This. Book. Freaked. Me. Right. The. Hell. OUT!

I don’t normally give horror like this five stars, as you usually can’t get me with jump scares when it comes to reading. But oh my god, this book reads just like an incredible blockbuster horror flick, and I’m living for it.

Elise’s best friend, Julie, went missing. After days and weeks pass, her friends Mae and Molly are convinced Julie is dead, but Elise can’t shake the feeling that she’s just biding her time to come back. She can’t even cry at her funeral. And then, she does reappear: just over two years later, she shows up on her own porch like nothing happened.

The friends reunite over a weekend at an inn in the mountains, but they’re all put off by this changed version of Julie. Their previously vegetarian friend is now eating meat like it’s the only food left. She’s losing teeth. And she just doesn’t look right… not to mention, the hotel is giving them all the creeps.

This boooooook, y’all. I can’t EVEN. The suspense building is absolutely masterful. This is why I say it translates like a true horror movie: I’m met with the same nail biting anticipation and worry as watching a jump scare on a big screen. Towards the end of my reading, I literally had to take breaks. From a BOOK. To calm down from the scares. Nate was forced to remain awake so I didn’t get murdered. (By what, you ask? It was unclear at the time but I definitely felt like we were headed in the direction of murder.)

This is a sleep-with-the-lights-on kind of read. I purchased Cackle last week, and a lot of people were commenting on how the story was solid, sure, but the vibes? Incredible. And I kind of feel that way about The Return as well. Harrison sets an impressive scene at the Red Honey Inn. I loved the way she sets it up to sound cool (at least to nerdy old me), but somehow leaves you feeling like someone has their eyes on the back of your neck. It is deliciously creepy, and I can’t wait to read Cackle as well.

This book kept me guessing up until the very end. I literally couldn’t come up with any logical, regular horror solution to all of the creepy evidence stacking up against Julie and this hotel. Which made sense, once you got to the end, but I loved that there was no rhyme or reason to any of it, and you just literally had no clue what horrifying event might take place next. There was literally jump scares. In a book. Like you’d just be going along normally, and then all of a sudden, BAM. Scared AF. This book would make an excellent movie with little to no changes to the entire plot and dialogue. This is a director’s dream. Blumhouse, where you at??

Horror aside, I loved the well-rounded characters. At just under 300 pages, The Return is actually a relatively short novel, but I have to give credit where credit is due: these characters had more content and thoughtfully curated personalities than most books that I read. They were not only consistent, but they fit together like puzzle pieces to tell this story absolutely perfectly. The four friends just fit, and you can feel their vibe, as well as how Julie’s changes mess with that vibe and that level of comfort with one another. It is so WILDLY interesting, for real! The book had depth and the memories that were told, the dynamic, spoke to the horror and what we might be missing. I just thought this was really well done.

I honestly don’t have a single bad thing to say, guys. I mean, I didn’t love the main character, Elise, but her story and her plot were the way that they were for a reason, and they informed the ending and everything that came before. Whether I liked her or not, she was necessary and well written. This book is five star horror from me, y’all. Please check out The Return, and don’t forget to keep your eyes peeled for my review of Cackle, probably coming very soon!

Have an amazing week!