A romantic cabin getaway doesn’t go exactly as planned. High up on the windswept cliffs of Pale Peak, Faye and Felix celebrate their new engagement. But soon, a chorus of ghastly noises erupts from the nearby, the screams of animals, the cries of children, and the mad babble of a hundred mournful voices. A dark figure looms near the windows in the dead of night, whispering to Faye. As the weather turns deadly, Felix discovers that his terrified fiancée isn’t just mumbling in her sleep – she’s whispering back. Originally a contest-winning story on reddit.com’s horror community NoSleep.
If you are not sure what NoSleep on Reddit is, I am going to give you a little explanation of what Reddit says about it. So, the NoSleep contest is a monthly competition held as a way of saying ‘thank you’ to the hundreds of fantastic writers who help make this community great. Authors were encouraged to nominate their own stories, which were then voted on by the community at large.’ So this is what Reddit says. As far as I am aware, this contest no longer exists.
Nine years ago, a person with the nickname TheColdPeople put on this contest his story with the name: My romantic cabin getaway with my fiancée isn’t exactly going as planned’ It is a short, disturbing story about… yes, you guessed! A romantic getaway. It got more than 4k votes, and people generally loved it. As we can see, two years later, TheColdPeople added another post on Reddit where he announced that he changed his short stories into a book now called ‘Stolen Tongues’, and now you can buy that book on Amazon, or if you have a KU, you can read it for free.
So, was it worth reading? Was it exciting, and did I want to know what happened next? Yes, yes, and yes.
I loved the vibe that someone is watching me, but you have no idea who and what the heck they want. Of course, the place of this story is giving the vibe. It is in Pale Peak, and this cabin is isolated. When the snow falls from the sky, there is nothing but trees around. Do you know what? Yes, you are trapped with something that is after you. After your mind, body and soul. There is no way out but to get through.
In this book, we have Felix and Faye. Faye is the one who starts to have nightmares, sleepwalks, and talks while asleep. I can imagine that at the beginning it was probably funny for Felix, but something started to listened to Faye. This thing got into her head and wanted to know more, wanted to know all of her deep secrets. This creature got obsessed with Faye. Wanted her attention and love, and he was there watching her for God know how long. What was this secret so hidden in her mind that this monster wanted? To find out you have to read this book. Yes, you have to.
You will find in this book a lot of unsettling situations. This monster will be circling the house, walking around and reading their minds when they are asleep. In the state when they are the most vulnerable. I loved this part. There is a lot of Native American culture and beliefs in this book, and I think it adds to this book as I know little about their culture, and this book feels like something original, new. The only thing I did not like about this aspect is how the Native American characters in the book ended. I wanted more from them! I really hoped they would make a difference in this book. Not just come in, sit on the couch, and that was all the help from Angela they got.
I got chills on my back a lot of times through this book. It gave me the feeling I could start hearing weird noises outside the window, and I was more alert at night. And that was what I wanted from a horror book! This monster did a lot of things, so I was hooked from so many angles.
The only downside is that this book is self-published, and you can feel the lack of editing. There were quite a lot of repetitive phrases. After a while, I had a feeling it was all the same: Faye went to bed, started to have dreams, talks and walks, Felix walking after her. This book could be a little shorter to avoid this.
You can really see a lack of editing and building the world and characters, but at the same time, this book is so good! It has a lot of flaws, but this book was made because of one post on Reddit made 8ish years ago, which blew up so much that people wanted this story. That’s why it is so good… People wanted to know what’s next! People were waiting for the book to come.
When you read this book, just keep in mind that Felix just started his writer journey, but he made it. He wrote this damn good book.
- Atmosphere and tension: 1
- Characters and relatability: 1
- Plot Coherence and Pacing: 1
- Fear factor and impact: 1
- Writing quality and styles: 0.5
4.5/5
- Atmosphere and tension: This is the backbone of horror- how well the book builds a creepy, unsettling vibe. Does the setting (dark woods, haunted house, possessed people) pull you in? Does the book keep you on edge, dreading what’s next? A great horror book makes the air feel thick with unease.
- Characters and Relatability: Are the protagonists fleshed out enough to care about? Do their fears or flaws resonate? Weak characters can tank a story- nobody roots for a cardboard cutout. The best horrors make you feel their terror as if it’s your own.
- Plot Coherence and Pacing: Does the story hold together logically, even in its madness? Are twists earned, not just cheap shocks? Pacing matters too- too slow, and it drags: too fast, and the fear does not sink in. A tight, well-structured plot keeps the horror gripping.
- Fear factor and Impact: How much does it actually scare you? This varies by reader—some want visceral gore, others subtle dread—but the book should leave a mark, whether it is nightmares or lingering chills. It’s about emotional punch, not just jump-scares on paper.
- Writing Quality and Styles: Clunky prose or overdone cliches can kill the mood. Does the language flow, painting vivid images without bogging down? The best horror writers wield words like weapons, sharp and deliberate, ampifying the story’s power.
THE ENDING AND SPOILERS (BE AWARE):
The ending was really the worst part of the book because it was not giving too much information. I am not going to spoil it for any of you but word ‘Enough’ didn’t do it for me. I needed more. This creature was stalking Faye for years to know the deepest secret and this secret was shitty. The big secret was: Faye brother was a stillborn. For real? It could be better! After the big reveal this creature literally said: okay, thanks. Now I can go back into my little rabbit hole in the mountains and live my life.
I could not understand why Faye was the choosen one. Could use more info.