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We Hear Voices
An eerie horror debut about a little boy who recovers from a mysterious pandemic and inherits an imaginary friend who makes him do violent things...
Kids have imaginary friends. Rachel knows this. So when her young son, Billy, miraculously recovers from a horrible flu that has proven fatal for many, she thinks nothing of Delfy, his new invisible friend. After all, her family is healthy and that's all that matters.
But soon Delfy is telling Billy what to do, and the boy is acting up and lashing out in ways he never has before. As Delfy's influence is growing stranger and more sinister by the day, and rising tensions threaten to tear Rachel's family apart, she clings to one purpose: to protect her children at any cost--even from themselves.
We Hear Voices is a mischievously gripping near-future horror novel that tests the fragility of family and the terrifying gray area between fear and love.
Kids have imaginary friends. Rachel knows this. So when her young son, Billy, miraculously recovers from a horrible flu that has proven fatal for many, she thinks nothing of Delfy, his new invisible friend. After all, her family is healthy and that's all that matters.
But soon Delfy is telling Billy what to do, and the boy is acting up and lashing out in ways he never has before. As Delfy's influence is growing stranger and more sinister by the day, and rising tensions threaten to tear Rachel's family apart, she clings to one purpose: to protect her children at any cost--even from themselves.
We Hear Voices is a mischievously gripping near-future horror novel that tests the fragility of family and the terrifying gray area between fear and love.
374 pages, Hardcover
First published December 1, 2020
103 people are currently reading
7651 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 390 reviews
September 23, 2021
This book truly terrified me because even though it takes place in the future world telling a breath taking story about contagious pandemic crisis: there are so many similarities with our new normal world where we try to adjust its new rules right now! Probably the author wrote this book before Covid-19 but this means this book is great proof that human mind may imagine the worst and those scary scenarios appear on our minds may truly happen😱😱
In this book: mostly the little kids are affected by Pandemic. (So we have pessimistic clairvoyant author) And the kids who don’t die, returning back to their new lives with an uninvited host: they create IMAGINARY FRIENDS and they turn into those evil friends’ vessels to ask inappropriate questions about the organisms, sex etc. and become addicted to the spiders, finally they turn into blood thirsty, violent, little Chucky babies to kill the elders!
Let’s talk about our main characters to have a better understand how the story goes on: Rachel, ex-lawyer, divorced, living with her gold hearted, supportive boyfriend Al who works for homeless shelters. She was so close to lose her 6 years old Billy to pandemic. But her prayers were answered and he came back with his imaginary friend bitchy Delfy who forces him to heal faster and start researching more about science.
In the beginning, having an imaginary friend seemed like harmless thing for him. At least he was alive and physically he gets better. But mentally he sleepwalks, gets more agitated and disturbing at each day, watching you when you sleep, reorganizing everything in the house, making spider bouquet to scare his mom.
Rachel still thinks they are so lucky because her third child (she’s from Al) Beth who is little toddler gets also sick for one night but miraculously she gets better at the next day.
She also seems blessed to have a lovely relationship with her smart 16 years old daughter Nina who is selected for space program for creating a better future for next generations. She also dates with a charming, lovely, wealthy young man.
But the changes with Billy’s behaviors get out of control. He gets more volatile, unpredictable. His own grandmother wants to call a priest to perform exorcism to him. And things get more vicious, dark which results his captivation in a special asylum.
Nina secretly starts to a blog which goes viral, trying to reach the other families who suffer from same imaginary friend syndrome. She teams up with Graham: Billy’s doctor who observes little children in a special and secret hospital complex showing same symptoms with Billy.
Those little children hear voices who control their bodies for their great scheme. Who are they? What do they want? Why are they so violent and hostile?
The conclusion is satisfying enough for me but the process of secrets’ coming out was a little too easy and of course the jaw dropping ending was a little weird, absurd and batshit crazy. Did I like it? Of course I did. This is kind of my favorite craziness served so well with this riveting page turner.
Overall: the character portraits were drawn meticulously and especially Nina and Imogen ( even though she was a ghost) are my favorites. The pacing was intriguing. The story telling is witty, sarcastic and captivating. The conclusion has some plot holes but it was the best explanation for the source of voices.
I’m giving well-deserved four stars and congratulating brilliant Evie Green for her promising debut.
Special thanks to NetGalley and Berkley Publishing for sharing this captivating ARC with me in exchange my honest opinions.
In this book: mostly the little kids are affected by Pandemic. (So we have pessimistic clairvoyant author) And the kids who don’t die, returning back to their new lives with an uninvited host: they create IMAGINARY FRIENDS and they turn into those evil friends’ vessels to ask inappropriate questions about the organisms, sex etc. and become addicted to the spiders, finally they turn into blood thirsty, violent, little Chucky babies to kill the elders!
Let’s talk about our main characters to have a better understand how the story goes on: Rachel, ex-lawyer, divorced, living with her gold hearted, supportive boyfriend Al who works for homeless shelters. She was so close to lose her 6 years old Billy to pandemic. But her prayers were answered and he came back with his imaginary friend bitchy Delfy who forces him to heal faster and start researching more about science.
In the beginning, having an imaginary friend seemed like harmless thing for him. At least he was alive and physically he gets better. But mentally he sleepwalks, gets more agitated and disturbing at each day, watching you when you sleep, reorganizing everything in the house, making spider bouquet to scare his mom.
Rachel still thinks they are so lucky because her third child (she’s from Al) Beth who is little toddler gets also sick for one night but miraculously she gets better at the next day.
She also seems blessed to have a lovely relationship with her smart 16 years old daughter Nina who is selected for space program for creating a better future for next generations. She also dates with a charming, lovely, wealthy young man.
But the changes with Billy’s behaviors get out of control. He gets more volatile, unpredictable. His own grandmother wants to call a priest to perform exorcism to him. And things get more vicious, dark which results his captivation in a special asylum.
Nina secretly starts to a blog which goes viral, trying to reach the other families who suffer from same imaginary friend syndrome. She teams up with Graham: Billy’s doctor who observes little children in a special and secret hospital complex showing same symptoms with Billy.
Those little children hear voices who control their bodies for their great scheme. Who are they? What do they want? Why are they so violent and hostile?
The conclusion is satisfying enough for me but the process of secrets’ coming out was a little too easy and of course the jaw dropping ending was a little weird, absurd and batshit crazy. Did I like it? Of course I did. This is kind of my favorite craziness served so well with this riveting page turner.
Overall: the character portraits were drawn meticulously and especially Nina and Imogen ( even though she was a ghost) are my favorites. The pacing was intriguing. The story telling is witty, sarcastic and captivating. The conclusion has some plot holes but it was the best explanation for the source of voices.
I’m giving well-deserved four stars and congratulating brilliant Evie Green for her promising debut.
Special thanks to NetGalley and Berkley Publishing for sharing this captivating ARC with me in exchange my honest opinions.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
December 16, 2024
During a highly contagious flu pandemic, Rachel's son, Billy, lay close to death. Rachel is understandably distraught. He is just a little boy. He doesn't deserve this.
Defying all odds, Billy fights through and survives, but he brings a friend back with him from the brink. An imaginary friend who he calls, Delfy.
Rachel knows that many children develop imaginary friends to help them cope with trauma, so she's initially not too concerned about it.
From what Billy is telling her, Delfy is encouraging him to get stronger and that can't be a bad thing, can it?
But when Billy's behavior takes a frightening turn, putting others in danger, Rachel suspects Delfy is to blame.
Billy's older sister, Nina, also thinks Delfy's influence is harmful, and she is determined to get to the bottom of it. Her theory is that the flu is the root of the issue and she believes other children may be experiencing the same phenomenon.
There's a lot going on in this novel; a ton of subplots, with some being more interesting that others. One of my favorite aspects was reading about the pandemic, obviously made more eerie due to everything happening in our world.
This novel follows multiple perspectives as it builds out the dreary post-apocalyptic atmosphere. We follow Rachel, a struggling mother, Billy's sister, Nina, who is part of a space program for teens, and a doctor, who treats children hearing voices post-flu.
While many of the aspects of this were interesting to me, once they were mushed together, it became a bit much. It was like the plot suffered a little because there was almost too much going on.
The pacing was off because of this as well, with me much preferring particular perspectives to others. Frankly, I could have done with just Rachel and Nina's points of view.
Even though this is pitched as Horror, I would categorize it more as a Sci-Fi Thriller.
In spite of the tiny criticisms mentioned above, I still found this be to an engaging story and Green's writing style to be quite pleasing. I would definitely pick up future work from this author.
Thank you so much to the publisher, Berkley Books, for providing me with a copy of this to read and review. I truly appreciate it.
