Hold My Place by Cassondra Windwalker—what can I say—It’s a 5. Very gothicy, very not normal. I thought I knew where we were going and I was sort of right but not quite and that makes all the difference.

I don’t give many books a 5 rating. For me, a book that registers 5 on the Sorchia Scale of Strange has to reach a certain level of creepiness. It has to be edited well because I’m distracted by improperly positioned commas, dangling participles, and continuity debacles—it’s a twitch and I can’t get rid of it. The characters need to be relatable and nicely developed. And, most importantly, I’m with Aristotle when he says the ending has to be “inevitable yet surprising.” For me, Hold My Place ticked all the boxes.

Honestly, I can’t say much about the plot for fear of giving something away. Let me just say I loved this dark and twisted tale. It left me unsettled and that’s what we like in a horror story, isn’t it? 

I found the pace just about right—the author lingered over some bits but that only made me more anxious to see how events would unfold. I found it suspenseful enough to keep me reading and the payoff was absolutely worth it. I did connect with Sigrun the main character who seems bent on self-destruction in one way or another—and I tried to talk her down, but did she listen? No. She just merrily went on her way with no regard to the excellent advice I muttered into my Kindle in the wee hours of the morning. We like that about an MC!

I highly recommend Hold My Place to anyone who needs a jolt of disquiet to keep you awake and worried about what’s out there—watching–plotting.

Hold My Place will be released on January 25 but you can preorder. Catch up with Cassondra Windwalker at her Amazon author page and grab a copy. If you read this title, I would love to hear what you think.