than being scary, were so over the top and sudden as to be almost laughable. The plot didn't hang together, and without any character development it just felt like one ridiculous occurrence after another.
'Last Winter' was mentioned constantly through the novel, with very little information given as to what actually happened. When we do find out, it turns out that Lukavics seems to know very little about the spread of infection or mental health in confined spaces. She's given her novel a religious overtone, and yet not chosen to go anywhere with it other than having her characters sing hymns and reference the devil.
This whole book needed a lot more development. There was the potential for a frightening and fascinating novel in there somewhere, but there was simply not enough character exploration and world building. Lukavics certainly had the space to do it; the novel was short and the text was extra large to give it the appearance of a normal sized novel.
The entire plot can be summed up in three bullet points:
The characters were completely flat and two dimensional, and Lukavics' world building leaves a lot to be desired. Her language choices felt forced (there are only so many instances of characters referring to each other as 'sister' or 'daughter' a reader should ever have to take), and instead of building a time and place through her prose, she instead chose to use a superficially tacky form of 'Ye Olde Englishe' to let us know it was set in the past.
There was absolutely no tension, and very little build up of suspense through the plot. I can actually count a total of three horror filled supernatural occurrences in which the protagonist was involved. Each of these, rather than being scary, were so over the top and sudden as to be almost laughable. The plot didn't hang together, and without any character development it just felt like one ridiculous occurrence after another.
'Last Winter' was mentioned constantly through the novel, with very little information given as to what actually happened. When we do find out, it turns out that Lukavics seems to know very little about the spread of infection or mental health in confined spaces. She's given her novel a religious overtone, and yet not chosen to go anywhere with it other than having her characters sing hymns and reference the devil.
This whole book needed a lot more development. There was the potential for a frightening and fascinating novel in there somewhere, but there was simply not enough character exploration and world building. Lukavics certainly had the space to do it; the novel was short and the text was extra large to give it the appearance of a normal sized novel.
The entire plot can be summed up in three bullet points:
November 18, 2017
"waste of paper " is my only explanation for this book :D
not scary, just stupid, illogical and gross
not scary, just stupid, illogical and gross
October 14, 2015
RATING FOR THE FIRST 3/4: Low 2 stars
RATING FOR THE LAST 1/4: Solid 5 stars
I am REALLY stuck between 3 and 4 for this.
Until the AWESOME finale, it was actually more like 2.5 stars.
I can't tell you how much I was anticipating this book. When I got an ARC, I whooped and danced and started reading it the minute it was in my little hands, expecting that I would have it finished within the night. It wasn't that long, I love horror, and Amy Lukavics seems like a really cool lady. So I was so excited for this; I even passed up the opportunity to have that gorgeous cover so I could read it early. My own copy is fairly standard purple, blank with spiky letters.
Then...
Well, I started reading. I liked it well enough, don't get me wrong -- this isn't the build to some savage takedown. It just didn't grab me. For a novel that took so long to get to any creepy stuff, I didn't find the characters interesting enough to compel me for several long chapters before anything much happens. Also, initially, the character seem to call each other "sister" and "daughter" at the end of every single line and, at first, it drove me nuts. Thankfully, this slackened off in the middle, or I stopped noticing, but I've read a lot of 18/19th-century literature and, though they do address each other as this from time to time, not nearly as much as the characters in this book did at first. It didn't really feel authentic to the period for me.
Also, one of the things that sadly was a HUGE hurdle to me loving it (and the thing that ultimately pulled it down from 4 stars for me) was an enormous amount of telling-over-showing. Amanda keeps telling us that Emily distrusts her and has cooled off towards her, but there is so little of their relationship that I didn't really get it. Rather than showing Amanda's emotions, Lukavics just kept telling us what Amanda was feeling.
Or, to illustrate in a broader point: Amanda's parents are religious, which is a little bit of a stumbling block for me anyway because my family isn't. I do appreciate that many people in the time period this is set (1800s) were incredibly religious but the problem with reading this novel in the 21st century is that it's no longer easy to ASSUME religion as I do when I'm reading a book actually published in the 1800s. Therefore, I found it hard to sympathise with or comprehend the threat to Amanda because she merely kept telling us that she didn't know what she would do because her parents would freak out/disown her/damn her to hell, but I never felt any particular threat because her parents, well, they barely did anything. They just sort of sat there, occasionally doing housework or asking Amanda what was wrong, but they felt like very thin, underdeveloped characters.
So Amanda keeps complaining about her own fear of the devil and feelings about her pregnancy, and, for a while, that's it. Though her sister, Emily, seems sweet, and the doctor's son who lives a little way away, Zeke, is interesting, we never really get a sense of what's interesting or promising about these characters. Until about 3/4 of the way through, the plotting is so repetitive and Amanda's thought processes are so static and predictable that I got bored several times with this book. Although Lukavics is clearly a talented writer and that kept me coming back, there is none of the real gasp or thrill factor I wanted from a horror novel. That's ultimately why it took me over two months to read a very short novel.