On the heels of 2020, now is the perfect time to pick this one up! You'll know what I mean once you read it.
Defying all odds, Billy fights through and survives, but he brings a friend back with him from the brink. An imaginary friend who he calls, Delfy.
Rachel knows that many children develop imaginary friends to help them cope with trauma, so she's initially not too concerned about it.
From what Billy is telling her, Delfy is encouraging him to get stronger and that can't be a bad thing, can it?
But when Billy's behavior takes a frightening turn, putting others in danger, Rachel suspects Delfy is to blame.
Billy's older sister, Nina, also thinks Delfy's influence is harmful, and she is determined to get to the bottom of it. Her theory is that the flu is the root of the issue and she believes other children may be experiencing the same phenomenon.
There's a lot going on in this novel; a ton of subplots, with some being more interesting that others. One of my favorite aspects was reading about the pandemic, obviously made more eerie due to everything happening in our world.
This novel follows multiple perspectives as it builds out the dreary post-apocalyptic atmosphere. We follow Rachel, a struggling mother, Billy's sister, Nina, who is part of a space program for teens, and a doctor, who treats children hearing voices post-flu.
While many of the aspects of this were interesting to me, once they were mushed together, it became a bit much. It was like the plot suffered a little because there was almost too much going on.
The pacing was off because of this as well, with me much preferring particular perspectives to others. Frankly, I could have done with just Rachel and Nina's points of view.
Even though this is pitched as Horror, I would categorize it more as a Sci-Fi Thriller.
In spite of the tiny criticisms mentioned above, I still found this be to an engaging story and Green's writing style to be quite pleasing. I would definitely pick up future work from this author.
Thank you so much to the publisher, Berkley Books, for providing me with a copy of this to read and review. I truly appreciate it.
On the heels of 2020, now is the perfect time to pick this one up! You'll know what I mean once you read it.
May 7, 2023
Another great premise with horrible execution. First, the book was pretty much a bait and switch. The blurb talks about a kid hearing voices, but most of the book was his mother dealing poorly with anxiety and making stupid decisions. The imaginary friend storyline almost end up feeling like a subplot. Then, for no reason, the novel is set in a near future "dystopia" of out of control capitalism. The author managed to reign in the soapbox a bit, so it only got mildly annoying, but it doesn't add anything to the story and is mainly a distraction.
There are three viewpoint characters; Rachel, the mother of the boy hearing voices, Nina, the teenage sister and Graham, the doctor who eventual treats him. Graham and Nina's chapters are actually somewhat interesting, so of course, Rachel's viewpoint is the majority of the book. I could live with it if she just wasn't a horrible, horrible character. Take almost every negative stereotype about women, and that's pretty much Rachel. Her only redeeming quality is that she loves her children.
Overall, the plot was very predictable, the ending was horribly anti-climactic and the author didn't really do anything new with a familiar concept. There was so much filler in the book, that it was a slog to get through the middle of it. A good editor could have cut out about half the pages and it wouldn't have had any effect on the story other than making it a quicker read. I was really disappointed with this book. It started out good, but the author failed to do much of anything original with the "children with evil 'imaginary' friends" storyline. There were a few glimpses where a great story tried to peek thru, but they were always quickly crushed.
There are three viewpoint characters; Rachel, the mother of the boy hearing voices, Nina, the teenage sister and Graham, the doctor who eventual treats him. Graham and Nina's chapters are actually somewhat interesting, so of course, Rachel's viewpoint is the majority of the book. I could live with it if she just wasn't a horrible, horrible character. Take almost every negative stereotype about women, and that's pretty much Rachel. Her only redeeming quality is that she loves her children.
Overall, the plot was very predictable, the ending was horribly anti-climactic and the author didn't really do anything new with a familiar concept. There was so much filler in the book, that it was a slog to get through the middle of it. A good editor could have cut out about half the pages and it wouldn't have had any effect on the story other than making it a quicker read. I was really disappointed with this book. It started out good, but the author failed to do much of anything original with the "children with evil 'imaginary' friends" storyline. There were a few glimpses where a great story tried to peek thru, but they were always quickly crushed.
December 1, 2020
Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for providing me with an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.
WOW. This book was really hard to put down. I love the format - short chapters, scenes that are constantly building to an ending that was a teensy bit predictable but also oh so twisty. The book had lots of good reveals, and it really built and built.
It wasn't really horror, though it had quite a bit of horror-element to it. It was more like a sci-fi techno thriller with some horror thrown in. There were so many possibilities as to what could be going on that it left you wondering, and the reveals over time were fantastic.
I also cared for most of the characters, which is a big feat for an author to do. So many times I love the story and feel the characters fall flat.
Definitely recommend this one as a fun read, especially if you're looking to escape the pandemic into, well, a different pandemic. ;)
WOW. This book was really hard to put down. I love the format - short chapters, scenes that are constantly building to an ending that was a teensy bit predictable but also oh so twisty. The book had lots of good reveals, and it really built and built.
It wasn't really horror, though it had quite a bit of horror-element to it. It was more like a sci-fi techno thriller with some horror thrown in. There were so many possibilities as to what could be going on that it left you wondering, and the reveals over time were fantastic.
I also cared for most of the characters, which is a big feat for an author to do. So many times I love the story and feel the characters fall flat.
Definitely recommend this one as a fun read, especially if you're looking to escape the pandemic into, well, a different pandemic. ;)
December 8, 2020
Audio 4 Stars
Story 4 Stars
Story 4 Stars
November 12, 2020
Have you ever been frustrated by a book, but then loved how it wrapped up? This review will be short and confusing, because quite honestly, I don't know how to review
We Hear Voices
at all.
The synopsis of this book is so relatable—a global pandemic, quarantining, flu-like symptoms... Evie Green wrote this book before COVID-19 began rampaging against our global community, but it's wild how similar the book is to reality. However, I found the book a bit too dry for my liking. I got bored very quickly and almost gave up many times. I absolutely loved the final chapter and how the story wrapped up, and I'm frustrated that this wasn't a bigger part of the novel. I can't speak more about it without ruining the story so take this review for face value.
The synopsis of this book is so relatable—a global pandemic, quarantining, flu-like symptoms... Evie Green wrote this book before COVID-19 began rampaging against our global community, but it's wild how similar the book is to reality. However, I found the book a bit too dry for my liking. I got bored very quickly and almost gave up many times. I absolutely loved the final chapter and how the story wrapped up, and I'm frustrated that this wasn't a bigger part of the novel. I can't speak more about it without ruining the story so take this review for face value.
December 2, 2020
Happy pub day!
A creepy debut novel with an assortment of genres such as horror, sci-fi, and thriller. We Hear Voices takes place in an apocalyptic setting of Earth facing the brink of collapsing. Technology took over a fair bit with virtual reality and artificial intelligence being prominent in this dystopian society. The answer to saving humanity is to train a new generation to launch into space to create a new life. On top of the plan for colonizing space there is a pandemic going on that is similar to the flu, called JX5 that is untreatable and killing people all over the world. Sound familiar?
Billy recovers from the mysterious pandemic but with the recovery comes a new imaginary friend named Delfy. His mother Rachel thinks Delfy is a blessing and believes that this is how Billy will be able to deal with the traumatic experience he just went through. At first what seems like harmless pranks by a six year old boy, quickly takes a dark turn for the worst. Billy claims that Delfy is the cause of these bad actions and is controlling him to do things he doesn’t want to do. Is it really Billy or is something far more sinister at play here? Meanwhile, Billy’s older sister Nina is training to become one of the pioneers to start over in space. Nina does her own investigation in trying to figure out what is happening with Billy and finding other children who are in the same position as him.
At first, it seems like the multiple plot lines are arbitrary and may be part of two entirely different books. As you read on, these plot lines come together seamlessly and everything is actually far more interconnected than you realize. The characters are well developed and strong, as well as linked together in ways they may not even expect. The book also explores economic equality and the concept of corporations taking control of people’s families, jobs, homes, and more. We Hear Voices kept me up well into the night, quickly flipping the pages in anticipation of what Billy will do next. Everything comes together full circle with a surprising yet satisfactory ending. I definitely will be on the lookout for Evie Green’s future novels!
Thank you so much to Netgalley and Berkley Publishing for providing an ARC in exchange for review. Originally posted at mysteryandsuspense.com
A creepy debut novel with an assortment of genres such as horror, sci-fi, and thriller. We Hear Voices takes place in an apocalyptic setting of Earth facing the brink of collapsing. Technology took over a fair bit with virtual reality and artificial intelligence being prominent in this dystopian society. The answer to saving humanity is to train a new generation to launch into space to create a new life. On top of the plan for colonizing space there is a pandemic going on that is similar to the flu, called JX5 that is untreatable and killing people all over the world. Sound familiar?
