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The Restless Dark: A Haunting YA Thriller―A True Crime Podcast Mystery of Survival and Revenge
Enter Cloudkiss Canyon at your own risk.
The Cloudkiss Killer is dead. Now a true-crime podcast is hosting a contest to find his bones.
Lucy was almost the serial killer’s final victim. Carolina is a true-crime fan who fears her own rage. Maggie is a psychology student with a little too much to hide.
All of them are looking for answers, for a new identity, for a place to bury their secrets.
But there are more than bones hiding in the shadows…sometimes the darkness inside is more frightening than anything the dead leave behind.
Perfect for fans of Sadie and Wilder Girls, this newest novel from Erica Waters follows three girls at a true-crime contest to find the bones of a lost killer—even as a mysterious force pulls at the contestants’ darkest desires.
The Cloudkiss Killer is dead. Now a true-crime podcast is hosting a contest to find his bones.
Lucy was almost the serial killer’s final victim. Carolina is a true-crime fan who fears her own rage. Maggie is a psychology student with a little too much to hide.
All of them are looking for answers, for a new identity, for a place to bury their secrets.
But there are more than bones hiding in the shadows…sometimes the darkness inside is more frightening than anything the dead leave behind.
Perfect for fans of Sadie and Wilder Girls, this newest novel from Erica Waters follows three girls at a true-crime contest to find the bones of a lost killer—even as a mysterious force pulls at the contestants’ darkest desires.
400 pages, Hardcover
First published October 4, 2022
48 people are currently reading
9357 people want to read
About the author
Erica Waters
6 books620 followersErica Waters is a lifelong Southerner who now lives in Salem, Massachusetts. She writes dark fantasy and horror for young adults. Her second novel, The River Has Teeth, won the Bram Stoker Award for Superior Achievement in a Young Adult Novel and was also an Indie Next pick and a Kirkus Best Young Adult Book of 2021. Erica’s other works include Ghost Wood Song, The Restless Dark, and All That Consumes Us. She is also a contributor to the bestselling folk horror anthology The Gathering Dark. You can visit her online at ericawaters.com.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 303 reviews
October 8, 2022
3.25 Stars. I really enjoyed how the book started but I thought it lost its magic along the way. This was one of my most anticipated reads of 2022 because The River Has Teeth, was one of my favorite spooky YA reads last year and it put Erica Waters on my must read list, especially when October comes around. I could not wait to read another spooky sapphic story of hers, and I’m a fan of her writing style so it’s just a good match in general. And while everything was off to a great start again, I found the mystery part of the story to be too predictable which took some of the fun out of it. It ended up being a case of still liking Waters’ writing but not caring for all of her story choices.
I thought Waters did really well with the whole setting. The atmosphere was this creepy and claustrophobic living fog that was well written and easy to imagine while reading. I found being in these wet woods with a deep canyon that anything could fall into and be covered over in fog at any time never to be seen again, had almost became a character in itself.
While I loved the setting, I had trouble with the characters. There are three main characters, I think 17, 18, and 19, and then quite a few secondary characters, all visiting the woods on a trip/contest to find the bones of a famous serial killer. Lucy, who was saved from the killer, wants to find his bones to know for sure he is really dead so she can move on with her life. I wanted to like Lucy but I really struggled with her. I understood that she was dealing with so much PTSD, and rightfully so, but she didn’t have much agency and it is hard for me to like book characters that don’t have that. I also didn’t care for how she treated certain people and I’ll leave it like that for spoiler reasons. Maggie, I wish she was written differently because I think it would have made a very positive difference. And finally, Carolina is where the book shined for me. I actually wished she had a little more of an edge because I think that would have worked a tad better, but overall she was by far my favorite character.
This book does have a sapphic romance and it does have a triangle. It’s funny when I was younger, love triangles used to drive me nuts. Well I think it is because the only ones I would ever read about were about one girl/woman stuck with a choice of two boys/men to decide between. So now that I’m older, I don’t mind so much reading about sapphic love triangles about ladies that have to choose between two other ladies. It is just so nice to actually see! While this was clearly a triangle, the romance ends up being mostly one sided. If we are going to do a triangle, let’s really do a triangle, instead Waters dropped the ball on the other leg of the romance.
The mystery of whom or what is happening is another part of the book I was disappointed about. As a reader we are not sure if there is a killer about or if there is something paranormal going on. If the Serial Killer is really dead, or if it someone we know, or is it the killer’s ghost, it could be just about anything because it is all one big mystery at this point. The problem is it doesn’t take long before as a reader you start to get pretty strong suspicions and I felt like things got more and more obvious which just ruins the fun. I think if Waters had just changed up a few things, it would have been harder to figure out and would have made the book’s fun level skyrocket. Even with my complaints, I was able to fly through the book because I enjoy Waters writing style so much that the book was an easy and comfortable read for me anyway.