I know that, in order to be invested when scares pile up, we should know stuff about the characters, but ultimately this clan just seemed too dull and characterless that the supposed "character development" felt more like foot-dragging as we learned nothing about them. I also felt Lukavics kept too much mysterious - I still don't understand why the exact circumstances of Amanda's little sister, Hannah's, birth had to be kept so vague for so long, as there was nothing all that dramatic about the revelation. I don't know whether to call the pace/plot development glacial or non-existent, as it's page 154 (!) before we get our first (and, to my knowledge, only) creepy story about the prairie, and there had only been maybe a couple of scares before that. It was all just too slow and not interesting enough for my tastes.
However, this situation almost worsened by how much better the novel got in the last 50 or so pages. It went from being a fairly dull, underwhelming story with a few stilted scares to suddenly becoming a tense, thrilling, and disturbing novel about a tainted land. I loved it then -- and that made me sad, because it showed me that Amy Lukavics can write a deliciously disturbed YA horror. Suddenly the scares lined up, and I felt visibly shaken, especially from that last scene where Amanda and Emily met Dr Jacobsen and Zeke. The ending was perfectly pitched and, despite a final annoying moment where Amanda suddenly figured out everything on the spot - with no preamble - simply because the time was right. However, this is underselling the truly haunting and unusual ending, which sprung a few genuine surprises on me. I will be thinking about the fate of some of their family for a long, long time from this moment on. i honestly can't believe that some people on this Goodreads page are saying it doesn't go heavy on the horror! Maybe not at first but, after a while, trust me, Lukavics can really bring it when she chooses, which made it a pity that she doesn't do it more often.
In short, it became the novel I knew it could be, and that upset me because I didn't understand what had stopped it from getting there earlier. It was literally like the entire novel treaded water until the final section and, in many ways, it was like the plot didn't even begin until then, but, when it did...Jesus Christ. This could have been a classic YA horror, and it should have been, really. I wanted so much more from it, too: what was that thing on the land? How did it get there? AND WHAT THE HELL WAS HENRY PLAYING AT? I'm a little irritated that an entire 300-page novel didn't even bother to make an attempt to slightly explain that. One day, I think Amy Lukavics will be the one true queen of YA horror, and my main disappointment is that it won't be today.
So, my final thought on the novel is this - damn it, Lukavics, what took you so long?
RATING FOR THE LAST 1/4: Solid 5 stars
I am REALLY stuck between 3 and 4 for this.
Until the AWESOME finale, it was actually more like 2.5 stars.
I can't tell you how much I was anticipating this book. When I got an ARC, I whooped and danced and started reading it the minute it was in my little hands, expecting that I would have it finished within the night. It wasn't that long, I love horror, and Amy Lukavics seems like a really cool lady. So I was so excited for this; I even passed up the opportunity to have that gorgeous cover so I could read it early. My own copy is fairly standard purple, blank with spiky letters.
Then...
Well, I started reading. I liked it well enough, don't get me wrong -- this isn't the build to some savage takedown. It just didn't grab me. For a novel that took so long to get to any creepy stuff, I didn't find the characters interesting enough to compel me for several long chapters before anything much happens. Also, initially, the character seem to call each other "sister" and "daughter" at the end of every single line and, at first, it drove me nuts. Thankfully, this slackened off in the middle, or I stopped noticing, but I've read a lot of 18/19th-century literature and, though they do address each other as this from time to time, not nearly as much as the characters in this book did at first. It didn't really feel authentic to the period for me.
Also, one of the things that sadly was a HUGE hurdle to me loving it (and the thing that ultimately pulled it down from 4 stars for me) was an enormous amount of telling-over-showing. Amanda keeps telling us that Emily distrusts her and has cooled off towards her, but there is so little of their relationship that I didn't really get it. Rather than showing Amanda's emotions, Lukavics just kept telling us what Amanda was feeling.
Or, to illustrate in a broader point: Amanda's parents are religious, which is a little bit of a stumbling block for me anyway because my family isn't. I do appreciate that many people in the time period this is set (1800s) were incredibly religious but the problem with reading this novel in the 21st century is that it's no longer easy to ASSUME religion as I do when I'm reading a book actually published in the 1800s. Therefore, I found it hard to sympathise with or comprehend the threat to Amanda because she merely kept telling us that she didn't know what she would do because her parents would freak out/disown her/damn her to hell, but I never felt any particular threat because her parents, well, they barely did anything. They just sort of sat there, occasionally doing housework or asking Amanda what was wrong, but they felt like very thin, underdeveloped characters.
