Edited by New York Times Best Seller editor Steve Parolini, “The Gift” is a supernatural thriller that will carry you away to the wintery streets of Europe, and insert you into the struggle against a darkness that haunts an innocent village. A journey that will grip you until the very end, this is a story that will not be quickly, or easily, forgotten. It’s Christmas time, and Fae Peeters is an … is an exchange student in her grandparents’ native country of Belgium focused on studying architecture. After receiving a vague and bewildering letter from her Grandmother with cryptic instructions, Fae arrives in a small Belgian village to receive an unprecedented Christmas gift. Greeted by a picturesque holiday villagescape, Fae is unable to shake the feeling that the perfection is hiding something, and she worries that it may be connected to her grandmother’s Christmas gift.
Almost immediately upon arriving in the village, Fae experiences something she can only describe as the onset of insanity- but is it? Or is it something much darker? The longer she stays in the village, the more disconcerted she becomes as she begins to uncover more mysteries and fewer answers. Desperate to keep a hold on her fleeting sanity, and not wanting to disappoint her beloved Grandmother by quitting the village before she gets her present, Fae befriends the only one who seems to want to help her, to protect her, but even he might not be what he appears…
In what becomes a mind-bending, psychological struggle of hidden truths against the darkest of evils, Fae’s fight for her life and for her soul, and the realization of what living through this Christmas Eve will ultimately mean for her, is a wild, supernatural ride that will keep you hungrily turning each page, desperate for more. A Christmas story for the modern reader, “The Gift” is a story of survival that will challenge your perception of the world around you, taking you through suspense, the supernatural, and the Christmas season, in a narrative to satisfy thrill seekers and holiday lovers alike.
more
“Realities change once you learn the difference between what is true and what you want to be true”
Headstrong MC Fae gets sucked into a curious family x-mad story with a hauntingly dark past. But Fae has a chip on her shoulder and has turned her back on her religion, even if her family and religion haven’t given up on her.
Matthews takes on not only the struggles between reality and sanity in this tale, but also good vs evil. It’s a lofty challenge, and Matthews executes it admirably.
Confronting her own sanity, her lack of faith in her religion, and her ability to do the right thing despite temptations, Fae must also learn that sometimes you need a helping hand, and don’t need to face the darkness alone.
Matthews’ historical and architectural descriptions are astounding and extremely in-depth, but sometimes inadvertently derail the story’s progression. It’s a slow burner, taking a while to get to the meat and action of the story, but once she did, she didn’t disappoint.
For a debut, this is stunning and nicely sets up the next adventure. Matthews has a very bright writing career ahead of her.
This book ticked all the boxes for me: excellent writing; imaginative horror story and a unique spin on a Christmas mystery. I loved the imagery of Fae’s journey to Belgium and the suspense created as she journeyed to unravel her grandmother’s secret. Will definitely be watching this author for more compelling reads.
Wow. This book was not what I expected it to be. To be honest, I don’t know what I expected. I cried. It is one of those stories that will forever stay with you. There is so many ways the story could have ended and she made everything come together perfectly. It was so well written. The plot was from out of this world. I think we all struggle with the battles Fae was fighting in this story, but the end….it was just great. .
Stephanie, you made me see things in another light with this story. No matter big or small, it was/is a terrible price to pay for one person. Thank you for this story. I sincerely hope more people pick up this book to read it. It has a super powerful message in there. Well done.
“The Gift” merges an uncomfortable blend of superstition, horror, and religious beliefs. It is a horrifyingly vivid allegory depicting the internal conflict of facing one’s faith and morality. I have never seen a book of this format. The prevalence of evil and disturbing imagery throughout the story is unsettling to any reader- let alone those who are questioning their own moral structure. This book shakes the foundation of the reader and gets to the core of our deepest fear, exploiting them in the form of a demonic character named Nefas. Nefas is terrifyingly evil but painfully relatable. You hate him and you just want him to disappear during the entirety of the novel, but his temptation is much to enticing. He offers peace, comfort, beauty, lust, embodying anything that his victims desires just to lure them into his hands. You know that he does not have your best interest in mind, but you follow him anyway because it is easier. I had to take this book in small doses because so much of it was hard to process all at once. The inner turmoil of the protagonist is painfully indecisive and frustrating at times. I found myself yelling at her to just get it together, but sometimes life just isn’t that simple. It is this complexity that makes this book so good.
The style of writing is rich in vivid detail and architectural language. The protagonist is an Architect and her careful eye is present through every description of scenery, buildings, and situations alike. This book is wonderfully difficult to process on many levels, but I loved it. I highly recommend this book!