Book Review: Husk by Rachel Autumn Deering

I finished the novella Husk by Rachel Autumn Deering last night before bed… and I am still jaw-dropped like whaaa?!  The following is a brief synopsis of Husk from Goodreads:  “Kevin Brooks returns to his rural Kentucky hometown after a three-year-long tour of duty in Afghanistan. He has lost the grandparents who raised him, his lifelong best friend, and his trust in the government he once proudly served. When Kevin meets a kind, young girl named Samantha, he thinks his luck might have finally taken a turn for the better. But something else has its eye on Kevin. Something dark and brooding and mean. Something that knows Kevin better than he knows himself.”  AND LET’S TAKE A SECOND TO LOVE THIS COVER!

I was quickly drawn into this story with no problem whatsoever.  Deering does a fantastic job with the way she built her characters up down to the dialect and how the characters acted. I grew up Southern Baptist with a preacher in my family so a lot of this rings close to home!  It is impressive just how much Deering can draw you into the characters’ lives and what she accomplishes in so few pages.

Deering also does a wonderful job exploring PTSD post-war, drug addiction, and one man’s re-entry into the real world.  You really get a sense of what the protagonist is going through and his state of mind in the present when we get a glimpse into his war-torn past.

Additionally, I loved the flirty, innocent, Southern, romance between Kevin and Samantha and just really loved this novella. That. Ending. Ugh!  This was a tragic, heartbreaking, and haunting read.  But I find myself in love with it nonetheless OR even moreseo because of that!  We all need more Rachel Autumn Deering in our lives!  She has a gift at psychological horror and I am so ready for whatever’s to come from her.  5 stars for HUSK!