Daughter Unto Devils by Amy Lukavics

Title: Daughters Unto Devils
Author: Amy Lukavics
Publisher: Harlequin Teen
Publication date: September 29, 2015
Pages: 231
Source/format: Library // Hardcover

Rating: ☆☆☆☆ 

Synopsis (from Goodreads.com):

When sixteen-year-old Amanda Verner's family decides to move from their small mountain cabin to the vast prairie, she hopes it is her chance for a fresh start. She can leave behind the memory of the past winter; of her sickly Ma giving birth to a baby sister who cries endlessly; of the terrifying visions she saw as her sanity began to slip, the victim of cabin fever; and most of all, the memories of the boy she has been secretly meeting with as a distraction from her pain. The boy whose baby she now carries.

When the Verners arrive at their new home, a large cabin abandoned by its previous owners, they discover the inside covered in blood. And as the days pass, it is obvious to Amanda that something isn't right on the prairie. She's heard stories of lands being tainted by evil, of men losing their minds and killing their families, and there is something strange about the doctor and his son who live in the woods on the edge of the prairie. But with the guilt and shame of her sins weighing on her, Amanda can't be sure if the true evil lies in the land, or deep within her soul.

My Thoughts

Amanda Verner has lived in the mountains with her religious family until Pa mentioned how the winter is gong to be a rough one. The family relocates south to a stretch of free land in the prairie. After searching for an abandoned cabin, the family finds one. However, the floors are covered in blood. Instead of being normal people and moving on after seeing such thing, the family decides to clean the place up and to move in. Little did they know, evil lurks.

Amanda has always been fighting her internal sins. Amanda thinks about bad things happening and they come true. What does that mean? She is the only one that sense something wrong and something evil in the air besides baby Hannah. She is the only one that hears the knocking, the one that hears a infant crying near the water pump and the only one that sees a ghost of a baby standing outside. Her sister Emily thinks she is delusional and pays no attention to what Amanda sees or hears. Amanda is so frightened that she wants to relocate her family somewhere else.

The first half of the novel moved at a snail's pace but the novel picked up in pace and scared the crap out of me at the end. I have so many questions about what happened. The build up was agonizing for me since I wanted something to happen right away. Although it took forever for the creepiness factor to pick up, I love the ending. It was the perfect classic horror ending that I have been looking for. It is bone chilling and atmospheric. Daughter Unto Devils would make a good film.

I was bothered how Ma called Amanda Daughter several times in the book. Why didn't she just call her daughter by Amanda? I wish Amy Lukavics built more layers regarding the characters. I feel like I couldn't really connect with many of the characters in novel and that the character development could have been better. Their personalities seem lackluster. For those who are sensitive to gore, there is quite a lot of it in the novel. Also, as a warning, teen pregnancy is prevalent as well.

If you are looking for a quick creepy read, check out Daughter Unto Devils. Just be careful when reading at night.