You need to sign in or sign up before continuing.
Take a photo of a barcode or cover
3.71 AVERAGE
3.71 AVERAGE
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
Definitely one of my favorites that Darcy Coates has written. This one was creepy there for a bit. I wanted to shout at Adrienne and tell her what to do. But no. None of us book people EVER do that. :-/
Yes. So I enjoyed this one a lot.
Edit: I also want to add that this author, so far in my reading just writes good ghost stories. Nothing psychological, no gore fest, just good ghost stories like I used to hear when I was younger.
Yes. So I enjoyed this one a lot.
Edit: I also want to add that this author, so far in my reading just writes good ghost stories. Nothing psychological, no gore fest, just good ghost stories like I used to hear when I was younger.
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
unfortunately, i went into this with the wrong expectations. After having loved The Carrow Haunt, this fell really flat for me. Darcy Coates is the queen of atmospheric and cozy horror, but this one was a bit too cozy for my liking. i would recommend this to horror beginners that want to dip their toes into the genre.
dark
emotional
mysterious
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
mysterious
tense
slow-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
So nothing happens for 200 pages. 200 pages of some braindead chick talking to her cat in an old house. That’s it. Then some spooky stuff happens. A candle. A letter explaining everything. The end.
PLOT:
Well. It’s basic. Nothing out of the ordinary. Not really scary more like a bit of spooky/creepy moments towards the very end of the book. Unfortunately the pacing was all over the place. The reveals were very tropey so nothing surprising there. Everything seems too easy or convenient. It is not bad but I’ve got nothing good to say about it either.
WRITING:
That’s where the biggest issue lies.
First, we follow one person. Ok, I don’t mind a single POV that’s actually what I prefer. But when I say we follow one person, I mean it’s only her and her thoughts. She doesn’t have family, friends, acquaintances, colleagues or job. Nothing. Just her and her thoughts (and she isn’t the brightest tool in the shed). If only there was someone else in the house or coming often enough to the house for her to be able to talk to and see how crazy and unsafe her actions are. But no. We have a cat (and no the cat doesn’t talk, he’s just an overweight but otherwise regular cat). Hence, the whole narrative is this girl walking around thinking how creepy the house is but also nothing happens really and then she goes tell that to her cat. And for some reason some of her thoughts are written in italic as if this was what she was actually thinking when the whole plot is just her thoughts anyways… I’m confused and so is the author I think.
Second, the writing is really its worse enemy here. We get some creepy moment, great I’m in the horror atmosphere, it’s spooky. And THEN(!) breaks in the MC to make a one page monologue on whether or not to save her cat and why did she name the cat Wolfgang. I’m sorry I thought we were scared for our lives, why are we having a little nostalgia road trip right now? You just killed the atmosphere, and I don’t care anymore about you or the cat. Just die in your stupidity.
CHARACTER(s?):
Adrienne
- Survival skills: 0/10
- Brain: Left behind wherever she was living before
- Strengths: Wolfgang (the cat)
- Weaknesses: Lack of common sense
Wolfgang
- Living his life
- Overweight and happy with it (always down for some extra food)
- Special skill: roadkill imitation 10/10
Edith
- Weird old lady
- Her family is a mess
- She gave our MC the house and got some clean bedsheets for her.
The whole rest of the village (because we never get to really know anyone
- Creeped out by the old house on the hill
- Rather nice people and quite helpful (but irrelevant to the plot)
CONCLUSION:
It’s not the worse but it’s as if the book was pushing its own head into the toilet and drowning itself for no good reason. It’s not atmospheric and it’s not groundbreaking. The MC is just not making much sense in her actions and everything is explained in the last 10 pages in a letter. Walk away, that house is not worth the trip.
PLOT:
Well. It’s basic. Nothing out of the ordinary. Not really scary more like a bit of spooky/creepy moments towards the very end of the book. Unfortunately the pacing was all over the place. The reveals were very tropey so nothing surprising there. Everything seems too easy or convenient. It is not bad but I’ve got nothing good to say about it either.
WRITING:
That’s where the biggest issue lies.
First, we follow one person. Ok, I don’t mind a single POV that’s actually what I prefer. But when I say we follow one person, I mean it’s only her and her thoughts. She doesn’t have family, friends, acquaintances, colleagues or job. Nothing. Just her and her thoughts (and she isn’t the brightest tool in the shed). If only there was someone else in the house or coming often enough to the house for her to be able to talk to and see how crazy and unsafe her actions are. But no. We have a cat (and no the cat doesn’t talk, he’s just an overweight but otherwise regular cat). Hence, the whole narrative is this girl walking around thinking how creepy the house is but also nothing happens really and then she goes tell that to her cat. And for some reason some of her thoughts are written in italic as if this was what she was actually thinking when the whole plot is just her thoughts anyways… I’m confused and so is the author I think.
Second, the writing is really its worse enemy here. We get some creepy moment, great I’m in the horror atmosphere, it’s spooky. And THEN(!) breaks in the MC to make a one page monologue on whether or not to save her cat and why did she name the cat Wolfgang. I’m sorry I thought we were scared for our lives, why are we having a little nostalgia road trip right now? You just killed the atmosphere, and I don’t care anymore about you or the cat. Just die in your stupidity.
CHARACTER(s?):
Adrienne
- Survival skills: 0/10
- Brain: Left behind wherever she was living before
- Strengths: Wolfgang (the cat)
- Weaknesses: Lack of common sense
Wolfgang
- Living his life
- Overweight and happy with it (always down for some extra food)
- Special skill: roadkill imitation 10/10
Edith
- Weird old lady
- Her family is a mess
- She gave our MC the house and got some clean bedsheets for her.
The whole rest of the village (because we never get to really know anyone
- Creeped out by the old house on the hill
- Rather nice people and quite helpful (but irrelevant to the plot)
CONCLUSION:
It’s not the worse but it’s as if the book was pushing its own head into the toilet and drowning itself for no good reason. It’s not atmospheric and it’s not groundbreaking. The MC is just not making much sense in her actions and everything is explained in the last 10 pages in a letter. Walk away, that house is not worth the trip.
funny
lighthearted
mysterious
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
dark
mysterious
tense
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:
Yes
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
dark
tense
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:
No
It was entertaining but there were lots of holes and the reveals were almost expected and clichéd.
I liked the writing style though and want to read more from this author.
I liked the writing style though and want to read more from this author.