So Amanda keeps complaining about her own fear of the devil and feelings about her pregnancy, and, for a while, that's it. Though her sister, Emily, seems sweet, and the doctor's son who lives a little way away, Zeke, is interesting, we never really get a sense of what's interesting or promising about these characters. Until about 3/4 of the way through, the plotting is so repetitive and Amanda's thought processes are so static and predictable that I got bored several times with this book. Although Lukavics is clearly a talented writer and that kept me coming back, there is none of the real gasp or thrill factor I wanted from a horror novel. That's ultimately why it took me over two months to read a very short novel.
I know that, in order to be invested when scares pile up, we should know stuff about the characters, but ultimately this clan just seemed too dull and characterless that the supposed "character development" felt more like foot-dragging as we learned nothing about them. I also felt Lukavics kept too much mysterious - I still don't understand why the exact circumstances of Amanda's little sister, Hannah's, birth had to be kept so vague for so long, as there was nothing all that dramatic about the revelation. I don't know whether to call the pace/plot development glacial or non-existent, as it's page 154 (!) before we get our first (and, to my knowledge, only) creepy story about the prairie, and there had only been maybe a couple of scares before that. It was all just too slow and not interesting enough for my tastes.
However, this situation almost worsened by how much better the novel got in the last 50 or so pages. It went from being a fairly dull, underwhelming story with a few stilted scares to suddenly becoming a tense, thrilling, and disturbing novel about a tainted land. I loved it then -- and that made me sad, because it showed me that Amy Lukavics can write a deliciously disturbed YA horror. Suddenly the scares lined up, and I felt visibly shaken, especially from that last scene where Amanda and Emily met Dr Jacobsen and Zeke. The ending was perfectly pitched and, despite a final annoying moment where Amanda suddenly figured out everything on the spot - with no preamble - simply because the time was right. However, this is underselling the truly haunting and unusual ending, which sprung a few genuine surprises on me. I will be thinking about the fate of some of their family for a long, long time from this moment on. i honestly can't believe that some people on this Goodreads page are saying it doesn't go heavy on the horror! Maybe not at first but, after a while, trust me, Lukavics can really bring it when she chooses, which made it a pity that she doesn't do it more often.
In short, it became the novel I knew it could be, and that upset me because I didn't understand what had stopped it from getting there earlier. It was literally like the entire novel treaded water until the final section and, in many ways, it was like the plot didn't even begin until then, but, when it did...Jesus Christ. This could have been a classic YA horror, and it should have been, really. I wanted so much more from it, too: what was that thing on the land? How did it get there? AND WHAT THE HELL WAS HENRY PLAYING AT? I'm a little irritated that an entire 300-page novel didn't even bother to make an attempt to slightly explain that. One day, I think Amy Lukavics will be the one true queen of YA horror, and my main disappointment is that it won't be today.
So, my final thought on the novel is this - damn it, Lukavics, what took you so long?
November 9, 2015
Going into this I was expecting something magnificent, something horrifying and original but as I started it, instead I realized more than anything, this would more than likely just be an odd, unusual read and not at all creepy or scary. In fact it took me a very long time to really understand Amanda and even like her. I'm still not sure that I like her, but oh boy, did we get a good hard, long look inside the inner workings of her mind.
*shudders* This read might have started with little interest and me not thinking it was scary at all, but it certainly wasn't how I thought of it by the end. It ended up being the dark and horrifying read I was earlier expecting and somewhat disturbing, not only with the details of the story, but as Amanda's thoughts and feelings turned darker, more confusing, harsh, and disturbing.
In fact, “disturbing” is such a great word for this read and if I could only use one adjective to describe it, that would be my number one choice for it.
This book is not for the faint of heart or for those of us with wild imaginations, both of which I might add, I do in fact possess.
It had so much potential but honestly, the first half of the book was slow and strange and the second half, explosive, disturbing and left me reeling. So many unanswered questions and so much happens that it truly was overwhelming.
Did I like this story? Yes and no. I think with more work it could have been amazing but instead the first half fell flat and the second was just too much and too little too late. But I did enjoy it and the twists were crazy and the spook factor by the second half was definitely there so for those things alone, I am giving this three stars instead of two.
*A copy of this was provided by the publisher in exchange for an honest review.*
*shudders* This read might have started with little interest and me not thinking it was scary at all, but it certainly wasn't how I thought of it by the end. It ended up being the dark and horrifying read I was earlier expecting and somewhat disturbing, not only with the details of the story, but as Amanda's thoughts and feelings turned darker, more confusing, harsh, and disturbing.
In fact, “disturbing” is such a great word for this read and if I could only use one adjective to describe it, that would be my number one choice for it.
This book is not for the faint of heart or for those of us with wild imaginations, both of which I might add, I do in fact possess.
