REVIEW: Ashwood by CJ Malarsky

BLURB:

 

When sixteen-year-old Willow goes urban exploring in an abandoned asylum she expects the dark halls, creepy echoes, and ominous atmosphere. But she doesn't expect it to follow her home. After the trip, Willow becomes haunted by nightmares in which she never left Ashwood Asylum. Nightmares where she is pursued by grotesque, mind-infesting horrors called the Mora who feed off the fear of mortals. Unfortunately for squeamish Willow, they are hungry. And she is their perfect meal.

Upon waking, Willow recalls only fleeting memories of dead butterflies, hollow eyes and discordant whispers. But slowly these phantasms begin to bleed into her daily life, making Willow question her own sanity. She soon realizes that the solution lies solely within the decrepit walls of Ashwood. As the boundary between dreams and reality disintegrates, Willow must find the courage to defeat the leader of the Mora before he traps her soul in the nightmare forever.

 

 MY REVIEW:

Where do I even start with this book, I suppose I should mention I received this book through a giveaway on Goodreads which was held by the lovely author herself.

 First of all the plot of this book from the very beginning intrigued me, not just because I am a huge fan of stories based on abandoned buildings or "Urban exploring" as its known as but also because I love the whole paranormal/ supernatural. I think its fascinating to see how a building looks years after it had become desolate and the stories that go along with it.

The story starts off creepy enough: a visit to a decrepit Ashwood Asylum with a cousin and a few friends. An event occurs whilst at the asylum and when Willow leaves she begins to be haunted by nightmares where she encounters horrors called the Mora. I found there to be great research on the Mora. The scariest thing about Ashwood is that throughout the book the author does not tell who where Willow's reality ends and nightmare begins.

 This made the reading of the book to be more creepy and suspenseful which made reading it at night a bit difficult for me being a little baby with things like that. At certain points I would shake the book in anticipation hoping that all the things would work out for little Willow and she would find the courage and overcome her fears.

To me that means I am invested and you have me hooked and I need some resolution for this unsettling read that I couldn't help but love! And once finished I immediately needed to get my hands on the next book which I will be eagerly anticipating.

Overall, Good Debut and two big thumbs up from me.