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The Lights

Carrie Pack (Goodreads Author)

3.64 · Rating details · 22 ratings · 13 reviews

It's winter break and Molly Monroe is content to enjoy her town's annual Festival of Lights with her girlfriend Chelsea at her side. But almost immediately after the lights go up, the town's children begin to act strangely, especially Molly's own brother, Roger. When their next-door neighbors are killed in a grisly double homicide, Molly begins to suspect the incidents are ...more

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Kindle Edition, 143 pages

Published December 11th 2018 by Carrie Pack

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Average rating 3.64 ·

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· 22 ratings · 13 reviews

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Dec 04, 2018 destiny ♡⚔♡ [howling libraries] rated it really liked it

Recommended to destiny ♡⚔♡ by: Owl

Shelves: owned-digital, diverse-reads, holidays, horror, lgbtqiap, shorts-and-novellas, young-adult

Christmas is an especially big deal in Molly’s town, where the citizens decorate extravagantly each year—including the tremendous amount of sparkling lights that go up each year. Something is different about the lights this year, and they’re having a terrifying effect on the children in town.

I’m a total sucker for Christmas horror stories, so I would have added this to my TBR based on the synopsis alone, but when I learned it also featured an f/f romance? Well, count me in!

Before the horror

Christmas is an especially big deal in Molly’s town, where the citizens decorate extravagantly each year—including the tremendous amount of sparkling lights that go up each year. Something is different about the lights this year, and they’re having a terrifying effect on the children in town.

I’m a total sucker for Christmas horror stories, so I would have added this to my TBR based on the synopsis alone, but when I learned it also featured an f/f romance? Well, count me in!

Before the horror that was my darkest Christmas, the lights were a welcome sight.

First, the plot of this story? Genuinely a little terrifying. Kids can be creepy to begin with, and the idea of these children being turned into raging murderers just by staring at a few strings of Christmas lights is unsettling. Likewise, the gore put on display during the murders is surprisingly dark for YA horror, which was a nice change of pace from what I expected. There’s a line that describes a man’s entrails being wrapped around the tree like garland, and my gore-loving little self couldn’t help but cackle a little over that.

For the characters, the relationship between Molly and her girlfriend Chelsea feels like an actual teen relationship with some tender moments mixed in with a bit of bickering that ups the reality factor. There’s also a nonbinary/ace side character who was honestly the star of the show for me.
The only notable flaw in the story for me was the ending and explanation of events. While it wasn’t bad, I think the bulk of the story was so well-done that I expected more and was a little surprised by how vague and up in the air the last little bit felt to me. That said, if you’re looking for a fun, short holiday horror read with some diversity thrown in, definitely grab a copy of The Lights. I had a ton of fun reading this and would very happily pick up future horror releases from this author!

Content warnings for gore, murder, child death

All quotes come from an advance copy and may not match the final release. Thank you so much to the author for providing me with this ARC in exchange for an honest review! ...more

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Dec 24, 2019 Emily rated it really liked it · review of another edition

"Before the horror that was my darkest Christmas, the lights were a welcome sight."

I buddy read The Lights on Christmas with my friend Tracy, and we enjoyed this one! It's a LGBTQ+ Christmas horror novella, and the story is fun and gory. If you like horror stories with creepy kids, this is definitely one for you. I felt that the ending was a little lackluster, but I was so entertained by the rest of the story. Grab this one to read next Christmas!

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Dec 26, 2019 Tracy Robinson rated it really liked it

Shelves: tbr-wishlist

3.5 rounded up to 4 on Goodreads/Amazon

I needed a short Christmas horror story to read this season, and when my friend Emily mentioned she was reading this one, I jumped right in. Holiday lights with an agenda, a diverse array of characters, and creepy kids are the three things that made me excited to pick this one up.

When the action of this novella is in full swing, it boasts great gory fun and several "creep me out" moments. I don't know what it is about kids and their ability to be some of ...more

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Nov 27, 2018 Melanie Marsh rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Releasing just in time for the holidays, The Lights by Carrie Pack is the perfect amount of creepy to make you question whether those new LED Christmas lights are truly worth it. If the idea of murderous kids obsessed with Christmas lights doesn’t make you nervous, I don’t know what will.

When the younger kids in town start acting freaky after the annual Christmas light display in this small town, Molly, her girlfriend Chelsea and their newish friend Brandon must figure out how to keep ...more

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Apr 01, 2019 Donna rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

This is a creepy intriguing tale I couldn’t put down. I’ll admit it doesn’t take much to scare me but this one had me sleeping with a night light and a teddy bear. If scary is for you I recommend this book.

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Oct 21, 2019 Mehsi rated it it was amazing

Shelves: 5-twinkling-stars, don-t-turn-off-the-lights, halloween-2019, holidays-festivities, the-butler-did-it, warning-english-books, lgbt-let-people-love-who-they-want

"Before the horror that was my darkest Christmas, the lights were a welcome sight."

A fantastic horrific gruesome book that is perfect for both Halloween and Christmas. It is like The Nightmare Before Christmas, a movie both fitting these two holidays.