TLDR: In the end, this was not a winner for me but it was still well written like all of Waters book always are. The setting is wonderful and perfectly alive and creepy. The book is an interesting take on the few podcasts that go too far into exploiting true crime stories instead of helping. I liked the premise and I enjoyed the first half of the book, I just thought the story lost its steam and that the mystery became too predictable. I would still read anything Waters’ writes and I would highly recommend The River Has Teeth, for a spooky, sapphic YA read.
An ARC was kindly given to me for an honest review.
I thought Waters did really well with the whole setting. The atmosphere was this creepy and claustrophobic living fog that was well written and easy to imagine while reading. I found being in these wet woods with a deep canyon that anything could fall into and be covered over in fog at any time never to be seen again, had almost became a character in itself.
While I loved the setting, I had trouble with the characters. There are three main characters, I think 17, 18, and 19, and then quite a few secondary characters, all visiting the woods on a trip/contest to find the bones of a famous serial killer. Lucy, who was saved from the killer, wants to find his bones to know for sure he is really dead so she can move on with her life. I wanted to like Lucy but I really struggled with her. I understood that she was dealing with so much PTSD, and rightfully so, but she didn’t have much agency and it is hard for me to like book characters that don’t have that. I also didn’t care for how she treated certain people and I’ll leave it like that for spoiler reasons. Maggie, I wish she was written differently because I think it would have made a very positive difference. And finally, Carolina is where the book shined for me. I actually wished she had a little more of an edge because I think that would have worked a tad better, but overall she was by far my favorite character.
This book does have a sapphic romance and it does have a triangle. It’s funny when I was younger, love triangles used to drive me nuts. Well I think it is because the only ones I would ever read about were about one girl/woman stuck with a choice of two boys/men to decide between. So now that I’m older, I don’t mind so much reading about sapphic love triangles about ladies that have to choose between two other ladies. It is just so nice to actually see! While this was clearly a triangle, the romance ends up being mostly one sided. If we are going to do a triangle, let’s really do a triangle, instead Waters dropped the ball on the other leg of the romance.
The mystery of whom or what is happening is another part of the book I was disappointed about. As a reader we are not sure if there is a killer about or if there is something paranormal going on. If the Serial Killer is really dead, or if it someone we know, or is it the killer’s ghost, it could be just about anything because it is all one big mystery at this point. The problem is it doesn’t take long before as a reader you start to get pretty strong suspicions and I felt like things got more and more obvious which just ruins the fun. I think if Waters had just changed up a few things, it would have been harder to figure out and would have made the book’s fun level skyrocket. Even with my complaints, I was able to fly through the book because I enjoy Waters writing style so much that the book was an easy and comfortable read for me anyway.
TLDR: In the end, this was not a winner for me but it was still well written like all of Waters book always are. The setting is wonderful and perfectly alive and creepy. The book is an interesting take on the few podcasts that go too far into exploiting true crime stories instead of helping. I liked the premise and I enjoyed the first half of the book, I just thought the story lost its steam and that the mystery became too predictable. I would still read anything Waters’ writes and I would highly recommend The River Has Teeth, for a spooky, sapphic YA read.
An ARC was kindly given to me for an honest review.
February 19, 2023
2.5 Stars
I can kind of get the blurb making a link to the novel Sadie and I do like novels that feature true crime podcasts but just an FYI, this didn't feature the podcast itself. Two podcasters host a competition to find the body of an infamous serial killer that they had featured in a previous episode. This started out quite strongly for me then the storyline wandered off a bit and focused too much on the relationship dynamics. I liked that everyone's back stories were quite different and their motivations and therefore reliability were questionable. There was some well written, next-level manipulation on page so be warned. A YA sapphic novel that is creepy in parts, tense thriller in a handful of places, but mostly a slow moving whiny moan fest.
CW:
I can kind of get the blurb making a link to the novel Sadie and I do like novels that feature true crime podcasts but just an FYI, this didn't feature the podcast itself. Two podcasters host a competition to find the body of an infamous serial killer that they had featured in a previous episode. This started out quite strongly for me then the storyline wandered off a bit and focused too much on the relationship dynamics. I liked that everyone's back stories were quite different and their motivations and therefore reliability were questionable. There was some well written, next-level manipulation on page so be warned. A YA sapphic novel that is creepy in parts, tense thriller in a handful of places, but mostly a slow moving whiny moan fest.
CW:
September 11, 2023
I've just finished The River Has Teeth that became one of my favorites so I needed to pick this up immediately.
I couldn't be more disappointed.
At first I was so excited because I thought these three ladies will be in a relationship and the three of them will defeat the villain, but after a few chapters I started to realize that . And from that point on it was just so clisché and boring.
