Ararat

Ararat is the heart-pounding tale of an adventure that goes wrong, on a biblical scale. When an earthquake reveals a secret cave hidden inside Mount Ararat in Turkey, a daring newly engaged couple are determined to be the first ones inside, and what they discover will change everything. I love horror stories surrounding archaeology and adventurous tones, especially if it involves a cast of explorers, and characters discovering something ancient and monstrous. This book’s tone and vibe reminded me of movies like Prometheus, Alien vs. Predator, and As Above, So Below. I loved how this story explored characters who uncover a major Biblical discovery, and how it wrestled with the ideas of what was fact and what was fiction. I loved the fast pacing, and despite being in a reading slump, the story easily immersed me into the story. I liked the dark adventurous tone of the story and how the plot resembled the first Alien movie (only with a different type of creature), but I did have trouble connecting with the secondary characters. I liked the horror scenes and how what they uncover in the mountain transforms the story into something new. I liked the two main protagonists and how their relationship was at the heart of the story, but I wasn’t particularly attached to anyone in a significant way. I did find that this story felt a little lacklustre in execution, but I did appreciate the entirety of the story, especially the twist ending that felt perfect for this story despite how predictable it felt. I was surprised to find out that this was the first book in a series, especially since everything felt wrapped up by the end, but I am curious to see where a second book would go from here and I will most likely read it sometime in the future just out of curiosity. Overall, this book felt like a fun b-movie, and it did everything it needed to for me.

probably more like 3 stars, the characters are a little weak and i just will never care for FBI-esque dudes as MCs, but the story was so fascinating, unnerving, and fast paced, plus the setting was incredible and isolating, and it gets a whole extra star for having multiple moments where i stopped whatever i was doing and was like OOOHH_MY_GOD_(vine).mp3

3.5 stars, rounding up for the ending. This was a pretty entertaining read, that at times got pretty batshit and dramatic. Some predictable tropes but there were also a couple OMG WTF moments that made the book worth it. The characters were kind of fucking stupid, but that's kind of par for the course in this type of book. The ending made me incredibly mad at a certain character but also really makes me want a sequel now to see what happens!

I wish I liked (loved) this more than i did. :( Unfortunately, I've read more exciting books with better execution in terms of character and plot and world building. Still, a solid book.

I thought this book was solidly "meh", and that's mostly because the last 25% was the best part. If you're not used to horror, specifically psychological and paranormal thrillers, you might find this scary. I, unfortunately, did not. I found it predictable and pretty mundane, although there are a few scenes where you are in a character's perspective while they are brutally murdered. The writing was mechanically very lovely, and I can give the book credit for that. The description was great without being overdone, the words flowed nicely, and the word choice was excellent for painting the picture in the readers' minds. The biggest issue, besides expecting a terrifying read and being disappointed, was the characters. I thought the characters were stagnant instead of dynamic and realistic. There were a handful of "main" characters, but none of them were particularly interesting or likable. The author chose to focus on so many characters that he couldn't really allow the reader to connect with any of them -- and THIS is why the book wasn't scary, in my opinion. I don't care what plight a character is going through if I don't really care what happens to the character. Ultimately, the idea was creative and interesting, but I just couldn't connect with the characters, and it left me with a complete lack of interest. It did some things well, so I do give it credit for that.

Pardon my language but JESUS. FUCKING. CHRIST. THAT WAS B R U T A L. DO NOT READ IF YOU CANT HANDLE EXTREMELY GRAPHIC VIOLENCE BECAUSE OH MY GODDDDD At first I wasn’t sure about this book. It was a fast read but it didn’t really hook me right away. In the first almost 50% the book not a whole lot was going on. I mean they were doing things but there wasn’t anything spooky or thrilling happening at all. 50% in Ararat was sitting at maybe 2.5/3 stars for me. BUT THE LAST HALF MY GOD I can’t even describe how brutal that was, you’d have to read for yourself. I don’t really like excessive violence, especially when it’s described so vividly. It freaks me out. BUT the way this author was able to write fear is what brought this to 5 stars. Oh my god this person is brilliant at being able to strike absolute terror. I was on the edge of my seat the whole time after everything started going downhill (pun totally intended). Sometimes the HTML for spoilers doesn’t work on the app so just in case, SPOILERS BELOW (view spoiler)[Waiting to see who was next to die, and never being able to tell who was possessed, oh my god that was nuts. The author did a really good job at making you feel like you were one of the characters, because none of us knew who was possessed now and who was about to die. There were very few times during that last half where the reader knew more than the characters. That descent down the mountain was so nerve wracking, I’m going to need a massage just to get my shoulders to relax. Fucking hell that was brilliant. (hide spoiler)] SPOILERS ARE DONE ALSO THAT LAST SENTENCE THOUGH. CAN I JUST. OH MY GOD. FUCK. Anyways. Just read this. Do it. If you like thriller, aren’t squeamish about violence, and don’t mind waiting a little while for the thrills to start, this is absolutely worth it. also I just want a moment to live in the glory that my favourite character lived. That literally never happens, I think I’m cursed because my favs die in like 90% of the books/movies/shows/etc that I like BUT NOT THIS TIME!!