The Shuddering by Ania Ahlborn

"Ryan Adler and his twin sister, Jane, spent their happiest childhood days at their parents' mountain Colorado cabin - until divorce tore their family apart. Now, with the house about to be sold, the Adler twins gather with their closest friends for one last snowboarding-filled holiday. While commitment-phobic Ryan gazes longingly at Lauren, wondering if his playboy days are over, Jane's hopes of reconciling with her old boyfriend evaporate when he brings along his new fiancée. As drama builds among the friends, something lurks in the forest, watching the cabin, growing ever bolder as the snow falls - and hunger rises. After a blizzard leaves the group stranded, the true test of their love and loyalty begins as the hideous creatures outside close in, one bloody attack at a time. Now Ryan, Jane, and their friends must fight - tooth and nail, bullet and blade - for their lives. Or else surrender to unspeakable deaths in the darkened woods." (goodreads)


I really loved so many things about this book. I felt the speed of the novel was excellent, there was blood and death within the first 20 pages. The setting was one of my favorites; a cabin in the middle of the woods, away from other people and society. This type of setting sets up for a great slasher story, especially when monsters are involved. I really liked the alternative pov's at the beginning of some of the chapters, knowing that those creatures in the woods were hunting more than just our main characters. The description of the creatures was amazing, I could picture them while reading, and even referred to them as the creatures in the video game Until Dawn. The creatures seemed to resemble humans in some ways, but clearly horrible monsters in other ways. I wish we got a full description or history of what they actually were, a name for the creatures, and what happened to them/ where they came from. The main characters I didn't really like, which is mostly why the rating took a bit of a hit. I found them all extremely annoying and impossible to relate to. These were all adults, with adult type jobs and still they made stupid decisions and acted as if they were teenagers in high school, which was irritating.

The ending was interesting, but also not a completely satisfying ending. I feel like the author could write more or even two short stories; a group defeating the monsters once and for all and a prequel about the monsters. I would really be interested in both of these options. There was a survivor from our main characters, but I'm obviously not going to say who it is, however that may give you reason to root for someone while reading. I would have liked to see the aftermath of the survivor. How when they got back to town or in contact with loved one, how they would have explained what happened and the death of the rest of the group. Would anyone believe the story of the monsters? So much was left up in the air regarding the lone survivor.

The Shuddering was a thrilling monster story that I really enjoyed. If you are a fan of the video game Until Dawn, monster creatures or slasher book, I highly suggest you check this book out. 

My Rating: 3.5/5 Stars