Review: The Chrysalis

Author: Brendan Deneen
Started reading: August 5th 2018
Finished the book: August 7th 2018
Pages: 304
Genres: Horror, Science-Fiction
To be published: September 4th 2018
Source: Netgalley
Goodreads score: 3.0
My score:

Synopsis
Barely employed millennials Tom and Jenny Decker have to grow up fast when they lose their cheap Manhattan apartment. Leaving “the city” is hard, but the blow is softened when they stumble upon a surprisingly affordable house in the suburbs.For Tom, the bills, the mortgage, and Jenny's unexpected pregnancy add up to terror. He's not ready for this kind of responsibility.

Then he finds the thing in the basement. It makes him feel like a winner even as it scrambles his senses. A new job soon has him raking in the big bucks—enough that Jenny can start making her entrepreneurial dreams come true.The Deckers' dream home conceals more than one deadly secret. As Tom's obsession with the basement grows, Jenny realizes that to save her family, she must expose everything. Before it destroys them all.

No one ever really wants to grow up… but sometimes behaving like an adult is the only way to survive.

My thoughts

I LOVE horror. I love horror movies and creepy books, so I was excited to read this book when I requested it on Netgalley. I do have to be honest, I'm not sure if it's really horror, or more Sci-Fi, but the book does have some very creepy parts. If you like horror and Sci-Fi as well, you could easily read this book, I finished it in two days!

Pros

• First chapter: When a book has a strong beginning, I'm tempted to keep reading and it just feels different from a book with a slow start. The first chapter was SO CREEPY. I remember reading it in the dark and having that creepy feeling that you just want to turn on the lights. Very good beginning for this book
• Slow build up: I love how the book builds up slowly. You as a reader can see the doom coming, but the main characters do not and I just love the be a part of the rollercoaster ride.
• Helpless: I felt so helpless while reading this book. I kept looking for ways out or ways to help and I was wondering if things would be okay, all the time. Sometimes in books I can easily figure out a good solution, but I wasn't able to do that with this book. The author really did a good job on that part.
• Ending: YES. The ending is good, in my opinion. I loved the fact that you don't get all the answers. You see that in horror or Sci-Fi books more than in other books and that's why I love to read one of those books once in a while.

Cons

• Drinking: The drinking and the alcohol abuse in this book is not something that appeals to me. The main characters are, in my opinion, alcoholics and it made me dislike them. It cost the book a whole star for my review, because the book would've been even better if I LOVED the main characters. Now I didn't really care for them...

Overall

I see a lot of very critical reviews for this book. People are disappointed, because it's not your classical horror. People say that the book isn't scary, but I don't agree. If you like horror and Sci-Fi you'd be able to rush through this story. The beginning and ending in this book are strong and if you want to know how it ends... Pick it up!

Other opinions on this book

"The Chrysalis is a creepy, powerful, wonderfully twisted tale that will chill your blood and keep you turning pages faster and faster. Highly recommended."

- Jonathan Maberry, NYT Bestselling Author

"A brilliant and terrifying fever dream of a tale."

- Jay Bonansinga, NYT Bestselling Author

Thanks for reading!

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