Reviews

Catherine House by Elisabeth Thomas

cressida's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious slow-paced

3.75

Creeping dread is an elite school. I don’t think it quite hits the mark on horror but also I have thought about it every day since I started reading it and it seems to find its way into many of the conversations I have.. so I’m torn on how to rate it. 

highkingmargo's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective sad tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

dreamy and meandering. very gothic slow build of dread and tension. tense without being urgent. reading it felt almost nostalgic somehow?

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Alcoholism, Body horror, Confinement, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Sexual content, Medical content, Grief, and Gaslighting

Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Death, Suicidal thoughts, and Suicide

jayarna's review against another edition

4.0

People that say nothing happens in this book... are we reading the same book?

I knew I would love this and I was right. This is one of those cool, special books that just hit that sweet spot in your own personal tastes. With every minute of reading my love for it grew stronger. It left a hollow place inside me. It feels like a memory I'll never be able to experience again.

Catherine House is best described as heady and languid. Moments blend together, months, weeks, years meld and we are sucked into this school as we live as Ines does, sucked into the darkness and gothic vibes, the strange mix of gothic and modern.

The conversations between friends feel so real. I can imagine them so vividly. The writing is immaculate. The story is packed, and every moment sucks you in. What an experience this was. One of my favourites of the year for sure

ihateprozac's review against another edition

2.0

Catherine House spends 310 pages describing bougie school meals and only 10 pages on plot.

I picked this up expecting a weird dark academia story, but what I got was a whooooole lotta boredom.

I liked the apathetic main character, the normalised queerness and sex positivity, and the cult-like atmosphere to the school. But the story just didn't fucking do anything.

This book wasted my time and I refuse to waste any more time on this review lmao.

ris23's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

motherbeetle's review against another edition

5.0

WTF

tay_low's review against another edition

dark mysterious slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.5

quillwielder's review against another edition

2.0

im being nice should’ve been 1 star

ebrandt33's review against another edition

5.0

Hell yes, weird and dark and dreamy and supremely dissatisfying at the end, I love it all!

ckaustin's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

I loved this book! It’s a modern gothic novel that I cannot recommend more. It’s a slow read but totally worth it.