AD β’ I received a copy of this book in exchange for a review however all opinions are entirely my own.
Happy Friday, friends! I’m back today with a book that I know all my fellow autumn lovers will adore. It’s got all the requirements for spooky season reading. Scary but not too scary. Super creepy. A mystery that strongly suggests supernatural involvement. It’s a YA horror book so this might appeal to YA lovers wanting a darker read or anyone who wants to dip their toes into horror but isn’t ready to dive straight into adult horror. (I feel you!) Have I piqued your interest yet? If so, read on to find out what I thought of Wicked Little Deeds by Kat Ellis!
Many thanks to Penguin for providing me with an advance readerβs copy in exchange for an honest review.
Wicked Little Deeds
by Kat Ellis
Publisher: Penguin
Date of Publication: 5th August 2021
Genre: YA | Horror
Format: eBook (390 pages)
Rating: β
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Synopsis
From its creepy town mascot to the story of its cursed waterfall, Burden Falls is a small town dripping with superstition. Ava Thorn knows this well – since the horrific accident she witnessed a year ago, she’s been plagued by nightmares.
But when her school nemesis is brutally murdered and Ava is the primary suspect, she starts to wonder if the legends surrounding the town are more fact than fiction.
Whatever secrets Burden Falls is hiding, there’s a killer on the loose, and they have a vendetta against the Thorns…
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Content Warnings
- Parental death
- Murder
- Gaslighting
- Involuntary drug use
- Body horror/gore (mainly eye stuff)
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Book Review
There are a few things on my oh-no-noβs list. Eye-related gore is one of them. As such, Wicked Little Deeds by Kat Ellis should have been an instant DNF. But I couldnβt stop reading. The story itself is so dark, twisty and compelling that I needed to push myself through the eye gore on almost every page. And the pay-off was 100% worth it.
This is a thrilling YA horror with strong mystery elements to it. Itβs set in a small town with lots of creepy backdrops like big old houses and haunted waterfalls so itβs incredibly atmospheric at times. Thereβs also a lot of local folklore woven into the story β similar to Harrow Lake. (Speaking of, there were a few Harrow Lake references in here which I loved!) As youβd expect, there are a lot of red herrings, twists and suspicious characters. And while I did piece together *some* parts of the puzzle relatively early on, the big picture BLEW MY MIND.
Aside from the eye stuff that I *mostly* managed to block out, I donβt have much to criticise. One thing I will say though is that the cover made me think that this was going to be more witchy than it was. There is a reference to the death of a suspected witch but thatβs about it. Still, I wasnβt disappointed because this book is just that good. Not too scary but it is super creepy! All in all, a great spooky season pick for scaredy cats (like me!) looking for a new horror book to read for 2021.
RELATED: Harrow Lake by Kat Ellis (Review)
Will you be adding Wicked Little Deeds to your TBR? Let me know your thoughts in the comments below!
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