It is all about a sweet town named New Brighton. The townspeople are looking forward to Christmas, but before that there is the Festival of Lights. This year the lights are a bit different, the mayor wanted to be a bit more ecological... but is "Before the horror that was my darkest Christmas, the lights were a welcome sight."

A fantastic horrific gruesome book that is perfect for both Halloween and Christmas. It is like The Nightmare Before Christmas, a movie both fitting these two holidays.

It is all about a sweet town named New Brighton. The townspeople are looking forward to Christmas, but before that there is the Festival of Lights. This year the lights are a bit different, the mayor wanted to be a bit more ecological... but is that wise?

Our MC quite soon notices that something is off, I did think it was amazing that she saw that for it wasn't something that most people would see. What was wrong? The littlest kids of the town were totally entranced by the lights. Murmuring. Whispering. Acting like little zombies. But that is just that at first, but then not many hours after that there are screams next door. Our MC sees a little girl covered in blood holding a knife... and the next day the MCs mom has to let someone into the house... and well... they find whatever remains of the two people living in the house. And that is when the story truly starts. I loved this beginning, and I loved how things seemed to settle down at first, but then kicked off even harder and we got more and more gruesomeness, more creepy little kids doing creepy little things.

Yes for real, it is a trope that we see in other books as well. Seemingly cute kids suddenly turn into something different. Something murderous. And like with most books the adults don't believe it when teens or someone tells them that something is wrong, because just look at how adorable these kids are. Plus, they are probably just distracted by the prospect of something (in this case Christmas). It was a bit annoying at times as things were clearly happening and it seemed the people in the town just turned a blind side to it. The kids really got more and more creepy with each passing day. Eventually it just seemed like the only people alive in the town were the 3 teens and the kids. Which was a bit odd, but then the MC also mentioned it and I had a chuckle.

The murders are superduper gruesome and a bit too gore at times for me.

Later on we learn more on what is going on, we see our MC make a plan along with her friend and her sweet girlfriend, try to disable the lights, and then later they even find out something else. Something that had me gasping. Oh my! I would have liked to see that developed some more as I still have questions.

The ending was excited, horrific, scary, but also a bit of a letdown. I get that the book had to end, and on the one hand it was an OK ending, but on the other hand it felt rushed. Which is a shame.

I did like our MC, and I also liked her girlfriend. The other friend was also nice. I loved the bond between the characters and how strong and brave all three of them were.

I did feel sorry for the MC, especially as the story continued and got more and more scary and horrific. Her little brother is also entranced by the lights, and she is noticing quite quickly that he is just not the same and she is afraid of him, but also afraid for her family. Thankfully, she has her girlfriend and her friend who were there for her.

All in all, a great horror book which can be read during Christmas or Halloween, pick a time. Or just read the book again. :P

Review first posted at https://twirlingbookprincess.com/
...more

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Dec 10, 2018 Isabella ~Mikku-chan~ rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Full RTC

This was a very thrilling novella, full of creepy events where children acted weird during the Christmas holidays.

I liked the pace and the tone but sometimes some actions throw me off so I can't give 5 out of 5 stars and 4 instead.

This book has not really a HEA, a very lose HFN with the unknown what's awaiting them in the future and that creates tension again. But it actually works for this book.
This book has a FF couple bit it's *not* romance; we see a few kisses & shared touches ...more

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Dec 02, 2018 Owl rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: own-kindle

3.5 of 5 stars
Full review to come

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Dec 11, 2018 Alexis Long *from the heart of a bibliophile lair* rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

I love this book it's so good

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Dec 11, 2018 Melissa Banczak rated it really liked it

Scary fun

The LED lights are making the kids kill. It’s up to Molly and her friends to stop them. Lots of scary fun.

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Oct 25, 2018 Carrie Pack added it · (Review from the author)

This novella was inspired by my hometown's annual Christmas light display and my personal hatred of the look of LED lights, especially the blue ones. The Lights is an intensely creepy story with elements of classic slashers and paranormal thrillers. Fans of There's Someone Inside Your House by Stephanie Perkins and Sawkill Girls by Claire Legrand will enjoy this novella.

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Dec 13, 2018 Lee rated it did not like it · review of another edition

An interesting concept plagued by poor development, ordinary writing, and doubtful editing. I nearly gave it a second star for the concept, but I went back to give it a second try, and just couldn’t. When characters express themselves by rolling their eyes—roughly 30 times over the course of a novella (same with furloughing their brows)—it’s time to move on.

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Lynn Charles rated it it was amazing
Dec 29, 2018

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Jan 09, 2019 Bird 🐦 rated it it was ok

Shelves: lgbt

Me everytime Molly, Chelsea, and Brandon made an imperative decision:

IM JUST SO CONFUSED?? (view spoiler) ...more

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About Carrie Pack

Carrie Pack

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Carrie Pack is an author of books in multiple genres, including Designs on You (2014), In the Present Tense (2016), and Grrrls on the Side (2017). She is a recipient of two Foreword Reviews INDIES Book of the Year Bronze awards: in 2016 for In the Present Tense (science fiction) and in 2017 for Grrrls on the Side (young adult). Grrrls on the Side was also a finalist in the Bi Book Awards.

Her ...more