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87 reviews for:
The House Where Death Lives
Kay Constales, Traci Chee, Alex Brown, Tori Bovalino, Gina Chen, C.L. McCollum, Nova Ren Suma, Justine Pucella Winans, Nora Elghazzawi, Sandra Proudman, g. haron davis, Shelly Page, Liz Hull, Rosiee Thor, Courtney Gould, Linsey Miller
3.65 AVERAGE
87 reviews for:
The House Where Death Lives
Kay Constales, Traci Chee, Alex Brown, Tori Bovalino, Gina Chen, C.L. McCollum, Nova Ren Suma, Justine Pucella Winans, Nora Elghazzawi, Sandra Proudman, g. haron davis, Shelly Page, Liz Hull, Rosiee Thor, Courtney Gould, Linsey Miller
3.65 AVERAGE
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
N/A
Strong character development:
N/A
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
N/A
It was all right. Sadly the best stories were in the beginning. Very good for those looking for entry level horror.
°book review°
The House Where Death Lives, by Alex Brown, is a captivating YA horror anthology that takes readers on a chilling journey through a haunted house. The book is structured uniquely, with each story set in different parts of the house, from the attic to the grounds, creating a cohesive yet diverse collection of tales.
Let's start with the cover, it is creepily gorgeous. I like it.
Each story delves into various folklore and mythological traditions, introducing readers to various supernatural entities, from the Filipino Tiyanak to a djinn. This diversity in storytelling and cultural representation adds depth and richness to the anthology.
My favorite story is “Good Morning, Georgia,” which explores the eerie communication between two teenage girls through a vanity mirror.
The anthology's strength lies in its ability to blend horror with themes of loss, grief, and identity, making it more than just a collection of scary stories with great representation. The writing is engaging and atmospheric, ensuring you will be terrified and moved by the end of each tale. I actually avoided reading this at night, it was terrifying and chilling. It just needed to be a bit more polished.
Overall, The House Where Death Lives is a great read for fans of horror and speculative fiction, particularly those who appreciate stories that reflect a wide array of cultural backgrounds and experiences. It’s a book that will make you want to lock your doors and keep the lights on long after you’ve finished reading. So go ahead and add it for the Halloween season.
Thank you @tbrbeyondtours for this book
The House Where Death Lives, by Alex Brown, is a captivating YA horror anthology that takes readers on a chilling journey through a haunted house. The book is structured uniquely, with each story set in different parts of the house, from the attic to the grounds, creating a cohesive yet diverse collection of tales.
Let's start with the cover, it is creepily gorgeous. I like it.
Each story delves into various folklore and mythological traditions, introducing readers to various supernatural entities, from the Filipino Tiyanak to a djinn. This diversity in storytelling and cultural representation adds depth and richness to the anthology.
My favorite story is “Good Morning, Georgia,” which explores the eerie communication between two teenage girls through a vanity mirror.
The anthology's strength lies in its ability to blend horror with themes of loss, grief, and identity, making it more than just a collection of scary stories with great representation. The writing is engaging and atmospheric, ensuring you will be terrified and moved by the end of each tale. I actually avoided reading this at night, it was terrifying and chilling. It just needed to be a bit more polished.
Overall, The House Where Death Lives is a great read for fans of horror and speculative fiction, particularly those who appreciate stories that reflect a wide array of cultural backgrounds and experiences. It’s a book that will make you want to lock your doors and keep the lights on long after you’ve finished reading. So go ahead and add it for the Halloween season.
Thank you @tbrbeyondtours for this book
dark
emotional
lighthearted
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Pretty solid collection of YA paranormal stories.
They were pretty cohesive and they all have a nice pace. Nothing too scary or violent for YA genre.
The authors are mostly women and/ or gender diverse and the same for the main characters in the stories. There were several characters were also queer and many were POCs which made this anthology precious.
The folklore mythology and those themes I thought were pretty interesting. Some of them are unique perspectives.
The biggest issue is that some stories involved violence against these queer characters (some violence is sel-inflicted). Queer characters who are exposed to borderline homophobic/biphobic and even fatphobia situations and then they die in order to find love (with something paranormal). This reoccurring theme makes me a bit worried for young people relating to being alone and reading story and story of young people having to die to stop being unhappy.