Billy recovers from the mysterious pandemic but with the recovery comes a new imaginary friend named Delfy. His mother Rachel thinks Delfy is a blessing and believes that this is how Billy will be able to deal with the traumatic experience he just went through. At first what seems like harmless pranks by a six year old boy, quickly takes a dark turn for the worst. Billy claims that Delfy is the cause of these bad actions and is controlling him to do things he doesn’t want to do. Is it really Billy or is something far more sinister at play here? Meanwhile, Billy’s older sister Nina is training to become one of the pioneers to start over in space. Nina does her own investigation in trying to figure out what is happening with Billy and finding other children who are in the same position as him.
At first, it seems like the multiple plot lines are arbitrary and may be part of two entirely different books. As you read on, these plot lines come together seamlessly and everything is actually far more interconnected than you realize. The characters are well developed and strong, as well as linked together in ways they may not even expect. The book also explores economic equality and the concept of corporations taking control of people’s families, jobs, homes, and more. We Hear Voices kept me up well into the night, quickly flipping the pages in anticipation of what Billy will do next. Everything comes together full circle with a surprising yet satisfactory ending. I definitely will be on the lookout for Evie Green’s future novels!
Thank you so much to Netgalley and Berkley Publishing for providing an ARC in exchange for review. Originally posted at mysteryandsuspense.com
November 19, 2021
WOW!! What in the world?!!!!
This book was so good. It's sci-fi horror with mystery. I am not sci-fi guy. But I really enjoyed so much! I've never read this kind of story before and I couldn't imagine how this story would turn to be. Ending blew my mind!!
Virus from space? It may happen in our future. Manipulate our brain? It's scary.
Is sequel coming soon? I hope so. I can't wait!!
Thank you , GOODREADS, for this giveaway book to me!
This book was so good. It's sci-fi horror with mystery. I am not sci-fi guy. But I really enjoyed so much! I've never read this kind of story before and I couldn't imagine how this story would turn to be. Ending blew my mind!!
Virus from space? It may happen in our future. Manipulate our brain? It's scary.
Is sequel coming soon? I hope so. I can't wait!!
Thank you , GOODREADS, for this giveaway book to me!
August 13, 2021
I didn’t know a thing about this story before going in, which is probably for the best because it’s about a plague that changes the landscape of the world. I’m not so sure I would’ve been down for all that right now had I known . . .
But saying that it is also fascinating to read this story during Covid times. It was written before the current pandemic but there are so many eerie similarities here that makes the reading all more chilling. Some things are, of course, taken to whole nother level, but some of it is spot on commentary considering what’s going on in the world today.
The set-up features a mother whose young son is near death from the J5X virus, a virus that is not kind to children. Billy miraculously recovers from the brink of death but he returns with an imaginary friend named Delfy. Everyone believes Delfy is a coping mechanism Billy develops to deal with the trauma of his near-death experience but soon enough Delfy’s influence begins to take a very sinister turn . . .
And that’s all I’m saying about any of that!
The story and where it was leading fascinated me. It was just terrifying enough to keep me hooked even when things slow down a bit in the middle. And things did slow down. There was a bit too much extra day to day stuff going on in there for my personal taste but the last third or so picks back up again and it’s worth sticking to, if you ask me.
I liked the family and the storyline and would definitely recommend giving it a read if you’re up for it at this point in time.
A 3 ½ bumped up to a 4 for Goodreads.
But saying that it is also fascinating to read this story during Covid times. It was written before the current pandemic but there are so many eerie similarities here that makes the reading all more chilling. Some things are, of course, taken to whole nother level, but some of it is spot on commentary considering what’s going on in the world today.
The set-up features a mother whose young son is near death from the J5X virus, a virus that is not kind to children. Billy miraculously recovers from the brink of death but he returns with an imaginary friend named Delfy. Everyone believes Delfy is a coping mechanism Billy develops to deal with the trauma of his near-death experience but soon enough Delfy’s influence begins to take a very sinister turn . . .
And that’s all I’m saying about any of that!
The story and where it was leading fascinated me. It was just terrifying enough to keep me hooked even when things slow down a bit in the middle. And things did slow down. There was a bit too much extra day to day stuff going on in there for my personal taste but the last third or so picks back up again and it’s worth sticking to, if you ask me.
I liked the family and the storyline and would definitely recommend giving it a read if you’re up for it at this point in time.
A 3 ½ bumped up to a 4 for Goodreads.
July 23, 2020
Imaginary friends will never not be spooky. But, it's just a question of if they're done right... and I can say with confidence that We Hear Voices had a new and great take on them!
I am definitely predicting a big hit release for this book, especially nearby Halloween. But, for all of the people reading this who may think they're not into "scary" books, I wouldn't worry. It's not that We Hear Voices isn't scary, but I think that almost all readers will be able to take this on even if they're just semi-interested. It's one of those half thriller half horror books, in which I can't really separate into one genre.
Anyways, this was a super fun read. There was always a rising level of suspense whilst reading, and the characters were very interesting. There were probably three subplots, which all revolve around this mysterious flu that comes with some sinister (real or not) best friends.
The only thing taking this away from a five-star review is the atmosphere. Not as much as a criticism, but I think there was a lot of missed potential. There was supposed to be an apocalyptic setting, and I didn't see the author leaning into it very much. Would've really amped things up, but if I were to be reading a random chapter there is no way I would be able to tell they were in the middle of a virus.
Definitely check We Hear Voices out, even though I didn't receive a hard copy I still gotta respect the great cover.
I am definitely predicting a big hit release for this book, especially nearby Halloween. But, for all of the people reading this who may think they're not into "scary" books, I wouldn't worry. It's not that We Hear Voices isn't scary, but I think that almost all readers will be able to take this on even if they're just semi-interested. It's one of those half thriller half horror books, in which I can't really separate into one genre.
Anyways, this was a super fun read. There was always a rising level of suspense whilst reading, and the characters were very interesting. There were probably three subplots, which all revolve around this mysterious flu that comes with some sinister (real or not) best friends.
The only thing taking this away from a five-star review is the atmosphere. Not as much as a criticism, but I think there was a lot of missed potential. There was supposed to be an apocalyptic setting, and I didn't see the author leaning into it very much. Would've really amped things up, but if I were to be reading a random chapter there is no way I would be able to tell they were in the middle of a virus.
Definitely check We Hear Voices out, even though I didn't receive a hard copy I still gotta respect the great cover.
December 24, 2020
I liked this a lot more than I expected to, even though it dragged in the middle and the ending didn't quite hold together.
Rachel is mum to teen Nina, 6yo Billy and 8mo Beth. A horrible fever has reached all corners of the earth, killing millions and now it's sickened Billy. He pulls through, and his mother thinks his recovery is a miracle. When his behavior becomes naughty then dangerous, and he's blaming it on imaginary friend Delfy, Rachel takes him to a child psychologist.
She has no idea Dr. Graham has a group of deadly, post-fever children hospitalized in the basement. And the group is growing.
This story seems inspired by that movie The Astronaut's Wife. In a reads-like sense, it made me think of Riley Sager. There are lots of clues and misdirections as to what's really going on and who (or what) is behind the illness. A few B-movie developments occur in addition to the gripes I mentioned at the top, but overall I enjoyed this.
Rachel is mum to teen Nina, 6yo Billy and 8mo Beth. A horrible fever has reached all corners of the earth, killing millions and now it's sickened Billy. He pulls through, and his mother thinks his recovery is a miracle. When his behavior becomes naughty then dangerous, and he's blaming it on imaginary friend Delfy, Rachel takes him to a child psychologist.
She has no idea Dr. Graham has a group of deadly, post-fever children hospitalized in the basement. And the group is growing.
This story seems inspired by that movie The Astronaut's Wife. In a reads-like sense, it made me think of Riley Sager. There are lots of clues and misdirections as to what's really going on and who (or what) is behind the illness. A few B-movie developments occur in addition to the gripes I mentioned at the top, but overall I enjoyed this.
January 26, 2021
This book was put into the wrong genre. Who would label this as horror? I came into this looking for horror and what I got was a family drama with scifi elements. Bleh.
It was okay for what it was (a family drama.) If you're going into this for horror or even an urban scifi story, you will be disappointed. The thing with the voices was very plain to me from the beginning. The twist at the end was laughable. I saw it coming from the beginning. I just spent most of this book being frustrated at how terrible the mother was in this book.
