The Shuddering

I liked this a lot, but damn if that ending isn't depressing as all get out. I was really rooting for them, only for everyone but Jane to die, and for her to be picked up by people who are likely going up to the same cabin she had just spent the last two days trying to escape, almost guaranteeing certain death for herself and the new characters. I wish it had ended on a bit of a happier note, I think then I would've given it a higher rating.

Edit: Been reflecting a bit on this and I think I may have been too harsh in my initial review. Don't get me wrong, the ending is brutal, but overall this was a really fun read that had me on the edge of my seat, and so I think the book really set out what it was trying to do. I don't typically reread books, but I'll admit that I'm tempted to reread this one to have that “oh fuck” kind of experience again.

This was a horror story with a soap opera plot. It reminded me a lot of the many horror B movies where a group of snarky yuppies gather somewhere for a weekend and are picked off one by one by the flavor-of-the-week monster. Do real people constantly chew their bottom lip or the inside of their cheek to relieve stress? Well these fairly unlikable characters do, a lot. From wealthy roots, twins Ryan and Jane, Jane's friend Lauren and Ryan's dog Oona have traveled to the twin's divorced father's large, luxurious cabin in Colorado's San Juan mountains for some winter snowboarding. This is to be one last get together before Ryan leaves for his new business and life in the Swiss Alps. Ryan has invited his best friend Sawyer to join them at the cabin and he is bringing along his soon-to-be bride April. Tension arises from the fact that Jane and Sawyer had been together through most of high school and even though both have lived separate lives since, they never really stopped loving each other. April is not into snowboarding and jealousy soon arises as she becomes the fifth wheel of the group and can see the obvious lingering attraction between Jane and Sawyer. But what about the horror? Oh yeah, there are horrible packs of humanoid creatures with beady eyes and huge claws and teeth running around the surrounding forest killing and eating anything with a pulse. Of course after the small group is snowed in by a freak winter blizzard they become fair game for the hungry humanoids. I found this story to be a stale, generic monster tale that included too much of the soap opera for my taste. The characters are unlikable to the point that I was rooting for the monsters to make short work of them. And, the reader is never given any real origin background for where these creatures came from. I am surprised this book often comes up on the to-be-read horror list of books.

2.5 if GoodReads could. Far too bogged down by the high-school drama despite the characters all being in their late 20s-early 30s. The action and suspense was disappointingly far more sparse than one would expect from the synopsis, the alluring cover, and the word of mouth surrounding The Shuddering. This is my second Ahlborn book (I liked Brother), and given the Until Dawn vibes, I was expecting to really love this one; I'm a sucker for a isolated winters set thriller. As many others have made note of, the ending here certainly does leave a sour and lacklustre taste in the mouth, and I really wished Ahlborn had committed more to the survival action at hand.

ADAPTATION FANCAST:

- Jane: Zoey Deutch

- Ryan: Glen Powell

- Lauren: Halsten Sage

- Sawyer: Alden Ehrenreich

- April: Anya Chalotra (Yenn in The Witcher)