The author's writing is more telling than showing, but at least The River Has Teeth has a good plot and amazing characters to balance it out. I have nothing positive to say about this one.
I couldn't be more disappointed.
At first I was so excited because I thought these three ladies will be in a relationship and the three of them will defeat the villain, but after a few chapters I started to realize that . And from that point on it was just so clisché and boring.
The author's writing is more telling than showing, but at least The River Has Teeth has a good plot and amazing characters to balance it out. I have nothing positive to say about this one.
November 17, 2022
Thank you so much to HarperYA and Erica Waters for this ARC. I love any book that deals with the psychology and theories about our minds, and especially the nature/nurture debate. Therefore, this book really hooked me from the start. The only reason I gave it 4 stars instead of 5 is because at times I found it a bit repetitive. Overall, I found it really interesting!
October 5, 2022
I was honestly bored, and figured out what was happening pretty much from the first few chapters. and after that I was just annoyed at the characters. Lucy, the one person who should have been more careful, is just so naïve. She treated Carolina, someone who tried her best to be there for her, so poorly. If I had been Carolina I'd have ditched her. I was so turned off Lucy, that it felt very hard to sympathize with her. Maggie, the third girl, is pretty uncaring and blasé about the whole quest. She is there to write a psych paper on the murder podcast community, and perhaps have some fun along the way. Carolina was the more interesting character of the bunch, and yet they were all written to such extremes that her protectiveness does come off as overbearing. She has barely known Lucy a handful of days, to feel so overprotective. Her certainty in her own evil is also laughable as you can clearly see she is goodness incarnate, and yet...
The setting was okay, the paranormal aspects were there to lend some credibility to the girl's neuroses but never fully confronted, the "contest" and murder con experience left a lot to be desired. There was just no urgency to the story. The Restless Dark tried to take a look at the good, and the bad, of the murder/mystery podcast community, leaning heavily towards the exploitation of the victim's stories (briefly putting in a note about how some podcasts actually help by donating money/putting information out there, but just barely). The arguments and points it tried to get across could have been stronger. I wasn't invested as a reader. At the end there was a lot of rambling and the speeches about the nature of humanity just made me wish they all fell off the cliff simultaneously. 400 pages this book does not need, and it will soon belong to the halls of "I read that? Ugh, barely remember it."
The setting was okay, the paranormal aspects were there to lend some credibility to the girl's neuroses but never fully confronted, the "contest" and murder con experience left a lot to be desired. There was just no urgency to the story. The Restless Dark tried to take a look at the good, and the bad, of the murder/mystery podcast community, leaning heavily towards the exploitation of the victim's stories (briefly putting in a note about how some podcasts actually help by donating money/putting information out there, but just barely). The arguments and points it tried to get across could have been stronger. I wasn't invested as a reader. At the end there was a lot of rambling and the speeches about the nature of humanity just made me wish they all fell off the cliff simultaneously. 400 pages this book does not need, and it will soon belong to the halls of "I read that? Ugh, barely remember it."
Read
October 30, 2022The Restless Dark is a moody, atmospheric story perfect for fall reading. I was completely absorbed while reading it, even if it’s not a book I found especially memorable. If you’re looking for a fall read that’s chilling without being gory, this is a great choice — and I always appreciate an F/F/F love triangle.
Full review at the Lesbrary.
Full review at the Lesbrary.
July 1, 2022
Thank you to the publisher for an eARC in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.
4.5/5
Oh my god. Sapphic haunted forest of my dreams!! The perfect October read. I can't wait for this to come out so I can reread the audiobook. So many spooky vibes!!
The Restless Dark follows two girls as they attend a True Crime fan event: a weeklong sleepaway camp where they look for the bones of a serial killer. Lucy was almost his last victim. Carolina hides a monstrous rage. Together the two will try to figure out exactly what happened to the Cloudkiss Killer and whether the forest is hiding something monstrous.
Erica Waters has a way with taking environments and making them incredibly hostile and creepy. I am so here for it. This is one I wouldn't recommend reading in the dark. The full heat of summer is actually best because this book gave me so many chills.
The atmosphere was perfectly done and it heightened everything the characters go through. I was constantly second guessing things because the characters were so unsure themselves or the evidence was piling up against them. This is one I'd recommend!
Rep: queer white cis female MC with PTSD, queer questioning white cis female MC, sapphic white cis female side character, various white side characters.
CWs: Murder/attempted murder, death, mental illness (PTSD), kidnapping recounted, blood, violence, injury/injury detail, emotional abuse, abandonment. Moderate: religious bigotry, suicide, sexual content, alcohol consumption, physical intimidation/bullying, past ATV accident recounted, child abuse recounted (emotional and verbal), cursing, fire, gaslighting, panic attack, misogyny, sexism, toxic relationship, vomit.
