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gwalt118's review against another edition
2.0
Gothic literature is my favorite genre. Tin House is my favorite publisher. I assumed this would be a winning combination, and I admittedly failed to manage my own expectations of this novel. It took me a few days to figure out why this one didn't work for me, and I have three reasons:
1) Diana's point of view really threw me off. I only wanted there to be one woman in distress, and there were two, and I generally didn't like it. It distracted me. When I first encountered Diana's point of view, I actually thought it was the point of view of the house...and I would have likely loved that.
2) There were some very bizarre plot points and a few things that I thought were either very weird or too obvious. It felt like the Gothic elements were checkboxes rather than aspects woven into the plot or characters.
3) The ending is not a standard Gothic novel ending. And that's all I'll say. Message me if you want to know more.
Overall, this was a frustrating read for me. I still love Gothic novels, Tin House, and reading my shelves though!
1) Diana's point of view really threw me off. I only wanted there to be one woman in distress, and there were two, and I generally didn't like it. It distracted me. When I first encountered Diana's point of view, I actually thought it was the point of view of the house...and I would have likely loved that.
2) There were some very bizarre plot points and a few things that I thought were either very weird or too obvious. It felt like the Gothic elements were checkboxes rather than aspects woven into the plot or characters.
3) The ending is not a standard Gothic novel ending. And that's all I'll say. Message me if you want to know more.
Overall, this was a frustrating read for me. I still love Gothic novels, Tin House, and reading my shelves though!
veroperovero's review against another edition
3.0
This is mostly a gothic novel that hints at a haunting, but is really about depressed people who are kind of terrible but are nonetheless victimized by each other’s shitty behavior. To be fair, the main character is really young and makes stupid decisions because… well, she’s young. The real bad guys here are the grown ups. What the hell, mom? Dad?
themermaddie's review against another edition
1.0
1.5 stars
really, truly, entirely forgettable. there's really no mystery here, or if there was it went entirely over my head because this was just so... boring. nothing in particular happens, the only thing this book has going for it is a spooky atmosphere, and that can really only take you so far. it's a shame because i do think the author can write; i really enjoyed her turns of phrase and the way she personified the house, but that really doesn't go anywhere.
really, truly, entirely forgettable. there's really no mystery here, or if there was it went entirely over my head because this was just so... boring. nothing in particular happens, the only thing this book has going for it is a spooky atmosphere, and that can really only take you so far. it's a shame because i do think the author can write; i really enjoyed her turns of phrase and the way she personified the house, but that really doesn't go anywhere.
jillmlong's review against another edition
2.0
This book moved to slowly for me. The author did a good job creating a gothic atmosphere but I just didn't connect with the main character of Freya. I was glad I was listening to the audiobook because I felt if I was reading it I would have skipped ahead chapters.
lauriebwhite's review
2.0
Not good. The main character was so dumb and everything she did annoyed me. What a waste!
lexreadsstories's review against another edition
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.0
ameserole's review against another edition
2.0
I have received this ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
The Whispering House was a pretty mysterious and thrilling audiobook to dive into. No wait, that's what I was hoping it was going to be.
Unfortunately, it doesn't actually become interesting until about halfway through the book. Or maybe that's just my feeling towards it. Plus it doesn't help some of the characters have little to none backstory. They are just there - plain and simple.
Once everything was slowly starting to pick, it took me a hot minute to realize that this was actually lacking a bunch of other things. Or, again, it could just me and this weird day of not falling in love with books.
In the end, it did have some good things about it - the predictability and how quickly the book went by. I just wish I got more creepiness and such. Then the rating would have been a lot higher.
The Whispering House was a pretty mysterious and thrilling audiobook to dive into. No wait, that's what I was hoping it was going to be.
Unfortunately, it doesn't actually become interesting until about halfway through the book. Or maybe that's just my feeling towards it. Plus it doesn't help some of the characters have little to none backstory. They are just there - plain and simple.
Once everything was slowly starting to pick, it took me a hot minute to realize that this was actually lacking a bunch of other things. Or, again, it could just me and this weird day of not falling in love with books.
In the end, it did have some good things about it - the predictability and how quickly the book went by. I just wish I got more creepiness and such. Then the rating would have been a lot higher.
shiloniz's review
4.0
A haunting and chilling modern gothic novel about control, possession, and lust. For lovers of Rebecca and Wuthering Heights. Each time I picked this book up I felt unsettled deep into my bones. Perfect to read during a spring rainstorm or at the edge of a waning campfire.
wildbibliophile's review against another edition
3.0
I do love a Gothic novel and was interested to see how Brooks was able to pull off a Gothic style set in the 21st century. I wasn't sure how the genre would translate with the presence of cell phones and other technology. The story was interesting, but the ending was anticlimactic for me. There was such a build but then an ending that was so expected and utterly dissatisfying.
aimee1of2's review against another edition
3.0
3.5 if I could round up. I liked it. I enjoyed the atmosphere of the book. I thought Freya's character was flat. Would have loved more history on the house. The book left me wanting. It was a slow burn and was hard to understand Freya's attraction to Cory and the dwlapidated home. I did enjoy the art, Cory's terrible paintings, and his creepy mother Diana.