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3.81 AVERAGE
3.81 AVERAGE
dark
mysterious
medium-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
Oh. My. GOD!!!!! This book was SO good! It starts all good and gothic - creepy, atmospheric. But when the twists start turning, it ramps up to full on horror, and it just gets more and more macabre. I was writhing through the last few chapters - in that delicious, good way. Wow, this book was SO GOOD!!!!!
dark
tense
fast-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
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
i am a sucker for pitches, especially when pitches include my favorite media consumptions (house of salt and sorrows/the haunting of bly manor). it’s even better when said pitches are right on target, queue the applause track.
this was good fun—it’s not necessarily as gothic horror, but it had the aesthetics and atmosphere of one. while the writing was simplistic and left a bit to desire when it came to clues to the twist(s), it was so reminiscent of classics of its genre or elements of it (estates, oceans, and graveyards? SOLD!) but with a modern twist, which made it a page-turner.
the tension, however, was inconsistent. it took a minute for things to ramp up (about 100+ pages in); when one reveal occurs, it fades into the void and is replaced with lightness, particularly the romance between marin and evie. there’s nothing wrong with that, i love a sapphic relationship (!!!), it just didn’t help that it was instantaneous and smooth sailing despite the ever looming danger. in the same breath, it’s a bit of a head scratching moment that these characters feel older than they are (and would make more sense if they were).
in conclusion, 3.5! the cover is stunning and matches the story perfectly
This was giving gothic YA supernatural horror vibes all combined with a sweet Sapphic romance. Think turn of the screw meets night of the living dead slash pet Cemetery and you'll get the gist, but all with perhaps more of a spooky flavour and less of the graphic horror. Anyway, it was suitably creepy and atmospheric. It was perhaps a tad slow to take off and get to the point hence my lower score and for the first say two-thirds of this I was tad bored. The last part was fast-paced and it was my favourite part.
It's all told from seventeen-year-old Marin Blythe's POV who after the death of her mother is invited to spend the summer nannying for an old friend of her mother's Alive Lovelace. Marin with no place else to go jumps at the offer especially as she is also a big fan of Alice's horror novels.
Lovelace house is vast both inside and out. Marin's new charges Wren and Thea are intent on driving her away especially Wren who is bloody relentless. When Evie the oldest sibling arrives home from school ahead of time Marin is instantly smitten. But It's also not long before she realises that Evie and Lovelace house holds many secrets and these secrets could be dangerous.
So I enjoyed some parts of this more than others, it was well written and It did a great job at providing a suspenseful atmosphere. There did seem to be a lack of broader background included, so the nearby town and a lot of backstory aren't explored further which did let this down somewhat as we were very much operating in an isolated Bubble. The slow pace also wasn't conducive to retaining my attention and the last third of this was the strongest segment as a whole.
Don't go into this expecting some graphic horror-style read it's more subtle than that maybe macabre is the correct term here. It YA so plays perfectly for its intended audience. The portrayed romance was sweet and not in any way explicit and I enjoyed the bond that developed naturally between Marin and Evie. Their relationship was another plus point for me and it felt authentic. There were no great surprises here but I wasn't expecting there to be and overall this one was an easy read.
It's all told from seventeen-year-old Marin Blythe's POV who after the death of her mother is invited to spend the summer nannying for an old friend of her mother's Alive Lovelace. Marin with no place else to go jumps at the offer especially as she is also a big fan of Alice's horror novels.
Lovelace house is vast both inside and out. Marin's new charges Wren and Thea are intent on driving her away especially Wren who is bloody relentless. When Evie the oldest sibling arrives home from school ahead of time Marin is instantly smitten. But It's also not long before she realises that Evie and Lovelace house holds many secrets and these secrets could be dangerous.
So I enjoyed some parts of this more than others, it was well written and It did a great job at providing a suspenseful atmosphere. There did seem to be a lack of broader background included, so the nearby town and a lot of backstory aren't explored further which did let this down somewhat as we were very much operating in an isolated Bubble. The slow pace also wasn't conducive to retaining my attention and the last third of this was the strongest segment as a whole.
Don't go into this expecting some graphic horror-style read it's more subtle than that maybe macabre is the correct term here. It YA so plays perfectly for its intended audience. The portrayed romance was sweet and not in any way explicit and I enjoyed the bond that developed naturally between Marin and Evie. Their relationship was another plus point for me and it felt authentic. There were no great surprises here but I wasn't expecting there to be and overall this one was an easy read.
dark
emotional
mysterious
First 1/3 of the book was a solid four stars. Dropped down to 3 for me as the book went on.
The first half of this novel was everything I want in a gothic novel set in modern times. Old house, off-putting lady of the manor, sinister children, family secrets. As it went on, though, the atmosphere sort of dropped off as the plot became more straightforward with NUMEROUS plot twists. By the end, I was rather exhausted with the plot twists.How many dang times can someone be raised from the dead? I know that was part of the point, but GEEZ, it was endless! Literally till the last chapter of the book, right when I thought all the resurrection twists were overwith.
The romance between Evie and Marin kind of contributed to the loss of atmosphere, in my opinion. The relationship moved far too quickly for my tastes—for a gothic novel, particularly—and we didn't get much reason for why they fell in love. All of a sudden Marin is making all these overtures, but I couldn't understand how she even got to that point. It was very close to instalove, and much of their relationship was written with a lot of telling instead of showing. There was barely any romantic tension early on. I don't know. I wasn't convinced. I was really excited for a true gothic love story, but it just didn't suit the slow-burn of the rest of the book!
This book hit every gothic note splendidly for the first 1/3 of the book, but then it became a bit spotty as I kept reading. It did scratch my "modern gothic novel" itch, mostly, so that's why I rounded up. I'm still searching for that delicious, creepy slow-burn.
The first half of this novel was everything I want in a gothic novel set in modern times. Old house, off-putting lady of the manor, sinister children, family secrets. As it went on, though, the atmosphere sort of dropped off as the plot became more straightforward with NUMEROUS plot twists. By the end, I was rather exhausted with the plot twists.
The romance between Evie and Marin kind of contributed to the loss of atmosphere, in my opinion. The relationship moved far too quickly for my tastes—for a gothic novel, particularly—and we didn't get much reason for why they fell in love. All of a sudden Marin is making all these overtures, but I couldn't understand how she even got to that point. It was very close to instalove, and much of their relationship was written with a lot of telling instead of showing. There was barely any romantic tension early on. I don't know. I wasn't convinced. I was really excited for a true gothic love story, but it just didn't suit the slow-burn of the rest of the book!
This book hit every gothic note splendidly for the first 1/3 of the book, but then it became a bit spotty as I kept reading. It did scratch my "modern gothic novel" itch, mostly, so that's why I rounded up. I'm still searching for that delicious, creepy slow-burn.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Body horror, Death
dark
emotional
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
dark
mysterious
sad
dark
emotional
mysterious
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No