That would've garnered this book 3 stars but the ending is really what killed it for me. I give this 1.5 stars. It's all wrapped up like "aight, these kids who have demonstrated their willing to kill now say the voices are gone so let's let them out" and I was like LOL yeah okay. Sure thang sugar drop. That would totally happen. And the company would leave Nina along because REASONS. Haha. Bascially, it's a pat, extremely fast wrap up that wouldn't actually happen in real life.
It was okay for what it was (a family drama.) If you're going into this for horror or even an urban scifi story, you will be disappointed. The thing with the voices was very plain to me from the beginning. The twist at the end was laughable. I saw it coming from the beginning. I just spent most of this book being frustrated at how terrible the mother was in this book.
That would've garnered this book 3 stars but the ending is really what killed it for me. I give this 1.5 stars. It's all wrapped up like "aight, these kids who have demonstrated their willing to kill now say the voices are gone so let's let them out" and I was like LOL yeah okay. Sure thang sugar drop. That would totally happen. And the company would leave Nina along because REASONS. Haha. Bascially, it's a pat, extremely fast wrap up that wouldn't actually happen in real life.
February 26, 2023
I'm not really a fair one to review this book. I'm not a fan of Science Fiction. I won't describe it as anywhere near terrifying or horrifying, however it was engaging and eerily familiar because it takes place amid a pandemic, climate change devastation and people hoping for a new beginning on a different far-away planet. Elsewhere a large developer has created a highly regimented, communal living/working utopia with "Big Brother" overtones and a doctor is secretly trying to rehabilitate children who recovered from illness and suddenly began hearing "voices" in their heads. Rchel and her son, Billy are one of those that is relocating. Although her life is far from perfect, Rachel is grateful that she and Billy were spared. She's even willing to overlook his newfound imaginary friend "Delfy", who appeared in Billy's head shortly after his recovery. Rachel's acceptance doesn't last long. Soon, Delfy seems to have taken control...telling Billy what to say and do and even more frightening things. Billy realizes what's going on, but he says he's powerless to stop Delfy or ignore her commands. The story takes you on a complete and utter journey into the depths of the horrors and shock of the human mind and its stronghold on a person’s capacity of free will.
June 27, 2020
SO GOOD. This horror novel (not gory though) is set in the near future and there's a mysterious pandemic, killing millions and leaving some children with an unusual side effect: imaginary friends who make their hosts do violent things. The story centers around Billy and his family, and was so hard to put down. It's suspenseful, smart, scary, and eerily prescient. Well, I hope this book never actually becomes our future, but I do hope you'll read it because it was such a satisfying story.
Review copy provided by NetGalley and the publisher for an honest review
Review copy provided by NetGalley and the publisher for an honest review
December 13, 2020
Interesting premise. Dumb execution. Ending fell flat for me
dnf
November 29, 2021DNF at 42%. I know, almost halfway. But I just don't want to read this anymore. It had a really interesting basis. But it's slow and I think I'm just not into the writing style.
November 20, 2021
A mysterious illness known as J5X has wreaked havoc across the globe. During this pandemic six year old Billy is on the verge of dying when he makes a miraculous recovery. Billy begins talking about his imaginary friend Delfy. His mother thinks nothing of Delfy at first. She is so grateful that her son survived where many have not.
Not long after, Delfy starts telling Billy to do things, bad things. His mother has no idea what she is dealing with and after an Billy commits an unspeakable act under Delfy’s instruction, she is desperate for help. What ensues is a terrifying thrill ride that will keep you on your toes.
I really enjoyed this book. It had elements of thriller, sci-fi, and horror that worked well together. It definitely makes you think, especially after what has happened during the past two years.
Not long after, Delfy starts telling Billy to do things, bad things. His mother has no idea what she is dealing with and after an Billy commits an unspeakable act under Delfy’s instruction, she is desperate for help. What ensues is a terrifying thrill ride that will keep you on your toes.
I really enjoyed this book. It had elements of thriller, sci-fi, and horror that worked well together. It definitely makes you think, especially after what has happened during the past two years.
Read
November 17, 2022We Hear Voices is eerily similar to what we all went through during COVID quarantine/lockdowns.
This is more of a dystopian, apocalyptic sci-fi adventure rather than full-on horror, just to set early expectations. Imaginary friends are creepy, I suppose. Kids who suffer through a highly contagious illness with flu-like symptoms are rapidly dying, except a few children are making a full recovery with a mysterious side-effect: A supernatural "imaginary friend".
One child's friend, Delfy, seems to be controlling his friend, leading the child to exhibit some very unpleasant behaviors. This was fun and exciting, waiting to see where this development would go but there were long lulls in the story that seemed to interrupt the overall urgency to keep turning the pages. Felt like it took me a long time to finish.
I will for sure read more from Evie Green.
This is more of a dystopian, apocalyptic sci-fi adventure rather than full-on horror, just to set early expectations. Imaginary friends are creepy, I suppose. Kids who suffer through a highly contagious illness with flu-like symptoms are rapidly dying, except a few children are making a full recovery with a mysterious side-effect: A supernatural "imaginary friend".
One child's friend, Delfy, seems to be controlling his friend, leading the child to exhibit some very unpleasant behaviors. This was fun and exciting, waiting to see where this development would go but there were long lulls in the story that seemed to interrupt the overall urgency to keep turning the pages. Felt like it took me a long time to finish.
I will for sure read more from Evie Green.
September 13, 2020
In a world that eerily parallels the pandemic currently faced, one small boy recovers from near death only to have found an imaginary friend who seems to control his very actions, actions that are often terrifying and unexplainable. What could be happening to this innocent child? Is the voice in his head real? How will his mother deal with the horrors she must face? Is she prepared to admit something is not right? What of the others who have recovered? Do they hear voices, too?
WE HEAR VOICES by Evie Green is a dark tale of family relationships, paranormal events and questions the unknown and the unexpected and the unbelievable.
Well written, Billy is a typical small child who begins doing horrific things. His mother seemed too caught up in having a perfect family, almost seeming to deny a problem until further into the story. The addition of a doctor “studying” pandemic-recovered children adds a brilliant element as all is slowly revealed.
A perfectly evil read for the upcoming Halloween season.
I received a complimentary ARC edition from Berkley Publishing Group! This is my honest and voluntary review.
Publisher : Berkley (December 1, 2020)
Genre: Dark Fantasy
Print Length : 384 pages
Available from: Amazon | Barnes & Noble
For Reviews, Giveaways, Fabulous Book News, follow: http://tometender.blogspot.com
WE HEAR VOICES by Evie Green is a dark tale of family relationships, paranormal events and questions the unknown and the unexpected and the unbelievable.
Well written, Billy is a typical small child who begins doing horrific things. His mother seemed too caught up in having a perfect family, almost seeming to deny a problem until further into the story. The addition of a doctor “studying” pandemic-recovered children adds a brilliant element as all is slowly revealed.
A perfectly evil read for the upcoming Halloween season.
I received a complimentary ARC edition from Berkley Publishing Group! This is my honest and voluntary review.
Publisher : Berkley (December 1, 2020)
Genre: Dark Fantasy
Print Length : 384 pages
Available from: Amazon | Barnes & Noble
For Reviews, Giveaways, Fabulous Book News, follow: http://tometender.blogspot.com
February 14, 2021
We Hear Voices is a lot of things, but it is not a horror novel.
It's a dark and somewhat depressing dystopian sci-fi thriller mixed with family drama.
Evie Green created a near future post-pandemic world with lots of intriguing changes to our current situation on Earth, like enhanced virtual reality and artificial intelligence, space colonization and one big corporation that controls almost everything. There are many interesting ideas on technology and these changes fit perfectly into the story without being too far-fetched or unrealistic. I loved learning about this new dystopian society and the Work-Life-Plus system.
While I normally prefer one POV over multiple POVs, I think the three POVs (the main character Rachel, her 16-year-old daughter Nina and Dr. Graham) in this book worked extremely well together. I also enjoyed the many different subplots.
The twist at the end wasn't much of a surprise to me, but it brought the book to a satisfying conclusion. Everything got wrapped up and still leaves enough room for the reader's imagination.
TW: mentions of alcoholism.
It's a dark and somewhat depressing dystopian sci-fi thriller mixed with family drama.
Evie Green created a near future post-pandemic world with lots of intriguing changes to our current situation on Earth, like enhanced virtual reality and artificial intelligence, space colonization and one big corporation that controls almost everything. There are many interesting ideas on technology and these changes fit perfectly into the story without being too far-fetched or unrealistic. I loved learning about this new dystopian society and the Work-Life-Plus system.
While I normally prefer one POV over multiple POVs, I think the three POVs (the main character Rachel, her 16-year-old daughter Nina and Dr. Graham) in this book worked extremely well together. I also enjoyed the many different subplots.
