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katiengelhart's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
Graphic: Blood, Vomit, Domestic abuse, Gore, Addiction, Mental illness, Torture, and Alcoholism
anissawren's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
Graphic: Alcoholism, Death of parent, Blood, Child death, Mental illness, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Death, and Domestic abuse
Moderate: Body horror, Fire/Fire injury, Torture, Suicide, Murder, and Police brutality
Minor: Dementia, Self harm, Cannibalism, and Forced institutionalization
arkwen452's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
It's told in first person and Margaret's nonchalant approach and perspective for her time in this odd, creepy and clearly haunted house filled with "pranksters" as she likes to call them is clearly not of a person who scares easily. Readers get to know Margret and learn about a lot of the hard times she's endured. But we also learn about the previous souls who lived there. And as described through her eyes, the "pranksters" actually really aren't all that bad.
And the manor of which the author humanizes them led me to believe the intention of the book was meant to be on the dark humor more than horror.
I think that the pacing of the book is done very well, and each chapter ties into Margaret, and Hal's marriage and their relationship with the new house really came together well. Made it an enjoyable read.
A lot of the time in each chapter I I found myself questioning Margaret's sanity and her control over reality. She said that Hal also noticed things in the house BUT since the POV is in first person I can't fully trust her interpretation of everything; there were also moments when it felt like the events of the house with the pranksters of the house that, as Margret calls them, made everything seem like it was actually happening.
Like the actions/events were concrete. Therefore the author will keep the readers questioning until the very end of the book whether it is real or the September house is just a figment of Margaret's imagination.
I don't think the horror element really kicks in until the last fourth of the book and I think that , there are more creepy elements that happen in the book overall. Especially with the use of the phrases "he's down there" in reference to Master Vale and how Margaret saw notions of that outside of the house.
Again, with it being in first person, readers cannot trust if what Margret's seeing is actually reality or just figment of her imagination. Without giving spoilers, I will say that I was very pleased with the way the ending is tied up because , it got to a point in the narrative where the word "crazy" was being tossed around and signs were pointing to Margret being commItted. I didn't like the angle of it being a psychosis issue rather than something factual. Not only because this is a red flag trope for me and it is never really done well when it comes to individual having some sort of psychosis leading to them having erratic behavior.
But
Graphic: Body horror, Alcohol, Injury/Injury detail, Domestic abuse, Blood, Murder, Alcoholism, Vomit, Toxic relationship, Torture, Physical abuse, Mental illness, Animal death, Cursing, Cannibalism, Gore, Gaslighting, Death, Child death, and Child abuse
karalynaa's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Moderate: Fire/Fire injury, Death, Child abuse, Alcohol, Violence, Self harm, Mental illness, Child death, Panic attacks/disorders, Alcoholism, Gore, Emotional abuse, Blood, Injury/Injury detail, Domestic abuse, and Dementia
mushroom_fairy_in_the_woods's review against another edition
- 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
Very cool premise with the main character accepting immediately that the house is haunted and just dealing with it.
But it got pretty dark too
The characters all had distinct personalities. And the book gets you because you slowly realise that the main character is an unreliable narrator
Graphic: Child death, Gore, Physical abuse, Domestic abuse, Blood, and Animal death
Moderate: Mental illness, Alcoholism, and Lesbophobia
jourdanicus's review against another edition
- 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? It's complicated
4.5
Otherwise, this was almost a perfect 5 star read for me. I love horror that mixes psychological thrill with physical horror, and an unreliable narrator is one of my favorite tropes. In fact, this book made clever use of a few recognizable horror tropes without them being too obvious or heavy handed. I heard elements of The Shining, and several horror movies of which I can't think of the names.
I highly recommend this to anyone who enjoys psychological horror, mother/daughter relationship themes, stories with unreliable narrators, fans of classic horror, and Stephen King fans. Don't read while eating if you're sensitive or have a vivid visual imagination... Lol.
Mind the triggers, but everyone including the children get
Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Cursing, Blood, Body horror, Child death, Child abuse, Death, and Domestic abuse
Moderate: Alcoholism, Gore, Dementia, Murder, Animal death, Mental illness, Toxic relationship, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Death of parent, Emotional abuse, and Torture
Minor: Vomit and Suicide
brit0929's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
Graphic: Alcohol, Domestic abuse, Cursing, Child abuse, Mental illness, Addiction, Gore, Kidnapping, Death of parent, Torture, Violence, Blood, Body horror, Murder, Cannibalism, Child death, Death, and Physical abuse
hauntedantiqueshop's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
Graphic: Child death, Child abuse, Death, Blood, Body horror, Murder, Violence, Torture, Fire/Fire injury, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Gaslighting, and Grief
Moderate: Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Mental illness, Alcoholism, Animal death, and Domestic abuse
chellyfishing's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Child death, Gore, Murder, Domestic abuse, and Violence
Moderate: Mental illness, Vomit, Suicide, and Alcoholism
purstiltski's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Graphic: Body horror, Fire/Fire injury, Injury/Injury detail, Gore, Murder, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Blood, Death, Domestic abuse, and Violence
Moderate: Alcohol, Child death, Death of parent, Self harm, Cursing, Gaslighting, Toxic relationship, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , and Alcoholism
Minor: Cannibalism, Child abuse, Vomit, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Kidnapping, Panic attacks/disorders, Animal death, and Mental illness