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yokorie's review against another edition
5.0
I wish I could be amazed at how stunning this book was, but unfortunately I had already read Edgar Cantero’s “Meddling Kids” earlier this year, so I knew a bit of what to expect from him.
Longer review to come
Longer review to come
lbaesen's review against another edition
5.0
I absolutely loved this. Not what I expected but so, so, so much better.
morcades's review against another edition
2.0
No está mal, aunque no acaba de enganchar. Ni remotamente inquietante
camilleisreading24's review against another edition
4.0
This book has some similar vibes to Cantero's recent "Meddling Kids," which I enjoyed last year. There's a secret (oc)cultish society and a big creepy house and a lot of sardonic humor. The mystery here is pretty solid, too, while poking fun at haunted house tropes. The narrator, A., inherits Axton House from a heretofore unknown second cousin, and he moves in with his friend Niamh (which I think is pronounced "neev" but don't @ me). The house comes with a few "supernatural enhancements": a ghost, a secret society, scary dreams, a weirdly potent electromagnetic field, and a missing butler. A. and Niamh try to unravel the secrets of the house before the society convenes for its annual meeting on the night of the Winter Solstice...
This book is told in a mixed-media fashion with A.'s diary entries, handwritten notes between A. and Niamh (who is mute), letters sent to A.'s Aunt Liza, and audio/video recording transcripts. It was a fun format and I found it very readable (imagine a "House of Leaves" that you can actually follow!) Only quibble is that I found the romantic will-they-won't-they aspect of A. and Niamh's relationship gross, because Niamh is only 15 or 16 and constantly fetishized based on her extremely young/anorexic/punk appearance. That was icky. But I like her spunk and wit.
This book is told in a mixed-media fashion with A.'s diary entries, handwritten notes between A. and Niamh (who is mute), letters sent to A.'s Aunt Liza, and audio/video recording transcripts. It was a fun format and I found it very readable (imagine a "House of Leaves" that you can actually follow!) Only quibble is that I found the romantic will-they-won't-they aspect of A. and Niamh's relationship gross, because Niamh is only 15 or 16 and constantly fetishized based on her extremely young/anorexic/punk appearance. That was icky. But I like her spunk and wit.
biblio_amy's review against another edition
4.0
this was super fun! It was an awesome book that had many great quirks to it that I was not expecting. It was mysterious, filled with ciphers and cryptography, plot twist that I semi expected but not as it played out and a great relationship between the main characters A and Niamh. There are times that I did have to go back a re-read passages because I got lost or confused and had a love hate feeling towards the excerpts that were included from other books to explain things with the supernatural or cryptography to help the characters understand what they are dealing with. I would recommend this book to people who are into mystery because it really wasn't a horror or supernatural read as much as I thought it was mystery.
rinnnles's review against another edition
dark
lighthearted
mysterious
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
3.75
craiggors's review against another edition
3.0
Fun spooky read with puzzles, ghosts, and conspiracies.
shadowhelm's review against another edition
3.0
I loved the setup of the novel. I just wish it was longer and we got to spend some more time with the characters introduced at the end of the book before everything was over. The book left me wanting more but in a way that feels like the end was rushed. By the time the story truly got interesting it was all over. Another 100 pages could have made the entire work truly something special.
gjmaupin's review against another edition
3.0
Such fun! Some wildly implausible plot twists, but gleeful imagination. As books go that I read for work, this was a treasure. As books go in general, this was a solid debut. Three and a half, really, but this is an all-or-nothing star system.