Reviews - Diavola | The StoryGraph

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4.71k reviews for:

Diavola

Jennifer Marie Thorne

3.92 AVERAGE

tisaallen's review against another edition

3.75

dark tense medium-paced

coffincandy's review against another edition

4.0

dark emotional mysterious tense slow-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Complicated

Loveable characters: No

I haven’t read anything exactly like this, but it also doesn’t necessarily bring anything new to the haunted house subgenre.

The first thing that pulled me in was the author’s building of the atmosphere. Something is almost immediately off with the family’s rental, and it keeps revealing itself like the grapevine adorning the old iron key that opens the mysterious tower at the villa.

It didn’t take long for me to hate Anna’s family or for spooky paranormal things to start happening. I felt so much dread surrounding both of these.

The family is insufferable, constantly gaslighting Anna and blaming every inconvenience on her. There were multiple times I wanted to shake Anna and tell her not to take their crap!

Overall, I enjoyed feeling like I was abroad among the historical charm (as well as the historical creepiness) and I was immersed in the atmosphere and dread from the beginning.

The horrors are unsettling at times, but pretty quiet/subtle for a while to make room for all the family drama. If you want more focus on fast-paced horrors & not family dysfunction or urine-haired ghosts, this may not be the book for you.

honeydewmoon's review against another edition

2.0

A bit of a slog that minces its metaphors and harbors a protagonist that is not only unlikeable but whose actions border on being a bit ridiculous.

Also inexplicably ends like a JRPG with the protagonist “monologuing” (her words!) and using what I can only call The Power of Friendship and The Human Spirit to overcome.

At best, cheesy, at worst, dryyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy.

sadienicolewrites007's review against another edition

4.75

dark emotional funny mysterious tense medium-paced

gh0stinfernal's review against another edition

5.0

dark funny tense fast-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

lenag_7's review

3.75

dark mysterious medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Complicated

Loveable characters: No

Diverse cast of characters: No

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

librarianryan's review

DID NOT FINISH: 37%

Maybe I would like this more if it was a movie. This is supposed to be a horror novel and it feels like an art house horror novel where it spends most of the book going ooh look over your shoulder see that creepy thing, see this creepy thing here, this creepy noise, etc. The creepiest thing just happened which is this family who’s on vacation in Italy came back to the villa and found all the drawers opened, chairs unturned, as if the house had been searched. Our main character has been hearing voices at night. The kids keep asking me to play with the neighbors, but there’s no neighbors close. There is a locked empty room at the top of the tower. The brother-in-law is kind of a douche human being who insists on opening the door even though they’ve been told multiple times not to. You get the feeling that some sort of evil presence was let out of that locked room, but you’re not seeing hide nor hair of it. This book is spending way too much time, even sped up audiobook time, giving you the background of the characters and how the family doesn’t get along. I am bored to tears. Part of me wants to see the devil and the craziness come out, and the other part of me wants to move on something more exciting that would keep my interest more.