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3.3 AVERAGE
3.3 AVERAGE
Read this quite quickly on a recommendation and had a good time with the experience. I didn’t read anything about it beforehand in hopes of being surprised. Enjoyed the meta-horror conversations and was intrigued for the whole book. Endings are not the most important me if most of the book has been fun - but if you need a good/satisfying/surprising ending then this one isn’t for you.
dark
emotional
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
dark
funny
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
men are gross, never trust a fictional felix
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
This was pretty good, engaging enough to be readable. Not super mind blowing or memorable though.
Absolutely nothing happens until the last 20 minutes of the book (I read this as an audiobook), and by then, you've already figured it out.
Mostly, the characters get drunk in the dark, talk about how one is a believer and ghosts and the other is into, then a weird sound happens, and then nothing at all.
There are a few moments scattered in there that might get your pulse up, but is over quickly and never amounts to anything. I was really hoping it would be a big wrap up, because there were so many opportunities for crazy things to happen, or things to pan out that just simply fizzled, or weren't explored at all.
By the end, your brain has kind of gone through how the story will wrap up, and it really goes one of two ways. You're not going to be shocked because you're probably right. It got oddly sexual at the end, which was completely not in tone with the rest of the book.
I hope I'm desperately trying to find a book that keeps me up at night, and this one was not it. Not at all.
Mostly, the characters get drunk in the dark, talk about how one is a believer and ghosts and the other is into, then a weird sound happens, and then nothing at all.
There are a few moments scattered in there that might get your pulse up, but is over quickly and never amounts to anything. I was really hoping it would be a big wrap up, because there were so many opportunities for crazy things to happen, or things to pan out that just simply fizzled, or weren't explored at all.
By the end, your brain has kind of gone through how the story will wrap up, and it really goes one of two ways. You're not going to be shocked because you're probably right. It got oddly sexual at the end, which was completely not in tone with the rest of the book.
I hope I'm desperately trying to find a book that keeps me up at night, and this one was not it. Not at all.
dark
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Cursing, Death, Drug use, Gore, Infidelity, Mental illness, Sexual content, Blood, Grief, Murder
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I really enjoyed reading this! I also loved the twist. If you like thrillers, I highly recommend.
Hard to overstate just how badly the ending messes up this otherwise pretty good book.
I've been in a real horror book mood lately, so when I found this book at BookExpo while I was there for work, I was delighted to take a copy for review. In fact, it was one of only 2 books I grabbed there this year, so suffice it to say, it stuck out to me.
That's also why I'm writing a review, which I haven't done much lately--I thought there was something special to this book.
Twelve Nights at Rotter House is a horror book for people who appreciate horror tropes, especially horror movies, but also like works of fiction with a literary touch. It's eerie, but not overly scary, so you get all the fun parts of horror with none of the nightmares (at least in my case).
The overall story seems straightforward: In a last attempt at fame and fortune, a struggling nonfiction author decides that rather than simply writing about haunted houses and histories, he needs to write a book that fully immerses the reader in what it's like to be in a haunted house. So he decides to go live in a genuine haunted house for 13 nights and document his experience as a last-ditch effort to create a bestseller. He even enlists his best friend (a believer in supernatural things and fellow horror movie buff) to come keep him company (albeit reluctantly). But of course, even though he's a total skeptic, some eerie, inexplicable events begin happening to him while stationed there. Things he can't explain, and things that his best friend is positive are supernatural. And before long, he can't deny that something horrible has happened--something that may just come back from the dead to haunt him.
This book had a lot of strengths. With its great writing, a compelling, well paced plot, and an immersive ambiance portrayed through vivid descriptions of Rotter House and its bloody history, I felt very invested in the story. The only critique I have is that this book is a little too self-aware, making statements along the lines of "if this were fiction, XYZ would happen, but it's real." It makes sense for the first-person narrator to include sentiments like these, as they're exactly the kind of thing an overly-pompous writer would say about their own work, but I found this metafictional element a little tedious and a slightly overdone trope in itself. Still, points for believability, and I can't say it really bothered me.
I also admit that I called a couple of things that would happen, but even if you do guess aspects of the plot before they're revealed, it really doesn't spoil anything. In this case, the journey really was more important. If you like twists and turns that are mixed with a slow, careful burn toward a clever conclusion, you'll enjoy this book.
Really excited to read more from this author!
That's also why I'm writing a review, which I haven't done much lately--I thought there was something special to this book.
Twelve Nights at Rotter House is a horror book for people who appreciate horror tropes, especially horror movies, but also like works of fiction with a literary touch. It's eerie, but not overly scary, so you get all the fun parts of horror with none of the nightmares (at least in my case).
The overall story seems straightforward: In a last attempt at fame and fortune, a struggling nonfiction author decides that rather than simply writing about haunted houses and histories, he needs to write a book that fully immerses the reader in what it's like to be in a haunted house. So he decides to go live in a genuine haunted house for 13 nights and document his experience as a last-ditch effort to create a bestseller. He even enlists his best friend (a believer in supernatural things and fellow horror movie buff) to come keep him company (albeit reluctantly). But of course, even though he's a total skeptic, some eerie, inexplicable events begin happening to him while stationed there. Things he can't explain, and things that his best friend is positive are supernatural. And before long, he can't deny that something horrible has happened--something that may just come back from the dead to haunt him.
This book had a lot of strengths. With its great writing, a compelling, well paced plot, and an immersive ambiance portrayed through vivid descriptions of Rotter House and its bloody history, I felt very invested in the story. The only critique I have is that this book is a little too self-aware, making statements along the lines of "if this were fiction, XYZ would happen, but it's real." It makes sense for the first-person narrator to include sentiments like these, as they're exactly the kind of thing an overly-pompous writer would say about their own work, but I found this metafictional element a little tedious and a slightly overdone trope in itself. Still, points for believability, and I can't say it really bothered me.
I also admit that I called a couple of things that would happen, but even if you do guess aspects of the plot before they're revealed, it really doesn't spoil anything. In this case, the journey really was more important. If you like twists and turns that are mixed with a slow, careful burn toward a clever conclusion, you'll enjoy this book.
Really excited to read more from this author!