They were pretty cohesive and they all have a nice pace. Nothing too scary or violent for YA genre.
The authors are mostly women and/ or gender diverse and the same for the main characters in the stories. There were several characters were also queer and many were POCs which made this anthology precious.
The folklore mythology and those themes I thought were pretty interesting. Some of them are unique perspectives.
The biggest issue is that some stories involved violence against these queer characters (some violence is sel-inflicted). Queer characters who are exposed to borderline homophobic/biphobic and even fatphobia situations and then they die in order to find love (with something paranormal). This reoccurring theme makes me a bit worried for young people relating to being alone and reading story and story of young people having to die to stop being unhappy.
dark
mysterious
reflective
tense
dark
mysterious
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Unfortunately, the standouts were basically at the beginning. Even though one of my favorites was in the second floor(?) section, I still think that the anthology overall lost its momentum after the stair section. The first and second floor sections had a lot of stories that were super mediocre if not terrible. (There was a lot of predictability. Some of it fun, most of it not.) However, this was still a mostly enjoyable collection, and I can see it getting a couple readers into horror.
My personal favorites were “Good Morning, Georgia”(4.5⭐️), “Cradle And All”(5⭐️), and “The Phantom’s Waltz”(4⭐️). “Good Morning Georgia” was super predictable but I still enjoyed the story itself, it was sweet—the same can mostly be said about “The Phantom’s Waltz”(the ending was a slight subversion). I’m not that familiar with Filipino folklore and monsters, but “Cradle And All” was a creative and emotional use of the tiyanak.
Honorable mentions: “The Grey Library”(3.75⭐️), for having the ending twist and the overall writing style of a Goosebumps novel; “After Midnight”(probably 3.75⭐️?) for having a gripping narrative, but the modern references were a little grating; and “What Lies In Silence”(rating unsure, lol) for being a Justine Pucella Winans story about grief… if you know anything about my Bianca Torre lore this is a historical moment for me. (Also, it was a great palette cleanser after the stories in my “Dishonorable Mentions” section⬇️)
Dishonorable Mentions: “Let’s Play A Game” (2.5⭐️) and “Smartmonster”(2⭐️) for being stories I hated so much they were literally pissing me off. (“Let’s Play A Game” was anticlimactic and barely horror, “Smartmonster” was a YA dystopia snuck into this collection and I actively detested my reading experience.) I read a lot of this anthology in a night, though, so I was tired enough that I couldn’t read on and I had to go to sleep with that simmering☠️
The organization of the stories was super creative, though, and I loved the art included throughout. I think I should’ve read this during the Halloween season! It would have been more fun.
My personal favorites were “Good Morning, Georgia”(4.5⭐️), “Cradle And All”(5⭐️), and “The Phantom’s Waltz”(4⭐️). “Good Morning Georgia” was super predictable but I still enjoyed the story itself, it was sweet—the same can mostly be said about “The Phantom’s Waltz”(the ending was a slight subversion). I’m not that familiar with Filipino folklore and monsters, but “Cradle And All” was a creative and emotional use of the tiyanak.
Honorable mentions: “The Grey Library”(3.75⭐️), for having the ending twist and the overall writing style of a Goosebumps novel; “After Midnight”(probably 3.75⭐️?) for having a gripping narrative, but the modern references were a little grating; and “What Lies In Silence”(rating unsure, lol) for being a Justine Pucella Winans story about grief… if you know anything about my Bianca Torre lore this is a historical moment for me. (Also, it was a great palette cleanser after the stories in my “Dishonorable Mentions” section⬇️)
Dishonorable Mentions: “Let’s Play A Game” (2.5⭐️) and “Smartmonster”(2⭐️) for being stories I hated so much they were literally pissing me off. (“Let’s Play A Game” was anticlimactic and barely horror, “Smartmonster” was a YA dystopia snuck into this collection and I actively detested my reading experience.) I read a lot of this anthology in a night, though, so I was tired enough that I couldn’t read on and I had to go to sleep with that simmering☠️
The organization of the stories was super creative, though, and I loved the art included throughout. I think I should’ve read this during the Halloween season! It would have been more fun.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Death, Miscarriage, Terminal illness, Grief, Toxic friendship
Moderate: Emotional abuse, Fatphobia
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced