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192 reviews for:
The Haunting of Beatrix Greene: Vol. 1
Vicky Alvear Shecter, Rachel Hawkins, Ash Parsons
3.55 AVERAGE
192 reviews for:
The Haunting of Beatrix Greene: Vol. 1
Vicky Alvear Shecter, Rachel Hawkins, Ash Parsons
3.55 AVERAGE
A quick, shallow read with likable characters and decent action. The plot moves pretty fast since this is so short, and there’s a lot of insta-love between Beatrix and James, but the writing is decent and the time you spend with the characters is enjoyable while it lasts. Not earth shattering, but a nice one night read that has a little bite along with the fluff (warning that there is some death/violence in the last 1/3 of the book so this isn’t a rom-com).
****
Thank you to NetGalley for the eARC in exchange for my honest review.
****
Thank you to NetGalley for the eARC in exchange for my honest review.
This follows Beatrix Greene, who is a self-made woman who has built a life as a charlatan medium in Victorian England. She meets James Walker, who is a scientist skeptic who asks Beatrix to perform a seance at a legendary manor with a grisly history, and thus the story evolves.
The first few chapters really build to the story, and I enjoyed some of the darker elements that the seance invoked.
This would have been a lot better had the superfluous romance been left out of it, and the voice remained more consistent. I hold some serious disdain for this unnecessary romance that kept breaking up the haunting/ghost story we are following. This is a perfect example of insta-love. Did we really need rushed Victorian sex in such a short book? No.
I really would have also liked this episode to be longer and show more relationship building between characters. (not the romantic kind) Most of the characters felt shallow and a little trope-y for my tastes.
Thank you to Netgalley and SerialBox for giving me an ARC in exchange for an honest review.
The first few chapters really build to the story, and I enjoyed some of the darker elements that the seance invoked.
This would have been a lot better had the superfluous romance been left out of it, and the voice remained more consistent. I hold some serious disdain for this unnecessary romance that kept breaking up the haunting/ghost story we are following. This is a perfect example of insta-love. Did we really need rushed Victorian sex in such a short book? No.
I really would have also liked this episode to be longer and show more relationship building between characters. (not the romantic kind) Most of the characters felt shallow and a little trope-y for my tastes.
Thank you to Netgalley and SerialBox for giving me an ARC in exchange for an honest review.
In Victorian London, Beatrix Greene operates as a medium, and she is an unrepentant fraud. While she does not believe in ghosts or the supernatural, however, she sees herself as performing a service in providing the bereaved with comforting messages purporting to come from their deceased loved ones. When out of curiosity she attends a gathering where a scientist, James Walker, promises to reveal the methods used by spiritualists and mediums, she is challenged by Walker, for a handsome fee, to spend the night in an allegedly haunted house and prove to him the existence of the supernatural.
When Beatrix and her friend and “chaperone,” Harry, arrive at Ashbury Manor, they discover that it is the 20th anniversary of a tragic murder/suicide that had occurred there, and that “James Walker” is actually the owner of the house, hoping to discover what had caused his beloved mother to kill his brother and then herself, a crime which has haunted him for most of his life. When they sit down to a seance, Beatrix is shocked to discover that she actually does seem to be channeling the spirit of James Walker's mother. The house truly is haunted, and the family cursed, and Beatrix will have to reach deep into her own unacknowledged reserves of psychic talent to bring herself and James out of Ashbury Manor alive.
I found The Haunting of Beatrix Greene to be an initially pleasant read that became gripping as it progressed to the heart of the mystery and the struggle to free James from his family's curse. The characters, including the secondary ones, particularly the eccentric Amanda Reynolds, are well-drawn. The telling of the story from the alternating perspectives of James and Beatrix was effective and gave it more depth than if it were experienced only from one point of view. My only issue was the part of the chapter headings that sounded as if it were supposed to be the recounting of a TV show (Season 1, Episode 1, etc.), although there may be a point behind it that I'm not aware of, which seemed pointless and in my opinion, added nothing to the story. On the whole, however, I enjoyed it very much.
