Review: Dead River by Cyn Balog

Title: Dead River

Author: Cyn Balog

Genre: YA, paranormal, thriller

Publication date: April 2013

Published by: Delacorte

Source: Own Hardcover

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Synopsis:

My friends and I are spending prom weekend at a remote wooded cabin on the Dead. The Dead River.

I thought it was going to be just us.

I was wrong.

Nothing is what it seems in this creepy paranormal thriller by Cyn Balog.

My rating: ★★★☆☆
Ki, her boyfriend Justin, her cousin Angela, and Angela’s friend (or whatever) Hugo go to Angela’s cabin for a weekend of rafting on the Dead River. Ki lied to her overprotective father in order to come to this trip. One she didn’t even want to go on in the first place because A.) she wanted to go to prom instead. Justin didn’t want to, preferring to go rafting. And since Angela is also outdoorsy, Ki apparently didn’t have any other choice but to go. Seriously? Just tell him you want to go to prom instead! *sigh*

 And B.) she hates water. You see, her mother committed suicide by walking into the Dead River and drowning. Oh, and every time she is near any body of water she hears voices in her head. And after so many year of quiet, yes, the voices are now back. And seeing the dead is just another added bonus, or minus. Whatever ;)

The idea of this book was certainly interesting, but I don’t know that the execution was that great. For starters, there was too much going on, and yet, the mythos of the Mistress of the Waters and her kingdom was confusing AF! I mean, I didn’t understand the rules of this undead world. More explaining and a little more detail was needed for me to completely comprehend what the heck was going on. Plus, the payoff was no good for the build up we got. It kinda fell flat for me.

I loved the creepy setting and the creepy ghosts we met, but I wouldn’t say it was horror. Which is unfortunate ‘cause I love me a good horror story. I would say this is more of a thriller, which isn’t a bad thing either. And the characters themselves were fine, but there was no true deep connection there so I found myself not really caring for them all that much.

Dead River had a weird world with tons of potential, had it been explained a bit more, but had an amazingly creepy setting that almost made up for it. Almost.

Have you read this book? If so, what did you think about it? If not, what do you think? Does it sound like something you might want to read? Leave me a link to your review or comment below! :)