4.5/5
Oh my god. Sapphic haunted forest of my dreams!! The perfect October read. I can't wait for this to come out so I can reread the audiobook. So many spooky vibes!!
The Restless Dark follows two girls as they attend a True Crime fan event: a weeklong sleepaway camp where they look for the bones of a serial killer. Lucy was almost his last victim. Carolina hides a monstrous rage. Together the two will try to figure out exactly what happened to the Cloudkiss Killer and whether the forest is hiding something monstrous.
Erica Waters has a way with taking environments and making them incredibly hostile and creepy. I am so here for it. This is one I wouldn't recommend reading in the dark. The full heat of summer is actually best because this book gave me so many chills.
The atmosphere was perfectly done and it heightened everything the characters go through. I was constantly second guessing things because the characters were so unsure themselves or the evidence was piling up against them. This is one I'd recommend!
Rep: queer white cis female MC with PTSD, queer questioning white cis female MC, sapphic white cis female side character, various white side characters.
CWs: Murder/attempted murder, death, mental illness (PTSD), kidnapping recounted, blood, violence, injury/injury detail, emotional abuse, abandonment. Moderate: religious bigotry, suicide, sexual content, alcohol consumption, physical intimidation/bullying, past ATV accident recounted, child abuse recounted (emotional and verbal), cursing, fire, gaslighting, panic attack, misogyny, sexism, toxic relationship, vomit.
September 25, 2022
Thank you to Kismet Books for the arc! If you're a book lover in the Wisconsin area, pop into Verona and give them a visit! They're having an anniversary-slash-Halloween party at the end of October to celebrate two years :)
3.5 stars
The Restless Dark was pitched as "perfect for fans of Sadie and Wilder Girls" and so I knew I had to read it, and although I liked both of those books more, this was good!
The Restless Dark follows two girls at a true crime retreat deep in the Cloudkiss Canyons, an infamously foggy hiking path known for the Cloudkiss Killer, a serial killer who would lure lonely hikers off and butcher them, arranging their remains on the rocks. Lucy Wilson was almost his final victim but park security realized something was wrong, and the Cloudkiss Killer threw himself into the canyon to avoid being taken into custody. Now, two years later, she returns to the canyon for the Killer Quest, a hunt for the Cloudkiss Killer's bones hosted by the Human Beasties podcast, an exploitative true crime podcast. Lucy wants to find the bones to prove that the killer is dead, and while there she meets Carolina, a girl with a dark secret who strives to prove that she's different than the monsters discussed on the podcast, and Maggie, a psychology student who wants to research the dark side of the true crime community for her paper.
The strongest point of this book is its nuanced discussion on the ethics of true crime. I personally am not into true crime--at least not in the sense of serial killer podcasts. It's no secret that I have a huge interest in US presidential assassinations or in Bonnie Parker and Clyde Barrow, but I'm too paranoid to dive into the "true crime community". Lucy hates the Human Beasties podcast since it's the exact type of true crime podcast that people criticize: one that makes jokes throughout and has sponsors and describes the killings in graphic detail. But we also see from Carolina's perspective and how she engages with true crime. Its other strongest point is in showing how someone can be manipulated unknowlingly--no spoilers, but the way a certain character manipulates everything to their advantage is chilling.
Carolina was my favorite character and I loved her. I also liked Lucy but I couldn't stand Maggie at all...which in hindsight is probably intentional. I do feel like all of the characters besides them were kind of afterthoughts, especially the other members of Killer Quest. I forgot that Kevin and Sandra even existed during most of the story and besides Brandon, Noah, and sometimes Rufus, the other contestants could have been nonexistent and nothing would have changed. Hell, the three I mentioned could have been other campers on their own solo quest and not much would have changed. I feel like Bridget and Levi in particular had lines dropped about them that were never really explored.
All in all, this was a solid horror-thriller and I'd recommend it as a Halloween read.
3.5 stars
The Restless Dark was pitched as "perfect for fans of Sadie and Wilder Girls" and so I knew I had to read it, and although I liked both of those books more, this was good!
The Restless Dark follows two girls at a true crime retreat deep in the Cloudkiss Canyons, an infamously foggy hiking path known for the Cloudkiss Killer, a serial killer who would lure lonely hikers off and butcher them, arranging their remains on the rocks. Lucy Wilson was almost his final victim but park security realized something was wrong, and the Cloudkiss Killer threw himself into the canyon to avoid being taken into custody. Now, two years later, she returns to the canyon for the Killer Quest, a hunt for the Cloudkiss Killer's bones hosted by the Human Beasties podcast, an exploitative true crime podcast. Lucy wants to find the bones to prove that the killer is dead, and while there she meets Carolina, a girl with a dark secret who strives to prove that she's different than the monsters discussed on the podcast, and Maggie, a psychology student who wants to research the dark side of the true crime community for her paper.
