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3.51 AVERAGE
3.51 AVERAGE
Atmospheric? Heck yeah. Eerie descent into madness? Confusing as all get out. An amazing bloodcurdling ending? Womp womp.
Der. It's pretty obvious what the "big" twist is if you read the giant bold words in Silla's diary entries as a separate poem.
Also so many formats were messy. We had diaries from multiple perspectives, the Silla's narrative, random flashbacks, and poems starting out each chapter. Too much.
Der. It's pretty obvious what the "big" twist is if you read the giant bold words in Silla's diary entries as a separate poem.
Also so many formats were messy. We had diaries from multiple perspectives, the Silla's narrative, random flashbacks, and poems starting out each chapter. Too much.
The way the book ended was not my preference, but written and executed well enough for the genre and target age group.
3/5stars
This audiobook was incredible, I would give the audiobook a 5 out of 5 stars, I made the story so creepy and unsettling. But unfortunately I think the actual story was a little lackluster. Like if I had read this on eBook or physically I don't think I would have liked it nearly as much, the audiobook was really what made it a good experience. I would definitely recommend this as a ya version of a hollow place by t. Kingfisher (which is one of my favorite books of all time), they're definitely not the same by any means but the vibes feel similar.
This audiobook was incredible, I would give the audiobook a 5 out of 5 stars, I made the story so creepy and unsettling. But unfortunately I think the actual story was a little lackluster. Like if I had read this on eBook or physically I don't think I would have liked it nearly as much, the audiobook was really what made it a good experience. I would definitely recommend this as a ya version of a hollow place by t. Kingfisher (which is one of my favorite books of all time), they're definitely not the same by any means but the vibes feel similar.
[muffled groaning] this book was so amazing and then the end was absolutely a w f u l. W H Y ????
ok i'm still giving this book 4 stars because like i said, the entire journey was amazing. my best description would be [b:We Have Always Lived in the Castle|89724|We Have Always Lived in the Castle|Shirley Jackson|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1415357189l/89724._SX50_.jpg|847007] meets [b:House of Leaves|24800|House of Leaves|Mark Z. Danielewski|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1403889034l/24800._SX50_.jpg|856555]. it was definitely creepy and i loved the whole disjointed feel of the entire thing and the formatting and all the short chapters. it was really good at setting the mood and making it so you can't stop reading it. but then we have the end ...
i was going to go right on to this author's other book but now i'm not so sure.
ok i'm still giving this book 4 stars because like i said, the entire journey was amazing. my best description would be [b:We Have Always Lived in the Castle|89724|We Have Always Lived in the Castle|Shirley Jackson|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1415357189l/89724._SX50_.jpg|847007] meets [b:House of Leaves|24800|House of Leaves|Mark Z. Danielewski|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1403889034l/24800._SX50_.jpg|856555]. it was definitely creepy and i loved the whole disjointed feel of the entire thing and the formatting and all the short chapters. it was really good at setting the mood and making it so you can't stop reading it. but then we have the end ...
Spoiler
SHE'S BEEN DEAD THE ENTIRE TIME AND THE HOUSE IS HER PURGATORY! [literally over here pulling my hair out] W H Y do authors / scriptwriters do this? it's never a satisfying ending, it's literally the worst ending i can think of. it's even worse than ~they were in an insane asylum the whoooole tiiiime~ it's lazy and overdone and so unfulfilling i'm so disappointed over here.i was going to go right on to this author's other book but now i'm not so sure.
Didn't finish this book - it was one of the worst books I've tried to read in a while. Trying too hard to be creepy and weird with an odd timeline and references. Got 70 pages in and called it quits. I've got better books in my queue to read, and was happier just reading a couple of the spoiler reviews here.
Felt a little bit like the author had watched "What Dreams May Come" and then tried to reimagine it as a horror novel with a female protagonist. Not sure if thats a good thing or a bad thing, lol.
i’m going to admit that if i hadn’t listened to this on audio, i might not have liked it as much. the audio is AMAZING. and seriously so so creepy. the weird formatting thats apparently in this book is extremely well executed and made it very difficult to sleep at night
Enjoyed this quite a bit. Extremely atmospheric. Not totally sold on the ending, but it didn't ruin the overall experience for me. It's almost a House of Leaves-lite in tone/vibe and the way the text is structured (as she lists MZD as an inspiration in the Acknowledgments, I'm sure it was intentional).
Written: 13/12/21.
This is an odd one, because I really liked the overall product, and yet... the dialogue was often hammy and stilted. Characters could swing wildly from one mindset to another on every other page. It felt in some moments very juvenile and in others disconcertingly adult. So going by individual moments, I shouldn't have liked this book as much as I did.
And I really did. I'm not sure what it is, but something in this book really gripped onto me and left an impression. I do loe a good horror, and struggle to find it in modern books. I love a story about keeping a horror out of a place. A fortress, even one as decrepit as La Baume, makes me feel in on something.
I liked the twist at the end but feel it would have been better without the epilogue. For me, these things took away from the horror. Yes. Would have been better left to the imagination.
The whole way through, the story gave me fairytale vibes, which was why I brushed off the strangeness. It was all a bit Grimm's.
I struggled with liking Silla, which I think was the point, and with liking Nori, which I think wasn't. But I liked Cath and Gowan, and the Creeper Man as a villain interested me greatly. I wonder what La Baume does mean...
Also, the poems that opened each chapter were extremely hit-0r-miss to me. A reminder, perhaps, that not every poem needs to rhyme, or indeed should they.
This is an odd one, because I really liked the overall product, and yet... the dialogue was often hammy and stilted. Characters could swing wildly from one mindset to another on every other page. It felt in some moments very juvenile and in others disconcertingly adult. So going by individual moments, I shouldn't have liked this book as much as I did.
And I really did. I'm not sure what it is, but something in this book really gripped onto me and left an impression. I do loe a good horror, and struggle to find it in modern books. I love a story about keeping a horror out of a place. A fortress, even one as decrepit as La Baume, makes me feel in on something.
I liked the twist at the end but feel it would have been better without the epilogue.
Spoiler
That, and the whole saga of going to watch Gowan discover the bodies of Silla, Nori and Cath. The discovery of the bodies and the afterlife segment following. Let us wonder what happened to their spirits next. Let the tragedy linger.The whole way through, the story gave me fairytale vibes, which was why I brushed off the strangeness.
Spoiler
The vague war on the horizon, the ghost town, the way Silla and co. seemed to exist the way they did for years, and Gowan's strange appearance. In the end I wasn't wrong.I struggled with liking Silla, which I think was the point, and with liking Nori, which I think wasn't. But I liked Cath and Gowan, and the Creeper Man as a villain interested me greatly. I wonder what La Baume does mean...
Also, the poems that opened each chapter were extremely hit-0r-miss to me. A reminder, perhaps, that not every poem needs to rhyme, or indeed should they.
adventurous
dark
mysterious
sad
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I think I would've liked this book better if Claire and August didn't make fun of it so much