The twist at the end wasn't much of a surprise to me, but it brought the book to a satisfying conclusion. Everything got wrapped up and still leaves enough room for the reader's imagination.
TW: mentions of alcoholism.
December 10, 2020
Narrated by Elizabeth Knowelden, the premise of We Hear Voices by Evie Green drew me in with its eerie offerings. A gripping tale about imaginary friends in a near future reality.
Fans of science fiction, horror and thrillers will be drawn into this world. Green’s debut novel begins with a pandemic/flu that kills most, but Rachel’s son Billy survives. She is so grateful that she thinks nothing of Billy’s new imaginary friend Delfy. That is, until Delfy convinces her son to do unspeakable things.
This was a twisted tale that weaved science fiction into an eerily plausible concept that gave me the chills. From the world Rachel and her family live in, to the startling discovers and children, I became immersed in what was happening. I connect with the characters and was invested in the outcome.
This is classified as horror, but it’s more of a science fiction suspense thriller. Things that happen are scary and had a supernatural vibe but you won’t be sleeping with the lights on… then again, maybe you will.
The pacing and world building made listening a pleasure. Elizabeth Knowelden did a splendid job with the voice of Rachel, our protagonist, and the POVs of Nina, and the Doctor.
I worried that the pandemic element would overwhelm me thanks to the current reality of COVID-19, but the dystopian type world and brilliant fleshed out characters soon had me hooked. This review was originally posted at Caffeinated Reviewer
Fans of science fiction, horror and thrillers will be drawn into this world. Green’s debut novel begins with a pandemic/flu that kills most, but Rachel’s son Billy survives. She is so grateful that she thinks nothing of Billy’s new imaginary friend Delfy. That is, until Delfy convinces her son to do unspeakable things.
This was a twisted tale that weaved science fiction into an eerily plausible concept that gave me the chills. From the world Rachel and her family live in, to the startling discovers and children, I became immersed in what was happening. I connect with the characters and was invested in the outcome.
This is classified as horror, but it’s more of a science fiction suspense thriller. Things that happen are scary and had a supernatural vibe but you won’t be sleeping with the lights on… then again, maybe you will.
The pacing and world building made listening a pleasure. Elizabeth Knowelden did a splendid job with the voice of Rachel, our protagonist, and the POVs of Nina, and the Doctor.
I worried that the pandemic element would overwhelm me thanks to the current reality of COVID-19, but the dystopian type world and brilliant fleshed out characters soon had me hooked. This review was originally posted at Caffeinated Reviewer
October 7, 2022
I wish I heard voices telling me to not read this.
December 19, 2020
I received this book for free from the Publisher in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.The nitty-gritty: An ambitious genre mash-up that tackles such diverse topics as poverty, imaginary friends, space exploration and family bonds.
We Hear Voices caught me off guard, but in a good way. I don’t know what I was expecting, but I didn’t realize this was science fiction/dystopian when I started reading it. It looks like horror, right? There are horrific elements for sure, but I was surprised by all the SF tropes as well.
The story takes place in a future London in the middle of a deadly pandemic and revolves around several connected families. Rachel is divorced with two children, sixteen year old Nina and six year old Billy, and she currently lives with her boyfriend Al. She and Al have recently had a baby girl together named Beth, so their small, dingy apartment is feeling cramped at the moment. The family is in dire straits since Rachel has been on maternity leave for eight months with no income. In addition to that, she had to leave her job at a law firm due to anxiety, and now she’s not sure how she will be able to work again.
Even worse, Billy has caught the J5X virus and is dying when the story opens. The family has gathered to say their goodbyes, but the next day, Billy appears to be better and quickly recovers. Rachel is elated, until Billy starts talking about his new imaginary friend, a girl named Delfy. At first, Delfy seems to be a coping mechanism for Billy’s recovery, but soon disturbing things start to happen and Billy insists that Delfy made him do them. After a terrible tragedy occurs, Rachel knows she can no longer handle Billy on her own, and so she turns to Dr. Graham Watson for help.
Graham runs a secret underground facility where he’s gathered a handful of children who, like Billy, have recovered from the virus and claim they have imaginary friends “living in their heads.” All of the children have committed heinous crimes, and Graham’s facility is the only place to keep them safely out of society.
Meanwhile, Nina is convinced that something or someone is controlling Billy and that it might be connected to a mysterious plane crash that happened in London a year ago. With the help of a couple of friends, she starts a blog called We Hear Voices and asks anyone with similar experiences to contact her. Something big is going on, and Nina wants to get some answers.
As you can see from my awkward attempt to describe the plot of We Hear Voices , there are a lot of moving pieces to this story. Luckily they mostly make sense and work together, but Evie Green really has her work cut out for her. This is a tough story to classify, since it has elements of science fiction, dystopian, horror, mystery/thriller, paranormal and even contemporary family drama. I really enjoyed the mystery of the “imaginary friends,” which the author stretches out for most of the book, only revealing her hand near the end. She kept me guessing, and although I sort of figured out what was going on, Green still managed to surprise me.
Tucked in among the mystery are several competing events. First, we have the story line about the space program, where a group of gifted teens are being groomed to be the first generation on a ship that will take over a hundred years to reach a new planet. Nina and her boyfriend Louis are both in the program, and it’s Nina’s dream to help create a better life for humans by helping colonize another planet. I liked these sections because the space program is run by the conglomerate Starcom, a shady organization that is literally taking over everything. Starcom plays a big part in the reveal at the end, and they also act as one of the villains of the story.
Then you have Graham’s story, which revolves around the disturbed children in his care. Graham’s dead wife Imogen appears to him in ghostly form, popping up just when he needs her. Imogen is another mystery in this story. Is she really a ghost? Or is Graham just imagining her? And what is her connection with some of the other characters in the story? Imogen’s resolution was one that I wasn’t completely satisfied with, although I was surprised by those connections I mentioned. Is it bad to admit I would have loved a story just about Graham and Imogen?
But the most heartbreaking part of the story was the depiction of Rachel’s family and their desperate attempts to claw their way out of poverty. These are good, hard working people who obviously deserve more, but the terrible divide between classes has ensured that they live in a hovel of an apartment and barely have enough to eat. Rachel’s ex husband Henry refuses to help her, although he’s very kind to Nina and Billy. Rachel is also dealing with her conflicting thoughts about Billy. She loves him beyond reason, but he has also shattered her heart in a way that can never be repaired. Rachel suffers blow after blow in this story, and it was almost painful to read her chapters.
As far as the horrific elements go, you have the pandemic, which everyone reading this review will be able to relate to. I read somewhere that Evie Green wrote We Hear Voices way before 2020, but it’s eerie how close to reality her vision of a pandemic turned out to be. The creepy imaginary friends were also pretty frightening at times, although because there are so many different things going on in this story, the impact is almost buried under everything else. There’s also a weird side story dealing with spiders, of all things, which I couldn’t figure out for the longest time. We finally learn more about the spiders at the end, but for me, the reveal was too little too late, and I almost would have preferred the story without them.
Ultimately, I enjoyed the human connections and emotional moments the most, since I was caught up in Rachel’s struggles with Billy, Nina’s dilemma about the space program, and Graham’s interactions with Imogen. I haven’t even mentioned half the characters in this story, but Rachel’s boyfriend Al was one of my favorites. It turns out there are so many unexpected connections among all the characters, and it was fun connecting the dots and figuring out how each one fit into the overall story. There were some negatives for me, however. Not everything is explained, particularly when it came to the imaginary friends, and certain elements just didn’t make sense to me. I suspect this might be because the story really is a bit overcrowded with so many characters and separate story lines. I also didn’t like the surprise ending—and by ending I mean the very last sentence. It felt more like a cheap way to end a horror novel and I don’t think it was necessary.
But overall, I really did enjoy this, hence my four star rating. I loved Evie Green’s writing style, and I will definitely be reading more of her work.
Big thanks to the publisher for providing a review copy.This review originally appeared on Books, Bones & Buffy
We Hear Voices caught me off guard, but in a good way. I don’t know what I was expecting, but I didn’t realize this was science fiction/dystopian when I started reading it. It looks like horror, right? There are horrific elements for sure, but I was surprised by all the SF tropes as well.
The story takes place in a future London in the middle of a deadly pandemic and revolves around several connected families. Rachel is divorced with two children, sixteen year old Nina and six year old Billy, and she currently lives with her boyfriend Al. She and Al have recently had a baby girl together named Beth, so their small, dingy apartment is feeling cramped at the moment. The family is in dire straits since Rachel has been on maternity leave for eight months with no income. In addition to that, she had to leave her job at a law firm due to anxiety, and now she’s not sure how she will be able to work again.
