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bookish_kenzie's review against another edition
3.5
This definitely is the weirdest book I've ever read.
But somehow it wasn't terrible? It kept me hooked and managed to be creepy even though it's quite ridiculous. Although there were flaws it was fun and I definitely had a good time reading it
But somehow it wasn't terrible? It kept me hooked and managed to be creepy even though it's quite ridiculous. Although there were flaws it was fun and I definitely had a good time reading it
papagenothehedgehog's review against another edition
Too much doe-eyed teenage kissy-kissy nonsense.
jenru9613's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
2.0
cestrella's review against another edition
4.0
I don’t read much YA anymore because I am old now (haha) and it’s always a weird disconnect reading about main characters that are 15+ years younger than me. So I added 1 star simply because I know I’m not the target audience here.
I enjoyed this, honestly, adequately spooky and suspenseful. Easy to read. The stuff I didn’t enjoy simply had to do with me not being the target audience.
I actually laughed out loud about the money they saved to escape. “Several hundred dollars!” I was like y’all are for a rough reality check when you can buy a bus ticket and then not even get a hotel room and then one meal before that money is gone. Just really funny.
I enjoyed this, honestly, adequately spooky and suspenseful. Easy to read. The stuff I didn’t enjoy simply had to do with me not being the target audience.
I actually laughed out loud about the money they saved to escape. “Several hundred dollars!” I was like y’all are for a rough reality check when you can buy a bus ticket and then not even get a hotel room and then one meal before that money is gone. Just really funny.
yashiras_archive's review against another edition
5.0
4.5 STARS!!!
This book was Creepy, Suspenseful and Odd in the most amazing way!
The House is the first book I've read with this type of genre. I was creeped out pretty much 75% of the time. It began slow and steady, though from the blurb I knew what was coming my way. But when things started to go down, I was so creeped out in my dark room.
The characters, Delilah and Gavin, were both odd people. But I loved that! Gavin was the quiet, dark kid. All to himself living in this mysterious house. Delilah was different for sure. Her love and fascination with all things gore made her unique. Her curiosity with Gavin's house was interesting. When she finds out the truth, she's completely fascinated. But then things with House get intense. And she got to a point where she couldn't handle it anymore. She didn't feel safe anywhere.. And honestly, I wouldn't have either. The House became her enemy, and did anything to let her know that it was in power.
The buildup in this book was amazing! The characters were unique and interesting and I absolutely loved their moments together. They were beyond cute, and funny at times. Ah yes, there are humorous parts! The House its self and everything that went down with it was rather interesting and very creepy. Now the ending, that was pretty intense and crazy, I called it the final battle because it seemed like a battle and I wasn't sure what to expect. The way it was written, was flawless!
The House is a great October read, one I definitely recommend. I really loved it, and I hope C&L write more books like this. They definitely had me consumed in this one! There was no way I could put the book down, it had me wanting to turn the next page and read more. I laughed, I swooned (no really, Gavin and Delilah were so damn adorable!), I freaked out. So go read this one!
This book was Creepy, Suspenseful and Odd in the most amazing way!
The House is the first book I've read with this type of genre. I was creeped out pretty much 75% of the time. It began slow and steady, though from the blurb I knew what was coming my way. But when things started to go down, I was so creeped out in my dark room.
The characters, Delilah and Gavin, were both odd people. But I loved that! Gavin was the quiet, dark kid. All to himself living in this mysterious house. Delilah was different for sure. Her love and fascination with all things gore made her unique. Her curiosity with Gavin's house was interesting. When she finds out the truth, she's completely fascinated. But then things with House get intense. And she got to a point where she couldn't handle it anymore. She didn't feel safe anywhere.. And honestly, I wouldn't have either. The House became her enemy, and did anything to let her know that it was in power.
The buildup in this book was amazing! The characters were unique and interesting and I absolutely loved their moments together. They were beyond cute, and funny at times. Ah yes, there are humorous parts! The House its self and everything that went down with it was rather interesting and very creepy. Now the ending, that was pretty intense and crazy, I called it the final battle because it seemed like a battle and I wasn't sure what to expect. The way it was written, was flawless!