The strongest point of this book is its nuanced discussion on the ethics of true crime. I personally am not into true crime--at least not in the sense of serial killer podcasts. It's no secret that I have a huge interest in US presidential assassinations or in Bonnie Parker and Clyde Barrow, but I'm too paranoid to dive into the "true crime community". Lucy hates the Human Beasties podcast since it's the exact type of true crime podcast that people criticize: one that makes jokes throughout and has sponsors and describes the killings in graphic detail. But we also see from Carolina's perspective and how she engages with true crime. Its other strongest point is in showing how someone can be manipulated unknowlingly--no spoilers, but the way a certain character manipulates everything to their advantage is chilling.
Carolina was my favorite character and I loved her. I also liked Lucy but I couldn't stand Maggie at all...which in hindsight is probably intentional. I do feel like all of the characters besides them were kind of afterthoughts, especially the other members of Killer Quest. I forgot that Kevin and Sandra even existed during most of the story and besides Brandon, Noah, and sometimes Rufus, the other contestants could have been nonexistent and nothing would have changed. Hell, the three I mentioned could have been other campers on their own solo quest and not much would have changed. I feel like Bridget and Levi in particular had lines dropped about them that were never really explored.
All in all, this was a solid horror-thriller and I'd recommend it as a Halloween read.
October 7, 2025
Fun little thriller/suspense vibes!
November 18, 2022
Meh. Had to force myself to finish it. The story didn’t go anywhere interesting in my opinion
September 18, 2022
I received an ARC from Edelweiss
TW: PTSD, abduction, mentioned domestic abuse, violent intrusive thoughts, mentioned violent mugging, arson, fatal accident, death via throat injury, abusive partner, toxic parents, religious trauma, strangulation, knife violence, manipulation
4.3
I've said I'll read anything Erica Waters writes and I'll say it again!
Yes to the atmospheric, haunting horror and the queer girls who grow through them! May there be many more!
The atmosphere of this book is really what makes it- which makes sense, since the location is as important and mysterious as the story itself. I called this a book where "the setting is a character, but it's an unreliable narrator", and the tricky, ephemeral feeling of Cloud Kiss really does seep into you. You never stop feeling the bone chilled eeriness of this place you're in when you have this book in your hands.
Which leads to the other big thing I loved- the general unreliable narrator vibe of this book. There are three main characters, and even though two of them are POV characters you still can't be sure what's real or who to trust. The feeling of manipulation is strong, and there's a feeling that whatever direction you turn to is bound to be the wrong one. It's something that's done so well.
I also really liked both characters, which made me immediately invested in their well being but also made the possibility of them manipulating each other or themselves that much more worrying.
There's been a rise in interest in true crime, lately, both in the actual crimes and, due to that interest, a rise in using true crime in storytelling. True crime itself has been a trend long enough that it generally just gets lumped into other modern interests, but is in its fact wildly controversial and the making of it is far more complicated a subject than "like" or "dislike" of a genre. I've seen true crime used in YA books for the past few years as a way to create detectives or a character trait, but this is the first negative angle I've seen so far, and I loved it! I love how unabashedly Lucy hates true crime! I love getting to see these obsessive creators and fans unflinchingly through the lens of something who has been on the side of the story receiving damage from the story itself and its sensationalism. Not only was this unique, but needed! I hope we see more variation in stories using true crime soon.
My only disappoints in this book really stem from that uncertain, foggy quality. For one thing, I wanted more concrete and more consistent paranormal activity. I can see pros to not having it play out like this, but personally I was hoping for more of a reveal.
And, more importantly, I wanted more tension. This concept is fraught with tension and danger in theory, but this book doesn't have you holding your breath, it's a very slow build. This is another reason I would've liked something more concrete in danger, because it may have been more compelling where things drag a bit.
Another creepy, sapphic book for Waters, full of atmospheric folk horror.
TW: PTSD, abduction, mentioned domestic abuse, violent intrusive thoughts, mentioned violent mugging, arson, fatal accident, death via throat injury, abusive partner, toxic parents, religious trauma, strangulation, knife violence, manipulation
4.3
I've said I'll read anything Erica Waters writes and I'll say it again!
Yes to the atmospheric, haunting horror and the queer girls who grow through them! May there be many more!
The atmosphere of this book is really what makes it- which makes sense, since the location is as important and mysterious as the story itself. I called this a book where "the setting is a character, but it's an unreliable narrator", and the tricky, ephemeral feeling of Cloud Kiss really does seep into you. You never stop feeling the bone chilled eeriness of this place you're in when you have this book in your hands.
Which leads to the other big thing I loved- the general unreliable narrator vibe of this book. There are three main characters, and even though two of them are POV characters you still can't be sure what's real or who to trust. The feeling of manipulation is strong, and there's a feeling that whatever direction you turn to is bound to be the wrong one. It's something that's done so well.
