I don't read many scary books, so I reached out to my friends to see what they recommended. I got a huge list of books to pick from (and added quite a few to my reading list for after the challenge) but decided to go with Creed. It sounded creepy, and - I admit - it was a bit shorter than a lot of the others.



The story was of three teenagers who were on their way to a concert in NYC and ran out of gas. They come across a creepy town to get gas and find no one available in the town. Everything goes downhill after that - crazy people, blood, killings.....you know - your typical scary story.



Except.....it really wasn't. I wanted to like it. I kept waiting for it to get "I need to put this book in the freezer" scary, but it never did. It was actually kind of dumb. I found myself rolling my eyes several times at the silliness of it all. I was disappointed because I was looking forward to reading it. It did sound good.



Ah well. It happens. Was it creepy? Sure. But not in the way I was expecting. It was more crazy than creepy.

Almost 5 stars. I'll explain in my review on my blog later this week.

I'm a sucker for books about small creepy towns. Unfortunately I don't like books about cults. I had really hoped that this book would be atmospheric and interesting enough to offset the cult aspect, and it just wasn't. The teenagers were annoying and stupid. The shared trauma between two of them was just too convenient. The best thing I can say about it is that it's short so I did finish it, but if it was any longer I would have DNF'd.

Eh. If you have something better to read, skip this one.

The author tends to repeat phrases ideas and over and over as if trying to pound them into the reader's head. Subtlety is not in her vocabulary. The story could have been interesting, but several times steps were missed or glossed over in the telling so that it seemed nonsensical and disjointed, often illogical.

Edit: 500th review!

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Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for providing me with a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review!

I'd like to start with a little anecdote. I once went to London for a day with school (mind you, that means at least 12 hours of driving and a -not so very nice- ride on the auto-Canal-train. On our way home the people seated behind me were discussing scripts for B Horror movies, which was really interesting, until the bus broke down and it started to look like one. It was extremely cold, dark and we stranded somewhere just out of London. Even more reassuring was the fact we afterwards had to continue in the same bus (the one that had previously been on fire - at least there had been a lot of smoke!). I won't bore you with the rest of the things that went wrong during that particular return from London, but let's just say the list is long. Not that it really matters for this book, but I think everyone has his/her own memories when it comes to B Horror movies.

What does this have to do with Creed?, you wonder. Well, it reads like one. It's obvious the characters in this novel went to the same school of doing the absolute stupidest thing in every possible situation. Add to this, a car that breaks down on a short cut (apparently no one else knows about because there's not another living soul to be seen), a creepy, weird, abandoned village, sirens and creepy, weird people. This is all sprinkled with some creepy, weird, religious madman and kind-of exorcisms. Like I said, it's a B Horror movie.

That was the only thing I could think of whilst reading. The story is for the biggest part predictable, though there was a twist at the end I didn't see coming. The writing wasn't really special. But still, it was enjoyable in the same way a B Horror movie can be. Entertainment that is predictable and doesn't require you to think. It may very well be a nice change every once in a while.

The lack of a B-plot is certainly bothersome and there could've been more in depth criticism but did I stay up all night to read it? Yeah, I did.

Unnecessarily gore, inconsistently written and almost offensively stupid at times, Creed turned out to be a huge let down for me. This book had so much potential - the creepy setting, the disturbing secrets and the twisted mind of the *bad guy* - but almost non of it was realized. Filled with cheap B-class horror thrills and shockers, it's merely a somewhat entertaining trip to a very disturbed, freaky little town, and just like the characters, I just couldn't wait to get out of there.

I won't lie, I had really high hopes for this novel. And the beginning really was quite masterful, with the atmospheric setting and the mystery behind the creepy little town, but the farther I read, the less I liked it, and the more I got to know the characters, the less I cared about their fates. I loved the premise of this book - three teenagers running out of gas in their car and, as a result of that, getting stuck in a weird town in a middle of nowhere. Right from the beginning, you can tell something is very off. The town is empty; not a single soul in sight. The emergency siren is blasting, adding to the disquieting atmosphere. And then a creepy kid shows up and starts talking about danger, running away before it's too late and making sure "he" doesn't find them, because if "he" does... well, they're in big trouble. Up until this point, I was really enjoying the ride.

This could have been a solid horror/thriller, if only it wasn't so paper thin and lacking substance. Even the characters could have been forgiven their never ending stream of poor and irrational decisions, if only they possessed some qualities that would make them relatable or, at the very least, likeable. But in the end, this book just didn't do it for me. I didn't care about the characters and what would happen to them. I didn't like where the story went and how it all ended. And while I appreciated the disquieting atmosphere of the first couple chapters, the moment coockoo-crazy Elijah shows up and what could be a really bone-chilling thriller turns into a generic, completely predictable horror flick, Creed goes off the cliff for me.

Throughout this entire novel, there's not a single thing to really capture the reader's attention, nothing to emotionally engage them in the characters and their story. Even Dee's tragic past isn't enough to make us sympathize with her, not to mention that it's completely irrelevant to the plot itself. She's a difficult character to follow, mainly because she's either completely disconnected from reality, or too overwhelmed by the things happening to and around her. And, for someone who experienced some pretty horrible things in life, her willingness to let others go through even worse just to save her own skin, is disgusting. I get scarred. I get damaged. I get broken inside and fearful. But I don't get selfish, cold and indifferent to other people's suffering.

On top of all that, some plot developments are just completely baffling to me. Say, Joseph's behavior all throughout the novel. I can't discuss it in detail without spoiling the plot line, but let's just say I don't think I ever rolled my eyes this many times while reading a novel. And I believe even the most avid horror junkies would have a hard time not rolling their eyes at the randomness and blandness of it all.

I would recommend this book to people who are looking for a quick, disturbing horror flick to keep them entertained on those long, late-autumn evenings. And only if you're craving something that does not require too much commitment, nor the use of your brain muscle.

I wanted to like this book but the ending is so rushed it's like someone skipped a chapter. The beginning is great and atmospheric. I really wish it had been drawn through the rest of he prose.

3 1/2 stars. This was definitely a horror book. Getting attached to characters suck because when something happens to them, you cry. & I cried like a baby at the end of this book. It Was disturbing to read about at some parts, but definitely interesting.

There were some typo issues, & wasn't a fan of how it just ended, but it was a good read.