I received a copy of The Haunting of Beatrix Greene for free from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
When Beatrix and her friend and “chaperone,” Harry, arrive at Ashbury Manor, they discover that it is the 20th anniversary of a tragic murder/suicide that had occurred there, and that “James Walker” is actually the owner of the house, hoping to discover what had caused his beloved mother to kill his brother and then herself, a crime which has haunted him for most of his life. When they sit down to a seance, Beatrix is shocked to discover that she actually does seem to be channeling the spirit of James Walker's mother. The house truly is haunted, and the family cursed, and Beatrix will have to reach deep into her own unacknowledged reserves of psychic talent to bring herself and James out of Ashbury Manor alive.
I found The Haunting of Beatrix Greene to be an initially pleasant read that became gripping as it progressed to the heart of the mystery and the struggle to free James from his family's curse. The characters, including the secondary ones, particularly the eccentric Amanda Reynolds, are well-drawn. The telling of the story from the alternating perspectives of James and Beatrix was effective and gave it more depth than if it were experienced only from one point of view. My only issue was the part of the chapter headings that sounded as if it were supposed to be the recounting of a TV show (Season 1, Episode 1, etc.), although there may be a point behind it that I'm not aware of, which seemed pointless and in my opinion, added nothing to the story. On the whole, however, I enjoyed it very much.
I received a copy of The Haunting of Beatrix Greene for free from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
I received an ARC of The Haunting of Beatrix Greene free from the publisher in exchange for my honest review.
I wasn't sure what I was getting into when I saw that The Haunting of Beatrix Greene was labeled "volume one" but I really enjoyed this format! The volume is broken into episodes which seem written perfectly to translate to TV. Based on the ending, I can imagine this spinning off into further seasons or volumes of episodes of Beatrix's adventures. Each episode ends on high tension, speeding the reader along the story. We also get alternating POVs within the episodes which I think makes everything feel more tense.
The way the characters are fleshed out (or not) and the way the romance appears in this volume are not great though. There is an instalove between our two main characters. It's very unfortunate because, with more room to breathe, I could see this turning into a multi-volume slowburn enemies to lovers type of scenario. As it stands, their romance is pretty weird. It's so weird, in fact, that I thought the house was possessing them and making them act crazy.
I wasn't sure what I was getting into when I saw that The Haunting of Beatrix Greene was labeled "volume one" but I really enjoyed this format! The volume is broken into episodes which seem written perfectly to translate to TV. Based on the ending, I can imagine this spinning off into further seasons or volumes of episodes of Beatrix's adventures. Each episode ends on high tension, speeding the reader along the story. We also get alternating POVs within the episodes which I think makes everything feel more tense.
The way the characters are fleshed out (or not) and the way the romance appears in this volume are not great though. There is an instalove between our two main characters. It's very unfortunate because, with more room to breathe, I could see this turning into a multi-volume slowburn enemies to lovers type of scenario. As it stands, their romance is pretty weird. It's so weird, in fact, that I thought the house was possessing them and making them act crazy.
*This book was received as an advanced reader's copy from NetGalley.
Nothing like a good horror book to get me in the mood for Halloween. Ok, so it's not even October yet, but I really couldn't resist. That being said, while there was some horror in this, it was merely ok.
Beatrix Greene is a well-known medium. Not because she can actually talk to ghosts, but simply because she is good at what she does, and that is reading people's emotions. So when a known disprover of the occult offers her a generous salary to come check out a haunted house; she's torn. The money will set her up for life, but it could bring her reputation down with it.
I think a lot of the characters really underwent personality changes in this book. While I liked Beatrix and she was the most solid of the characters, I still felt as thought she could have been a bit more developed. Her friend Harry provided appropriate comedic relief, but really was just there for background rather than being an integral part of the book. And James, well, he was all over the place, I can't say I really enjoyed his character that much. In fact, I think the best of the bunch would be Amanda; and that's just because she was bold, interesting, and didn't have enough time to have wild personality swings.
