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3.71 AVERAGE
3.71 AVERAGE
Have you ever watched a horror movie with a skeptical spouse who insists that the flickering lights and the moving objects and the opening doors all have a logical explanation and so they insist on wandering into the spooky basement alone with only a flashlight and thought, "Huh, I would love to read a book about that person trapped in a truly haunted house by themselves with a cat!"? Then, boy, do I have good news for you!
When 22 year old Adrienne inherits Ashburn House from her estranged great aunt Edith, an aunt that she previously didn't know existed, she moves across state with $20 in her wallet, no phone, no food, no furniture, no transportation to town, and no CLUE what she is getting herself into. And from the moment she moves into the old and decrepit house with her cat Wolfgang (the true hero of this story) it is abundantly clear that she is truly one of the stupidest main characters in a horror book that I have ever read. Even when she was logic-ing herself through things, I found myself shouting "What are you dooooinnngggg???" more often than usual. I mean But I liked the book nonetheless because Coates did such a great job of scaring the pants off of me!
When the sun goes down, the dim lights flicker and the forest around Ashburn house holds its breath. An eerie presence hangs over the house and the grisly past of the Ashburn family comes back to life.
Coates does a great job of creating suspense and instilling lingering fear with her words. The Haunting of Ashburn House is an easy and entertaining read, a perfect amount of spook and an easy enough writing style to finish it in an afternoon. Overall, I would give it maybe a 3.75 for pacing issues, but Coates always manages to genuinely scare me, so I'm rounding up for that!
When 22 year old Adrienne inherits Ashburn House from her estranged great aunt Edith, an aunt that she previously didn't know existed, she moves across state with $20 in her wallet, no phone, no food, no furniture, no transportation to town, and no CLUE what she is getting herself into. And from the moment she moves into the old and decrepit house with her cat Wolfgang (the true hero of this story) it is abundantly clear that she is truly one of the stupidest main characters in a horror book that I have ever read. Even when she was logic-ing herself through things, I found myself shouting "What are you dooooinnngggg???" more often than usual. I mean
Spoiler
personally, if I moved into a house that had "NO MIRRORS" carved into the walls and cupboards, I would turn tail and run and I DEFINITELY wouldn't hang mirrors directly over the spots where they were carved? What??When the sun goes down, the dim lights flicker and the forest around Ashburn house holds its breath. An eerie presence hangs over the house and the grisly past of the Ashburn family comes back to life.
Coates does a great job of creating suspense and instilling lingering fear with her words. The Haunting of Ashburn House is an easy and entertaining read, a perfect amount of spook and an easy enough writing style to finish it in an afternoon. Overall, I would give it maybe a 3.75 for pacing issues, but Coates always manages to genuinely scare me, so I'm rounding up for that!
IS IT FRIDAY. LIGHT THE CANDLE.
From start to finish I loved this book. The first 70% of it I found so realistic and could totally see myself doing the same things. The last 30% I had to keep reminding myself to breathe as I just had to know what happened next, how it was going to happen etc!
For fans of the horror genre, I can highly recommend this book!
From start to finish I loved this book. The first 70% of it I found so realistic and could totally see myself doing the same things. The last 30% I had to keep reminding myself to breathe as I just had to know what happened next, how it was going to happen etc!
For fans of the horror genre, I can highly recommend this book!
Very different, not a bad story. Started off pretty slow and didn't pick up until almost 85%.
Honestly, i read haunting and thought ghosts. But that's not what I got here. That said, it was still better than the other Darcy Coates book I read, Craven Manor. I'm honestly not into zombies in literature and/or in media. They just aren't my thing and they are not even scary. I read this wanting to be scared out of my wits. Oh well.
2.5 stars
2.5 stars
⭐️ ⭐️
Critical Score: C
Personal Score: C-
Reading Experience:
Critical Score: C
Personal Score: C-
Reading Experience:
Is cozy horror a thing? If so, this is it. I read it in an afternoon.
This book scared the crap out of me and I loved it! This was my first spooky read (where have I been?!) and I am going to order more Darcy Coates books as soon as I’m done with this review. I couldn’t put this book down! Such an incredible book.
3.5 ⭐️ for the atmosphere and vibes, but this was definitely filled with lots of cliches and I’m not sure if I’ll remember this a month from now? I was definitely picturing this as a video game the entire time I was reading it though so I thought that aspect of the writing made it fun
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated