December 22nd

Beth seems a very grounded person who has raised two sensible daughters. My main question is: why on earth did she mafry Adam?

This chapter made sense (once I got over them walking out into the wilderness rather than occupying the radio station and finding a way to kill the Big Bad) but this time, I was thrown out of the story by the writing. Beth is sitting alone, nursing her wounds. Abby comes and sits beside her. It should have been a touching scene but the next sentence was:

“For a while, none of them say anything.” 

What’s with the “none of them”? There are only two peope here. Why isn’t it ‘”neither of them”? Who writes like this? I had to mutter to myself for neatly a minute before I could carry on with the story.

December 23rd

I always knew that Chloe would save the day. At least I hope she’s saved the day. These guys are leaving a trail of carnage behind them and every encounter seems to lead to one of them picking up another disabling injury. This was the kind of tense, violent, but not gory scene that moviemakers love. I STILL don’t know why the Big Bad is doing any of this. He’s taking risks now. What does he want?

December 24th

A short, reassuring, Christmas Eve chapter that didn’t actually leave me reassured.

I was happy for Chloe and Abby but I spent the chapter waiting for the other shoe to drop, for that scene wherethe monster we saw the Final Girl kill sits up and reaches for his hatchet. I was jumpy enough that I expected the decoration above Chloe’s bed to be a Christmas Stocking and even the pine bough with a ribbon on it hanging over her head felt sinister.

I’d like to have taken this chapter at face value and basked in the warm glow of rescue but my mind wouldn’t settle. I was looking for the thing that wasn’t there. Then I realised what was missing. Where were the police? This family say they’ve been abducted and tortured by a masked man who has vanished into the snow. They’ve left two dead bodies behind them (two of only three people who they’ve met since reaching the mountain). The two adults seem unstable and the children are traumatised and hurt. So how come there’s no security on Chloe’s room? How is Abby, a minor, left to wander the hospital corridors with no support or supervision? Wouldn’t some kind of Child Protection service have been called by now? That may sound picky but if you’re going to land a horror story in the real world, you have to live by real world rules or explain why they don’t apply.

Only one chapter left to go. It’s set one year later (which is a bit of a cheat) but I’m still not expecting much by way of explanation. I wonder if it will end with the reappearance of the Monster of Christmas Past or if it will go the Scrooge route of having ‘no further intercourse with Spirits Monsters‘ and finish with Tiny Tim’s benediction: “God bless Us, Every One!“

December 25th

OK, we got a cosy we’ve-come-out-of-our-trauma-stronger, PTSD-free Christmas morning one year later – and then the second shoe finally dropped. It made me smile, rather than jump because I’d been waiting for it and it avoided the gore that might have ruined my day.

I loved the Advent Calendars of my childhood because they looked good and opening a door each day was fun, even though some of the chocolates weren’t ones I liked. I feel the same way about ‘25 Days‘. The cover art was compelling. The idea was enticing. I loved the process of reading it, especially as a Buddy Read. It became a small part of my day that I looked forward to no matter what was behind the next door.

The story was frustrating at times. The BIg Bad had all the credibility of a Department Store Santa and the plot was as realistic as reindeer flying through the air, There was one really gory scene that I wanted to spit out (like biting into one of those nougat sweets in the Advent Calendar when I was hoping for butter toffee), BUT, I enjoyed the relationship between the sisters, I cheered for Abby, worried for Chloe, hoped that Beth would get to carry out her threat to kill the Big Bad and tried to see Adam’s good side, so some ot the story worked well. 

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Go HERE for Days 1-7. HERE fot Days 8-14 and HERE for Days 15-21.

Merry Christmas.