Burn Down, Rise Up

this one was super fun and has been one of the only books to deliver on the vibes it promised. it definitely was giving stranger things vibes and this is coming from an absolute stranger things lover. i honestly think that was the strongest point of the whole story as well as diving into the history of the bronx. it talked about the bronx history and the racism that is embedded into that history

the alternate universe we dive into that is similar to the upside down in stranger things, was accessed through a game similar to like bloody mary or another paranormal game which i think could have been a really cool horror element but combining that with this upside down type atmosphere just felt disjointed for me personally. i think both were cool but there was such exact rules to get into a very vague world.

the characters were okay but not my favorite. i did enjoy them and their relationships but they really could have been developed and fleshed out more. i wasn't attached or obsessed because there wasn't much background to any of the relationships or characters outside of the main character.

the horror was alright but i did not like some of the “characters” we have as villians in the alternate universe. it felt a bit like corny and cheesy and the real like “big bad” wasn't really built up enough for me. i was more scared of the creatures chasing the characters than the big bad the whole book. it's like being more overall scared of the demobats in stranger things than vecna. there was no impending sense of doom that is had over me.

i would still recommend this book and i had a good time but i think it could have been more fleshed out, more polished, and combined elements in a more flawless way.

thank you to sourcebooks, vincent tirado, and netgalley for an arc of this book in exchange for an honest review.