The plot was pretty standard; seance at a haunted house with mayhem afoot. I can't say it was too much different than the Haunting of Hill House or several other books in the genre, but I won't fault it for that, it had its own spin. It was also gruesome, descriptive, and a bit bloody. There was also romance, which I found terrible and unbelievable and it really detracted from the whole novella. Which it is a novella, this is a short book, written mostly like a screenplay. And it was also written by multiple authors, although I will say they kept their tone pretty consistent throughout.
Interesting, but it definitely had a lot of room for improvement.
Review by M. Reynard 2020
Nothing like a good horror book to get me in the mood for Halloween. Ok, so it's not even October yet, but I really couldn't resist. That being said, while there was some horror in this, it was merely ok.
Beatrix Greene is a well-known medium. Not because she can actually talk to ghosts, but simply because she is good at what she does, and that is reading people's emotions. So when a known disprover of the occult offers her a generous salary to come check out a haunted house; she's torn. The money will set her up for life, but it could bring her reputation down with it.
I think a lot of the characters really underwent personality changes in this book. While I liked Beatrix and she was the most solid of the characters, I still felt as thought she could have been a bit more developed. Her friend Harry provided appropriate comedic relief, but really was just there for background rather than being an integral part of the book. And James, well, he was all over the place, I can't say I really enjoyed his character that much. In fact, I think the best of the bunch would be Amanda; and that's just because she was bold, interesting, and didn't have enough time to have wild personality swings.
The plot was pretty standard; seance at a haunted house with mayhem afoot. I can't say it was too much different than the Haunting of Hill House or several other books in the genre, but I won't fault it for that, it had its own spin. It was also gruesome, descriptive, and a bit bloody. There was also romance, which I found terrible and unbelievable and it really detracted from the whole novella. Which it is a novella, this is a short book, written mostly like a screenplay. And it was also written by multiple authors, although I will say they kept their tone pretty consistent throughout.
Interesting, but it definitely had a lot of room for improvement.
Review by M. Reynard 2020
Tengo todo el vol 1 y el primer episodio fue re penny dreadful me hizo amar el ambiente y a beatrix. Cada autor escribe un episodio el de Rachel es el primero y está genial
I have my serious doubts after I picked it. I wanted a Halloween reading but I wasn’t prepare to find out it was an edit of a serial novel published online.
I have mixed feelings because, for instance, every serial ends with a big cliffhanger to kept you going. (Which is good)
It was like reading some old penny dreadful of gothic terror. The first part was narrated by Rachel Hawkins (Which is why I picked it) I loved her trilogy, Hex hall at the end and wanted to see how se was writing for older audiences.
The first serial is very introductive but is so freaking good! It has these vibes from The show Penny Dreadful and the movie The Crimson Peak that it was a really satisfactory reading for Halloween.
The victorian medium, in a creepy house full of ghost really pay out but it was not so out of the ordinary. I guess I can feel the differences between the episodes written by every author. Thou they try to keep it very well edited, is like a show when sometimes, the first few chapters are good and then in the middle it drag some parts…like a dead weight (pun intended).
For me is three stars. (I would say 3.5 Victorian gothic stars but goodreads is all or nothing.)
Love the red dress cover better than the one with the frame on it.
I have mixed feelings because, for instance, every serial ends with a big cliffhanger to kept you going. (Which is good)
It was like reading some old penny dreadful of gothic terror. The first part was narrated by Rachel Hawkins (Which is why I picked it) I loved her trilogy, Hex hall at the end and wanted to see how se was writing for older audiences.
The first serial is very introductive but is so freaking good! It has these vibes from The show Penny Dreadful and the movie The Crimson Peak that it was a really satisfactory reading for Halloween.
The victorian medium, in a creepy house full of ghost really pay out but it was not so out of the ordinary. I guess I can feel the differences between the episodes written by every author. Thou they try to keep it very well edited, is like a show when sometimes, the first few chapters are good and then in the middle it drag some parts…like a dead weight (pun intended).
