A review by yviie_reads
The House by Christina Lauren

4.0

This book was NOT what I expected. Absolutely not. Did I love it any less though? Definitely not. Quite the opposite, actually. It was a really unique and interesting read with a fascinating story, pretty cool and likeable characters and was very well written. It's the first book I read by these authors - yes, plural because Christina Lauren is a combined pen name for the authors Christina Hobbs and Lauren Billings - but I'm also not sure if I'll read any other books. They seem a lot different and even though they have quite good ratings on GR, it's a completely different genre.

"I don't care if we're living in a box under the bridge somewhere. As long as I'm with you, I don't care about the rest."

Back to The House. What I expected was a really creepy, ghost-like book ... a haunted house maybe. Or an evil spirit "living" in the house. In my mind it had something to do with ghosts and was freaking scary. The typical ghost-story where you hear terrible voices at night and cupboards or doors closing itself. Just very creepy. However, I have to admit that it's NOTHING like that (at first). It's definitely unsettling and suspenseful and if you really think about it, yes also kind of scary, but then again not so much. At first I felt like Delilah and thought it's pretty cool and magical but as things progressed ... well, it wasn't magical anymore. More like terrifying. Dangerous.

I can't really go into details about House but that's probably for the best - go into this without too high expectations. Keep away from spoilery reviews and get surprised. I certainly haven't read anything like this before and am happy that the authors managed to explain and write everything so it makes sense.

"Delilah was his sun, and he'd smiled more because of her in the last few months than he had in his entire life."

There's also a romance in the book which I absolutely ADORED. Gavin and Delilah? They're so, so sweet and even though some might say it's insta-lovish, I actually don't think so. They're teenagers being in love and experiencing everything for the first time. And the fact that they already "knew" each other when they were younger just makes it work for me. I don't care if it's cheesy and maybe a little rushed, it's freaking adorable and I love both of them a lot!

Delilah is such a great character. I loved that she was always so protective of Gavin and looked out for him - in most other books it's always the guy protecting the girl, so this was super refreshing! They're both a little weird but when they're together it just fits. They're intersting, likeable and seemed very realistic to me. And Gavin is ... well, everyone seems to think he's strange, which probably has something to do with the fact that he lives in this "Patchwork house" and no one ever sees his parents but I found him fascinating and very sweet. The way he cares for Delilah and acts around her is incredibly cute. *sigh*

"The thing is, I’m yours. I don’t belong to anyone but you. I’m scared that you’ll never be mine the same way."

The ending seemed a little bit rushed and I wished the authors would've given us a few more chapters with the characters. I definitely wanted to know more after everything was revealed and well, I think it would've been really good. Either way, I liked how everything turned out. It was a good ending and therefore I can easily recommend this! It's a perfect read for Autumn and/or Halloween with amazing characters and a different kind of ghost-story that I highly enjoyed! Well done!

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October 30th:
I REALLY liked this book! So different and unique with great characters and a cool storyline ... just awesome! Highly enjoyed it & would definitely recommend reading it! <3