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4.06 AVERAGE
4.06 AVERAGE
medium-paced
adventurous
dark
mysterious
reflective
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
This is a great haunted house/land story that I really struggled to get through. Other readers have called it a slow burn and I agree. The romance between Angie and Myles was just boring. I liked the whole Toussaint family though, and Angela was a great character that was really fleshed out. Actually I would have liked more of Angie and her mom/grandmother and less of Angie and Myles and their boring romance. I would read more by Tananarive Due though--she's amazing. Reminded me of Stephen King in the best way.
dark
emotional
sad
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I really enjoyed this book. Due writes so well about family trauma, grief, and racism while developing a really interesting take on a haunted house rooted in “Vodou” cultural beliefs. I loved the relationship between Angela and her grandmother. I also really enjoyed when the book introduced Cory’s perspective. The book alternates between past and present in a way the kept me super engaged and without becoming confusing.
It is pretty slow paced for the first third building context, but then starts to pick up. The beginning did drag on and felt a bit repetitive; I wish that it was cut down slightly and think it could have been about 100 pages shorter.
Overall though, I love Due’s prose and writing style. Her character development is so strong and she really builds out a full community that the reader feels connected to. Highly recommend!
It is pretty slow paced for the first third building context, but then starts to pick up. The beginning did drag on and felt a bit repetitive; I wish that it was cut down slightly and think it could have been about 100 pages shorter.
Overall though, I love Due’s prose and writing style. Her character development is so strong and she really builds out a full community that the reader feels connected to. Highly recommend!
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
N/A
Loveable characters:
N/A
Diverse cast of characters:
N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
dark
mysterious
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I was hoping for more from this book. The potential was there. Overall, good book. Very slow pacing though.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcoholism, Animal death, Bullying, Cursing, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Gun violence, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Suicide, Violence, Blood, Car accident, Death of parent, Murder, Gaslighting, Injury/Injury detail
dark
emotional
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
4.5 stars! A great horror book that, while it has many similar elements to more popular horror (haunted house, cursed land, possession, etc) it still has a very original voice and wonderful characters. It's also wonderful to have a horror novel written by a female, African American novel. We need more black horror authors!
dark
tense
medium-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