Book Review: "The Spore Queen" by Debra Castaneda

 

Forest. Fungi. Family secrets.

Reporter Maria Hart ventures into the depths of Nils Forest chasing a news story about a violent storm, but she never returns. Within months, four other people will also disappear in the woods.

Tech mogul David Eager lives at the forest’s edge. He is haunted by Maria’s disappearance, and something more. Fungus is common in the foggy woodland, but now it’s behaving in unnatural ways, creeping onto his property and into his dreams.

Maria’s friend, Amy Matthews, hears strange rumors about Nils Forest and, motivated by a dark secret, decides to investigate for herself. It’s no easy task. The terrain is notoriously rugged. But Amy is cunning and determined to find her former roommate, dead or alive.

Amy’s not alone. Maria’s mother, desperate for answers about her daughter, joins the search.

Together, they journey into the heart of Nils Forest where they make a chilling discovery—there’s a new fungus in these woods, and it has transformative powers. As they push deeper into the trees, they uncover a terrifying, mind-bending force. Her name is The Spore Queen. - from Booksirens.com 

This eARC was provided by Booksirens.com and I giving an unbiased review.

This is another installment into the 'Dark Earth Rising' books from this author. Admittedly, after having read the others, I was a bit disappointed in this particular novel. Though the story follows the general idea of the Earth retaliating in a strange fashion against humans, this one didn't feel the same. The ending was different, as to events that happened that leads one to believe a mysterious disappearance (or possible destruction) of the malignant force of nature, whereas this time, it was not only supported by followers, but assisted in flourishing. Does this mean a possible follow-up novel, that expands on this particular storyline? Not sure, but would be interesting to find out.