It had so much potential but honestly, the first half of the book was slow and strange and the second half, explosive, disturbing and left me reeling. So many unanswered questions and so much happens that it truly was overwhelming.
Did I like this story? Yes and no. I think with more work it could have been amazing but instead the first half fell flat and the second was just too much and too little too late. But I did enjoy it and the twists were crazy and the spook factor by the second half was definitely there so for those things alone, I am giving this three stars instead of two.
*A copy of this was provided by the publisher in exchange for an honest review.*
July 30, 2016
★★★½
Daughters Unto Devils is a standalone, young-adult story of horror written by Amy Lukavics. This title is her debut novel and I found it very promising. Although some parts felt a bit too simple at times for my personal taste, I thought Ms. Lukavics excelled at creating a creepy and dark atmosphere which I thoroughly enjoyed. By setting this story in the 1800's and isolating the characters from help when faced with a pretty constant threat of doom, my attention was easily held. Oh, should I mention the source of this doom is demons?? Yeah. Ms. Lukavics didn't have to include gore or much action at all to create the urgency that comes with successful horror. Just thinking about what could be lingering on the next page was enough. I say well done to this new published author and I'm excited to see what else she has I store for her new fan base.
My favorite quote:
"It doesn't matter what you think, sister. It matters what you do. If we were to be damned for every thought that ran through our minds, we'd all be Hell-bound. What matters is who you are."
Daughters Unto Devils is a standalone, young-adult story of horror written by Amy Lukavics. This title is her debut novel and I found it very promising. Although some parts felt a bit too simple at times for my personal taste, I thought Ms. Lukavics excelled at creating a creepy and dark atmosphere which I thoroughly enjoyed. By setting this story in the 1800's and isolating the characters from help when faced with a pretty constant threat of doom, my attention was easily held. Oh, should I mention the source of this doom is demons?? Yeah. Ms. Lukavics didn't have to include gore or much action at all to create the urgency that comes with successful horror. Just thinking about what could be lingering on the next page was enough. I say well done to this new published author and I'm excited to see what else she has I store for her new fan base.
My favorite quote:
"It doesn't matter what you think, sister. It matters what you do. If we were to be damned for every thought that ran through our minds, we'd all be Hell-bound. What matters is who you are."
October 27, 2016
سه و نیم
کتاب میتونست خیلی خیلی بهتر و هیجانانگیزتر باشه
این رو بر اساس 30-40 درصد پایانی کار میگم.
به شدت تلخ بود فضای کار. از همون ابتدا این تلخی و سنگینی حس میشد. یک جوّ به شدت تلخ، تیره و سنگین
و نویسنده تا انتها اون رو حفظ کرد، بهش تبریک میگم
پرداخت کار خوب بود و ایدهی بسیار خوبی هم داشت اما خیلی بیشتر از اینها میتونست روی موارد ترسناک اثرش مانور بده
مشتاقم کارهای بعدیش رو هم بخونم، ببینم توی این زمینه چقدر پیشرفت میکنه، به هر حال دختران و شیاطین، کار اول خانم لوکاویکس بوده
اثر با کپیرایت از انتشارات بهداد منتشر میشه
کتاب میتونست خیلی خیلی بهتر و هیجانانگیزتر باشه
این رو بر اساس 30-40 درصد پایانی کار میگم.
به شدت تلخ بود فضای کار. از همون ابتدا این تلخی و سنگینی حس میشد. یک جوّ به شدت تلخ، تیره و سنگین
و نویسنده تا انتها اون رو حفظ کرد، بهش تبریک میگم
پرداخت کار خوب بود و ایدهی بسیار خوبی هم داشت اما خیلی بیشتر از اینها میتونست روی موارد ترسناک اثرش مانور بده
مشتاقم کارهای بعدیش رو هم بخونم، ببینم توی این زمینه چقدر پیشرفت میکنه، به هر حال دختران و شیاطین، کار اول خانم لوکاویکس بوده
اثر با کپیرایت از انتشارات بهداد منتشر میشه
April 12, 2014
One of the perks of knowing the author is getting an early read! This book is utterly terrifying. UTTERLY. TERRIFYING.
May 9, 2023
This was just fine, unfortunately (which means now that I've had one Lukavics title I loved, one I hated, and one that was "just fine"). RTC
December 14, 2018
I love horror. In any fashion. Adult horror, Young Adult Horror, Classic Horror -if it's horror, GIVE IT TO ME! Now, YA horror is typically hit or miss. What permits it to be YA - the writing style? Or the main character's age? Or what exactly? Sometimes it's a hit or miss with me (to be fair, so is every book really), and with this one, it hit right down the middle for me.
Here's the thing. This is only 251 pages. I was halfway through the book and while I was enjoying the story, I wasn't get any creep factor.... like, at ALL. Then it slowly kind of trickled in... but then it wasn't until the LAST 50 PAGES that it became horror.. and it happened all at once. And these were the pages I enjoyed the most.