Even worse, Billy has caught the J5X virus and is dying when the story opens. The family has gathered to say their goodbyes, but the next day, Billy appears to be better and quickly recovers. Rachel is elated, until Billy starts talking about his new imaginary friend, a girl named Delfy. At first, Delfy seems to be a coping mechanism for Billy’s recovery, but soon disturbing things start to happen and Billy insists that Delfy made him do them. After a terrible tragedy occurs, Rachel knows she can no longer handle Billy on her own, and so she turns to Dr. Graham Watson for help.
Graham runs a secret underground facility where he’s gathered a handful of children who, like Billy, have recovered from the virus and claim they have imaginary friends “living in their heads.” All of the children have committed heinous crimes, and Graham’s facility is the only place to keep them safely out of society.
Meanwhile, Nina is convinced that something or someone is controlling Billy and that it might be connected to a mysterious plane crash that happened in London a year ago. With the help of a couple of friends, she starts a blog called We Hear Voices and asks anyone with similar experiences to contact her. Something big is going on, and Nina wants to get some answers.
As you can see from my awkward attempt to describe the plot of We Hear Voices , there are a lot of moving pieces to this story. Luckily they mostly make sense and work together, but Evie Green really has her work cut out for her. This is a tough story to classify, since it has elements of science fiction, dystopian, horror, mystery/thriller, paranormal and even contemporary family drama. I really enjoyed the mystery of the “imaginary friends,” which the author stretches out for most of the book, only revealing her hand near the end. She kept me guessing, and although I sort of figured out what was going on, Green still managed to surprise me.
Tucked in among the mystery are several competing events. First, we have the story line about the space program, where a group of gifted teens are being groomed to be the first generation on a ship that will take over a hundred years to reach a new planet. Nina and her boyfriend Louis are both in the program, and it’s Nina’s dream to help create a better life for humans by helping colonize another planet. I liked these sections because the space program is run by the conglomerate Starcom, a shady organization that is literally taking over everything. Starcom plays a big part in the reveal at the end, and they also act as one of the villains of the story.
Then you have Graham’s story, which revolves around the disturbed children in his care. Graham’s dead wife Imogen appears to him in ghostly form, popping up just when he needs her. Imogen is another mystery in this story. Is she really a ghost? Or is Graham just imagining her? And what is her connection with some of the other characters in the story? Imogen’s resolution was one that I wasn’t completely satisfied with, although I was surprised by those connections I mentioned. Is it bad to admit I would have loved a story just about Graham and Imogen?
But the most heartbreaking part of the story was the depiction of Rachel’s family and their desperate attempts to claw their way out of poverty. These are good, hard working people who obviously deserve more, but the terrible divide between classes has ensured that they live in a hovel of an apartment and barely have enough to eat. Rachel’s ex husband Henry refuses to help her, although he’s very kind to Nina and Billy. Rachel is also dealing with her conflicting thoughts about Billy. She loves him beyond reason, but he has also shattered her heart in a way that can never be repaired. Rachel suffers blow after blow in this story, and it was almost painful to read her chapters.
As far as the horrific elements go, you have the pandemic, which everyone reading this review will be able to relate to. I read somewhere that Evie Green wrote We Hear Voices way before 2020, but it’s eerie how close to reality her vision of a pandemic turned out to be. The creepy imaginary friends were also pretty frightening at times, although because there are so many different things going on in this story, the impact is almost buried under everything else. There’s also a weird side story dealing with spiders, of all things, which I couldn’t figure out for the longest time. We finally learn more about the spiders at the end, but for me, the reveal was too little too late, and I almost would have preferred the story without them.
Ultimately, I enjoyed the human connections and emotional moments the most, since I was caught up in Rachel’s struggles with Billy, Nina’s dilemma about the space program, and Graham’s interactions with Imogen. I haven’t even mentioned half the characters in this story, but Rachel’s boyfriend Al was one of my favorites. It turns out there are so many unexpected connections among all the characters, and it was fun connecting the dots and figuring out how each one fit into the overall story. There were some negatives for me, however. Not everything is explained, particularly when it came to the imaginary friends, and certain elements just didn’t make sense to me. I suspect this might be because the story really is a bit overcrowded with so many characters and separate story lines. I also didn’t like the surprise ending—and by ending I mean the very last sentence. It felt more like a cheap way to end a horror novel and I don’t think it was necessary.
But overall, I really did enjoy this, hence my four star rating. I loved Evie Green’s writing style, and I will definitely be reading more of her work.
Big thanks to the publisher for providing a review copy.This review originally appeared on Books, Bones & Buffy
June 21, 2022
Great premise, but could have done with a bit more horror. The ending turned out to be not all that surprising as it was a wee bit tropey.
October 28, 2020
Imagine you're in a pandemic... I know, I know... it's a stretch, but just try. Now imagine you're a kid that caught whatever "flu" (J5X) is going around, gets REALLY sick but then starts to recover. But he's also brought with him a new imaginary friend named Delfy. Imaginary friends are harmless right? 😉 Spider bouquet anyone? 🕷♥
As an only child you would've thought I would've had an imaginary friend but I never did. I would make up scenarios in my head all the time and hold conversations where I was the voice of everyone that wasn't there... but they were people I knew and never someone that didn't actually exist. I have ALWAYS been fascinated with imaginary friends and then couple that with kids turned creepy AND add a pandemic to the mix? I'm in! Yes, I'm that person who watched all the pandemic movies when all of *this* occurred but anywayssssssssssss......
I'm SUPER torn in how I feel about this novel. The concept it fantastic and the synopsis hooked me straight away. I do feel that some parts of the book felt like we were being told, rather than shown, what was happening. And this was usually in a cluster of sentences that basically told the reader what happened over a short period of time. It just seemed off compared to the feel of the rest of the read. (cluster of sentences... paragraph, whatever 🤣) I had fun with how the characters ended up intersecting but that ending....
Ok, let me say that I love when books get wonky. And this absolutely gets wonky. I'm undecided if I'm LOVING on it or just kinda MEH about it. Either way, I swiped to the left one last time on my e-copy with a head shake and a smile. There's certainly some plots holes but as a debut, I'm pretty excited for the whole concept of this story. I'm gonna keep an eye on Green... I'm excited to see what else she has for us in the future.
As an only child you would've thought I would've had an imaginary friend but I never did. I would make up scenarios in my head all the time and hold conversations where I was the voice of everyone that wasn't there... but they were people I knew and never someone that didn't actually exist. I have ALWAYS been fascinated with imaginary friends and then couple that with kids turned creepy AND add a pandemic to the mix? I'm in! Yes, I'm that person who watched all the pandemic movies when all of *this* occurred but anywayssssssssssss......
I'm SUPER torn in how I feel about this novel. The concept it fantastic and the synopsis hooked me straight away. I do feel that some parts of the book felt like we were being told, rather than shown, what was happening. And this was usually in a cluster of sentences that basically told the reader what happened over a short period of time. It just seemed off compared to the feel of the rest of the read. (cluster of sentences... paragraph, whatever 🤣) I had fun with how the characters ended up intersecting but that ending....
Ok, let me say that I love when books get wonky. And this absolutely gets wonky. I'm undecided if I'm LOVING on it or just kinda MEH about it. Either way, I swiped to the left one last time on my e-copy with a head shake and a smile. There's certainly some plots holes but as a debut, I'm pretty excited for the whole concept of this story. I'm gonna keep an eye on Green... I'm excited to see what else she has for us in the future.
May 24, 2021
༄ ❥ » ❥ » ❥ ༄
3 Stars 🌟
⋱⋱⋱
𝕎𝕖 ℍ𝕖𝕒𝕣 𝕍𝕠𝕚𝕔𝕖𝕤 ✰ ✰ ✰
𝘉𝘺 » 𝙴𝚟𝚒𝚎 𝙶𝚛𝚎𝚎𝚗
𝘎𝘦𝘯𝘳𝘦 » 𝙷𝚘𝚛𝚛𝚘𝚛 𝙵𝚒𝚌𝚝𝚒𝚘𝚗, 𝚃𝚑𝚛𝚒𝚕𝚕𝚎𝚛, 𝚂𝚞𝚜𝚙𝚎𝚗𝚜𝚎
𝘈𝘮𝘢𝘻𝘰𝘯 𝘙𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 » 4 / 5
⋰⋰⋰
❝He picked up a fork and slammed it onto the table. He grabbed his knife and held it up. It glinted in a sudden ray of sunlight. Rachel looked at his eyes and recoiled, because it wasn’t Billy looking out. For a moment, everything froze.❞
🕷 🚀 🕷 🕸 🕷 🪐 🕷
𝘈𝘣𝘰𝘶𝘵: Part sci-fi / part drama, this dystopian novel takes us on a strange journey. A lovely blended family in London has its struggles with money, but they have a home full of love. Nina is the oldest child, and has recently been accepted into a space cadet program that is creating hope in a dilapidated nation. Rachel is currently on maternity leave with the newest member of the clan, baby Beth. However, when the middle child Billy, the only boy, comes down with the virus that caused a pandemic, things get complicated. Even more so when he miraculously recovers all thanks to an eerie voice in his head.
