This was more of a slice-of-life contemporary fiction about Cora and Sean’s life for the first 57%, but I was loving it. I was excited for the spooky stuff since I was invested in the characters. But for me, the character reactions and scheming how to get rid of the horrors felt too flat and I lost interest.

 

🐺 Growls: Almost too clinical in dealing with the evils. 

🐕 Howls: Lots of hints leading up to reveals makes it predictable. Cora seems kinda dense sometimes. Unbelievable character reactions in that ‘huh, I guess I just forgot everything I did today ~shrug~’ way. 

🐩 Tail Wags: The experiences and information about Japanese etiquette, culture, education and transit systems, food etc [but if you’re familiar with it or just here for horror, it could feel like dull info-dumping]. World-building. Slow, day-in-the-life style pacing. 

 

Energy: Animated. Attentive. Educational. 

Scene:  🇯🇵 A rural community near Hiroshima, Japan

Perspective: Our main character is moving to Japan with their spouse, who has a position at the local university. They are teaching English to Japanese students, while navigating the strange happenings in their new home and culture shock. 

 

🤓 Reader Role: Deep in the main character’s mind experiencing things alongside them. 

🗺️ World-Building: Atmospheric and immersive.

🔥 Fuel: Dynamic relationships and getting to know the neighbourhood, exploring parts of Japan. Later on switches to loss of memories, time, unhinged mind or something more?  

📖 Cred: Gradient from realistic to suspended disbelief campy. 

 

Sakura flavoured latte. Soba noddles. Sizzling grill. Puffy donuts. Bamboo clacking. Thick forests. Hot garbage. Beer foam. Steam. Pokémon stickers. 

 

Content Heads-Up: Blood. Injury. Self injury, abortion, institutionalization, murder (off page). Fire (fatality; off page). Loss of child (brief mention; off page). Vomit, nausea (descriptive, on page). Birth control. Hallucination. Blackouts, lost time. Demonic/possession.

 

Rep: Black and White American-Japanese. Australian, Jamaican, British peripheral characters. Expat/newly immigrated. Cisgender. Heterosexual. Pale, dark, tanned skin tones. Student in wheelchair (preteen). Childfree by choice.

 

📚 Format: Advance Reader’s Copy from BookSirens.