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3.68 AVERAGE
3.68 AVERAGE
adventurous
mysterious
medium-paced
dark
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
mysterious
sad
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:
No
The thing I love about Darcy Coates is the contrast in her books. One moment your cozying up to a fireplace and the kettle is on, and the next you’re hearing tapping outside your window. This book also stays away from triggers which isn’t easy to find in horror. I devour anything by Darcy Coates. I’ve read six of her books so far and loved them all.
This book gripped me from start to finish. It starts out by setting up Daniel's life and his desperate struggle to stay afloat and not become homeless again. So when he gets his creepy letter to work at Craven Manor, you understand why he would bother with such a thing, even after subsequent events send up more red flags that he decides to ignore (he notes their presence, considers his options, and still finds Craven Manor the best choice).
The Characters:
I love Daniel. He's a good person from the get-go, helping his poor neighbor even when he barely has enough to scrape by because he understands what it's like to struggle. Oftentimes in horror novels, the main character has to be laden down with so many problems and flaws that they are difficult to like, and I am very glad that is not the case here--not that I don't enjoy that kind of story, but seeing Daniel was very refreshing. Spoilers about Daniel's employer, the owner of Craven Manor:
The Setting:
The setting was nice and had a slightly creepy and overall sad atmosphere to it, though it never really felt threatening. I loved the touch of adding the Greek statues in, because they almost felt like their own characters, being referred to every so often during the course of the book with changing expressions (as Daniel saw them with different moods of his own). Details like that help give the Manor its own personality, which I really like with haunted house stories. Spoilers for ending events related to the setting:
The Plot:
It's a haunted house novel. The main plot is answering "Why is this house haunted?" and "Can it be fixed?" Of course, it's the characters and their personal interactions and development that drive these stories (at least, the small but growing stack I have read), and this book is no exception, for the most part.
No spoilers: the ending was great. When I was finished reading, I felt stupidly happy for the rest of the day.
Overall:
This was actually I difficult book for me to review, because I love it so much that I can barely put it into words. In fact, I feel like most of this review is just me pointing at things about the book and saying, "I love it!" It's not a literary masterpiece or anything like that, and I've read the lower-rating reviews and can understand why they felt the way they did. But I just adore this book. For the characters, for the cool supernatural entities involved, and for pretty much everything. Highly recommended.
The Characters:
I love Daniel. He's a good person from the get-go, helping his poor neighbor even when he barely has enough to scrape by because he understands what it's like to struggle. Oftentimes in horror novels, the main character has to be laden down with so many problems and flaws that they are difficult to like, and I am very glad that is not the case here--not that I don't enjoy that kind of story, but seeing Daniel was very refreshing. Spoilers about Daniel's employer, the owner of Craven Manor:
Spoiler
I love Bran. He's so noble and aloof, traits I have a real weakness for in characters like him, and yes, flawed. He makes many mistakes, both past and present, and every single one comes back to bite him. Even after the incident where he almost killed Kyle, I still (mostly) trusted him. After you find out his motives for hiring Daniel, it's kind of impossible not to trust him--which made it a little frustrating when Daniel believed what Kyle told him about the place. Although, to be fair, his distrust was not exactly unfounded at that point, and he DID seek out a second opinion.The Setting:
The setting was nice and had a slightly creepy and overall sad atmosphere to it, though it never really felt threatening.
Spoiler
Which was probably the point. The hidden town, on the other hand, was terrifying and very threatening.Spoiler
Once everything is out in the open and you know who the good guys and bad guys are, the "scary" parts of the mansion seamlessly convert into being good themselves. It subverts what you expect of the haunted house by taking what's scary about it--the crows, the graveyard/mausoleum--and makes them helpers and a sanctuary, respectively. That made me ridiculously happy.The Plot:
It's a haunted house novel. The main plot is answering "Why is this house haunted?" and "Can it be fixed?" Of course, it's the characters and their personal interactions and development that drive these stories (at least, the small but growing stack I have read), and this book is no exception, for the most part.
No spoilers: the ending was great. When I was finished reading, I felt stupidly happy for the rest of the day.
Overall:
This was actually I difficult book for me to review, because I love it so much that I can barely put it into words. In fact, I feel like most of this review is just me pointing at things about the book and saying, "I love it!" It's not a literary masterpiece or anything like that, and I've read the lower-rating reviews and can understand why they felt the way they did. But I just adore this book. For the characters, for the cool supernatural entities involved, and for pretty much everything. Highly recommended.
I have read quite a bit of Darcy Coates work but I felt like this was a big step down from her other books. I had to push myself to finish it. I love ghost stories but there just wasn't anything new or unique going on here. The main character was underdeveloped and seemed too unrealistic.
this like wasn’t good but also I enjoyed it. It was honestly kind of adorable for a ghost story lol
adventurous
mysterious
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I enjoyed this book. This is the second book by Darcy Coates I have read. The plot seemed original and the story developed naturally. It didn’t feel rushed and it didn’t end ubruptly. It was spooky but not scary. I enjoyed the character development and it’s supernatural elements were not completely unimaginable. I enjoyed the book and will continue to read more by the author.
With twists and turns, family secrets and lies the book doesn’t disappoint. What made the book standout was the storyline to the Myrick family. It didn’t take back a few decades it went deeper. The imagery and descriptions of different evens painted a clear picture for me about what turkey happened to the Myrick family.
The main character Daniel was a bit naive but it added depth to the story. Being too trustworthy isn’t always that bad.
The ending was great. It didn’t just finish but gave you insight to what the main character did 4 days, weeks and months after the “big event”.
I didn’t give the book 5 stars due to it not being scary or had jumpnworthy moments. It is a solid 4 for me.
With twists and turns, family secrets and lies the book doesn’t disappoint. What made the book standout was the storyline to the Myrick family. It didn’t take back a few decades it went deeper. The imagery and descriptions of different evens painted a clear picture for me about what turkey happened to the Myrick family.
The main character Daniel was a bit naive but it added depth to the story. Being too trustworthy isn’t always that bad.
The ending was great. It didn’t just finish but gave you insight to what the main character did 4 days, weeks and months after the “big event”.
I didn’t give the book 5 stars due to it not being scary or had jumpnworthy moments. It is a solid 4 for me.