The House is a great October read, one I definitely recommend. I really loved it, and I hope C&L write more books like this. They definitely had me consumed in this one! There was no way I could put the book down, it had me wanting to turn the next page and read more. I laughed, I swooned (no really, Gavin and Delilah were so damn adorable!), I freaked out. So go read this one!
ladywestfall's review against another edition
4.0
Christina Lauren never fails to give us a good book. I totally enjoyed reading this! This book is perfect for spooky reads with the right amount of sexiness and mystery. 👻❤
leahka89's review against another edition
3.0
Full review at Southern Bred, Southern Read!
Before I actually start my review, I want to give a HUGE shout out to the authors Christina Lauren for gifting me an ARC of this book through Edelweiss. I loved that Lauren personally responded to my emails (which, lets me honest, were me basically begging for an ARC) and that she was SO nice. I am definitely a Christina Lauren fan now solely on how interactive they are with their fans.
So, The House. Where do I even begin? This book was creepy AF. You know those movies you see late at night on the SyFy channel about haunted houses coming to life to plague their residents? Well, here ya go.
Delilah Blue is back from spending six years away at an all girls boarding school across the country. Now that she is back, she has her eyes set on her long time crush, Gavin. He is just as mysterious and handsome as she remembers, but now she has had six years to build up the confidence to actually talk to him. Gavin and Delilah click instantly. They are both odd, but they work well together. Gavin hasn’t ever had a real girlfriend like Delilah, and he hasn’t ever been to the point in a relationship to bring a girl home. No biggie right? Well, the catch is that Gavin doesn’t have parents. Well, he had parents at one time but they disappeared. Ever since he can remember, he has been living alone in The House. At first House seems almost enchanted like in Beauty and the Beast. However, you start to realize there is something a bit more sinister going on in House than just fun loving moving furniture. Once Gavin brings Delilah to House and they really start to develop their relationship, it is easy to see that House isn’t having it. Like an overprotective parent that doesn’t want their little sparrow to fly, House wants to keep Gavin all to its self. When Gavin pushes back and insists on having Delilah as part of his life, House takes a dark turn and starts to target Delilah outside of the Walls as an extreme form of warning.
I thought going into this (with the knowledge of Christina Lauren’s other NA books) that this was going to be some super weird/awesome smutty horror book. Let’s just say that if I didn’t know Christina Lauren were the authors, I would have NEVER guessed they were. The romance in the book is very slim. There is a strong emotional (dare I say insta-love.. but y’all know I don’t mind insta-love so I don’t say it as a bad ting) romance between the main characters. As for physical contact, there is some kissing here and there, a few non-descript sex scenes, and that’s about it. I don’t know if they left out all the smutty goodness because the characters are young in this book (17, almost 18) or because they were focusing mainly on the story. They even set it up in the beginning to where you think you’re about to embark on this weird smut fest—they go into detail about Gavin’s manliness and about Delilah’s obsession with medieval torture tools… Either way, it wasn’t what I was expecting. I don’t think all of this is necessarily a bad thing, but you have to clear your mind of what you think this book will be like if you have read other Christina Lauren books. Go in open-minded and thinking of it more as a YA horror novel and you won’t be disappointed.
My first reaction when I finished (because I did finish this all in less than a day) was disappointment. I was really hoping for some good Christina Lauren- style NA smut, but when that didn’t happen, I was pretty pissed. Now that I have had time to sleep on it, I can actually appreciate the book for what it is. Because of this, I change my rating from barely a 3 to a 3.5/4. The book is really creepy, the characters are funny, and overall the story isn’t bad. There are some big plot holes that I wish were addressed, but I don’t want to get into them because they happen at the end of the book and are spoilers. I think if those plot holes would have been filled, I could have possibly stretched my rating to a 4 star. There are just too many things that don’t make sense at this point for me to, unfortunately.
I would say definitely give this book a chance. It actually reminded me of Anna Dressed in Blood, so if you are a fan of Kendare Blake’s writing then you probably will enjoy this. It’s finally October so it is the season of creepy books, so when this book comes out on October 6th definitely add it to your list!