↳ 𝘔𝘺 𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩𝘵𝘴: Like many other reviews before me, I agree this genre is a bit misplaced. While there are suspenseful parts, this is by no means a consistent “thriller,” or even a horror book in my opinion.
I was going to give this book a higher rating, but towards the end I was really taken aback by how the author started cramming everything in. Almost comparable to a Hallmark film, where in the last 15 minutes they (all of a sudden) live happily ever after. The main character was repelled from the idea of getting remarried, for good reason, and then *boom* it’s the only thing in the world they wanted?? Ummmm. Why? The whole novel was extremely slow moving, and at times it really didn’t keep my attention well. It was a little all over the place. Why couldn’t you have replaced those drab moments and spent more time with the explanation of strange events? As I neared the end I actually got anxious knowing she might not cover everything. Spoiler alert, she didn’t. 😭 There is NOT EVEN CLOSE to enough resolution.
However, this concept was very neat. There were multiple things I didn’t see coming. Creepy things; twisted things. I loved the character of Nina the most, and I was very caught up in her storyline at one point. I was really rooting for these characters. That’s what made “We Hear Voices” worth reading.
📸 INSTA: @𝘢𝘣𝘣𝘺𝘬𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘰𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘦𝘯
༄ ❥ » ❥ » ❥ ༄
3 Stars 🌟
⋱⋱⋱
𝕎𝕖 ℍ𝕖𝕒𝕣 𝕍𝕠𝕚𝕔𝕖𝕤 ✰ ✰ ✰
𝘉𝘺 » 𝙴𝚟𝚒𝚎 𝙶𝚛𝚎𝚎𝚗
𝘎𝘦𝘯𝘳𝘦 » 𝙷𝚘𝚛𝚛𝚘𝚛 𝙵𝚒𝚌𝚝𝚒𝚘𝚗, 𝚃𝚑𝚛𝚒𝚕𝚕𝚎𝚛, 𝚂𝚞𝚜𝚙𝚎𝚗𝚜𝚎
𝘈𝘮𝘢𝘻𝘰𝘯 𝘙𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 » 4 / 5
⋰⋰⋰
❝He picked up a fork and slammed it onto the table. He grabbed his knife and held it up. It glinted in a sudden ray of sunlight. Rachel looked at his eyes and recoiled, because it wasn’t Billy looking out. For a moment, everything froze.❞
🕷 🚀 🕷 🕸 🕷 🪐 🕷
𝘈𝘣𝘰𝘶𝘵: Part sci-fi / part drama, this dystopian novel takes us on a strange journey. A lovely blended family in London has its struggles with money, but they have a home full of love. Nina is the oldest child, and has recently been accepted into a space cadet program that is creating hope in a dilapidated nation. Rachel is currently on maternity leave with the newest member of the clan, baby Beth. However, when the middle child Billy, the only boy, comes down with the virus that caused a pandemic, things get complicated. Even more so when he miraculously recovers all thanks to an eerie voice in his head.
↳ 𝘔𝘺 𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩𝘵𝘴: Like many other reviews before me, I agree this genre is a bit misplaced. While there are suspenseful parts, this is by no means a consistent “thriller,” or even a horror book in my opinion.
I was going to give this book a higher rating, but towards the end I was really taken aback by how the author started cramming everything in. Almost comparable to a Hallmark film, where in the last 15 minutes they (all of a sudden) live happily ever after. The main character was repelled from the idea of getting remarried, for good reason, and then *boom* it’s the only thing in the world they wanted?? Ummmm. Why? The whole novel was extremely slow moving, and at times it really didn’t keep my attention well. It was a little all over the place. Why couldn’t you have replaced those drab moments and spent more time with the explanation of strange events? As I neared the end I actually got anxious knowing she might not cover everything. Spoiler alert, she didn’t. 😭 There is NOT EVEN CLOSE to enough resolution.
However, this concept was very neat. There were multiple things I didn’t see coming. Creepy things; twisted things. I loved the character of Nina the most, and I was very caught up in her storyline at one point. I was really rooting for these characters. That’s what made “We Hear Voices” worth reading.
📸 INSTA: @𝘢𝘣𝘣𝘺𝘬𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘰𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘦𝘯
༄ ❥ » ❥ » ❥ ༄
January 4, 2021
3 of 5 stars at The BiblioSanctum https://bibliosanctum.com/2020/12/24/...
A mysterious pandemic. Social unrest and widespread poverty. A new initiative to send gifted youth into space in the hopes of building a new world while the old one burns. All these are catastrophes and events unfolding in We Hear Voices. As the story begins, a woman named Rachel watches over her gravely ill son Billy in their tiny apartment in London, praying for him to survive the night. The boy had contracted the J5X virus, a strain of deadly flu which has already claimed the lives of many children. The family, which includes Rachel’s other two children, her mother, and her boyfriend Al have already gathered to say their last goodbyes.
But then miraculously, Billy recovers. Before long, he is back to being the average six-year-old boy he used to be—except for one major difference. Now he has an imaginary friend he calls Delfy, whom he claims to have pulled him back from the brink of death by encouraging him to get better. At first, Rachel is unconcerned, believing it to be a phase. She also feels blessed that her son was spared when so many others have succumbed to the virus. However, it isn’t long before Delfy starts becoming a problem, telling Billy inappropriate things and instructing him to act up and behave badly at school—or so the boy says. Rachel takes her son to see a professional, but the situation only gets worse. Soon, it’s clear that Delfy is more than a child’s coping mechanism; she has become Rachel and her family’s worst nightmare.
You’d think I should have known better, picking up a book about an outbreak of a mysterious deadly virus during a pandemic. Fortunately, J5X only plays a small part in this story, mostly just serving as its backdrop. Much of the plot is actually about…well, everything else. Lots of things are happening here, and while most of it’s good, some of it not so much.
First, what I liked: there’s a good mix of genres for everyone, and I especially enjoyed the strong horror vibes. There’s just something so creepy about unnatural children that make them the perfect staple for a scary story. The imaginary friend angle was also very clever, particularly in the way the author relates it back to the pandemic. I also loved how the author wrote Delfy, and that initial uncertainty over whether she is just a figment of a child’s imagination or something more sinister. The things she makes Billy do are pretty atrocious, and the wickedness of them only escalates as the story progresses.
I also liked the setting. It’s unmistakably dystopian, as even as the pandemic rages, it’s clear there are many other problems ravaging this world. In fact, it’s gotten so bad that the government has actually started a space exploration initiative to develop a generation ship and recruit young people for a centuries-long journey to a new planet where humanity can start anew. Rachel’s oldest daughter, Nina, is a bright young teen who has been chosen to be a part of the ship’s crew along with her boyfriend, and through her eyes we get to see the unfolding of space program storyline.
Unfortunately, this was also where the book started to lose me. Here’s what I didn’t care for: there was so much going on, but not really enough time or attention to sufficiently explore all the different subplots. I was mostly interested in Rachel’s plight and her struggles with Billy, and I wanted to know what was going on with Delfy. Nina’s sections were distracting and became more and more an annoyance to the point I started to resent every moment the story took me away from what I really wanted to read. For this reason, I had a rough time of getting through the second half of the book which branched into even more subplots, following Dr. Graham who was the specialist in charge of Billy’s case. As you might have guessed, Rachel’s son is not the only patient of Dr. Graham, whose research has led him to track down many other children with imaginary friends that only manifested after recovery from the virus. It’s a mystery that eventually comes together at the end, but I can’t say I was a fan of the way the resolution was handled. The answers came too quickly and too tidily for my tastes, not to mention the ending felt more gimmicky than satisfying.
At the end of the day, I had a good time with the horror elements of We Hear Voices, but there was also a lot of “noise” in the book that unfortunately took away from the enjoyment. Things started out strong, but the story lost some of its focus towards the end and probably would have worked better if it had been more fleshed out or streamlined.
A mysterious pandemic. Social unrest and widespread poverty. A new initiative to send gifted youth into space in the hopes of building a new world while the old one burns. All these are catastrophes and events unfolding in We Hear Voices. As the story begins, a woman named Rachel watches over her gravely ill son Billy in their tiny apartment in London, praying for him to survive the night. The boy had contracted the J5X virus, a strain of deadly flu which has already claimed the lives of many children. The family, which includes Rachel’s other two children, her mother, and her boyfriend Al have already gathered to say their last goodbyes.
