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villaintines's review
dark
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
1.0
ljwrites85's review
4.0
This is the second in the QMP young adult horror series, but you don't have to worry, each story is self-contained and can be read in any order you feel like.
I absolutely love stories that have spirits or evil entities in them, so Ouija, I knew as soon as I read the description it was going to be right up my street.
Ouija is Zoé-Lee O'Farrell's debut novel and what a debut it is!
The story follows six friends who decide to go to an abandoned school, the scene of a tragedy a year earlier, to hold a seance with a Ouija board. It's clear from the outset that there is something wrong in the school, but this doesn't stop them. During the seance something goes wrong and they summon something they really shouldn't have. Something that's determined to see them dead.
Ouija was such an enjoyable ride of a story, packed with plenty of creepy goings on, tension and plenty of teen angst along the way.
Like the previous novel in the series, there's that air of nostalgia for me, because it really reminded me of the Point Horror books I grew up reading back in the nineties.
I felt there were a few things that weren't quite explained fully, but that didn't spoil my enjoyment of the novel overall.
Ouija is a short and spooky read that had me gripped from start to finish.
I absolutely love stories that have spirits or evil entities in them, so Ouija, I knew as soon as I read the description it was going to be right up my street.
Ouija is Zoé-Lee O'Farrell's debut novel and what a debut it is!
The story follows six friends who decide to go to an abandoned school, the scene of a tragedy a year earlier, to hold a seance with a Ouija board. It's clear from the outset that there is something wrong in the school, but this doesn't stop them. During the seance something goes wrong and they summon something they really shouldn't have. Something that's determined to see them dead.
Ouija was such an enjoyable ride of a story, packed with plenty of creepy goings on, tension and plenty of teen angst along the way.
Like the previous novel in the series, there's that air of nostalgia for me, because it really reminded me of the Point Horror books I grew up reading back in the nineties.
I felt there were a few things that weren't quite explained fully, but that didn't spoil my enjoyment of the novel overall.
Ouija is a short and spooky read that had me gripped from start to finish.
sambooka23's review
4.0
Having worked with @zooloosbookdiary for about a year now on different tours, when she told me she’d written her own book and I received the email, I knew it was a must read for me and it didn’t disappoint.
Zoe is a fantastic writer. All the elements of this spooky read was perfect. It was vivid, spooky and thrilling all at the same time.
I am a huge fan of Ouija boards, and although I’ve never used one, I think they’re fascinating. When a group of friends decide to play around with a Ouija board in an abandoned school, they open a whole other world - they’re friendship is put to the test and we find out who they really are.
We learn about the characters throughout the book, their thoughts, feelings and through the dialogue we get to know the type of person they are. It was great!
It’s a very quick, spooky read and great for the spooky season. I’d recommend if you’re a fan of horror and spookiness. A fabulous debut novel from Zoe!
Thanks @zooloosbooktour for having me on tour and sending me a copy of your fantastic debut novel! You should be very proud.
Zoe is a fantastic writer. All the elements of this spooky read was perfect. It was vivid, spooky and thrilling all at the same time.
I am a huge fan of Ouija boards, and although I’ve never used one, I think they’re fascinating. When a group of friends decide to play around with a Ouija board in an abandoned school, they open a whole other world - they’re friendship is put to the test and we find out who they really are.
We learn about the characters throughout the book, their thoughts, feelings and through the dialogue we get to know the type of person they are. It was great!
It’s a very quick, spooky read and great for the spooky season. I’d recommend if you’re a fan of horror and spookiness. A fabulous debut novel from Zoe!
Thanks @zooloosbooktour for having me on tour and sending me a copy of your fantastic debut novel! You should be very proud.
karenandherbooks's review
5.0
Review
This book is advertised as being great for fans of the Point Horror books which I was obsessed with when I was younger and its true, this book is brilliant.
It is heartbreaking, spooky and contains my all time favourite scene in Friend's... PIVOT! which had me in stitches.
It's a short book at 148 pages and was just a great read. It packed a punch and was a really addictive book. Well done Zoe ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
sarahs_bookish_life's review
5.0
I used to be a huge fan of horror books in my teens but admittedly don’t read many of them these days. Having read and finished Ouija, I really need to alter that as this book reminded me of everything that I loved about the horror genre.
The story starts off with a dark and disturbing scene that takes place in a school, then we are taken to present day where we meet six school friends who decide to go to the abandoned school and have some fun with a ouija board. Well, alarm bells were going off in my head as being a horror story, I knew that no good could come from playing such a dangerous game!
I enjoyed getting to know the six teenagers better. With the story flicking between events that took place at the school the year before as well as what was happening in present day, it was so easy to get fully engrossed in this story. I was so glad that I was sat reading with the light on as I could feel myself getting creeped out by what I was reading and kept looking up to make sure that there were no weird or strange things going on in my home.
Ouija is the author’s debut novel and wow what a novel! It delivers on the scare factor and I literally couldn’t relax as, as soon as I did, something would happen that would literally have me jumping from where I was sat. This story gave me goose bumps and if this is what the author can do with a debut, then I can’t wait to see what else she can do in her next novel! A super creepy read that you will not want to read in the dark!
My thanks to the author for an advanced readers copy of this book. All opinions are my own and not biased in anyway.
The story starts off with a dark and disturbing scene that takes place in a school, then we are taken to present day where we meet six school friends who decide to go to the abandoned school and have some fun with a ouija board. Well, alarm bells were going off in my head as being a horror story, I knew that no good could come from playing such a dangerous game!
I enjoyed getting to know the six teenagers better. With the story flicking between events that took place at the school the year before as well as what was happening in present day, it was so easy to get fully engrossed in this story. I was so glad that I was sat reading with the light on as I could feel myself getting creeped out by what I was reading and kept looking up to make sure that there were no weird or strange things going on in my home.
Ouija is the author’s debut novel and wow what a novel! It delivers on the scare factor and I literally couldn’t relax as, as soon as I did, something would happen that would literally have me jumping from where I was sat. This story gave me goose bumps and if this is what the author can do with a debut, then I can’t wait to see what else she can do in her next novel! A super creepy read that you will not want to read in the dark!
My thanks to the author for an advanced readers copy of this book. All opinions are my own and not biased in anyway.
witchoftheocean's review
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
5.0
Absolutely amazing no other words!
stephbookshine's review
5.0
*I received a free copy of this book with thanks to the author and to Zoé of Zooloo’s Book Tours (who in this instance are one and the same person!). The decision to review and my opinions are my own.*
I cannot tell you how excited I was to hear that Question Mark Press were bringing out their own Question Mark Horror series – I was such as massive fan of the old Point Horror books, as you’ll know if you were following the Nostalgi-AAARGH! reviews with fellow blogger Zoé-Lee O’Farrell.
Does that name sound familiar?! Yes, Zoé has channelled her love of all things YA horror into the book I am reviewing for you right now… and it’s a keep-you-up-all-nighter!
With the classic teen/YA horror setting of a group of friends looking for unwise, creepy adventure thrills, Ouija follows Lara, Caley, Sophie, Simon, Ben and Jon as they break into the old school, where very bad things once happened. Rumoured to be haunted after the horrific deaths that occurred there years earlier, the deserted building strikes the teens as ideal for an Ouija board séance session… until someone – or something – actually responds.
The author gives a nod to classic horror tales like The Exorcist, while bringing things up to date, with the friends messaging each other in text-speak and Googling how to rid themselves of evil spirits. The result is a fun, easy horror read, that had me unable to stop turning pages, reading well into the night and then scaring myself silly when a moth dive-bombed me on a toilet break!
I enjoyed the characterisations, which were well-developed, rather than the simple stereotypes that used to be used in older books of the same genre (the Jock, the Nerd, the Cheerleader). O’Farrell avoids giving her six teens labels, yet still makes them quickly distinct from each other in dialogue and actions, as well as appearances.
The plot is nicely-paced between the adrenaline scares and the ominous periods of waiting, which ratchet up the reader tension as they wait for the next attack. There is blood and violence here, but most of the vicious actions happen off-screen, so we see the aftermath and hear the screaming, but avoid the gratuitous gory details – ideal for younger horror readers. Similarly, the teenage ‘hormonal’ action is restricted to some snogging and a bit of light petting (above the belt).
If you’re a teen/YA looking for a scary treat, or an adult who loved the old Goosebumps/Point Horror books and want a taste of that old nostalgi-AAARGH! (see what I did there!), then this is the book and the series for you. I was thoroughly hooked in and will NEED to collect the whole series, naturally.
I’ll be back reviewing Camp Death by Jim Ody, from the same series (but all standalone) next week. In the meantime, happy reading and… what’s that, behind you… in the mirror…?!
'Simon felt something move behind him. His nerve endings were sending urgent messages to his brain, telling him to run; that something wasn’t right. But he was rooted to the spot. He felt a breath on his neck, sending shivers down his spine. It stopped, but just as he began to relax, his senses went into overdrive. A cold breeze blew on his neck and the air around him smelt stale. He cried out. Everyone took their eyes off the Ouija board and looked up at him.
“Si, you OK?” Sophie asked.
Before he could reply the board was receiving another word, but Simon wasn’t writing it down. He didn’t want to look at what it spelt this time. Simon gulped and looked.