3.5/5 stars
Before I actually start my review, I want to give a HUGE shout out to the authors Christina Lauren for gifting me an ARC of this book through Edelweiss. I loved that Lauren personally responded to my emails (which, lets me honest, were me basically begging for an ARC) and that she was SO nice. I am definitely a Christina Lauren fan now solely on how interactive they are with their fans.
So, The House. Where do I even begin? This book was creepy AF. You know those movies you see late at night on the SyFy channel about haunted houses coming to life to plague their residents? Well, here ya go.
Delilah Blue is back from spending six years away at an all girls boarding school across the country. Now that she is back, she has her eyes set on her long time crush, Gavin. He is just as mysterious and handsome as she remembers, but now she has had six years to build up the confidence to actually talk to him. Gavin and Delilah click instantly. They are both odd, but they work well together. Gavin hasn’t ever had a real girlfriend like Delilah, and he hasn’t ever been to the point in a relationship to bring a girl home. No biggie right? Well, the catch is that Gavin doesn’t have parents. Well, he had parents at one time but they disappeared. Ever since he can remember, he has been living alone in The House. At first House seems almost enchanted like in Beauty and the Beast. However, you start to realize there is something a bit more sinister going on in House than just fun loving moving furniture. Once Gavin brings Delilah to House and they really start to develop their relationship, it is easy to see that House isn’t having it. Like an overprotective parent that doesn’t want their little sparrow to fly, House wants to keep Gavin all to its self. When Gavin pushes back and insists on having Delilah as part of his life, House takes a dark turn and starts to target Delilah outside of the Walls as an extreme form of warning.
I thought going into this (with the knowledge of Christina Lauren’s other NA books) that this was going to be some super weird/awesome smutty horror book. Let’s just say that if I didn’t know Christina Lauren were the authors, I would have NEVER guessed they were. The romance in the book is very slim. There is a strong emotional (dare I say insta-love.. but y’all know I don’t mind insta-love so I don’t say it as a bad ting) romance between the main characters. As for physical contact, there is some kissing here and there, a few non-descript sex scenes, and that’s about it. I don’t know if they left out all the smutty goodness because the characters are young in this book (17, almost 18) or because they were focusing mainly on the story. They even set it up in the beginning to where you think you’re about to embark on this weird smut fest—they go into detail about Gavin’s manliness and about Delilah’s obsession with medieval torture tools… Either way, it wasn’t what I was expecting. I don’t think all of this is necessarily a bad thing, but you have to clear your mind of what you think this book will be like if you have read other Christina Lauren books. Go in open-minded and thinking of it more as a YA horror novel and you won’t be disappointed.
My first reaction when I finished (because I did finish this all in less than a day) was disappointment. I was really hoping for some good Christina Lauren- style NA smut, but when that didn’t happen, I was pretty pissed. Now that I have had time to sleep on it, I can actually appreciate the book for what it is. Because of this, I change my rating from barely a 3 to a 3.5/4. The book is really creepy, the characters are funny, and overall the story isn’t bad. There are some big plot holes that I wish were addressed, but I don’t want to get into them because they happen at the end of the book and are spoilers. I think if those plot holes would have been filled, I could have possibly stretched my rating to a 4 star. There are just too many things that don’t make sense at this point for me to, unfortunately.
I would say definitely give this book a chance. It actually reminded me of Anna Dressed in Blood, so if you are a fan of Kendare Blake’s writing then you probably will enjoy this. It’s finally October so it is the season of creepy books, so when this book comes out on October 6th definitely add it to your list!
3.5/5 stars
jadedbee1227's review against another edition
emotional
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.0
bridgetteramirez's review against another edition
2.0
DNF about half way through. Two hundred pages in and it felt like nothing had happened. I have too many other things I'd rather read.
jen286's review against another edition
4.0
This review was originally posted to Jen in Bookland
The House was a fun read. I absolutely loved the concept of it. The House itself was a really cool idea. A house where it and everything in it is alive, has feelings, can do things to try and control you and what happens. Pretty awesome. Where you never have to do anything. You are hungry and some food appears. You need money just take some from the money jar. If this were just a fun, quirky romance then it would be all fun. But it is more horror thriller and I love that! I love that the house can get really creepy. I loved the imagery of what happens to Delilah and the house. What it does to her and makes her see and everything. I would love to see it as a movie!
