Book Title: Cypress Grove

Review: Payment

Chapter 1, 2, 3, bonus chapter 4

Blurb:

The blurb sounds fascinating. "Cypress Grove" is such a haunting and brilliant title, it reminds me of Silent Hill. Was her mother possessed? Was she exposed to some kind of ritual? Is the town abandoned or is all the dark stuff happening without anyone being aware? I'm really intrigued by the plot, if I wasn't reviewing I'd check this out anyway, I love a good mystery! And this sounds chilling.

Chapter 1

Jesus holy Mary mother of Zeus!

I've read horrors, I've read thrillers, but I have never read an opening like this that left me shivering in my seat. From start to finish, I was hooked. Literally hooked, hanging on to every word. The plot is BRILLIANT. Absolutely spine-chilling, captivating, psychotically brilliant!

Her mother scared the crap out of me. I just imagined it so clearly, like I was the one treading through that mud, seeing her spine and her clawing at the ground. OMG, EEK! I'm getting chills just writing about it. 

The opening with the funeral was a creative idea, it was very realistic and not too cringy or overplayed. Your words really affected me. When you wrote about the people that were there, and how she could only count on one hand the ones that actually stuck by her mum, that was so true and sad. I guess people just like to show up to funerals because they want an excuse to tell people someone they knew died. Human nature at its best.

The dream scene was just, ARGH, well, you can guess with my opening line! 

Your writing style is one to be envied. As a writer of a mystery novel, I was deeply inspired and encouraged by your words. You didn't make it too obvious, you didn't over-load me with characters and pointless dialogue. It was simple, yet incredible.

And that is exactly what I look for in a novel. 

I enjoyed it. I can't give you any improvements. Sorry. 

This book deserves much more reads and I can tell you've got a huge imagination to come up with this idea. The fact her mother was delirious and crazy just adds that element of interest and suspense.

Will Alma follow in her footsteps and lose her mind?

 WHAT IS THE BOX????? 

Chapter 2

A few spelling mistakes, nothing major. I pointed them all out :)

This chapter was so powerful! How it showed the dynamics of the family and the household changing and falling apart. I really felt for Alma, her mother's death has made the people still alive die with her. I really felt her exhaustion and her frustration and the tension between the three of them was heart-breaking. They need their father now more than ever and he just leaves them for hours to work on his car? I know he's grieving, but he needs to get a grip!

I was actually surprised when Alma went back to the woods, I didn't think she'd be able to handle the scene that was haunting her dreams. That shows remarkable strength for her character, I don't think I'd be able to go back there. When she started screaming, my heart broke for her. HOW THE HELL ARE YOU DOING THIS TO ME? -_-

Not only do you portray emotion and incredible pacing, but the ENDING. You certainly know how to make a reader question things. I am so intrigued by what's in this box! Her mother wasn't crazy, she was remembering. 

You mentioned she had been suffering from dementia, so her stunt in the woods feels to me like she was finally getting small memories back about what happened to her. But then she died before she could explain :(

I'm really connecting to this, like on a different level. It's written so darkly and maturely, Alma's intelligence and calmness is what is keeping me hooked. I enjoy being inside her mind. 

I NEED TO FIND OUT WHAT'S IN THIS BOX!

Did her mother bury it there? :O

Chapter 3

All throughout that shower nonsense I was clicking my tongue like "just go open it, just go open it, JUST GO OPEN IT!" 

Ahaha!

And she did! Wooo

It was so realistic, so spooky. HOLY HECK I HAVE QUESTIONS. The mystery is AMAZING, like I have no idea what the hell is going on and what her "mother" is trying to tell her, but I'm certainly going to be reading on to find out. 

I don't want to spoil anything for people that may read it :$ usually I go all out in these critiques and include everything that happens, but I feel like I shouldn't do that in this one haha

I'll just mention that the "thing" she finds out by the photograph was a crazy twist! I have a similar twist in my mystery novel, it's such a frustrating thing for readers to grasp but in an epic way aha I really want to know how her mother connects to Cypress Grove and when she mentioned in the letter "my greatest wish for you is that we never meet again" HOLY MOLY, why would she say that??? 

That was such a powerful sentence and very curiously spooky. Does she not want to see them again because of the "twist" or because her mental state is trapping her somewhere beyond the realm?

I DON'T KNOW. WHO KNOWS. DO YOU KNOW?

Why doesn't this have more readers? GO READ IT, EVERYONE!

I don't want her to go to Cypress Grove. But I do. But I don't.

But I doooooooo.

 BONUS CHAPTER

Chapter 4

OMG. I completely read that letter wrong haha!!! I thought that the letter was written by her mother who died, not someone she didn't know. I thought the "Isobel" was the woman in the picture. I had to go back to chapter 3 to re-read, but you didn't make it clear that she didn't recognize Kate's name, so that's why I assumed. 

Maybe include what her mother's name is in the previous chapters to avoid that confusion? If that makes sense. Because I just assumed Kate was her name.

Anyway, I enjoyed this chapter too! It was good to have a fresh setting, and even though I thoroughly hate high school settings, this was different, Alma just makes it different. Her thoughts are goals.

There were some errors with your dialogue, remember not to capitalize dialogue tags. "she says, he says, they say, the voice says, a voice says," don't have capitals.

That medallion is peeking my interest. Especially with the ending, and the strange girl that spooked me out. I'm really curious to know what it is and how it connects to Cypress Grove. I like how Alma didn't overreact to what she discovered, she just adjusted to it in her own way, and carrying on as normal seemed to be the way. 

I'm ready to just jump head-first into this book and go on Alma's journey with her. There's so many questions, so much mystery, so many possibilities. Will her return be brutal or informative? Will she get answers or will she be pulled into a dark world of danger?

You've gained a fan. Happy? -_-

I know I'm supposed to write improvements, I get that. BUT I CAN'T. DON'T MAKE ME.

You are certainly talented! Absolutely and positively an author with a lot to give and a big story to tell. You joined my book club right? You said you're pregnant?

I really hope that little one waits a little longer because I need updates!

I'll be following this book, supporting this book, and I hope others do the same. Well done!

Overall Rating: 9/10 

[deduction from full marks for errors]

Recommended: YES. YES. Guys please give this is a read and support this amazing author!