ARC Review: Little Monsters

22718738Release Date: July 25, 2017
Find it: Goodreads, Amazon, Barnes & Noble

For fans of Pretty Little Liars, Little Monsters is a new psychological thriller, from the author of The Darkest Corners, about appearances versus reality and the power of manipulation amongst teenage girls.

Kacey is the new girl in Broken Falls. When she moved in with her father, she stepped into a brand-new life. A life with a stepbrother, a stepmother, and strangest of all, an adoring younger half sister.

Kacey’s new life is eerily charming compared with the wild highs and lows of the old one she lived with her volatile mother. And everyone is so nice in Broken Falls—she’s even been welcomed into a tight new circle of friends. Bailey and Jade invite her to do everything with them.

Which is why it’s so odd when they start acting distant. And when they don’t invite her to the biggest party of the year, it doesn’t exactly feel like an accident.

But Kacey will never be able to ask, because Bailey never makes it home from that party. Suddenly, Broken Falls doesn’t seem so welcoming after all—especially once everyone starts looking to the new girl for answers.

Kacey is about to learn some very important lessons: Sometimes appearances can be deceiving. Sometimes when you’re the new girl, you shouldn’t trust anyone.

 

As a fan of mysteries and thrillers, I was excited to read Kara Thomas’s second psychological thriller, Little Monsters. This novel does not disappoint and it will keep you on the edge of your seat in anticipation.

Kacey is new to Broken Falls. She’s sent to live with the father she never met and his blended family after everything escalates past the breaking point with her mother. One night, Kacey’s two new friends, Bailey and Jade, force her to sneak out with them to conduct a séance in a haunted barn. Her younger half-sister, Lauren, tags along by chance and ends up freaking out. After their failed séance attempt, the strangest thing happens. Bailey disappears, and Kacey knows it in her gut that she’s dead. As Kacey tries to figure out where Bailey is, darkness within in herself and those surrounding her begins to unravel.

Since this is a thriller-type-mystery, I really do not want to spoil anything so I will keep this review short. The pacing of the novel is on the slower side, but I liked it this way because it really adds to intensity of Kacey trying to solve this mystery. There are no pop-out-to-scare-you moments. The most terrifying aspect is the darkness people are capable of acting upon. If anything, Kara’s prequel short story Wrath is the creepy story that will freak you out and leave you sleeping with the lights on.

Throughout the novel, several of Bailey’s journal entries are woven in between Kacey’s narrative. I think these journals might be my favorite part. I loved seeing inside Bailey’s head and witnessing her dark descent. Watching her fixation on Kacey worsen was fascinating, and I eagerly awaited the next entry. By the time I read the last journal entry, my mouth had fallen open in shock, horror, and realization.

Overall, Little Monsters is a fantastic thriller that will keep you on the edge of your seat gasping until the shocking final reveal.

My Rating:

*This ARC was provided to me by the publisher through NetGalley in exchange for a honest review.*

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