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3.48 AVERAGE
3.48 AVERAGE
dark
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
This book is so good! I'm always such a sucker for stories based in the early 1900's and this one did not disappoint!
This was a truly interesting read. Ellen’s stories, or rather details, about her life at the infamous Rose Red were troubling. I was able to locate the missing entries and the things her husband requested of her is beyond disturbing! I’m surprised she didn’t kill him sooner.
This is very out of my wheelhouse...sometimes pushing your limits works and sometimes it is ridiculous. Guess which one this is.
I actually liked this book a lot more than I expected to. Written (as the title eludes) in diary form from the perspective of Ellen Rimbauer. A young woman of the early 1900s who marries a wealthy man twice her age. She has visions of a life full of love, excitement, luxury, and children. While she does get all of this, it is not what or how she expected, and is far more sinister than she ever imaged. Is she cursed? Is her husband? Is the house?
dark
mysterious
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
This was a delightful discovery that I found in a box of assorted paperback horror books I ordered for $25. I had never heard of this book, and given that it could reasonably be viewed as a prequel/companion novel to Stephen King’s Rose Red I was excited for what I would find.
There is just something about epistolary novels that makes me instantly more drawn to the narrative - call it the millennial in me that feels reminded of my childhood reading Dear America books. And oddly enough, this horror book combines diary entries with an interspersing of drawings that, to me, are entirely reminiscent of those in the Little House in the Prairie books. So needless to say, this book was already well set up to steal my fancy.
And boy did it. A tale of the eponymous Ellen Rimbaur from the beginning of her marriage all the way to the time of her mysterious disappearance inside the monolith known as Rose Red, I was intrigued and captivated by her diary entries. Reading this book certainly made me eager to re-read Rose Red!
There is just something about epistolary novels that makes me instantly more drawn to the narrative - call it the millennial in me that feels reminded of my childhood reading Dear America books. And oddly enough, this horror book combines diary entries with an interspersing of drawings that, to me, are entirely reminiscent of those in the Little House in the Prairie books. So needless to say, this book was already well set up to steal my fancy.
And boy did it. A tale of the eponymous Ellen Rimbaur from the beginning of her marriage all the way to the time of her mysterious disappearance inside the monolith known as Rose Red, I was intrigued and captivated by her diary entries. Reading this book certainly made me eager to re-read Rose Red!
dark
sad
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
N/A
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Content Warnings
Moderate: Miscarriage, Misogyny, Racism, Rape
This was an okay read. I picked it up because it was cheap, and I was in the mood for something suspenseful. The first half of the book was certainly interesting, but I feel as if a certain tension was lost as more about the house was revealed.
I began reading it because it had potential and as I read more I kept thinking that it still had that potential. Sadly, it was squandered and lost amidst stereotypical and racist tropes. The story behind the house's desires is ripped straight from the classic tale of a famous haunted house. The potential was just that- potential and nothing more.