I also really liked both characters, which made me immediately invested in their well being but also made the possibility of them manipulating each other or themselves that much more worrying.
There's been a rise in interest in true crime, lately, both in the actual crimes and, due to that interest, a rise in using true crime in storytelling. True crime itself has been a trend long enough that it generally just gets lumped into other modern interests, but is in its fact wildly controversial and the making of it is far more complicated a subject than "like" or "dislike" of a genre. I've seen true crime used in YA books for the past few years as a way to create detectives or a character trait, but this is the first negative angle I've seen so far, and I loved it! I love how unabashedly Lucy hates true crime! I love getting to see these obsessive creators and fans unflinchingly through the lens of something who has been on the side of the story receiving damage from the story itself and its sensationalism. Not only was this unique, but needed! I hope we see more variation in stories using true crime soon.
My only disappoints in this book really stem from that uncertain, foggy quality. For one thing, I wanted more concrete and more consistent paranormal activity. I can see pros to not having it play out like this, but personally I was hoping for more of a reveal.
And, more importantly, I wanted more tension. This concept is fraught with tension and danger in theory, but this book doesn't have you holding your breath, it's a very slow build. This is another reason I would've liked something more concrete in danger, because it may have been more compelling where things drag a bit.
Another creepy, sapphic book for Waters, full of atmospheric folk horror.
October 7, 2022
So, I've really liked Erica Waters's previous two books, but this one really disappointed me. I can't really get into why without getting into spoilers, so:
I'm not giving up on Erica Waters just because of one disappointing book. Even though it was really, really disappointing. Sigh.
I'm not giving up on Erica Waters just because of one disappointing book. Even though it was really, really disappointing. Sigh.
October 16, 2022
Content warnings: serial killer (main theme), murder, attempted murder, violence, blood, gore, manipulation, fat shaming, gaslighting, PTSD, religious bigotry, alcohol consumption, bullying, child abuse recounted, misogyny, sexism, toxic relationships, vomiting.
Rep: Lucy (MC) is lesbian, Carolina (MC) is bisexual (label not specified, but she's dated men, and then develops feelings for a girl), Maggie (SC/LI) is sapphic. These three are all white. I don't recall if there were many or any POC.
Simply put, I loved this.
This was thrilling, engaging, left me eager to know what was happening. It was fast paced and I found myself flying through this one.
I called the who, but not entirely the why, and I am glad I didn't because it made for a better reveal.
I talk about books at these places: Instagram / Twitter / TikTok / Blog
Rep: Lucy (MC) is lesbian, Carolina (MC) is bisexual (label not specified, but she's dated men, and then develops feelings for a girl), Maggie (SC/LI) is sapphic. These three are all white. I don't recall if there were many or any POC.
Simply put, I loved this.
This was thrilling, engaging, left me eager to know what was happening. It was fast paced and I found myself flying through this one.
I called the who, but not entirely the why, and I am glad I didn't because it made for a better reveal.
I talk about books at these places: Instagram / Twitter / TikTok / Blog
dnf
April 24, 2024This is perfectly fine, but not quite for me. I bet it'd be a winner for the intended teen audience though!
June 1, 2023
Well, this was such a disappointment. I was absolutely loving this, probably until about the halfway mark or a bit under half. First of all, there is only one likeable character and that’s Caroline. I was suspicious of, and knew Maggie was a pos before we were supposed to. The entire time I just kept thinking, “she’s definitely the killer.”
Lucy was such an asshole to Caroline and even though the canyon “made her that way,” I still disliked her.
We only had two underage characters, everyone else was supposed to be in college/grown with jobs, yet all of the side characters read as if they’re high schoolers to me. I guess it was supposed to be the canyon bringing out the worst in people or amplifying it, but they all behaved like childish cliques in school.
I also don’t like the forced romance between Caroline and Lucy. I understand Caroline had a huge crush on her, but Lucy was such a douche canoe to her the entire book and I just don’t see how suddenly she’s into her or how Caroline is okay with how she spoke to and treated her throughout their week there instead of moving on with her life.
I also truly don’t get how lax Lucy was. She was so trusting of Maggie just so quickly and knew absolutely nothing about her. Maggie didn’t care about anyone or anything the entire time, yet Lucy fell for all of her bs, but I guess that’s what a good manipulator does to one, so that I can pass on, I suppose. I don’t know, still seems someone with such severe ptsd would have been a bit more guarded though.
Overall, I enjoyed a decent portion of this, but the characters are flat and the story quickly went downhill for me. And I won’t even get started on that ending with Maggie, the canyon hiding bodies, and showing you what it wants and whatever. This was a huge thumbs down for me. Sadly.
Lucy was such an asshole to Caroline and even though the canyon “made her that way,” I still disliked her.
