~To Break A Covenant Review~

 

Book Info:

Title: To Break a Covenant by Alison Ames

Genre: Young Adult Horror

Publishing Date: September 21, 2021

 

Synopsis:

Content Warning: Gore! lots of gore/blood (human and animal), body horror (human and animal), claustrophobia, hallucinations/nightmares, death, animal death, parent death (mentioned), parental conflict (being afraid of a parent), mention of alcohol/drinking, mention of self-harm, mention of divorce, mental illness (perceived/actual), mention of child death/killing, mention of suicide, drowning, paranormal activity.

Debut voice Alison Ames delivers with a chilling, feminist thriller, perfect for fans of Wilder Girls and Sawkill Girls.

Moon Basin has been haunted for as long as anyone can remember. It started when an explosion in the mine killed sixteen people. The disaster made it impossible to live in town, with underground fires spewing ash into the sky. But life in New Basin is just as fraught. The ex-mining town relies on its haunted reputation to bring in tourists, but there’s more truth to the rumors than most are willing to admit, and the mine still has a hold on everyone who lives there.

Clem and Nina form a perfect loop—best friends forever, and perhaps something more. Their circle opens up for a strange girl named Lisey with a knack for training crows, and Piper, whose father is fascinated with the mine in a way that’s anything but ordinary. The people of New Basin start experiencing strange phenomena—sleepwalking, night terrors, voices that only they can hear. And no matter how many vans of ghost hunters roll through, nobody can get to the bottom of what’s really going on. Which is why the girls decide to enter the mine themselves.

My Review: 

I found To Break A Covenant written by Alison Ames a great supernatural, YA horror story, as it has all of the things that a good horror story has: spooky atmosphere, a strange threat of some form, and a town struggling with it all. But it brought something different to the table and that was beautifully written friendship with great LGBTQIA representation. If you are looking for a spooky read, this is definitely the one for you.

The plot development was really good and it definitely kept you hooked as you wanted to know more about the mine. The characters were all loveable in different ways that made you feel for them because of what they were going through and the friendships between our four main characters were beautifully built from the start to the end. I did find the pacing to be slow in places, especially more at the beginning, but once it picked up it did not stop.

The way that To Break A Covenant built atmosphere and creepiness was really great and as a horror fan I really loved it. The language used to help covey that was really good in my opinion. I also loved the way that the author showed the history of the mine through the use of paranormal files between the chapters to help the readers understand the history.

Overall, a brilliant creepy supernatural young adult story that has great LGBTQIA+ representation, it's one to read during this spooky season! Thank you to Netgalley, Alison Ames, and TBRandBeyond for giving me a copy to review.

My Favourite Quotes: 

1) "The bottom of the mine was so much worse, so much hungrier. The darkness was penetrating, alive, and utterly opaque"> loved the use of personification, making the mine feel alive and hungry. 

2) "I touched the back of my neck gingerly with my fingertips, and they came away wet with blood."> It's very creepy especially when you realise that they cannot work out where it came from. 

3) "The hand was beckoning me, drawing me down into the mine, and this time the voice came much closer, and I felt something warm and rotting breathing on me"> the way suspense is built is so well done. 

My Playlist: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/13tz9vp1xfOijC0prcMXga?si=a4141c9894be43b0

Book Links:

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/54860452-to-break-a-covenant

Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1645672069/ref=x_gr_w_bb_sin?ie=UTF8&tag=x_gr_w_bb_sin_ca-20&linkCode=as2&camp=15121&creative=330641

Barnes and Noble: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/to-break-a-covenant-alison-ames/1137455968?ean=9781645672067

Book Depository: https://www.bookdepository.com/Tto-Break-Covenant-Alison-Ames/9781645672067?ref=grid-view&qid=1628791052017&sr=1-1

Indigo: https://www.chapters.indigo.ca/en-ca/books/to-break-a-covenant/9781645672067-item.html?ref=isbn-search

About the Author:

Alison Ames is a writer based in Colorado. Her debut novel To Break A Covenant will be published in fall 2021.

 

Author Links:

Website: https://www.aameswrites.com/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/2furiosa

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/2furiosa/

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/19961118.Alison_Ames

Tour Schedule:

https://tbrandbeyondtours.com/2021/08/19/tour-schedule-to-break-a-covenant-by-alison-ames/