For me is three stars. (I would say 3.5 Victorian gothic stars but goodreads is all or nothing.)
Love the red dress cover better than the one with the frame on it.
The Haunting of Beatrix Green Episode 1 by Rachel Hawkings, Ash Parsons, and Vicky Alvear Schecter is a cooperative novel that is currently available through Serial Box where it is released in weekly installments. I received the full novel version from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. The story revolves around Beatrix Green, a fake spiritualist, who makes her living providing closure to people who have lost loved ones. As per the book's description: “In Victorian England a savvy spiritual medium must outsmart the most important client of her career: a scientist determined to expose frauds like her,” and then something about wits and fatal consequences blah blah blah. That just covers the first 10% of the book, we learn pretty early on that the scientist, James Walker, is only exposing frauds because he is in need of a real spiritualist and is under the belief that Beatrix is it.
James Walker needs someone to help exorcise spirits from his family home so he can let go of the past before he makes a new future for himself in America. And this is where the bulk of the story takes place, Ashbury Manor. An ancient residence with a tragic past and evil within. James, Beatrix, Harry, Beatrix’s friend and sidekick, Amanda Reynolds, an American photographer, and Stanhope all gather in the manor to try and communicate with the dead in order to rid the house of what haunts it.
It is during the first night in the house and the seance that is performed we learn, and Beatrix too apparently, that Ms. Green is not actually a fraud. She seems to have a connection to the otherworld that made it possible for spirits to communicate through her. It is at this point that the book becomes more of a haunted house story with a smattering of romance thrown in, for no real good reason, than anything else. It was also at this point and later toward the climax of the story that all I could think about was the movie “Monster House.” Although I love the movie, I’m not saying that as a compliment. Some descriptions of the going ons in the house were laughable at best.
It might just be my imagination but the slight shifts in tone between one chapter to the next when there was a switch in writers was kinda obvious. This probably works really well as a serial when you have a week between episodes and don’t have two competing voices in your head. It was an enjoyable read, but not one I felt the need to finish, I started this back before Halloween, so yeah, or to see what was going to happen. It was predictable and at the end of the day couldn’t decide if it wanted to be a horror or romance, so it ended not being either.
James Walker needs someone to help exorcise spirits from his family home so he can let go of the past before he makes a new future for himself in America. And this is where the bulk of the story takes place, Ashbury Manor. An ancient residence with a tragic past and evil within. James, Beatrix, Harry, Beatrix’s friend and sidekick, Amanda Reynolds, an American photographer, and Stanhope all gather in the manor to try and communicate with the dead in order to rid the house of what haunts it.
It is during the first night in the house and the seance that is performed we learn, and Beatrix too apparently, that Ms. Green is not actually a fraud. She seems to have a connection to the otherworld that made it possible for spirits to communicate through her. It is at this point that the book becomes more of a haunted house story with a smattering of romance thrown in, for no real good reason, than anything else. It was also at this point and later toward the climax of the story that all I could think about was the movie “Monster House.” Although I love the movie, I’m not saying that as a compliment. Some descriptions of the going ons in the house were laughable at best.
It might just be my imagination but the slight shifts in tone between one chapter to the next when there was a switch in writers was kinda obvious. This probably works really well as a serial when you have a week between episodes and don’t have two competing voices in your head. It was an enjoyable read, but not one I felt the need to finish, I started this back before Halloween, so yeah, or to see what was going to happen. It was predictable and at the end of the day couldn’t decide if it wanted to be a horror or romance, so it ended not being either.
I really enjoyed this Victorian Era horror/paranormal story. A short and sweet tale of a medium who is swept up into a mysterious adventure in a haunted mansion. I loved the setting, the mystery behind the elusive Dr James, and his tragic past. This is perfect for Halloween and generally any time of the year when you want some spookiness in your reading life.
This is an intriguing and spooky Victorian gothic ghost story. It was originally released in installments via SerialBox.