B-E-H-I-N-D
Y-O-U
Simon screamed.'
– Zoé O’Farrell, Ouija
Review by Steph Warren of Bookshine and Readbows blog
https://bookshineandreadbows.wordpress.com/2021/08/22/blog-tour-ouija-zoe-lee-ofarrell/
I cannot tell you how excited I was to hear that Question Mark Press were bringing out their own Question Mark Horror series – I was such as massive fan of the old Point Horror books, as you’ll know if you were following the Nostalgi-AAARGH! reviews with fellow blogger Zoé-Lee O’Farrell.
Does that name sound familiar?! Yes, Zoé has channelled her love of all things YA horror into the book I am reviewing for you right now… and it’s a keep-you-up-all-nighter!
With the classic teen/YA horror setting of a group of friends looking for unwise, creepy adventure thrills, Ouija follows Lara, Caley, Sophie, Simon, Ben and Jon as they break into the old school, where very bad things once happened. Rumoured to be haunted after the horrific deaths that occurred there years earlier, the deserted building strikes the teens as ideal for an Ouija board séance session… until someone – or something – actually responds.
The author gives a nod to classic horror tales like The Exorcist, while bringing things up to date, with the friends messaging each other in text-speak and Googling how to rid themselves of evil spirits. The result is a fun, easy horror read, that had me unable to stop turning pages, reading well into the night and then scaring myself silly when a moth dive-bombed me on a toilet break!
I enjoyed the characterisations, which were well-developed, rather than the simple stereotypes that used to be used in older books of the same genre (the Jock, the Nerd, the Cheerleader). O’Farrell avoids giving her six teens labels, yet still makes them quickly distinct from each other in dialogue and actions, as well as appearances.
The plot is nicely-paced between the adrenaline scares and the ominous periods of waiting, which ratchet up the reader tension as they wait for the next attack. There is blood and violence here, but most of the vicious actions happen off-screen, so we see the aftermath and hear the screaming, but avoid the gratuitous gory details – ideal for younger horror readers. Similarly, the teenage ‘hormonal’ action is restricted to some snogging and a bit of light petting (above the belt).
If you’re a teen/YA looking for a scary treat, or an adult who loved the old Goosebumps/Point Horror books and want a taste of that old nostalgi-AAARGH! (see what I did there!), then this is the book and the series for you. I was thoroughly hooked in and will NEED to collect the whole series, naturally.
I’ll be back reviewing Camp Death by Jim Ody, from the same series (but all standalone) next week. In the meantime, happy reading and… what’s that, behind you… in the mirror…?!
'Simon felt something move behind him. His nerve endings were sending urgent messages to his brain, telling him to run; that something wasn’t right. But he was rooted to the spot. He felt a breath on his neck, sending shivers down his spine. It stopped, but just as he began to relax, his senses went into overdrive. A cold breeze blew on his neck and the air around him smelt stale. He cried out. Everyone took their eyes off the Ouija board and looked up at him.
“Si, you OK?” Sophie asked.
Before he could reply the board was receiving another word, but Simon wasn’t writing it down. He didn’t want to look at what it spelt this time. Simon gulped and looked.
B-E-H-I-N-D
Y-O-U
Simon screamed.'
– Zoé O’Farrell, Ouija
Review by Steph Warren of Bookshine and Readbows blog
https://bookshineandreadbows.wordpress.com/2021/08/22/blog-tour-ouija-zoe-lee-ofarrell/
inky_bat's review
5.0
What an awesome debut from Zoé-Lee O'Farrell !!
I devoured it with a quickness! I'm not usually big on teen or YA anything, but this was different. I actually liked the characters, not so much teen drama which is usually what I find offputting. This just sucked me in from the start. It really did remind me of when I was young and obsessed with Christopher Pike books.
Such an unexpectedly wicked little story, it was so much more than just playing with the Ouija, but how the consequences stuck with the group and haunted them long after. I love the nods to The Exorcist, and it had this retro 90s fast-paced, high-energy, feeling that I just adored. It also kind of reminded me of Final Destination.
I cannot wait to see what books Zoé will come up with next! Loved this one!
I devoured it with a quickness! I'm not usually big on teen or YA anything, but this was different. I actually liked the characters, not so much teen drama which is usually what I find offputting. This just sucked me in from the start. It really did remind me of when I was young and obsessed with Christopher Pike books.
Such an unexpectedly wicked little story, it was so much more than just playing with the Ouija, but how the consequences stuck with the group and haunted them long after. I love the nods to The Exorcist, and it had this retro 90s fast-paced, high-energy, feeling that I just adored. It also kind of reminded me of Final Destination.
I cannot wait to see what books Zoé will come up with next! Loved this one!
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