Reviews

The Grip of It by Jac Jemc

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kellyfrecca's review

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dark mysterious tense medium-paced

3.25

big_stinky's review

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dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

Certainly gripped me!

wintermomof4's review

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dark mysterious 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

3.75

There was something about the way this was written that just worked for me.

It was eerie but also not a lot going on at all. I like how ambiguous the ending was.

I will say it’s not your typically horror novel and would lean more literary fiction.

vanat's review

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mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

This book read very similarly to Haunting of Hill House with the theme being dysfunctional families and significant mental health concerns that manifest themselves as haunts (or are they truely haunted?). Jemc did a good job at conveying emotion of characters. You could feel their confusion, desperation, and paranoia setting in against eachother. I felt like it was a great psychological horror where you are left as uncertain as the characters about what really took place throughout this couples time in their new house.

vespurr's review

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4.0

There were some things I just really loved about this book, but overall I'd say it felt...unfinished. I found it to be really spooky and atmospheric. There was a tense, claustrophobic feel to the story and I was very invested in the couple and their situation. However, I felt that there wasn't really any resolution or clarification to what was supposedly happening within the plot. I do get the impression that this was intentional by the author, but made the book seem overall less impactful to me. I don't feel that every single detail needs to be explained, but at the end of the story I ended up with an inkling that there were just too many loose threads. I enjoyed it a lot, but something is missing.

cpeters2384's review

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DNF.
There has to be a sane reason for staying when EVERYONE knows something is wrong with the house. You’ve been given a financial out, nothing is holding you there except your pride. You’ve lost my empathy.

phantomgecko's review

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challenging dark mysterious tense fast-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? No

3.0

A book about a haunted house that focuses on the mental trauma of the situation and not as much as the how and the why.

Your questions will not be answered. It's not about that.

I am reminded slightly of the movie Oculus (one of my favorites) just in the way

you can't be sure if it's real or not. Is the house actually haunted? Are these people just unwell? Like...probably they're being terrorized by the supernatural, but mayyyyyybe, just maybe it's in their heads.

And I love that for this book.

While the relationship obviously has some rough bits, this book depicts a married couple that actually cares about each other, which is nice to see.

Overall though, it just didn't do it for me. It's great, well written, interesting. I don't not recommend it, and I wouldn't buy it or read it again.

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