Scan barcode
booksong's review against another edition
3.0
A good follow-up to the first in this promising horror-mystery series, though with not quite as much going on as the first book.
Xander and David now know that their house isn’t just weird, it’s dangerous and frightening. Their mother has been kidnapped, and they and their father are absolutely determined to get her back. But that will involve the appearance of dangerous new opponents, risky plans, and more death-defying adventures into the bizarre portals in the upstairs hallway that lead to other times and places.
The introduction of some possible villains ramps up the suspense, but without the mysteries of the house itself, it isn’t quite as riveting. David and Xander continue to be impressively real characters, with understandable reactions to their mother’s disappearance and their father’s approaches to rescue. I liked seeing a little more from David in this novel. More excursions into the portals would have made me happier; the book becomes very good whenever the boys enter the other worlds. There are a few issues with pacing; a lot of high points of action followed by downtime that seems slow even if it is important, but wicked ending cliffhangers make me determined to read the next book soon!
Xander and David now know that their house isn’t just weird, it’s dangerous and frightening. Their mother has been kidnapped, and they and their father are absolutely determined to get her back. But that will involve the appearance of dangerous new opponents, risky plans, and more death-defying adventures into the bizarre portals in the upstairs hallway that lead to other times and places.
The introduction of some possible villains ramps up the suspense, but without the mysteries of the house itself, it isn’t quite as riveting. David and Xander continue to be impressively real characters, with understandable reactions to their mother’s disappearance and their father’s approaches to rescue. I liked seeing a little more from David in this novel. More excursions into the portals would have made me happier; the book becomes very good whenever the boys enter the other worlds. There are a few issues with pacing; a lot of high points of action followed by downtime that seems slow even if it is important, but wicked ending cliffhangers make me determined to read the next book soon!
tylmiller's review
adventurous
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
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? Yes
3.75
newt_newt's review
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
i_likedbooksbest's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
5.0
motormouth95's review against another edition
1.0
I enjoyed the first book, and after its cliffhanger ending, I was looking forward to reading more. To say this book disappointed me would be an understatement. I don't want to go into spoiler territory, but I know that the way that the "alleged abuse" is handled isn't true from personal experience. This book was almost 300 pages of filler- between school, late night talks, meals, etc. I skipped some pages because they went nowhere. At most the events of this book should've been covered in a few chapters. It just dragged on and on. The premise of the series was intriguing, but the execution lackluster in this entry. I don't think I'll be continuing the series. I know that this is labeled as Christian fiction (which isn't my cup of tea), but I had decent hopes. After reading the second book, though, I'm getting a feeling that religion is going to become more prominent, which is not for me. Between that and the dullness and extremely slow pacing, despite some exciting moments, my desire to find out more about the different worlds and what happened to the mom has significantly waned.
rosie_costa's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
dhilderbrand's review against another edition
4.0
I am totally addicted. Each book builds on the next and the author has made no pretense that they need to be read in order so he isn't rehashing! This means I can read read read without being annoyed by repeated back stories. I finished this one and immediately started reading the next.
They are quick, spooking, very good!
They are quick, spooking, very good!