Sign Here by Claudia Lux | Book Review

I think I was too grumpy for this one.

Sign Here by Claudia Lux

Released October 2022

Source: Library Borrow

Goodreads  | Amazon

A darkly humorous, surprisingly poignant, and utterly gripping debut novel about a guy who works in Hell (literally) and is on the cusp of a big promotion if only he can get one more member of the wealthy Harrison family to sell their soul.

Peyote Trip has a pretty good gig in the deals department on the fifth floor of Hell. Sure, none of the pens work, the coffee machine has been out of order for a century, and the only drink on offer is Jägermeister, but Pey has a plan—and all he needs is one last member of the Harrison family to sell their soul.

When the Harrisons retreat to the family lake house for the summer, with their daughter Mickey’s precocious new friend, Ruth, in tow, the opportunity Pey has waited a millennium for might finally be in his grasp. And with the help of his charismatic coworker Calamity, he sets a plan in motion.

But things aren’t always as they seem, on Earth or in Hell. And as old secrets and new dangers scrape away at the Harrisons’ shiny surface, revealing the darkness beneath, everyone must face the consequences of their choices.

My 2 Cents for Free!

I don't know, I guess I thought this book was going to be a fun distraction but there were parts of it that I could barely get through. I thought a book where half of the plot takes place in hell would be more interesting to me, but it was intentionally boring for kicks and most of the humor fell a little flat for me, tbh. This version of hell will bore you to death except you won't die. It just goes on and on. Turns out I was actually more interested in the horrible humans featured in the other half which read more like a domestic mystery/secrets type of book and I love those. Terrible people? Doing terrible things? You've got my attention.

In all honestly it felt like two entirely different books mashed together for the majority of the read. It was a strange experience. It all came together eventually in the very end but I'm not going to sugarcoat - it was a struggle for me to get there and if I weren't reading it for a book chat on the Horror Spotlight discord, I would've quit at the halfway point.

Lots of people are loving it and finding it very funny and sometimes I feel like I've read an entirely different book than the rest of booklandia so if you're pondering it maybe give it a few chapters and see if works for you.

⭐⭐1/2

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