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rereader33's review against another edition
5.0
2023 March Reading Challenge
Prompt: read a book written by a female or nonbinary author
cw/tw: animal death, child abuse, gaslighting, abelism/ableistic language, racism/racist language
Holy shit. Holy. Fucking. SHIT.
I don't even know where to begin or what to even say. This book absolutely blew me away, along with my half-baked expectations. I thought I was gonna get the usual Gothic haunted house story, but fucking hell I got more than that. I won't say this is the greatest Gothic horror book ever, but its definitely up there with The Animals at Lockwood Manor as one of my top faves.
The pacing was solid, the writing was great, the story was insane without being overly convoluted, the twists and turns were insane, and the horror was so strong. I never, ever want a wooden figurine anywhere near my house, EVER. I have no idea how this woman made figurines scarier than dolls, nor how splinters can be so disturbing, but holy shit she did it.
But above all else, what this book succeeded in doing is showing the horrors of gaslighting, abuse, trauma, and isolation. Dear God, this book was so difficult to read because if you take away the horror elements, so much of what happens in this book is possible and THAT is fucking terrifying.
There is so much more that could be said, but I'm leaving it at that. This book blew my expectations out of the water and is now a contender for my favorite horror book. I highly recommend, but pay mind to the cw/tw I posted at the beginning.
Prompt: read a book written by a female or nonbinary author
cw/tw: animal death, child abuse, gaslighting, abelism/ableistic language, racism/racist language
Holy shit. Holy. Fucking. SHIT.
I don't even know where to begin or what to even say. This book absolutely blew me away, along with my half-baked expectations. I thought I was gonna get the usual Gothic haunted house story, but fucking hell I got more than that. I won't say this is the greatest Gothic horror book ever, but its definitely up there with The Animals at Lockwood Manor as one of my top faves.
The pacing was solid, the writing was great, the story was insane without being overly convoluted, the twists and turns were insane, and the horror was so strong. I never, ever want a wooden figurine anywhere near my house, EVER. I have no idea how this woman made figurines scarier than dolls, nor how splinters can be so disturbing, but holy shit she did it.
But above all else, what this book succeeded in doing is showing the horrors of gaslighting, abuse, trauma, and isolation. Dear God, this book was so difficult to read because if you take away the horror elements, so much of what happens in this book is possible and THAT is fucking terrifying.
There is so much more that could be said, but I'm leaving it at that. This book blew my expectations out of the water and is now a contender for my favorite horror book. I highly recommend, but pay mind to the cw/tw I posted at the beginning.
drphillgucci's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
siriuslypoetic's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
reflective
tense
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? Yes
4.25
allybee's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
omamiology's review against another edition
4.0
This book started out gloomy and mysterious but didn’t get truly creepy until about halfway. Still, the slow buildup wasn’t too bad. Gothic tropes Galore; Pregnant widow in a crumbling estate, strange sounds and stranger people, multiple storylines, secrets revealed, madness, and don’t forget those life sized wooden figures with watchful eyes! Lived Elsie’s character... what a FIGHTER!
I wish there was more elaboration somehow on the way Rupert’s mother and her so called ramblings before she was committed. That would have have given us more insight as to what happened and why exactly she felt the garret could keep the companions at bay. Mrs. Holt lived there for years with nothing happening (unless she lied because we are dealing with some unreliable narrations here).
I wish some of the deaths were “shown” to Elsie as they happened so we could get an account of how strangely these people died. Because if they randomly became compelled to kill themselves by the evil in the house (which would make it terrifying to witness) I would have wanted someone to recount that horror. Finding them dead was alarming but nothing like seeing the act at least once.
SPOILERS/ THEORIES AHEAD
I think FREAKING Hetta “infected” Sarah when Sarah got that scratch from the companion that never healed!
I must confess, I definitely assumed Elsie’s father sexually assaulted her at some point but I didn’t think he was Jolyon’s father until later on.
I was suspecting Sarah early on because she just seemed too plain and simple to be realistic...
Merripen and his sister’s story hurt me. Poor little things got involved with people that drove them off the land and then got them brutally killed!
I wish there was more elaboration somehow on the way Rupert’s mother and her so called ramblings before she was committed. That would have have given us more insight as to what happened and why exactly she felt the garret could keep the companions at bay. Mrs. Holt lived there for years with nothing happening (unless she lied because we are dealing with some unreliable narrations here).
I wish some of the deaths were “shown” to Elsie as they happened so we could get an account of how strangely these people died. Because if they randomly became compelled to kill themselves by the evil in the house (which would make it terrifying to witness) I would have wanted someone to recount that horror. Finding them dead was alarming but nothing like seeing the act at least once.
SPOILERS/ THEORIES AHEAD
I think FREAKING Hetta “infected” Sarah when Sarah got that scratch from the companion that never healed!
I must confess, I definitely assumed Elsie’s father sexually assaulted her at some point but I didn’t think he was Jolyon’s father until later on.
I was suspecting Sarah early on because she just seemed too plain and simple to be realistic...
Merripen and his sister’s story hurt me. Poor little things got involved with people that drove them off the land and then got them brutally killed!
jenzhg's review against another edition
1.0
i think that it was meh. I’m not a big fan of thrillers myself so maybe that was why I just couldn’t get myself to continue reading this book. Overall, for me it was just not gripping enough.