But then miraculously, Billy recovers. Before long, he is back to being the average six-year-old boy he used to be—except for one major difference. Now he has an imaginary friend he calls Delfy, whom he claims to have pulled him back from the brink of death by encouraging him to get better. At first, Rachel is unconcerned, believing it to be a phase. She also feels blessed that her son was spared when so many others have succumbed to the virus. However, it isn’t long before Delfy starts becoming a problem, telling Billy inappropriate things and instructing him to act up and behave badly at school—or so the boy says. Rachel takes her son to see a professional, but the situation only gets worse. Soon, it’s clear that Delfy is more than a child’s coping mechanism; she has become Rachel and her family’s worst nightmare.
You’d think I should have known better, picking up a book about an outbreak of a mysterious deadly virus during a pandemic. Fortunately, J5X only plays a small part in this story, mostly just serving as its backdrop. Much of the plot is actually about…well, everything else. Lots of things are happening here, and while most of it’s good, some of it not so much.
First, what I liked: there’s a good mix of genres for everyone, and I especially enjoyed the strong horror vibes. There’s just something so creepy about unnatural children that make them the perfect staple for a scary story. The imaginary friend angle was also very clever, particularly in the way the author relates it back to the pandemic. I also loved how the author wrote Delfy, and that initial uncertainty over whether she is just a figment of a child’s imagination or something more sinister. The things she makes Billy do are pretty atrocious, and the wickedness of them only escalates as the story progresses.
I also liked the setting. It’s unmistakably dystopian, as even as the pandemic rages, it’s clear there are many other problems ravaging this world. In fact, it’s gotten so bad that the government has actually started a space exploration initiative to develop a generation ship and recruit young people for a centuries-long journey to a new planet where humanity can start anew. Rachel’s oldest daughter, Nina, is a bright young teen who has been chosen to be a part of the ship’s crew along with her boyfriend, and through her eyes we get to see the unfolding of space program storyline.
Unfortunately, this was also where the book started to lose me. Here’s what I didn’t care for: there was so much going on, but not really enough time or attention to sufficiently explore all the different subplots. I was mostly interested in Rachel’s plight and her struggles with Billy, and I wanted to know what was going on with Delfy. Nina’s sections were distracting and became more and more an annoyance to the point I started to resent every moment the story took me away from what I really wanted to read. For this reason, I had a rough time of getting through the second half of the book which branched into even more subplots, following Dr. Graham who was the specialist in charge of Billy’s case. As you might have guessed, Rachel’s son is not the only patient of Dr. Graham, whose research has led him to track down many other children with imaginary friends that only manifested after recovery from the virus. It’s a mystery that eventually comes together at the end, but I can’t say I was a fan of the way the resolution was handled. The answers came too quickly and too tidily for my tastes, not to mention the ending felt more gimmicky than satisfying.
At the end of the day, I had a good time with the horror elements of We Hear Voices, but there was also a lot of “noise” in the book that unfortunately took away from the enjoyment. Things started out strong, but the story lost some of its focus towards the end and probably would have worked better if it had been more fleshed out or streamlined.
January 6, 2022
This book had so much promise, but ultimately the execution was a major let down. This book had me ranting and raving to a boyfriend who had no idea what I was talking about at 9pm. I’m sure I’ll be muttering “I’m so mad” in my sleep tonight.
The author wrote a book where she was juggling so many ideas and managed to drop the ball on all of them.
There are spiders everywhere for some godforsaken reason (don’t worry, she’ll conveniently wrap that plot line up in the terrible ending), possessed kids, a capitalist overlord, a doctor who’s either hallucinating his wife or being haunted by her, space exploration… the list goes on!
Oh, and they’re in a pandemic, but you forget about it halfway through because no one seems concerned about the pandemic!
The author wrote a book where she was juggling so many ideas and managed to drop the ball on all of them.
There are spiders everywhere for some godforsaken reason (don’t worry, she’ll conveniently wrap that plot line up in the terrible ending), possessed kids, a capitalist overlord, a doctor who’s either hallucinating his wife or being haunted by her, space exploration… the list goes on!
Oh, and they’re in a pandemic, but you forget about it halfway through because no one seems concerned about the pandemic!
September 4, 2020
I had such high hopes for this book; I thought it was going to be creepy and maybe a little scary, but, nope. It's sci-fi, which isn't really my jam, and it didn't take a genius to figure out the connections or the twist at the end (which wasn't much of a surprise, so not really a twist), so it wasn't even very mysterious, or whatever. I was going to give it 3 stars, but after some reflection, am going with 2 stars.
This is the story of Rachel's family. Her young son Billy is 6 years old and sick with a pandemic flu that is killing most of the kids and old people who contract it. Billy is at the brink of death when Rachel prays that he will get better...and he does. But now he has an imaginary friend who talks to him. He asks lots of questions that Delfy, the voice in his head, wants the answers to. He does things Delfy makes him do, even if they are against his will.
Meanwhile, Rachel and her partner are struggling to make ends meet, lose their apartment, and have to work for an all-encompassing company that seems to be controlling a lot of the city and maybe more? Her oldest daughter, Nina, begins to date a boy from Space Camp who turns out to be the son of the head of the company.
There's a lot about economic inequality and private companies' control over so many facets of society. There's the mysterious pandemic and the voices in the heads of survivors. But at the end, I felt just so-so about it and wasn't wowed in any way. I did like the main characters, so there was that.
My thanks to Berkley and NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.
This is the story of Rachel's family. Her young son Billy is 6 years old and sick with a pandemic flu that is killing most of the kids and old people who contract it. Billy is at the brink of death when Rachel prays that he will get better...and he does. But now he has an imaginary friend who talks to him. He asks lots of questions that Delfy, the voice in his head, wants the answers to. He does things Delfy makes him do, even if they are against his will.
Meanwhile, Rachel and her partner are struggling to make ends meet, lose their apartment, and have to work for an all-encompassing company that seems to be controlling a lot of the city and maybe more? Her oldest daughter, Nina, begins to date a boy from Space Camp who turns out to be the son of the head of the company.
There's a lot about economic inequality and private companies' control over so many facets of society. There's the mysterious pandemic and the voices in the heads of survivors. But at the end, I felt just so-so about it and wasn't wowed in any way. I did like the main characters, so there was that.
My thanks to Berkley and NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.
September 8, 2020
From the description I was expecting a horror, but what I got was more of a dystopian sci fi. Maybe that's why I was declined when I first requested an advance copy. The reason I gave for wanting to read this was that I love horror that features creepy kids. Maybe I should have taken the hint that this book was not for me, instead of requesting an advance copy elsewhere.
When young Billy recovers from the mysterious pandemic it's like the miracle that Rachel has prayed for. So many have died from this new virus that she is, at first, willing to overlook the strange behavior that has come with this recovery. The way that Billy seems so obsessed with gaining knowledge can't really be a bad thing can it? Yet soon the voice in Billy's head has moved him from doing inappropriate things to downright aggression and threatening behavior. Rachel seeks help but being poverty stricken leaves her with few options. Enter the doctor who knows more than he is telling, and is willing to treat Billy for free. Meanwhile Rachel's daughter has a new boyfriend who she has met in space skills while preparing to colonize a new planet. They boyfriend has a half sister who also suffered this voice in her head.
While Billy and his strange affliction did hold my interest and Rachel trying to make do while living in poverty is quite relatable I did find myself skimming the bits about space skills.
It was just an OK read for me, but others will probably enjoy it more, especially those who enjoy dystopian sci fi.
I received an advance copy for review.
When young Billy recovers from the mysterious pandemic it's like the miracle that Rachel has prayed for. So many have died from this new virus that she is, at first, willing to overlook the strange behavior that has come with this recovery. The way that Billy seems so obsessed with gaining knowledge can't really be a bad thing can it? Yet soon the voice in Billy's head has moved him from doing inappropriate things to downright aggression and threatening behavior. Rachel seeks help but being poverty stricken leaves her with few options. Enter the doctor who knows more than he is telling, and is willing to treat Billy for free. Meanwhile Rachel's daughter has a new boyfriend who she has met in space skills while preparing to colonize a new planet. They boyfriend has a half sister who also suffered this voice in her head.
While Billy and his strange affliction did hold my interest and Rachel trying to make do while living in poverty is quite relatable I did find myself skimming the bits about space skills.
It was just an OK read for me, but others will probably enjoy it more, especially those who enjoy dystopian sci fi.
I received an advance copy for review.
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