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april17's review
adventurous
funny
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.75
as a former fan of scooby doo and current fan of all sorts of movies revolving around ghosts, you can imagine i was excited to read this book based on the description. and much to my delight, it did not disappoint!
from the very beginning i became invested in the story, thanks to the brilliant writing style and cast of characters. the dialogue in this book felt natural, matching the age of the characters, and the jokes and sarcastic comments were genuinely entertaining for me. the interactions between the siblings, Raven and Archer, felt a bit cringy at the beginning but got better and more realistic as the story went on. the descriptions, especially in scary moments, were well crafted and allowed me to picture the scene in my brain, to the point were sometimes i had to take a look around my room to make sure that nothing is lurking in the corners. the book is definitely in the YA age range so it doesn't include any gruesome descriptions but still managed to have some chilling moments.
in my opinion, the story had a good balance of tension and amusement, with some enjoyable romance as a bonus. i quickly became attached to the characters and interested in the relationships between them. one thing that bothered me a little was the convenient way everyone was connected to the case - but it didn't affect my overall enjoyment too much. another, more technical issue was that while i appreciated seeing multiple POVs, it would be great to mention whose POV we are currently reading, as it was a bit confusing at times.
overall, it was an incredibly fun experience for me and i would love to read more about this team and their other haunted adventures.
thank you to NetGalley, the author and the publisher for the eARC, all opinions are mine.
from the very beginning i became invested in the story, thanks to the brilliant writing style and cast of characters. the dialogue in this book felt natural, matching the age of the characters, and the jokes and sarcastic comments were genuinely entertaining for me. the interactions between the siblings, Raven and Archer, felt a bit cringy at the beginning but got better and more realistic as the story went on. the descriptions, especially in scary moments, were well crafted and allowed me to picture the scene in my brain, to the point were sometimes i had to take a look around my room to make sure that nothing is lurking in the corners. the book is definitely in the YA age range so it doesn't include any gruesome descriptions but still managed to have some chilling moments.
in my opinion, the story had a good balance of tension and amusement, with some enjoyable romance as a bonus. i quickly became attached to the characters and interested in the relationships between them. one thing that bothered me a little was the convenient way everyone was connected to the case - but it didn't affect my overall enjoyment too much. another, more technical issue was that while i appreciated seeing multiple POVs, it would be great to mention whose POV we are currently reading, as it was a bit confusing at times.
overall, it was an incredibly fun experience for me and i would love to read more about this team and their other haunted adventures.
thank you to NetGalley, the author and the publisher for the eARC, all opinions are mine.
seetaylorwrite's review
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
While reading the synopsis of this book, I had really high hopes. Books about haunted houses have become a not-so-guilty pleasure of mine. While this book was great from 20% through 80%, that 10% in the beginning was slow and the end felt rushed. Not to mention the predictability between which characters would form romantic relationships and Raven’s character being the most dislikable of the whole group.
Thank you NetGalley and BooksGoSocial for a copy of this book to read and review.
Thank you NetGalley and BooksGoSocial for a copy of this book to read and review.
csreadsbooks's review
emotional
funny
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
5.0
solelylu's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Whoa this was good. The ghost intro was so good. Creepy and interesting.
happily_undignified's review
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
medium-paced
5.0
What Walks These Halls by Amy Clarkin was the perfect spooky book to start off my year! Raven and Archer are a sibling duo who worked together ghost hunting with their parents before tragedy struck. Now Archer is reopening the family business and Raven has to decide between her safe boring present and her tumultuous past. The author did a fantastic job of exploring the chaotic dynamic of siblings with past trauma. My favorite character was Éabha, a clairvoyant with a hearing disability (like me!!! Representation yay!) who yearns to discover the truth behind her mysterious gifts. Her character growth through the series was phenomenon! All of the characters were easy to root for and had such a cool way of fitting together. I loved the different relationships and the queer rep was nice to see so seamlessly included. The mystery of Hyacinth House was a twisted dark thing and it was so much fun to see it unravel and come to light through PSI's investigation. I'd say this book is more spooky than scary but there were definitely some scenes that gave me goosebumps. In the end the found family vibes and shy romances made the book so much more than a ghost story!
bookaneer808's review
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Seems appropriate to read a chilling, spooky read while the weather freezes the marrow of your bones...
A brilliant, gothic YA tale by a young debut author, I loved every sentence; it was so assured and gorgeously written and flowed so easily.
Archer & his estranged sister Raven are still haunted by events from five years ago, on a night when their father died in mysterious circumstances - but Archer is determined to continue their parents' paranormal investigations.
Éabha worries she might be going mad - she sees things no one else does, senses emotions from the world around her. She tries to hide it from her parents' disapproval, but sometimes it just...wells up. Desperate to find an explanation, she contacts Archer's company in search of answers.
Hyacinth House - abandoned, haunted, malevolent - where they say The Lady walks and tolerates no intruders...yet still people are fascinated, lured by the sense of mystery the house evokes.
A house that holds many secrets in the past; an intepid Scooby gang; family trauma; buried secrets resurfacing; betrayals - and forming new bonds. I mean, #WednesdayVibes right there!
Due out next spring, this is definitely a book to anticipate.
A brilliant, gothic YA tale by a young debut author, I loved every sentence; it was so assured and gorgeously written and flowed so easily.
Archer & his estranged sister Raven are still haunted by events from five years ago, on a night when their father died in mysterious circumstances - but Archer is determined to continue their parents' paranormal investigations.
Éabha worries she might be going mad - she sees things no one else does, senses emotions from the world around her. She tries to hide it from her parents' disapproval, but sometimes it just...wells up. Desperate to find an explanation, she contacts Archer's company in search of answers.
Hyacinth House - abandoned, haunted, malevolent - where they say The Lady walks and tolerates no intruders...yet still people are fascinated, lured by the sense of mystery the house evokes.
A house that holds many secrets in the past; an intepid Scooby gang; family trauma; buried secrets resurfacing; betrayals - and forming new bonds. I mean, #WednesdayVibes right there!
Due out next spring, this is definitely a book to anticipate.
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