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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
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
dark
emotional
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
It’s always a bit difficult to rate a short story anthology as they’re different stories with different characters (usually) written by different authors. But essentially, yes, I’ll give the anthology an overall 4 stars – because I did like most of the stories a lot. I’ve only read from two authors here – Tori Bovalino (loved her other book) and Rosiee Thor (dnfed that book so not actually read?). I like anthologies because they introduce you to new authors, which I always like.
I was confused as I thought it would be connected stories. It’s said to be in the same house so I guess I thought that meant they’d all be in the same – as in physically – house. That wasn’t the case as they were all vastly different – so different that it did feel like 16 different houses instead of supposedly the same house. Apparently there were some links between the stories – like let’s say the same mirror from the 2nd story was in the 3rd story? I did not pick up on that at all. I think if it had all been in the actual same house – but just different years, families, alternative universes – I would’ve really enjoyed this.
As you’ll see when reading my separate thoughts – I just wanted more. I know they’re short stories, but I would’ve liked most of the stories to have gone on for longer. I found most of the endings to be abrupt so I would’ve liked the authors to be able to wrap everything up easily.
I was confused as I thought it would be connected stories. It’s said to be in the same house so I guess I thought that meant they’d all be in the same – as in physically – house. That wasn’t the case as they were all vastly different – so different that it did feel like 16 different houses instead of supposedly the same house. Apparently there were some links between the stories – like let’s say the same mirror from the 2nd story was in the 3rd story? I did not pick up on that at all. I think if it had all been in the actual same house – but just different years, families, alternative universes – I would’ve really enjoyed this.
As you’ll see when reading my separate thoughts – I just wanted more. I know they’re short stories, but I would’ve liked most of the stories to have gone on for longer. I found most of the endings to be abrupt so I would’ve liked the authors to be able to wrap everything up easily.
- Good Morning, Georgia – Courtney Gould. 3 stars. Good start. Reminded me of a good horror movie. Thought it was going another way and then I thought of the movie.
- Vanishing Point – Traci Chee. 3.5 stars. Started out really good and then the ending was a bit weird? I did like it for the most part of the story.
- Cradle and All – Kay Costales. 4 stars. Sad but written really well.
- After Midnight – Liz Hull. 3.5 stars. It was going so well and then the ending just… ended so abruptly.
- The Grey Library – Nova Ren Suma. 3 stars. It was very confusing – which is fine, but it was difficult for me to like it.
- The Phantom’s Waltz – Rosiee Thor 2 stars. This had potential and I could see it but we didn’t get it and I’m sad.
- Mirror, Mirror – Nora Elghazzawi. 4.5 stars. Spooky and good!
- Smartmonster – Sandra Proudman 1 star. This made no sense and I wasn’t a fan of the characters.
- Let’s Play a Game – Shelly Page. 3.5 stars. Another one of “really cool and then fizzled out”
- What Lies in Silence – Justine Pucella Winans 3.5 stars. I liked it and then it got too confusing for me.
- me i’m not – g. haron davis. 1.5 stars. Could’ve been better.
- Favourite - Like Mother – Gina Chen. 5 stars. LOVED this one throughout. Knew early on it would be a 5 star read for me. I need to read more of Chen’s books.
- In Deep – C. L. McCollum. 2 stars. Listen, they said the house would be the main feature and most of this happened in/around a pond. That may have affected my rating but I felt like this could’ve been better.
- Favourite - Bloom – Tori Bovalino. 5 stars. After reading My Throat an Open Grave I think I’ll give anything Bovalino 5 stars.
- The Shoe – Alex Brown. 4.5 stars. Very creepy! Really liked this one.
- Favourite - A Helping Hand – Linsey Miller. 5 stars. Always up for this creepy type of story.
This is an amazing collection of short stories within the horror-genre. Many (possibly all?) of the stories featured queer characters. I can see myself going back to some of these stories again and again.
I read this as part of a book tour and as such I was responsible for creating a playlist for the collection. Thinking about these stories remind me of certain songs made my reading experience even better.
While I liked the entire collection, a few stand outs for me are Good Morning Georgia, Mirror Mirror and Smartmonster.
I read this as part of a book tour and as such I was responsible for creating a playlist for the collection. Thinking about these stories remind me of certain songs made my reading experience even better.
While I liked the entire collection, a few stand outs for me are Good Morning Georgia, Mirror Mirror and Smartmonster.
dark
lighthearted
sad
medium-paced
ARC review; thanks to NetGalley, Page Street Publishing, and Page Street YA for the access to this ebook. Pub date: Aug 06 2024.
This is a solid YA horror anthology. As it often happens with short stories collections, some stories are better or more to my taste than others. Each story is about a different character or characters and there's a different theme and monster/paranormal element in it. Overall, this is a 3.5-star read, but here are the stories that stood out to me and why I absolutely think this anthology is worth your time if you like YA horror stories:
Good Morning, Georgia - 4 stars. Beautiful, sad, moving. Very well done.
After Midnight - 4 stars. Simple yet effective. Creepy and with a focus on grief and the idea of doing something awful to keep even the illusion of the person you loved and lost.
The Phantom's Walts - 4 stars. Romantic, tragic ghost story. My favorite kind.
Bloom - 5 stars. Beautifully written, very impactful to me in such a short span.
The Shoe - 4 stars. Good concept and execution. Love a happy ending.
To give more info on this book, here are the stories that had a good concept but the execution was a let-down or didn't work for me, so they're all 3 stars:
Cradle and All
The Grey Library
Mirror, Mirror
What Lies in Silence
Like Mother
A Helping Hand
Weakest stories IMO:
Vanishing Point
Smartmonster
Let's Play a Game - I actually liked the concept of this one, but it was just meh.
me I'm not - also liked the concept, the imagery was creepy, but I didn't get it.
In Deep
This is a solid YA horror anthology. As it often happens with short stories collections, some stories are better or more to my taste than others. Each story is about a different character or characters and there's a different theme and monster/paranormal element in it. Overall, this is a 3.5-star read, but here are the stories that stood out to me and why I absolutely think this anthology is worth your time if you like YA horror stories:
Good Morning, Georgia - 4 stars. Beautiful, sad, moving. Very well done.
After Midnight - 4 stars. Simple yet effective. Creepy and with a focus on grief and the idea of doing something awful to keep even the illusion of the person you loved and lost.
The Phantom's Walts - 4 stars. Romantic, tragic ghost story. My favorite kind.
Bloom - 5 stars. Beautifully written, very impactful to me in such a short span.
The Shoe - 4 stars. Good concept and execution. Love a happy ending.
To give more info on this book, here are the stories that had a good concept but the execution was a let-down or didn't work for me, so they're all 3 stars:
Cradle and All
The Grey Library
Mirror, Mirror
What Lies in Silence
Like Mother
A Helping Hand
Weakest stories IMO:
Vanishing Point
Smartmonster
Let's Play a Game - I actually liked the concept of this one, but it was just meh.
me I'm not - also liked the concept, the imagery was creepy, but I didn't get it.
In Deep
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
I have been enjoying the variety of YA horror that has been coming out lately, but unfortunately this did not meet my expectations. Despite the amazing line up of authors, the stories all felt too similar without any true terror. The writing was excellent, matching the caliber I know the authors set, and the stories were well-composed, but they were not scary. The book is framed around the different levels of a house, but I did not see how the stories reinforced that theming. It was almost for the sake of ordering the stories as the physical locations for some did not seem to matter. Framing aside, many of the stories set up very similar premises: a ghost/demon/supernatural being preying on the guilt/loneliness of a young woman. Don’t get me wrong, this idea has created some amazing YA horror, but I don’t think any of these really add to the zeitgeist. After the fourth one that was structured in this way, I didn’t feel that any were adding anything new. The characters even had similar characteristics between stories: feeling like an outcast by family and friends, preferring solitude but also desperate to be heard. Many of the stories also layered in queer themes, but they didn’t necessarily matter to the characters, instead for the sake of the protagonists falling in love with their haunts. The atmosphere set up in the stories was never quite rich enough to truly set the mood for scares. The ideas behind some of the stories were interesting, but as a set it all felt like too much of the same. The stories on their own were enjoyable and well-written, but as a collection I felt they fell a little short.
dark
emotional
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
N/A
Loveable characters:
N/A
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
A decent YA horror anthology. I really enjoyed the idea that each story was a room in a house. There were some absolute standouts, such as Good Morning, Georgia, Cradle and All, and After Midnight. There were no truly bad stories, but I was a bit disappointed in some of the quality of writing for a couple. Overall a good intro for young readers who are interested in horror!
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes