Studies show that about 90% of the things we worry about never happen. But what if ‘what you fear you create’ is something you worry about? What if 10% of your worst nightmares were brought to life?
What if Chris Panatier created a family who immediately felt too good to be true, yet you still fell in love with them and wanted nothing bad to ever happen to them?
What if someone had warned the Martins who their author was or what genre he’d written them into?
The light:
🏠 Nathan, a father who’s determined to pay forward the kindness he should have received as a child.
🏠 Lailah, a child with every reason to be bitter, yet she practically glows with empathy and compassion.
🏠 Dru, the profanity prodigy.
The dark:
🏠 Humanity’s inhumanity practically oozes over the pages.
🏠 So does the ooze.
The intrusive:
🏠 This book doesn’t shy away from the pervasive, long reaching arms of trauma.
The cognitive dissonance:
🏠 The joy of watching each new horror unfold colliding with the urge to protect the Martins.
The proverb that came to mind:
🏠 ‘The road to hell is paved with good intentions.’
The relief:
🏠 The dog doesn’t die!
The gratitude:
🏠 Chris for writing yet another kickass book.
🏠 NetGalley and Angry Robot for the opportunity to read it.
Once Upon a Blurb
The Martins need a new home for their growing family. For Alison, Nathan, daughter Dru, and foster child Lailah, it’s love at first sight when they see the house in Tumbling Hills. It even has a cozy attic, which is great for Lailah; she needs a quiet place to be alone when her intrusive thoughts creep in.
(crack an egg into the coffee machine)
The family gets settled. The house is perfect, and so is the timing – Lailah’s adoption will soon be finalised.
(push your sister down the stairs)
But as the date approaches, her intrusive thoughts get worse, and Lailah fears she’s losing control.
(burn them alive in their beds)
