Name: Ryan Mateyk's review of The River at Night by Erica Ferencik
Item: The River at Night
Rating: 3
Author: Ryan Mateyk

Erica Ferencik

Winifred Allen and her friends go on a rafting trip to the Allagash. A freak accident leaves the women stranded and to survive Wini needs to harness an inner strength she never knew she possessed.

The River at Night

Megan White

Ryan Mateyk

A quick skim of reviews will tell you all you need to know: this is essentially a watered-down version of Deliverance, the only difference being the main characters are four women rather than men. Don't get me wrong, this was definitely a taut thriller and I thought the writing was... decent, but there were lots of passages I read that left me scratching my head for the way they were written. For example:

"With a muffled cry, Rachel drove her shoulder into the backs of his knees, bending them toward his chest. River water pulsed out along with something stringy, bits of tuna and chocolate - bile,vomit."

Where are things pulsing out of??? A mouth is never once mentioned in this passage or paragraph. I know it's being nitpicky but there were many instances of details being missed or things not adding up that got on my nerves (and I have an iPhone note full of discrepancies to prove it!!!!).

I did enjoy this though thought it could've been better served by focusing on one "villain" rather than introduce multiple things for the four main characters to deal with. (view spoiler)[Either have your creepy backwoods supervillain or the wilderness itself as the evil force, but introducing our off-the-grid Simone seemed strange to me.  (hide spoiler)].

As I said, it was thrilling and it was definitely a pageturner, as I finished it in a couple of hours, but ultimately this book is forgettable.

Sarah Sammis

Most incompetent white water rafting trip devolves into Deliverance. Ugh.

http://pussreboots.com/blog/2018/comm...

Alexa M

Elena Garcia Navarro

The last 40 pages of this book were painful to read. I was bored to death and the plot bordered the unplausible. I was supposed to be moved by all the unfortunate events that were taken place but I was amused if anything by the absurdity of the whole thing. 

The book started good with four friends deciding to reunite after a long time without having seen each other. They decide to take on an adventure and to brave the wilderness of Maine's forests and nature doing some adventure sport. Needless to say, nothing goes according to plan. 

The problem I had with this book was that it had zero character developtment, the only character we learn a bit about is the narrator and still the information the author provides 8a recent divorce, the death/suicide of her deaf brother) didn't make me feel any kind of symplathy for her, so I didn't really care about what was happening to them. The author had the potential to create deep, meaningful characters but she stays on the surface, barely mentioning one of the friends being in an abusive relationship and another having beat an alcoholic addiction. 

The author spends more time describing every rock and wave in the river than constructing an interesting narrative and building round characters. The plot turns bizarre and stupid to the most and I stopped caring halfway but pushed myself to the end. 

I wouldn't recommend this book to anyone, unless you like to read about crazy senseless s*** going down in the nature for no reason.

Renee Blankenship

This was a fun book to read! I read it quickly, in just two days, and had a hard time putting it down. I was anxious to know what was going to happen to the girls during their rafting adventure. Im giving this book three stars simply because it annoyed me how often the main character was given "deep" lines while staring up into the trees or across the water. I feel like the author tried too hard to make more out of the character than there was really room for in this book. It was suspenseful and fast paced and all I cared about was what was going to happen next! I felt like some of those types of lines were just out of sync and seemed frankly odd in the context of the situation. Otherwise, a quick intense read! There are no white water rafting adventures in my future, for sure!

Roos Kuijper 

Don't really know what to think of this. It's not bad. The story is good but I just didnt feel it, I just didn't care enough for the characters.

Francine Corry

Saad

Louise Briley 

Emma John

Beth Bieber

Dani Gale

✨Tyler ✨

"A high stakes drama set against the harsh beauty of the Maine wilderness, charting the journey of four friends as they fight to survive the aftermath of a white water rafting accident, The River at Night is a nonstop and unforgettable thriller by a stunning new voice in fiction. Winifred Allen needs a vacation. Stifled by a soul-crushing job, devastated by the death of her beloved brother, and lonely after the end of a fifteen-year marriage, Wini is feeling vulnerable. So when her three best friends insist on a high-octane getaway for their annual girls' trip, she signs on, despite her misgivings. What starts out as an invigorating hiking and rafting excursion in the remote Allagash Wilderness soon becomes an all-too-real nightmare: A freak accident leaves the women stranded, separating them from their raft and everything they need to survive. When night descends, a fire on the mountainside lures them to a ramshackle camp that appears to be their lifeline. But as Wini and her friends grasp the true intent of their supposed saviors, long buried secrets emerge and lifelong allegiances are put to the test. To survive, Wini must reach beyond the world she knows to harness an inner strength she never knew she possessed. With intimately observed characters, visceral prose, and pacing as ruthless as the river itself, The River at Night is a dark exploration of creatures--both friend and foe--that you won't soon forget"--

Megan White &
The River at Night by Erica Ferencik

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Megan White &The River at Night by Erica Ferencik

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Megan White &
The River at Night by Erica Ferencik