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3.81 AVERAGE
3.81 AVERAGE
Good at first but then most is my fault I guess... Horror really isn't my genre. I get so disappointed. Same with this. The "plot" or what to call it wasn't anything that made me more interested in what was going to happen. I just wanted to get through it bc I am physically unable to DNF a book. It took me 2 months to finish, usually finish a book in a week or so :))
I so, so wanted to like this. A creepy gothic horror house, unsettling children, and a lesbian romance: perfect on paper. Unfortunately, the entire thing drags. There are no subplots, so every chapter is like: here was a creepy day. And many more days were also creepy. Next chapter: this day was also creepy, but slightly creepier. And many more days after were also slightly creepier.
By the time the real action starts I didn't care anymore because I was so bored.
The romance was sweet and the ending was satisfactory.
By the time the real action starts I didn't care anymore because I was so bored.
The romance was sweet and the ending was satisfactory.
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
slow-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
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
slow-paced
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Bullying, Child death, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gore, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Medical content, Kidnapping, Grief, Car accident, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Abandonment, Alcohol, Injury/Injury detail
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
dark
emotional
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
3.5 Stars Rounded Up
This book had all the creeping, moody, atmospheric goodness that I love in a gothic novel.
Following the sudden death of her mother, the protagonist, Marin, is invited to live and work as a nanny in the household of an estranged childhood friend of her mother's. This friend, Alice Lovelace, is an eccentric recluse, successful author, and often inattentive parent to her young daughters. Marin is placed in charge of the two youngest, Wren and Thea, who are at turns adorably precocious and darkly secretive. When their older sister Evie returns home from boarding school, Marin begins to develop feelings for her, all while suspecting that she too has secrets hiding behind her polished facade.
Marin gets increasingly unsettled as the Lovelace family's bizarre behavior continues and she grows closer to Evie.
The characters and their interactions are steeped in unprocessed grief, and the isolated seaside mansion of Lovelace House makes for an ideally melancholic backdrop.
Ultimately, though some of the twists felt a little cliché, I quite enjoyed this book. Grief is a common theme in both gothic horror and gothic romance, but this interpretation still felt fresh.
I would definitely recommend this book to young horror enthusiasts looking to try out gothic stories.
Thanks to NetGalley and Kyrie McCauley for this advance reader copy in exchange for an honest review!
This book had all the creeping, moody, atmospheric goodness that I love in a gothic novel.
Following the sudden death of her mother, the protagonist, Marin, is invited to live and work as a nanny in the household of an estranged childhood friend of her mother's. This friend, Alice Lovelace, is an eccentric recluse, successful author, and often inattentive parent to her young daughters. Marin is placed in charge of the two youngest, Wren and Thea, who are at turns adorably precocious and darkly secretive. When their older sister Evie returns home from boarding school, Marin begins to develop feelings for her, all while suspecting that she too has secrets hiding behind her polished facade.
Marin gets increasingly unsettled as the Lovelace family's bizarre behavior continues and she grows closer to Evie.
The characters and their interactions are steeped in unprocessed grief, and the isolated seaside mansion of Lovelace House makes for an ideally melancholic backdrop.
Ultimately, though some of the twists felt a little cliché, I quite enjoyed this book. Grief is a common theme in both gothic horror and gothic romance, but this interpretation still felt fresh.
I would definitely recommend this book to young horror enthusiasts looking to try out gothic stories.
Thanks to NetGalley and Kyrie McCauley for this advance reader copy in exchange for an honest review!
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
A story about Marin, a young woman who's just tragically lost her mother and receives an invitation/summer job offer from one of her mother's childhood friends.
Except that the friend is renowned horror author Alice Lovelace, who lives in a remote cliffside mansion with her eccentric children, and has also experienced the recent loss of her husband in a drowning accident.
Marin soon realizes that there is something very wrong there, and it's up to her to bring to light what's been pushed down into the dark for so long.
I had seen this recommended somewhere, and thought it'd be perfect for October. It definitely leaned hard YA for the first half, but the magical last half of this coming-of-age horror threw out twist after tragedy that would disturb any adult I know. There's sweet, sapphic love, and also graphic body horror. Think a marine version of The Secret Garden meets Ash vs Evil Dead.
Except that the friend is renowned horror author Alice Lovelace, who lives in a remote cliffside mansion with her eccentric children, and has also experienced the recent loss of her husband in a drowning accident.
Marin soon realizes that there is something very wrong there, and it's up to her to bring to light what's been pushed down into the dark for so long.
I had seen this recommended somewhere, and thought it'd be perfect for October. It definitely leaned hard YA for the first half, but the magical last half of this coming-of-age horror threw out twist after tragedy that would disturb any adult I know. There's sweet, sapphic love, and also graphic body horror. Think a marine version of The Secret Garden meets Ash vs Evil Dead.