Reviews - Gallows Hill | The StoryGraph

959 reviews for:

Gallows Hill

Darcy Coates

3.91 AVERAGE

hayzormama's review

4.5

adventurous mysterious medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: No

frogrocker's review

4.0

dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Loveable characters: Yes

Content Warnings

bazookajane1876's review

4.5

adventurous dark mysterious tense fast-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Plot

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

Creepy, haunting, but fast paced. Felt like a well written video game at times, with plenty of action. Page turner, easy to read. Similar to a YA novel, no romantic themes here. Only mystery and horror. Very enjoyable!

Content Warnings

shanajade's review against another edition

3.5

I love Darcy's stories.... and this was no exception. A solid ghost story. I normally listen to her books and probably would have enjoyed this one more had i listened to it vs reading, but I still really liked it. It was atmospheric and spooky. I liked the characters, they were kind of mysterious as they were introduced. And poor Margot, what a mess she was thrown in to, how confusing it all must have been. The plot itself was interesting and I liked how it all worked out in the end. Check Darcy out if you haven't read her before. She does spooky/thriller well. :)

cait_henry56's review against another edition

This book could be culled by at least 100-150 pages. Margo is both dramatic and stupid, yet somehow the one person to break the curse? I can suspend my disbelief for ghosts, but incessantly annoying main characters? No. Not even the audiobook narrator could save this.

cozysquib's review against another edition

2.0

Gallows Hill by Darcy Coates

I am not a spooky girlie.

In the world of horror lovers and suspense addicts, I'm over here cowering under a Hello Kitty blanket.

So, naturally, I picked up a horror book! Seems logical...

I was already spooked by 15% in. Yay me. So brave. A brave little toaster.

That being said, I wouldn't say this book hooked me beyond the spook factor. It struggled to keep my interest when it came to the actual plot. I can't tell if it was the story itself or a personal misalignment, but I was fighting to stay invested. The idea was cool, the setting had a lot of eerie vibes, but once I realized I could not be bothered to care about the winery or MC’s personal journey, the plot struggled.

I called it quits around 60%. At a certain point, spooky stuff was happening fast enough that I could kind of coast along, clutching my little blanket and yelling at the main character to get the eff out of the haunted house already. But suspense alone can only drag a girl so far without an emotional hook.

For me, this was a read-during-the-day kind of book. Maybe one day I will grow a pair and start reading horror before bed. But today is not that day. Future me might not be that girl either 😂. I would like to keep my soul tucked safely inside my body and my fear of dark corners at a reasonable level, thank you.

From a baby to other horror newbies:

- The suspense and atmosphere were solid and I had a good time in small doses

- The plot and character motivations were meh at best and could not hold my attention

I think if you are already a horror lover, this might land better. But if your tastes are anything like mine, maybe start somewhere else if you want your first horror dip to really stick the landing.