Book Review: The River at Night

The River at Night

by: Erica Ferencik

Publication Date:  January 10, 2017
Finished on: October 28, 2017
Publisher: Scout Press

I won a free copy of The River at Night from an Instagram Giveaway.  A few weeks later, two copies showed up at my house!  I contacted the publisher to let them know, and they indicated that they would love it if I reviewed the post and then hosted a giveaway with them!

Synopsis:
A group of four middle-aged female friends have the tradition of an annual girls trip.  This year, they decide to take a week-long hiking and river rafting trip in Maine.  The trip is planned as a private trip with just the four friends and their twenty-year-old guide.  What could go wrong?

Early into the trip, everyone is tired and the arguments start.  When tragedy strikes, can their friendship hold and help them through what comes?  Can they find their way out of the wilderness? 

My review:
I was extremely interested in this plot.  I camp, hike and white water raft fairly regularly, so I have ideas of awesome horror suspense plots in these remote areas.  That being said, I'm not much a writer.  The most I write is for my book reviews.  I was excited to see that someone had written a novel that sounded similar to what I had been thinking about!  That being said, what I expected this book to be about was no where near what happened.  And I think that is a good thing.

I am very pleased with how well Erica Ferencik wrote about the rafting trip and wilderness survival.  I was a bit nervous, having rafted several times myself, that things would be inappropriately portrayed.  On the contrary - I found her descriptions to be very realistic.  After reading the conversation with the author at the back of the book, I saw that my thoughts were correct - she has rafted and spent a lot of time in the Maine wilderness. 

All of that being said, the true novice nature of her characters was frustrating.  If there was a mistake to be made, they made it. I think Wini was my favorite character, as she really seemed to pull herself together and grown.  I despised Rachel for most of the book - she always said the wrong thing and was just blunt and rude every step of the way.  I hate thinking of Wini and Sandra being friends with her.

This story is completely unrealistic and insane, but I found myself pushing forward for "one more chapter" and flew through it.  It definitely takes you on a wild ride! 

I rate this 3.5-4/5 stars.  Do not expect a traditional survival story, but rather a group of wannabe adventurers alone in the wilderness and set in a horror movie.  If you think you would enjoy a mashup of Ruth Ware's In A Dark, Dark Wood and Claire Fuller's Our Endless Numbered Days (trust me, just go with it), then definitely check out this book. 

Do you want to win a copy of this book? Head over to my Instagram - I've partnered with Scout Press to give away two!