Amy Lukavics does outstanding in the YA horror genre - but this to me was probably the least creepiest of the reads. Still good. Still creepy - and the scarecrows... uff, SCARY and I LOVE IT. I need more of THAT please!
Here's the thing. This is only 251 pages. I was halfway through the book and while I was enjoying the story, I wasn't get any creep factor.... like, at ALL. Then it slowly kind of trickled in... but then it wasn't until the LAST 50 PAGES that it became horror.. and it happened all at once. And these were the pages I enjoyed the most.
Amy Lukavics does outstanding in the YA horror genre - but this to me was probably the least creepiest of the reads. Still good. Still creepy - and the scarecrows... uff, SCARY and I LOVE IT. I need more of THAT please!
June 16, 2019
Amanda is one of seven children to an impoverished family but is soon to add one more mouth for them to feed due to her unmarried, pregnant state. She is keeping her swollen belly secret from all but sister Emily as the family move to the mountains, where they hope for an easier life for their large brood. But the mountains have other ideas for them...
This, as a YA, begun more explicitly than I had anticipated and I was also continually impressed by the blood and goriness that were infused into the scenes. These, however, were too few and far between the keep me continually enthralled and much of what went on between them lacked any suspense or emotional engagement. The characters, apart from Amanda and Emily, felt inauthentic and the setting was difficult to picture. These aspects staved off any emotional attachment or intrigued fright that could have otherwise been garnered and led this to, overall, largely fail for me as a whole.
This, as a YA, begun more explicitly than I had anticipated and I was also continually impressed by the blood and goriness that were infused into the scenes. These, however, were too few and far between the keep me continually enthralled and much of what went on between them lacked any suspense or emotional engagement. The characters, apart from Amanda and Emily, felt inauthentic and the setting was difficult to picture. These aspects staved off any emotional attachment or intrigued fright that could have otherwise been garnered and led this to, overall, largely fail for me as a whole.
May 29, 2021
این دو ستاره هم برای نثر روون و کوتاه و ناحوصله سربر کتاب.
شروعش عجیب بود. خوشم نیومد اما زمین نگذاشتمش. کمی که جلوتر رفت داشتم بهش امیدوار میشدم که نه بابا اونقدرهم بد نیست. (oh boy.)
نسخه ارتقا یافته و آمریکایی رمانهای تلگرامی؛ بهترین توصیفیه که براش دارم.
و در مورد وحشت بودنش، صادقانه بگم، آرالاستاین من رو بهتر از این میترسونه. :)))
توصیفات خیلی جاها ناقص بودن، شخصیت پردازی هم همینطور.
پایانش هم رو هوا معلق بود و بیمعنی تموم شد.
یه نکته دیگهای هم که کمی آزارم داد، مدام تکرار کردن یه حقیقت توسط راوی بود. بابا باشه دیگه فهمیدیم.
به هر حال، به عنوان یه کتاب کوتاهی که از اسلامپ درم بیاره خوب عمل کرد. حداقلش با کرینج دیوونهام نکرد.
پینوشت: اگه تا اینجا خوندی، ممنون که غرغرهای بی پایانم رو تحمل کردی.
:D
شروعش عجیب بود. خوشم نیومد اما زمین نگذاشتمش. کمی که جلوتر رفت داشتم بهش امیدوار میشدم که نه بابا اونقدرهم بد نیست. (oh boy.)
نسخه ارتقا یافته و آمریکایی رمانهای تلگرامی؛ بهترین توصیفیه که براش دارم.
و در مورد وحشت بودنش، صادقانه بگم، آرالاستاین من رو بهتر از این میترسونه. :)))
توصیفات خیلی جاها ناقص بودن، شخصیت پردازی هم همینطور.
پایانش هم رو هوا معلق بود و بیمعنی تموم شد.
یه نکته دیگهای هم که کمی آزارم داد، مدام تکرار کردن یه حقیقت توسط راوی بود. بابا باشه دیگه فهمیدیم.
به هر حال، به عنوان یه کتاب کوتاهی که از اسلامپ درم بیاره خوب عمل کرد. حداقلش با کرینج دیوونهام نکرد.
پینوشت: اگه تا اینجا خوندی، ممنون که غرغرهای بی پایانم رو تحمل کردی.
:D
August 2, 2017
داستان یه جو تیره و دارکی داشت که نویسنده تا پایان این جو رو حفظ کرد ، و از این جهت خیلی خوب بود.
و معلومه ایده خوبی هم داشته و خوبم تونسته بپردازه داستانو
ولی هیجان و کشش نداشت داستان.
درواقع بنظرم پتانسیلش خیلی بالاتر از این پایان بود ، حداقل یه صد دویست صفحه دیگه هم میتونست بنویسه و یه پایان خوب و منطقی تر بنویسه براش
اینطوری شاید هیجانشم ، با به کار اومدن عناصر دیگه و یکم هم موقعیت محور کردن داستان ، شاید چهار میدادم.
یکی دیگه از دلایلی که امتیاز کم کردم تکرار های بیهوده بود که واقعا اعصاب خورد کن بودن
مثلا میاد میگه من گناه کارم.
خب اگه هر دفعه فقط همین رو میگفت ، آره قبول دارم میتونست با تاکیر بر آن تاثیرشو بیشتر کنه
ولی هر دفعه علاوه بر این ، باز یه چیزای تکرراری دیگه هم میگفت
مثلا هر دفعه اضافه میکرد : « من هانا رو کشتم. .» که بنظر من اصلا نیازی نبود همچین کاری کنه.
از طرفی هم از بند آخر و پایانی داستان خوشم اومد
به همین دلیل هم 3.5 میدم بهش.
October 24, 2015
I devoured this in two sittings, late at night and as soon as I woke up the next morning. I knew I'd love it after only the first few pages; the atmospheric, slow-building horror found its way under my skin, and though there were quite a few unsettling details in the beginning and first half, I was surprised to find myself afraid to walk the halls in the dark. This story about sisterhood and love and pure evil--not to mention old-fashioned husband/wife dynamics--builds to one of the most satisfying and shocking climaxes I've read in quite a while. Little House on the Prairie of the Damned, indeed.
April 24, 2023
The only devil inside of you is the one you created yourself.”
Trigger Warning: Graphic imagery and violence, miscarriage, and child death.
Holy shit, what did I just read? This was in the YA section?!? Really? Man, they really went for it here. This is a VERY dark, historical fiction horror novel and it was very unsettling, which means I was completely there for it.
Ok guys, really take caution with this one with violence that involves children bothers you. This one doesn't holdback any punches. This book is marketed as Little House on the Prairie meets Stephen Kingand that's pretty darn accurate. I love dark historical fiction, so I'm a bit surprised that this is the first time I'm picking this one up - glad I did though. This story follows a family that is going through a hard time and doesn't really have a large enough house to be able to get through the next winter with their sanity intact and so when they hear about another settlement that has some free cabins to claim, they set out to find a new home.
Our main protagonist Amanda is a very polarizing character, many people are going to hate her from the get-go. Her inner dialogue is dark, selfish and at many times repulsive. I had a love-hate relationship with this young girl because that is exactly what she was - young. Her family is struggling and her sanity is questionable and I thought her thoughts were very authentic. Ugly, but authentic. When they finally get to the settlement, things are not what they had hoped for - it kind of blows my mind that anyone would stay there but I guess desperate times. I won't say what they find when they arrive but I think most of us would scream and run in the other direction pretty fast - not fix it up and decide to stay. It wouldn't be much of a horror book if they didn't that though!
Daughters Unto Devilsis a slow burn, like a lot of historical fiction is. It does feature an unreliable narrator as well, since we have no idea if she has lost her mind or if what is happening is real for most of the book. I thought I had completely figured it out at one point and I was wrong. I've seen a lot of mixed reviews on this one and I'm not sure if it's because it's a slower paced book or because it's fairly gory and disturbing. Either way, I thought it was a fantastic October read and I'm sure I'll have some of those images stuck in my head for awhile.
You have been warned about the content, if the story still sounds intriguing then go pick this one up! Totally worth and a very quick read.
Trigger Warning: Graphic imagery and violence, miscarriage, and child death.
Holy shit, what did I just read? This was in the YA section?!? Really? Man, they really went for it here. This is a VERY dark, historical fiction horror novel and it was very unsettling, which means I was completely there for it.
Ok guys, really take caution with this one with violence that involves children bothers you. This one doesn't holdback any punches. This book is marketed as Little House on the Prairie meets Stephen Kingand that's pretty darn accurate. I love dark historical fiction, so I'm a bit surprised that this is the first time I'm picking this one up - glad I did though. This story follows a family that is going through a hard time and doesn't really have a large enough house to be able to get through the next winter with their sanity intact and so when they hear about another settlement that has some free cabins to claim, they set out to find a new home.
Our main protagonist Amanda is a very polarizing character, many people are going to hate her from the get-go. Her inner dialogue is dark, selfish and at many times repulsive. I had a love-hate relationship with this young girl because that is exactly what she was - young. Her family is struggling and her sanity is questionable and I thought her thoughts were very authentic. Ugly, but authentic. When they finally get to the settlement, things are not what they had hoped for - it kind of blows my mind that anyone would stay there but I guess desperate times. I won't say what they find when they arrive but I think most of us would scream and run in the other direction pretty fast - not fix it up and decide to stay. It wouldn't be much of a horror book if they didn't that though!