The book opens with Delilah moving back to town after going to a private school in another state. Her family couldn't afford to send her anymore so she is finishing out her high school years at the local school. She doesn't mind too much, but it is kind of weird being back. Seeing people she used to know.
Gavin is the strange kid who doesn't really have any friends and hangs out by himself all the time. And whom Delilah is smitten with. She had a crush on him before she left and it seems like distance and time haven't diminished it. Only Gavin has secrets. He has never really had anyone over to his house, doesn't really have a family, he only has House. House who takes care of him and is his family. House who can obviously make strange things happen. Who can follow Gavin around during the day to be there for him if he needs House. But with Delilah now in the picture, things aren't always going as well as he had hoped they would. He knows House would never hurt anyone, not really, but House also doesn't seem to like Delilah being around. And Delilah is not too sure on the whole House would never hurt her thing. Because creepy things start happening and Gavin starts questioning House a bit. Only he can't really say anything because then House would know and might get upset. What do you do when you are in love, but your supernatural house doesn't want you to have anyone else?
This was a great read. I was wanting to see how it all would turn out right from the beginning. Can Gavin and Delilah figure out a way to coexist with House, or find a way to get away from House before it is too late? I love horror so I was pretty happy reading this creepy tale from authors that I already loved. It is not like their other stories at all, but that is okay. I will say my one negative about the book - the characters are written like we are looking at them from afar. Like we are not really experiencing the story with them, but watching them experience it. The chapters are even labeled "Him" and "Her," not their names so it seems it is definitely on purpose this distance, but it made it not as amazing as it could have been for me. Like I really enjoyed the story, really loved the ideas and images, but if we could have removed that distance from the characters it could have been a 5 star read for me. Because it was that awesome. Still a great read and worth checking out.
The House was a fun read. I absolutely loved the concept of it. The House itself was a really cool idea. A house where it and everything in it is alive, has feelings, can do things to try and control you and what happens. Pretty awesome. Where you never have to do anything. You are hungry and some food appears. You need money just take some from the money jar. If this were just a fun, quirky romance then it would be all fun. But it is more horror thriller and I love that! I love that the house can get really creepy. I loved the imagery of what happens to Delilah and the house. What it does to her and makes her see and everything. I would love to see it as a movie!
The book opens with Delilah moving back to town after going to a private school in another state. Her family couldn't afford to send her anymore so she is finishing out her high school years at the local school. She doesn't mind too much, but it is kind of weird being back. Seeing people she used to know.
Gavin is the strange kid who doesn't really have any friends and hangs out by himself all the time. And whom Delilah is smitten with. She had a crush on him before she left and it seems like distance and time haven't diminished it. Only Gavin has secrets. He has never really had anyone over to his house, doesn't really have a family, he only has House. House who takes care of him and is his family. House who can obviously make strange things happen. Who can follow Gavin around during the day to be there for him if he needs House. But with Delilah now in the picture, things aren't always going as well as he had hoped they would. He knows House would never hurt anyone, not really, but House also doesn't seem to like Delilah being around. And Delilah is not too sure on the whole House would never hurt her thing. Because creepy things start happening and Gavin starts questioning House a bit. Only he can't really say anything because then House would know and might get upset. What do you do when you are in love, but your supernatural house doesn't want you to have anyone else?
This was a great read. I was wanting to see how it all would turn out right from the beginning. Can Gavin and Delilah figure out a way to coexist with House, or find a way to get away from House before it is too late? I love horror so I was pretty happy reading this creepy tale from authors that I already loved. It is not like their other stories at all, but that is okay. I will say my one negative about the book - the characters are written like we are looking at them from afar. Like we are not really experiencing the story with them, but watching them experience it. The chapters are even labeled "Him" and "Her," not their names so it seems it is definitely on purpose this distance, but it made it not as amazing as it could have been for me. Like I really enjoyed the story, really loved the ideas and images, but if we could have removed that distance from the characters it could have been a 5 star read for me. Because it was that awesome. Still a great read and worth checking out.