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3.92 AVERAGE
3.92 AVERAGE
dark
emotional
funny
mysterious
sad
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I got super sucked into this book. Can’t say it is one of my favorites but it was a fantastic summer binge read.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Self harm
dark
funny
reflective
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Good gods this family sucks. (Anna, the kids, and sometimes the brother-in-law are ok, but everyone else is horrible.) Also as someone who also dreads the yearly family visits, I love that the tension is equally split between the literal ghosts and dealing with the family. I also enjoyed the sprinkles of art history.
adventurous
dark
funny
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
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Really liked the first half of the book- I thought the tension of the family drama paired so well with the beauty of the landscape and the house, and the undercurrent of the haunting. Thought the last third or so went off the rails a fair bit, and it made the paranormal aspects of the book feel a little silly rather than scary.
Definitely an interesting read. So many elements I love in a book: Italian setting, messy family dynamics and a haunted/scary house.
This book has some notable writing that definitely scared me at times. I didn’t fully feel the tense family dynamics as I have with other books. But I feel this book shined more with the horror, scare and setting.
If you like Black Sheep and/or The September house and/or haunted house stories I think you’d like this. Especially with the Black Sheep book, these books could be cousins. (I think also if u didn’t like Black Sheep you could also love this because it’s different enough. No Satan in this book!)
This book has some notable writing that definitely scared me at times. I didn’t fully feel the tense family dynamics as I have with other books. But I feel this book shined more with the horror, scare and setting.
If you like Black Sheep and/or The September house and/or haunted house stories I think you’d like this. Especially with the Black Sheep book, these books could be cousins. (I think also if u didn’t like Black Sheep you could also love this because it’s different enough. No Satan in this book!)
adventurous
dark
funny
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
6 stars. 14 stars. 72 stars. If you liked Midsommar, this is for you. If you wished White Lotus were more haunted and putrid, this is for you. Like The Da Vinci Code, but fucked up and with much more interesting characters and, you know, a vicious demon witch ghost. If you don’t like really ugly family dynamics or vivid descriptions of rotting food, this is not for you.
Never read a proper horror novel before and wondered how words on a page could be scary and now I’ll never wonder that again. Terrifying, tense, funny, gratifying, in equal measure.
I love Anna and I love this journey for her. Read this book in the dark and the quiet, and you won’t put it down.
Never read a proper horror novel before and wondered how words on a page could be scary and now I’ll never wonder that again. Terrifying, tense, funny, gratifying, in equal measure.
I love Anna and I love this journey for her. Read this book in the dark and the quiet, and you won’t put it down.
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:
Yes
Let me start off by saying that haunted house stories aren't really my thing. That being said, I thought this book was spectacular -- It's creepy, it's thrilling, it freaked me out at a couple points, and Thorne does a great job at instilling a strong sense of dread for our final girl (who, I might say, is a pretty fuckin' awesome final girl).
I do kind of wish we learned the fate of the rest of the family members in the end, but I think it's ultimately a stronger choice to keep that in the dark. Ultimately though, I loved this book.
I do kind of wish we learned the fate of the rest of the family members in the end, but I think it's ultimately a stronger choice to keep that in the dark. Ultimately though, I loved this book.
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced