What Doesn't Kill You Author Ken Brosky

Book Review

5 out of 5 stars!

Set to release September 5, 2023

"It's a gift to the town."

Nothing ever happens in the town of Seven Sisters. Many of the residents remain in the town until they can no longer leave it, the years just slipping bye. Two siblings wish to leave their hometown behind in hopes of a bigger, brighter, future. Both having to grow up and make choices they may not be entirely ready for.

Everything drastically changes when a woman goes out of her way to come to the bump in the road place. Bringing with her a gift for the town that will prove to be Seven Sisters' greatest challenge. How will this snowy night play out? And will anyone be able to survive until the sun rises?

"No one will choose for her." - Val

I was rather blown away by this read and devoured it in the course of two days! Would have read it all in one day but apparently you need some sleep before the day job. Absolutely loved the plotline of the story, the horror, and how it ended! I kept getting "Stranger Things" vibes as I was reading through the book!

Val and Danny are siblings who are trapped within their hometown. Seven Sisters is nothing more than a blip on the map that no one goes out of their way for. The two are trying to grow up, survive their upbringing, and getting ready for the next stages of their lives. Val's tired of living up to everyone else's standards while not fully embracing hers! She knows what she wants out of her life but does she have the determination and commitment to do so? Her arc was excellent to read through.

Danny is going through the dreaded first stages of puberty as he tries to navigate his feelings for his best friend who is a female! Realizing he may have to let go of some of the more "childish" things of his life before he gets into high school. But should he really give everything up? Is it okay to hang onto the things he loves even if they may be seen as "baby stuff"? Could relate to a lot of things Danny went through as the story progressed.

". . .because small towns have a way of lingering a few decades back." - Emma

Ken really captured the feel of a small town and how it can be suffocating. I missed my small hometown as I read through some of the nicer points of having a tiny community, but I was also glad I had the chance to leave it behind. We get to see many of the POVs of the townspeople and how some blinked and years had already passed them by. I appreciated the variety of characters and how individuals ended up in the town.

Things really change for the sleeping community when a blizzard and a mysterious woman roll in. The woman bringing with her a dark past and a gift that will change the course of everything for Seven Sisters. I really loved the horror and the mystery revolving around the "villains" of the story. We get a really interesting second person POV from the antagonist's side that had me changing my mind about certain things. The depth of all the characters that were shown was phenomenal even if some were brief.

The horror was excellent and very intriguing. I love horror that has an actual plot line and depth tied into it. The details and how the writing was done surrounding the intense events was very good. I want to go into specifics of what I really liked but don't want to give any spoilers away! Just the monster of the story was rather original and had my interest piqued.

This read does contain language, violence, and bloodshed. When you are just trying to survive your moral compass kind of flies out the window. I will say this may be a spoiler but if you have a phobia of bees than this read may not be for you. There are arcs revolving around addicts of different substances and their dark pasts. Two main coming of age arcs, talk of puberty, and difficulties with both mental and physical attributes of maturing. Histories that may be unsettling to some and more.

This book started peacefully and slowly draws you in until you can't help but finish it! I wanted to know how it was all going to end and was not disappointed! I want to read more books from this author whenever that may be!

Enjoy the read with a small town and its residents who are about to have the night of their lives. . . Don't forget to give the author some stars!

Amazon.com: What Doesn't Kill You eBook : Brosky, Ken: Kindle Store

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Ken Brosky (Author of The Complete Grimm Chronicles) | Goodreads