We only had two underage characters, everyone else was supposed to be in college/grown with jobs, yet all of the side characters read as if they’re high schoolers to me. I guess it was supposed to be the canyon bringing out the worst in people or amplifying it, but they all behaved like childish cliques in school.
I also don’t like the forced romance between Caroline and Lucy. I understand Caroline had a huge crush on her, but Lucy was such a douche canoe to her the entire book and I just don’t see how suddenly she’s into her or how Caroline is okay with how she spoke to and treated her throughout their week there instead of moving on with her life.
I also truly don’t get how lax Lucy was. She was so trusting of Maggie just so quickly and knew absolutely nothing about her. Maggie didn’t care about anyone or anything the entire time, yet Lucy fell for all of her bs, but I guess that’s what a good manipulator does to one, so that I can pass on, I suppose. I don’t know, still seems someone with such severe ptsd would have been a bit more guarded though.
Overall, I enjoyed a decent portion of this, but the characters are flat and the story quickly went downhill for me. And I won’t even get started on that ending with Maggie, the canyon hiding bodies, and showing you what it wants and whatever. This was a huge thumbs down for me. Sadly.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
December 17, 2022
2 stars ⭐️
Was going to be a three for awhile, but the ending had so many lines of dialogue that made me hate Lucy. The plot was interesting enough, but I never really felt connected to the writing or the characters. I also guessed the plot twist like on chapter 3 or 4.
I thought Lucy had some unlikeable moments early on . . but, wow, things got worse with the ending. Maggie was so annoying and she sucks. Carolina was the only one I liked.
Also the ‘love’ was so insta and I don’t know why either were so attracted to Lucy in the first place. Honestly if I was Caroline I would of left the canyon.
Spoiler below:
I don’t know why she would date Lucy after everything she said to her, plus they had no chemistry!
Was going to be a three for awhile, but the ending had so many lines of dialogue that made me hate Lucy. The plot was interesting enough, but I never really felt connected to the writing or the characters. I also guessed the plot twist like on chapter 3 or 4.
I thought Lucy had some unlikeable moments early on . . but, wow, things got worse with the ending. Maggie was so annoying and she sucks. Carolina was the only one I liked.
Also the ‘love’ was so insta and I don’t know why either were so attracted to Lucy in the first place. Honestly if I was Caroline I would of left the canyon.
Spoiler below:
I don’t know why she would date Lucy after everything she said to her, plus they had no chemistry!
October 27, 2022
spooktober halloween read #2.
i did not remember anything of this book, mere 24 hours after finishing it. i don't know what that says about me and the book but i'm sure it's nothing good.
2.5 stars.
i did not remember anything of this book, mere 24 hours after finishing it. i don't know what that says about me and the book but i'm sure it's nothing good.
2.5 stars.
October 7, 2022
*3.5 Stars*
I was provided an ARC via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
I'm honestly still not sure how I feel about this book.
The word building was pretty good and I did feel like I was in those woods with the characters but I still had trouble connecting to them. i guess the characters didn't feel super layered to me and I had trouble truly feeling for them. Lucy felt so naive sometimes I wanted to shake her and Carolina's self loathing sometimes felt like her entire personality.
I also didn't feel the romance side of this book. I didn't understand how they caught feelings at any time during the book and that kind of took me out of the story as a whole.
I kinda liked the spooks and the setting but it felt a bit off the entire time and the magic system was a bit confusing.
Basically, I don't know what I thought and maybe you should read it and tell me what you think? I don't know.
I was provided an ARC via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
I'm honestly still not sure how I feel about this book.
The word building was pretty good and I did feel like I was in those woods with the characters but I still had trouble connecting to them. i guess the characters didn't feel super layered to me and I had trouble truly feeling for them. Lucy felt so naive sometimes I wanted to shake her and Carolina's self loathing sometimes felt like her entire personality.
I also didn't feel the romance side of this book. I didn't understand how they caught feelings at any time during the book and that kind of took me out of the story as a whole.
I kinda liked the spooks and the setting but it felt a bit off the entire time and the magic system was a bit confusing.
Basically, I don't know what I thought and maybe you should read it and tell me what you think? I don't know.
March 26, 2023
the gays are fighting
September 10, 2022
Thank you, Edelweiss, for the ARC.
3.5 rounded down because, well, bizarre.
3.5 rounded down because, well, bizarre.
October 25, 2022
"Human beings are remarkably good at surviving. It’s living that we seem to struggle with."
Erica Waters owns my ass. I first read her short story in The Gathering Dark and decided to pick up The Restless Dark. The atmosphere of this book was *chefs kiss*. I felt like I was camping in a beautiful state park with dense fog covering a giant canyon just waiting to claim me. 5/5 for being a mystery/thriller/spooky & sapphic beauty.