Daughters Unto Devilsis a slow burn, like a lot of historical fiction is. It does feature an unreliable narrator as well, since we have no idea if she has lost her mind or if what is happening is real for most of the book. I thought I had completely figured it out at one point and I was wrong. I've seen a lot of mixed reviews on this one and I'm not sure if it's because it's a slower paced book or because it's fairly gory and disturbing. Either way, I thought it was a fantastic October read and I'm sure I'll have some of those images stuck in my head for awhile.
You have been warned about the content, if the story still sounds intriguing then go pick this one up! Totally worth and a very quick read.
July 19, 2016
"I'm starting to believe that hell is everywhere."
Amy Lukavics breathes some eerie horror back into YA literature with her debut novel Daughters Unto Devils. And dang, is it a good debut. It is being coined "Little House on the Prairie meets Stephen King" which I feel is the best way to describe this dark little yarn.
This historical story follows 16-year-old Amanda who lives with her family in a secluded house surrounded by woods. The only contact she's ever had with a boy her age is a messenger who comes around every month. Needless to say, we find out in chapter one that she is pregnant with his baby. This causes quite a bit of mad guilt for Amanda because if her family finds out, they will disown her. Not only that, but Amanda isn't quite right in the head (at all!) to begin with, so the guilt doesn't help with that. From there, the story spirals into a royally effed up fall into madness, death, suffering, and the devils within... literally.
While Daughters Unto Devils never really scared me, it definitely got under my skin and gave me anxiety for this family. Also, the many dark twists in the plot left my stomach turning. Here's the part where I say "Not for the faint of heart!" or "Reader beware, you're in for a scare!"
I've read a lot of reviews of people saying Amanda is an annoying, whinny character. I can see where they're coming from, but this whole story is in the head of someone who isn't mentally well. Don't expect a likable, cheerful girl. This is a girl who has been through conditions that would leave anyone traumatized. Just take away our cellphones and we'd lose it! Now imagine having nothing else, living in a dangerously cold environment, being raised on olden beliefs that you are impure, having to be nothing in order to achieve salvation, witnessing gruesome horrors, and being haunted by a devil in the woods... Honey, I'm sorry, but you'd be losing it too.
In the end, I loved this book. It was an atmospheric, quick read that I finished in less than two days. I subtracted a star just because I wanted a bit more horror. Otherwise, pretty good stuff.
Amy Lukavics breathes some eerie horror back into YA literature with her debut novel Daughters Unto Devils. And dang, is it a good debut. It is being coined "Little House on the Prairie meets Stephen King" which I feel is the best way to describe this dark little yarn.
This historical story follows 16-year-old Amanda who lives with her family in a secluded house surrounded by woods. The only contact she's ever had with a boy her age is a messenger who comes around every month. Needless to say, we find out in chapter one that she is pregnant with his baby. This causes quite a bit of mad guilt for Amanda because if her family finds out, they will disown her. Not only that, but Amanda isn't quite right in the head (at all!) to begin with, so the guilt doesn't help with that. From there, the story spirals into a royally effed up fall into madness, death, suffering, and the devils within... literally.
While Daughters Unto Devils never really scared me, it definitely got under my skin and gave me anxiety for this family. Also, the many dark twists in the plot left my stomach turning. Here's the part where I say "Not for the faint of heart!" or "Reader beware, you're in for a scare!"
I've read a lot of reviews of people saying Amanda is an annoying, whinny character. I can see where they're coming from, but this whole story is in the head of someone who isn't mentally well. Don't expect a likable, cheerful girl. This is a girl who has been through conditions that would leave anyone traumatized. Just take away our cellphones and we'd lose it! Now imagine having nothing else, living in a dangerously cold environment, being raised on olden beliefs that you are impure, having to be nothing in order to achieve salvation, witnessing gruesome horrors, and being haunted by a devil in the woods... Honey, I'm sorry, but you'd be losing it too.
In the end, I loved this book. It was an atmospheric, quick read that I finished in less than two days. I subtracted a star just because I wanted a bit more horror. Otherwise, pretty good stuff.
October 12, 2015
Okay, that was pretty creepy! I actually had to create a new GR shelf for this book. I have never read a YA horror novel before, and Daughters Unto Devils definitely sets the bar! I am seriously creeped out! Yes that was quite the scary story there!
Amanda Verner has lived her entire life with her family in a mountain cabin. However after a horrible winter that left them traumatized to the brutal conditions of mountain living, her father takes the advice of Henry the post boy about moving to a prairie settlement where more subtle weather and spacious cabins would suit the Verner family much better.
So the family, including the mom, dad, Amanda and her sister Emily, as well as the smallest siblings Joanna, Charles and Hannah set off to the prairie in search of a new home and better life.
