Shudder

Happy Tuesday, fellow readers! Thank you for joining me for a spooky season book recommendation. Today, I have a dark monster romance that could easily be in the psychological horror scene. Please join me in checking out "Shudder" by Nikki Rae.

Before we get started, let's check out the trigger warnings.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

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Trigger Warnings:

Mental illness

Trauma

Profanity

Graphic sexual scenes

Mild horror elements

Generational trauma

Sexual Assault

Psychiatric ward settings

C-ptsd

Light CNC (Consensual Non-consent)

Drug use/drug use during sex acts

Female/Female

It is a pretty dark read in that it involves a lot of mental illness elements. It is written in a way that makes you question what is real and what is illusion. The spicy scenes happen between the monster and the FMC as well as between the FMC and her female best friend.

I went with a four star due to consistency issues within the writing, a bit of a meandering storyline, and an odd "ending." I say ending in quotations because it isn't really the end of anything. I know it's book one of a series so a cliffhanger is to be expected, however it didn't even feel like a cliffhanger. Another reader described it as a "pause," and I feel like that is an accurate description. It does lend further to the "What is real?" psychological horror style feel, though.

Corbin is a tragic female main character. Not only did she have a traumatic childhood, at age twenty-one she is still legally tied to a woman who isn't mentally competent and can be abusive at times. So, she hasn't overcome her tragic past like most FMCs. She's still living in that trauma. Her relationship with her best friend Corbin crosses over to friends with benefits with a vague BDSM undertone. The relationships are all complicated with alcohol and vaping marijuana.

The monster, Six, is quite unique. He's there but not and is quite mysterious. Unfortunately we do not get very much clarification on Six in book one. Perhaps in book two.

Here is my official review.

"Shudder" is a mind trip that left me wondering what was real and what was imagined. It does delve heavily into mental illness so reader beware. It's dark in many ways and a perfect addition to a spooky season reading list.

If you'd like to dive into the madness that is "Shudder" you can get it here: https://a.co/d/0as8lxxn

That does it for me for this week, dear readers. Please join me again next week for another wonderful recommendation. Until then, curl up with a good book.

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