Erica Waters owns my ass. I first read her short story in The Gathering Dark and decided to pick up The Restless Dark. The atmosphere of this book was *chefs kiss*. I felt like I was camping in a beautiful state park with dense fog covering a giant canyon just waiting to claim me. 5/5 for being a mystery/thriller/spooky & sapphic beauty.
January 7, 2023
I think if I could give a .5 rating, I would. A 2.5 because I enjoyed the front-third and the ending of the book but hated the presentation and lead up to the penultimate conflict in the novel.
Waters' prose and descriptions are fluid and simple, easy to read and imagine, a good complement to the creepy yet morbidly fascinating allure of a foggy canyon. There are two tones to her prose - the surreal and flowery descriptions of her scenes of conflict, and the frustrating woodenness of forcing two teenaged girls to misunderstand and fight with each other.
This is a novel that I feel is better suited to younger readers because I suppose they will better be able to relate to the leads. For me, I got very aggravated.
There is some representation of m/f abuse and f/f relationships (though I think one pairing cheats with each other? I'm not too sure). It doesn't get too heavy which I appreciate, but it is covered with enough airtime that I think it highlights how more of us need to intervene if we see it and how prevalent yet hidden it can be.
I would've rated the book lower, but I enjoyed the interview that the novel ended off with. It's the ending that people remember, right? Just like how Lucy remembers it.
Ultimately, I didn't feel like I completely wasted my time with this novel. And if there's one thing I will remember from this novel, it is this line from Lucy: "Human beings are remarkably good at surviving. It's living that we seem to struggle with. But, if you will excuse me, I'm going to go and give it a try."
I'm going to go try and see if I can do better, too.
Waters' prose and descriptions are fluid and simple, easy to read and imagine, a good complement to the creepy yet morbidly fascinating allure of a foggy canyon. There are two tones to her prose - the surreal and flowery descriptions of her scenes of conflict, and the frustrating woodenness of forcing two teenaged girls to misunderstand and fight with each other.
This is a novel that I feel is better suited to younger readers because I suppose they will better be able to relate to the leads. For me, I got very aggravated.
There is some representation of m/f abuse and f/f relationships (though I think one pairing cheats with each other? I'm not too sure). It doesn't get too heavy which I appreciate, but it is covered with enough airtime that I think it highlights how more of us need to intervene if we see it and how prevalent yet hidden it can be.
I would've rated the book lower, but I enjoyed the interview that the novel ended off with. It's the ending that people remember, right? Just like how Lucy remembers it.
Ultimately, I didn't feel like I completely wasted my time with this novel. And if there's one thing I will remember from this novel, it is this line from Lucy: "Human beings are remarkably good at surviving. It's living that we seem to struggle with. But, if you will excuse me, I'm going to go and give it a try."
I'm going to go try and see if I can do better, too.
February 19, 2023
After reading “The Quarry Girls”, I was really interested in picking up another murder-y book. I was interested in this one because of the whole true crime podcast aspect of it, and because it was meant to be sapphic horror (also the cover is super pretty). While reading it, I really disliked the overall plot and character development. I didn’t like Lucy or Carolina. Carolina just felt very edgy? Lucy was just boring to read from. I don’t think that there was enough consequence for their actions (ex. Killing Noah). I feel like so much more could have been explored here, especially with finding Kincaid’s remains. It was kind of like the author focused too much on the relationship aspect, but did so in a way that was too disjointed with the plot.
*1.5 stars
*1.5 stars
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
May 20, 2024
DNF at 80% It just lost all pacing and interest in the middle. It had a very strong start, but couldn't hold it and I think at least 100+ pages of this could have been cut. Sadly, I just did not care for the characters or the story (and this is typically the kind of story that almost always piques my interest). This was a bummer because the cover looks so cool and it had a great idea of a premise. I enjoyed The River Has Teeth, but remember that also had some pacing issues, but it pulled through and delivered a solid story. I do want to know the end of The Restless Dark, but almost all other reviews say it is disappointing. Skimming the end it is then.
Read
May 9, 2022The Restless Dark is a wonderful exploration of humanity, both its darkest dregs and how to walk through it knowing those exist. Disturbing in a subtle, but beautiful way, letting the life and secrets shine through in each of the girls. It takes a gentle approach in everything that it does, letting what it offers speak for itself. It's a stunning book.
AND ITS SAPPHIC AS HECK.
AND ITS SAPPHIC AS HECK.
October 13, 2022
Unlikable characters, confusing and tedious narrative
February 22, 2023
The thing I remember most about this book is that I wasn't expecting to hear Joel Leslie's voice in a sapphic audiobook 😂
January 19, 2023
On the whole, this is a moderately entertaining YA thriller. It almost lost a star for the ending, though.
April 16, 2024
should probably have realised what i was getting myself into when they named the setting “cloudkiss canyon”
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