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The pacing was the most glaring problem. It felt way off. By the second page, we’re told the house is creepy. There’s no build up, unsettled feelings, or feeling of dread that I think makes a great horror book. It reads fast in some places and incredibly slow in others. The ending (which I actually loved) felt rushed
I also felt like Thorne wrote like, “and this thing was super creepy” rather than just letting the reader feel creeped out. Like, don’t TELL me it’s creepy, SHOW me it’s creepy through ~*fEeLiNgS*~. It reads like she isn’t confident in her ability to set the tone…or maybe she is just bad at that, I haven’t read anything else by her to compare
I don’t have this much family drama (even though I am for sure the black sheep) so maybe I’m just lucky that I don’t get it, but the animosity Anna’s family felt towards her felt very unrealistic. Like, they unnecessarily blamed things on her that anyone with a clear head could see were in no way her fault…?
This is just a stylistic preference, not a fault of Thorne’s writing, but I don’t think I like books written in third person
Overall, it wasn’t BAD—I don’t regret reading it, but I had very high hopes for this and I am left disappointed
Graphic: Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Confinement, Death, Emotional abuse, Violence, Vomit, Murder, Gaslighting, Alcohol
Moderate: Self harm, Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Child death, Cursing, Infertility, Suicidal thoughts, Abortion, Pregnancy
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Body horror, Child death, Death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Infertility, Physical abuse, Self harm, Sexual content, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Abortion, Murder, Alcohol
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Cursing, Death, Gore, Physical abuse, Toxic relationship, Violence, Murder, Toxic friendship, Alcohol, Injury/Injury detail
Graphic: Animal death, Bullying, Cursing, Death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Self harm, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Abortion, Murder, Gaslighting, Alcohol, Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Animal cruelty, Child abuse, Child death, Domestic abuse, Infertility, Infidelity
Minor: Miscarriage, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Suicide, Dementia, Suicide attempt, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Pregnancy
Graphic: Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Body horror, Bullying, Death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Self harm, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Abortion, Gaslighting, Abandonment
Graphic: Violence, Vomit, Murder
Moderate: Rape, Suicide attempt
Minor: Abortion
Graphic: Rape, Toxic relationship, Violence, Vomit
Graphic: Death, Violence, Blood, Vomit
Moderate: Cursing, Sexual content, Gaslighting, Alcohol
Minor: Animal death, Suicide, Medical trauma, Abortion
Graphic: Animal death, Body horror, Bullying, Child death, Cursing, Death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Suicide attempt, Murder, Gaslighting, Alcohol, Injury/Injury detail
Nothing about this book is what I thougt would be and it was refreshing. The story starts off with what appears to be a typical, at least for this family, family vacation and slowly morphs into the vacation of nightmares.
If you want a haunted family vacation in Italy, read this book.
My only dislike was the ending. It was a good ending! But I wanted a little more detail and closure/ follow-up with certain family members. It felt a little open-ended.
There are a few triggers, but nothing extreme. Most of these area briefly mentioned with no great detail.
Moderate: Pregnancy
Minor: Suicide, Violence, Vomit, Medical trauma, Abortion, Murder