Playground by Aron Beauregard

Rating: ★★★★★

Genre: Horror

Format: Hardcover/Limited Edition/Signed

Pages: 293

Read: 12/18/22

Synopsis:

Three low-income families have been given a handsome retainer to join Geraldine Borden for a day at her cliffside estate. All the parents must do to collect the rest of their money is allow their children to test out the revolutionary playground equipment Geraldine has been working on for decades. But there’s a reason the structures in the bowels of her gothic castle have taken so long to develop—they were never meant to see the light of day.

When a band of dysfunctional children is suddenly thrust into a diabolical realm of violence, they must grow up instantly to have a chance at survival. Will they find a way to put their differences aside, or be swallowed up by the insidious architecture all around them?

Review:

"You have no choice, you must play the game, and learn that Heaven and Hell are one and the same."

If you are at all familiar with Aron's writing, then you should be well prepared for the darkness that lies within his storytelling. But you should also be expecting superb character developement, well developed plots, and unique settings.

Geraldine and Fuchs are character's that are completely evil and unlikable, disgusting in all their enjoyment they have in living out their dream of watching the suffering of the children. There is a reason Geraldine is doing what she is, and it is somewhat sad, but clearly not justifiable. 

Rock is the character that from the beginning one can tell that he is a puppet on Geraldine's strings. Furthur in you will discover the true atrocities she puts Rock through. He is a character that is a product of his upbringing and control. He will surprise you later on as you learn more about him and he will be a character that you will learn to feel deeply for and you will be holding onto a hope that he will be able to find a happy ending in his morbid life he has to live.

The children have been chosen for a reason. Geraldine feels that the parents are  undeserving of the lives they are living and the children they have. Somewhat broken families and the daily life struggles of parenthood and the product the children are becoming because of those parental choices. 

The children will surprise you as your going on this vile and twisted adventure right along with them. The choices they will have to make, the choices some of them do make, and the consequences of thier actions. The familiarity of their  childhood is captured really well. The soft hearted, the hard hearted, the shy and meek, the conformed and the broken. I loved them all and was routing for them no matter their character, after all they are just kids. 

At the heart of this story, one can't help but develop a connection and just feel every gut wrenching punch as each child must make their choices. 

Of course there is also the bloody, disgusting gore and putridness. Yes, there are descriptions of smells that will possibly engage that gag reflex. 

It may sound terrible to some when I say I enjoyed the heck out of reading this, but it pertains to Aron's writing style and his ability to develop a story that completely engages one while reading. I do have to say though, that for me as someone who works with children, the further into the story the more difficult it became as it began to tear my heart apart. This wasn't an easy read, but it is a story well worth reading!

As a fan of horror one must always be prepared and well aware of what will be involved, because that's what reading horror is all about. For me horror is an escape from all the real nightmares of the world and this one surely suceeded in taking me away!!

Goodreads Author Link:

https://www.goodreads.com/author/show

Amazon Author Link:

https://www.amazon.com/stores/Aron-Beauregard/author/

Link to Author Website:

https://www.abhorror.com/

Review Links:

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/

https://www.bookbub.com/reviews/

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