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seawarrior's review
3.0
While the premise for this book was intriguing, I don't think Malerman pushed the horror as far as it could go. Maybe that was intentional. It's more of a somewhat doomed love story between two teenagers who are forging the first real romantic relationship they've ever had. The relationship itself and it's development through the teenagers' preoccupation with the house is the meat of the story. I had some trouble getting engaged with it since I notoriously dislike romances, but imagining the house and how strange and wonderful it seemed was entertaining.
Content Warnings
Minor: Injury/Injury detail, Alcohol, and Sexual content
tifftastic87's review
adventurous
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.5
Edit: the more I think about this book the more frustrated I get about how anticlimactic it was. I've lowered my rating from a 3 to a 2.5.
This, for me, was pretty mid. It has all the boxes ticked to make me anxious:
✅️ underwater
✅️ claustrophobia
✅️ dark spaces
✅️ creepy basement
✅️ haunted house
But the story was just not there for me. When they did finally get to the big spook it was pretty anticlimactic.
The narrative style didn't do it for me, I think because of all the headhopping. I didnt get to know enough about the characters to actually care about them, so it was more about the house.
There are some interesting themes and the house feels like a metaphor for that rush of first love you get as a teen. Which is maybe heavy handed?
The story wasn't awful, and I didn't hate it, but there wasn't anything about it that I feel like was missing in my life. There was a lot more romance than I was expecting and it felt like an afterthought to the story itself. But I would have found it more enjoyable if they were just friends hanging out. I dont like their physical intimacy seemed to wake up the cosmic horror part of the house especially since they're kids. If the romance needed to be a part of it, why couldn't they have just been 18 or 19?
This, for me, was pretty mid. It has all the boxes ticked to make me anxious:
✅️ underwater
✅️ claustrophobia
✅️ dark spaces
✅️ creepy basement
✅️ haunted house
But the story was just not there for me. When they did finally get to the big spook it was pretty anticlimactic.
The narrative style didn't do it for me, I think because of all the headhopping. I didnt get to know enough about the characters to actually care about them, so it was more about the house.
There are some interesting themes and the house feels like a metaphor for that rush of first love you get as a teen. Which is maybe heavy handed?
The story wasn't awful, and I didn't hate it, but there wasn't anything about it that I feel like was missing in my life. There was a lot more romance than I was expecting and it felt like an afterthought to the story itself. But I would have found it more enjoyable if they were just friends hanging out.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Sexual content
Minor: Injury/Injury detail
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