3.5 stars, rounded up to 4.

Close encounters and botanical horror was everything I needed.

Lara is looking for the perfect escape following the end of a terrible high school experience. Determined to spend her summer with her past in the past, she takes on a service job on a luxury train. What she wasn't expecting was the one person she wanted to move on from, Rhys, is on the same train working right along side her. Enter mysterious passengers, strange dreams, and the creepy sensation of growth - this train is nothing like it was promised to be.

This is the perfect YA horror - with the creepiness of the plants, to the second guessing who was involved with the horrors. I do think the beginning is a tad slow, I'm not sure if that is intentional to build suspense, but I almost wish the horror aspects starting 50 or so pages sooner.

I also loved that while this story tells about tangible horrors happening in real time, we get to see what happens in Lara's past with Rhys for them to have such a frigid interaction upon seeing one another. This story is about strength and the horrors that happen to women in two different ways, and honestly so well done.

Definitely a book I'll think about often!

Thank you to Amy Goldsmith, Netgalley and Random House Children's for an eARC. All thoughts are honest and my own.