The Hostile

By: Joy Mutter

Narrated by: Joy Mutter

Length: 7 hrs and 10 mins

Publisher's summary

In a rundown area of Manchester, inside a bathroom in a small, terraced house overflowing with children and dysfunctional parents, an unfathomable, powerful entity infiltrates 12-year-old Serena's life with disastrous effects. The enigmatic force not only dramatically affects introverted Serena's life, but threatens the well-being of everyone she knows, especially those people who for some reason have earned the strange girl's displeasure. It soon becomes clear that nobody should ever upset Serena if they know what is good for them. After listening to The Hostile, you will never again look at DIY in the same way.

©2016 Joy Mutter (P)2016 Joy Mutter

The hostile

Any additional comments?

At first I found it hard to get into the story , but when I had read about a third I was hooked & enjoyed reading it. It is refreshingly original & wanted to read more.

Certainly Different

Any additional comments?

One of the things I look for in my horror/paranormal books is a unique take on whatever the spooky thing is. It's so easy in this genre to put together a story filled with cliches and this one certainly isn't one of them. That's this story's strongest point - that it is based in a weirdness that is unexpected and bizarre. I also enjoyed the fact that this all started because our protagonist had bowel problems - how clever!

The narration was pretty terrible, however. I got used to it but it almost makes it not worth the listen. Finally, even though this is book one in a three part series, it doesn't really have an ending. It just sort of stops. I knew this was a series going in, but I didn't expect that because the series advertises as being readable as stand alone books too. I disagree. I wouldn't read this unless you're planning on reading all three books!

I was voluntarily provided this free review copy audiobook by the author, narrator, or publisher.

Strangely different

This was an intriguing story of a young girl's obsession with bathroom tile that has the power to make her wishes come true. The story turns dark when the girl finds out her father is having an affair. When she tells the tile how she feels, sinister events begin to happen. The story was interesting, although I could do without some of the references to bodily functions. The author narrates the story herself and does a decent job of it.

Oddly Different

Joy definitely has an interesting imagination, When I read the snopes of this book I knew I had to check it out. I have never heard of such a story before, and I am such a huge fan of creepy different and dark.
I was entertained a bit by the story but I wish it would of stay on the main character more, instead of jumping around to family members and their sex lives basically. I understand how it all tyed together but I believe the story would've been stronger if it didn't do this. It was kind of hard to get into at first but it was somewhat enjoyable.

The narrator I found to be awful, it was like she was talking though a tin can for some reason. Then I thought maybe they were making it kind of sound like this because the main character spends so much time in the bathroom... But when they went outside and the tin canny didn't change I knew it was just a bad recording, I think this book would've been much more enjoyable if the narration is betterI was voluntarily provided this free review copy audiobook by the author, narrator, or publisher.

The Hostile

A young girl with digestive issues spends enormous amounts of time in the bathroom talking to the tiles on the floor.One in particular answers her and bad things happen when she complains about something.Joy Mutter wrote and narrates this.The sound was bad.It sounded like it was recorded in a can.Ms Mutter may want to spring for a narrator for her next book.I was provided this book free for review

Great story!

I really liked this book. Its really creepy to think what it would be like for a child to have so much power - especially when I think of the things I said in haste when I was the same age as the character. Yikes! I'm just glad this book is fiction! :-) I thought the story was well-written and the characters were really interesting and entertaining. I listened to the Audible audio version of this book narrated by the author. She did a really good job! I'm always impressed when authors can narrate their stories well. She didn't really do different voices for the characters that I noticed, but she was still good in that it felt like someone reading a story to me. Her inflection and pacing were good. The only criticisms that I have are that there is too much "dead time" between the chapters, and the quality of the recording was not as good in spots - like maybe the location of recording changed so there are different ambient sounds and echoes. Other than that, I really liked the story. If you like a good creepy book, I would highly recommend this one.

Starts slow but gets great!

This story is really great. I admit it starts a bit slow but once you are introduced to other character besides Serena you will be sucked in. I thoroughly enjoyed this. Already started book 3. This seems at first like it could be a young adult book but it definitely is not. Serena is definitely a chapter you do not want to cross. I love how she can have a heart and also be heartless at the same time. Her innocence is going fast.
I was given this free review copy audiobook at my request and have voluntarily left this review.
Narration by the author is great. Books 2 & 3 have a different narrator.

GOOD READ!

I enjoyed it. This book was unlike anything I've read before! It was full of drama with plenty of twists and turns. The narration was good and kept me entertained. The author did a good job with the character builds and plot. I look forward to reading the next book in this series. I was given this free review copy audiobook at my request and have voluntarily left this review.

Be Careful What You Ask For

…especially if you’re a twelve year old girl in Manchester. “The Hostile” snuck up on me. Not my usual genre so I wasn’t quite sure if I would enjoy this work of reality meets a bit of science fiction but I was completely wrong. Enjoy it I did!

This is a carefully crafted work that delves into the everyday life of Serena, the aforementioned twelve year old, and the people around her. Her one “special” friend seems to be her own personal genie granting her wishes of the most peculiar types. You’re hooked from beginning to end and, fortunately for us, this is only book one of a series.

In addition to that I am a big fan of authors who read their own work. Yes, some of them are not “professional readers” (what that means) but they are the ones, after all, who crafted the words in the first place so who better to read them than the authors themselves. Bravo, Joy!

If you enjoy fiction, science fiction, mystery …. all of the above…”The Hostile” is user-friendly.

Mildly recommended

"The Hostile" (2016) by Joy Mutter is an odd paranormal novel. Thirteen-year-old, socially inept Serena, a relatively poor girl living in Manchester, England, develops an unusual relationship with a bathroom tile; Tile X, as she calls him. Tile X speaks to her and can bring severe retribution to anyone who wrongs her, whether she wants it or not. Too much time is spent on the adults in Serena’s life, and the constantly shifting character points-of-view mid-scene became annoying. Mildly recommended. Audiobook provided free in exchange for an honest review.

Totally gripping! Can't wait for the next book

The Hostile was beautifully written and I enjoyed the way the tension built throughout. Such a unique and intriguing concept and I cannot wait to read the next installment!

Original and different

Where does The Hostile rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

I loved the originality of the story. Very high for that reason

What did you like best about this story?

Again original and so different to any other story's

Which character – as performed by Joy Mutter – was your favourite?

The Hostile

If you made a film of this book, what would be the tag line be?

Be careful what you whisper.....

Any additional comments?

I listened to the audio version of The Hostile. It is bizarre & weird & so original. Such a good twisted tale. A young girl is so confused, school isn't fun, family isn't fun, so she spends lots of time in her bathroom. She listens to a voice & it seems to do her wishes.
This tale involves her family and their extended lives, her school mates & how her life takes turns.
I really enjoyed this tale, it's an original tale. Not the usual horror story.

Interesting but Disturbing...!

The author has made an excellent job of narrating her own novel. The main protagonist of The Hostile is a young schoolgirl, Serena, on the cusp of womanhood. She is a member of a large dysfunctional Manchester family where the father and mother have never worked and spend most of their days floating on a cloud of cannabis. When Serena realises she can communicate with a demonic force trapped in a ceramic tile in her favourite bathroom all hell breaks loose. The novel takes the listener on a journey of mayhem when Serena's unguarded comments are taken literally by the demonic entity. Well worth a listen.

I received a courtesy version of The Hostile in return for a fair and unbiased review.