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3.71 AVERAGE
3.71 AVERAGE
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
N/A
Loveable characters:
N/A
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
This is the second book I’ve read by Darcy Coates and as I said before, she is slowly becoming one of my favorite horror authors.
The Haunting Of Ashburn House is a wonderfully eerie story. I loved the all too familiar atmosphere of the classic, old, looming house secluded from the small town below and I loved the uneasy tension that would build up as the slightly naive protagonist discovered the homes mysteries, quite literally carved into the walls. While this book is chalk full of classic haunted house tropes (one of which had me rolling my eyes), it still remains delightfully original.
Listen, Coates isn’t trying to redefine or break new ground in the horror genre here. Her writing isn’t flowery, but extremely fluid which makes her stories easy to digest. This is what I would call comfort horror. I’ll be grabbing way more of her books to read in-between all the other horror novels that bend my mind and wrench my stomach. There is nothing quite like reading a classic haunted house story under a dim candle light.
The Haunting Of Ashburn House is a wonderfully eerie story. I loved the all too familiar atmosphere of the classic, old, looming house secluded from the small town below and I loved the uneasy tension that would build up as the slightly naive protagonist discovered the homes mysteries, quite literally carved into the walls. While this book is chalk full of classic haunted house tropes (one of which had me rolling my eyes), it still remains delightfully original.
Listen, Coates isn’t trying to redefine or break new ground in the horror genre here. Her writing isn’t flowery, but extremely fluid which makes her stories easy to digest. This is what I would call comfort horror. I’ll be grabbing way more of her books to read in-between all the other horror novels that bend my mind and wrench my stomach. There is nothing quite like reading a classic haunted house story under a dim candle light.
dark
sad
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
dark
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Idk how to rate this book. I love a good haunted house book. I love the cozy atmosphere, the lurking undead and eerie noises.
BUT!!!!
Nothing happens plot-wise till about 65%. All Adrienne does is ration her food, talk to her cat who hides in random corners, go grocery shopping, roam the house like she's haunting it and she over-explains EVERY THING she does. So much that I had to skim through a whole page while she recites the process of making tea. Also, HOW DID THIS WOMAN NOT FAINT when she didn't eat for 2 days and didn't drink water?!
The twist was sOoooOoo obvious and the plot ended in a very convenient way.
But I did love the part where the ghost was chasing Adrienne around the house, it was creepy in the best ghost story way.
Also, spoiler -
What's the deal with Marion in the end?? Felt like a red herring but also nothing happens?? </spoiler?
BUT!!!!
Nothing happens plot-wise till about 65%. All Adrienne does is ration her food, talk to her cat who hides in random corners, go grocery shopping, roam the house like she's haunting it and she over-explains EVERY THING she does. So much that I had to skim through a whole page while she recites the process of making tea. Also, HOW DID THIS WOMAN NOT FAINT when she didn't eat for 2 days and didn't drink water?!
The twist was sOoooOoo obvious and the plot ended in a very convenient way.
But I did love the part where the ghost was chasing Adrienne around the house, it was creepy in the best ghost story way.
Also, spoiler -
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
eerie, mysterious and thrilling. *chefs kiss*
dark
mysterious
tense
[2.5 stars]
I don't even know how to review this book. It had some creepy stuff, such as the portraits, and the clicking sound. I loved the inclusion of the cat, but something about Adrienne as a main character didn't work out for me. Even though the story was completely narrated from her point of view, I feel like we didn't get enough information to really know her. And she was so uninterested in exploring the house. I get it, she wanted to respect Edith's privacy, but, come on, it's your house, I wanted her to explore the house so bad, but she never did.
Also, my biggest problem with this book was that this is hardly a haunted house,
I'm not going to lie, at some points I was so bored but I really wanted to finish this book. Thankfully, things started to pick up at some point, but it just wasn't enough for me, personally.
I don't even know how to review this book. It had some creepy stuff, such as the portraits, and the clicking sound. I loved the inclusion of the cat, but something about Adrienne as a main character didn't work out for me. Even though the story was completely narrated from her point of view, I feel like we didn't get enough information to really know her. And she was so uninterested in exploring the house. I get it, she wanted to respect Edith's privacy, but, come on, it's your house, I wanted her to explore the house so bad, but she never did.
Also, my biggest problem with this book was that this is hardly a haunted house,
Spoiler
more like a zombie story, and I went into the book expecting ghosts, not zombies.I'm not going to lie, at some points I was so bored but I really wanted to finish this book. Thankfully, things started to pick up at some point, but it just wasn't enough for me, personally.
dark
tense
medium-paced
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced