Synopsis
“You’re in danger.”
The red wooden box Angelina found under the tree on Christmas morning wasn’t what she wanted when she asked Mam for a phone. It looked like something for a toddler. She didn’t expect to hear a woman speak to her through the toy when she played with it, nor did she expect her warning.
“You need to get out of the house.”
Seven-year-old Angelina doesn’t know what the danger is, or when to expect it. Can she trust the woman? Will she be able to hang on, or will this Christmas be her last?
Hanging On, a Christmas ghost story.
Review
As soon as I saw this was available, I immediately grabbed a copy and started reading it. Christmas horror will 100% remain my style this year. This is my first read from the author, as I also have their novella All of Me, but was waiting to see if I would get it in another round of SFINCS first.
This was a lot darker than I expected from the blurb to be honest. I expected a fast paced home invasion story, and instead I got a ghost story featuring kidnapping, infatuation, absolute control, and conditional love. Mam is not like other mothers. Angelina is constantly watching out so as not to upset her, because at best, she’ll be berated, and at worst…well she doesn’t want to know.
This really broke down and showed the different ways a parent can be over the top controlling. One of my WIP actually features the same type of control, and this was done well enough that I was definitely taking notes. The conditional love was so strongly written and revolting that it made my stomach turn just reading through it.
This was definitely a very Christmasy story, and just about as dark as you can go. So don’t expect a holly jolly and you’re good.
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