Immediately upon their arrival, the only available cabin is filled with blood stained walls and a sense of foreboding settles upon Amanda. As the days pass, she can’t ignore the evil she senses and soon begins to hear an infant crying, later to witness one standing upright in the dark woods. She’s the only one in her family that senses this danger and coupled with the demons she’s fighting within her, she knows she needs to get her family far from this place.
I am only scratching the surface to this story. There are so many layers that added to the chill factor Amy Lukavics creating in this YA horror novel. It all felt so real and played out like a movie, one that I normally wouldn't find myself enjoying, but I sort of did. Lukavics never tricks you into a false sense of security. She’s straightforward in setting the appearances that it’s a horror story so prepare yourself from some gruesome scenes, which by the way she delivered with detailed precision.
For anyone looking for a story that will end up in the freezer several times while you read it, I highly suggest this novel that spares no expense at scaring the pants off its readers! Well play Amy Lukavics… well played!
Amanda Verner has lived her entire life with her family in a mountain cabin. However after a horrible winter that left them traumatized to the brutal conditions of mountain living, her father takes the advice of Henry the post boy about moving to a prairie settlement where more subtle weather and spacious cabins would suit the Verner family much better.
So the family, including the mom, dad, Amanda and her sister Emily, as well as the smallest siblings Joanna, Charles and Hannah set off to the prairie in search of a new home and better life.
Immediately upon their arrival, the only available cabin is filled with blood stained walls and a sense of foreboding settles upon Amanda. As the days pass, she can’t ignore the evil she senses and soon begins to hear an infant crying, later to witness one standing upright in the dark woods. She’s the only one in her family that senses this danger and coupled with the demons she’s fighting within her, she knows she needs to get her family far from this place.
I am only scratching the surface to this story. There are so many layers that added to the chill factor Amy Lukavics creating in this YA horror novel. It all felt so real and played out like a movie, one that I normally wouldn't find myself enjoying, but I sort of did. Lukavics never tricks you into a false sense of security. She’s straightforward in setting the appearances that it’s a horror story so prepare yourself from some gruesome scenes, which by the way she delivered with detailed precision.
For anyone looking for a story that will end up in the freezer several times while you read it, I highly suggest this novel that spares no expense at scaring the pants off its readers! Well play Amy Lukavics… well played!
Read
September 8, 2015It’s late summer, the time of year when I read all the horror novels I can in anticipation of the fall rush. This one is definitely the scariest, the creepiest, the most riveting I’ve found this year. While it’s YA, it’s scarier than plenty of adult horror I’ve read. Take Little House on the Prairie, add religious mania, rural isolation, demons, ghost babies, the scariest cabin in the woods of all time, and you’ve got yourself a book you really shouldn’t read alone at night. — Jessica Woodbury
from The Best Books We Read In August: http://bookriot.com/2015/08/31/riot-r...
from The Best Books We Read In August: http://bookriot.com/2015/08/31/riot-r...
October 1, 2015
I heard about this book from Gretchen McNeil and was instantly intrigued. This story is so creepy, it's delicious.
The overall story is a bit of a slow burn. The setting and family life make for a very Oregon-Trail-like feel and it definitely adds to the atmosphere. By the time the last 1/4 of the book was unfolding, I was sitting straight up in my chair, turning the pages as fast as I could.
Overall, it was a quick read with one hell of an ending. I'm still not entirely sure what happened in parts of the story, but I loved every page of it.
**Huge thanks to Harlequin and NetGalley for providing the arc in exchange for an honest review**
The overall story is a bit of a slow burn. The setting and family life make for a very Oregon-Trail-like feel and it definitely adds to the atmosphere. By the time the last 1/4 of the book was unfolding, I was sitting straight up in my chair, turning the pages as fast as I could.
Overall, it was a quick read with one hell of an ending. I'm still not entirely sure what happened in parts of the story, but I loved every page of it.
**Huge thanks to Harlequin and NetGalley for providing the arc in exchange for an honest review**
November 4, 2024
این کتاب رو گرفته بودم تا برای هالووین بخونم اما طبق معمول عقب موندم و تازه دیشب خوندمش. حقیقتاً خوب نبود و میتونست خیلی بهتر باشه اما اون حس مورمور رو داشت و نثر روونش که خستهکننده نبود (به جز اون تکرارهای بیپایان) باعث شد بیدار بمونم تا بخونمش.
September 19, 2023
3.75 ✨
If you have watched Anya Taylor Joy's VVitch, and want a YA horror edition of it, then read this book. I really enjoyed this book, it had all of the vibes. The tension in the book especially in the latter half is stunning.
I also really like the title.
If you have watched Anya Taylor Joy's VVitch, and want a YA horror edition of it, then read this book. I really enjoyed this book, it had all of the vibes. The tension in the book especially in the latter half is stunning.
I also really like the title.
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