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3.14 AVERAGE
3.14 AVERAGE
dark
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
I am kind of over the whole "these non-believers are going to learn that evil is real and demons exist (and thus the Church/God is real) " plotline. At best it is a tired cliche and at worst it is just religious propaganda... The book had potential and was decently written, but it devolves into a trope fest by the end of it.
Also, I hope the author has a Sicilian background as there were A LOT of comments saying Sicilians are X and Y which will be even iffier if the author is just regurgitanting stereotypes...
Also, I hope the author has a Sicilian background as there were A LOT of comments saying Sicilians are X and Y which will be even iffier if the author is just regurgitanting stereotypes...
dark
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
You may have heard of various schemes across the world, particularly in Italy as with this book, where you can buy a house for 1 euro on the proviso that you live there for X amount of time in order to repopulate abandoned towns. The House of Last Resort takes that enticing premise as the foundation of its plot, building upon it to deliver a supernatural mystery of a town with secrets and a house that is not what it seems.
Kate and Tommy jump at the opportunity to own a home in a small Italian town where Tommy's grandparents live, particularly when his Grandfather is unwell. Despite being initially enamoured with their house and the opportunity, something is immediately off when Tommy's grandmother is inexplicably angry at their chosen house and they're disturbed by sounds in the night and mysterious rooms they didn't know existed. They jump into town rejuvenation, and spearhead turning the catacombs into a tourist attraction. They make new friends and attempt to persuade old ones to take the plunge and join them. The town's whispers eventually reach their ears, and they discover why their house was dubbed 'The House of Last Resort', what the hell the Church was doing in it, and what that means for their family.
The House of Last Resort is such an interesting premise. It started off well, laying the foundation of the mystery and setting the scene. I enjoyed the supernatural elements, the creeping sensation of being watched or waking to things going bump in the night. Once the reason behind the name is explained, we quickly turn towards religion in a relatively predictable fashion. Questions surrounding Tommy's family joins the predictable plot, with a lot of convenience. The dual perspectives didn't add much, particularly when neither was really likeable, and I found instances where it would re-explain what's just happened for no real reason. The majority of the book felt like interpersonal conflict or their day-to-day, with very little horror, including the final 'showdown'. I found this to be lacking and I was left wanting more. I also found it hard to maintain concentration due to this, and I ended up rereading chapters again and again as my mind would drift off. The chapters were short and it would be good book for those starting out reading horror or those that don't like anything too extreme or violent, but it wasn't for me. Thank you to NetGalley for the arc.
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
I found the main characters in this story so incredibly dislikable that it was so hard to have any interest in what was happening in the story. I especially disliked Kate, her motives never made any sense to me and she constantly was doing either the wrong thing, or the most dislikable thing she could. Tom was a little better but he was a bit of a wet noodle and ALWAYS folded to whatever Kate said to him, even when she was in the wrong.
I absolutely hated her when she refused to be there for Tom when his Nono was dying, and when he called her out for being selfish she completed turned it on him and literally caused him to miss the death of his own family member, then CONTINUED to throw a fit about it later. All because of something that (at the time) she should have believed had a rational reason behind it. Like I get it, but also grow up.
Also it drove me absolutely insane at the end when she left her friend in the street to die and then forced his husband to help her, didn’t tell him that his partner was in an accident laying on the road and then had the audacity to act like he was in the wrong for being mad at her for that? or how she asked the priest to help her and then got mad at him OVER AND OVER AND OVER again when he was continually trying to help her?? Like LISTEN TO THE PRIEST you’ve already realized that the priest ghosts have been trying to help you this WHOLE TIME why don’t you listen to the PRIEST you just asked for help!!!!
It also just felt really gross to me how her and Tom wanted to colonize this space and seemed to have no regards for the locals who lived there or for respecting their space and traditions. There’s something super icky to me about the way they wouldn’t shut up about gentrifying the area and using the catacombs as a tourist attraction. This book also used way too much repetition which was very grating very quickly (I think the term “the imports” was explained like 4 separate times. Yes. I get it. Move on please).
Just super irritating and I will forever dislike these two
I absolutely hated her when she refused to be there for Tom when his Nono was dying, and when he called her out for being selfish she completed turned it on him and literally caused him to miss the death of his own family member, then CONTINUED to throw a fit about it later. All because of something that (at the time) she should have believed had a rational reason behind it. Like I get it, but also grow up.
Also it drove me absolutely insane at the end when she left her friend in the street to die and then forced his husband to help her, didn’t tell him that his partner was in an accident laying on the road and then had the audacity to act like he was in the wrong for being mad at her for that? or how she asked the priest to help her and then got mad at him OVER AND OVER AND OVER again when he was continually trying to help her?? Like LISTEN TO THE PRIEST you’ve already realized that the priest ghosts have been trying to help you this WHOLE TIME why don’t you listen to the PRIEST you just asked for help!!!!
It also just felt really gross to me how her and Tom wanted to colonize this space and seemed to have no regards for the locals who lived there or for respecting their space and traditions. There’s something super icky to me about the way they wouldn’t shut up about gentrifying the area and using the catacombs as a tourist attraction. This book also used way too much repetition which was very grating very quickly (I think the term “the imports” was explained like 4 separate times. Yes. I get it. Move on please).
Just super irritating and I will forever dislike these two
adventurous
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Kate and Tommy pick up everything and move to a small town in Sicily where the local government is selling off houses and estates for dirt cheap to try and revitalize the town. Of course, they soon discover that the house they bought is infamous for having been used heavily for exorcisms and there is perhaps still a darkness lingering.
I'm quite shocked that this has a rating of 3.19 because that feels extremely low for a book that I didn't personally have any major qualms with.
The setting is brilliant and used well, the exorcism twist to the traditional haunted house trope was well executed, and I thought the pacing and general intrigue in the story was nicely done as well.
The parts that I didn't buy though shouldn't necessarily put off any readers though. Like, while I didn't have a problem with either of our main characters even if at times they were unlikable, I didn't exactly buy their love. It felt manufactured and unrealistic in a lot of ways. I also thought at times the writing was very overt when it could have used more deftness. And I generally did not particularly care for how the story wraps up. Not so much as it pertains to our main characters, but the larger grande scale conclusion and the world building ramifications of it.
I didn't have a bad time reading it at all though, and i would read more Christopher Golden; however this is the first possession book that really didn't scare or frighten me. But that perhaps could be because it's not quite your standard possession book just like it's not your standard haunted house book either.
In total, I'm happy to have read it but I probably would never re-read it.
I'm quite shocked that this has a rating of 3.19 because that feels extremely low for a book that I didn't personally have any major qualms with.
The setting is brilliant and used well, the exorcism twist to the traditional haunted house trope was well executed, and I thought the pacing and general intrigue in the story was nicely done as well.
The parts that I didn't buy though shouldn't necessarily put off any readers though. Like, while I didn't have a problem with either of our main characters even if at times they were unlikable, I didn't exactly buy their love. It felt manufactured and unrealistic in a lot of ways. I also thought at times the writing was very overt when it could have used more deftness. And I generally did not particularly care for how the story wraps up. Not so much as it pertains to our main characters, but the larger grande scale conclusion and the world building ramifications of it.
I didn't have a bad time reading it at all though, and i would read more Christopher Golden; however this is the first possession book that really didn't scare or frighten me. But that perhaps could be because it's not quite your standard possession book just like it's not your standard haunted house book either.
In total, I'm happy to have read it but I probably would never re-read it.
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
challenging
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
First half was very good, very spooky, a tad social justice-y without the follow through. Opening a tourist trap to enliven the town you moved to to escape capitalism and hustle culture? Great you don't get to see that happen. The explaining of the spooky was tough to swallow, and even if you do believe in demons and exorcism (I don't) the conspiracy getting them to Italy is beyond belief. Also the ending was really disappointing, I had two plausible scenarios going he survives, he dies but the ending sucked.
dark
emotional
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No