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thexwalrus 's review for:
Haunting of Ashburn House
by Darcy Coates
dark
hopeful
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
halfway through this book, i was anticipating giving it a three star review - and then the plot thickened. by the end, i was so charmed and delighted by the finale and the general result of the big spooky reveal that i had to up it to four stars.
this book excels at being a scary and tense horror novel - there were times that i found myself skimming paragraphs not because i didn't want to read it fully, but because i was too scared to know what was happening in detail. i didn't want to give myself nightmares because of the terrifying imagery i knew darcy coates would be capable of achieving. she's a master at ratcheting up the the tension slowly - everything seems fine if not just creepy in that way that old and abandoned places are, but then a few things happen, and you start to doubt if things really are just fine. (yes, i know that we know they aren't just fine because of the entire existence of the book, but coates does an excellent job of making you forget that.)
coates also does something amazing - she manages to create a scenario where the main character is totally isolated and it's not unbelievable. no cell phone? makes sense because addy was clearly not in a good financial position and cell phone plans, even pay-as-you-go ones, can be too expensive. even if she had one, there'd likely be no service at the house. no internet? why would this old house last occupied by a solitary old woman have internet? no car? cars require money that addy very clearly doesn't have. it's an accurate representation of how someone in her shoes would be living, and i want to applaud that, because most times when these scenarios arise in horror it feels forced and unbelievable at best.
my last bit of praise has to go to wolfgang and how addy cared for him - i am a proud cat mom myself, and everything addy did for wolf is something i would do for kahlua. prioritizing his health and safety, turning to him for comfort, doing her best to make sure he acclimated well, talking to him about life choices, it all resonated in such a heartwarming way. wolfgang does not get harmed for the duration of the story.
seeing edith as a friendly, loving spirit who wanted to protect her great niece was also a highlight. as someone who believes in spirits lingering after death, the thought of addy bonding with a loved one that she never got to know was just... nice. especially after all the well-done reasonable doubt sewn in the first three quarters of the story.
all in all, i found this to be a lovely and terrifying read. i can't wait to check out more of coates' writing!
this book excels at being a scary and tense horror novel - there were times that i found myself skimming paragraphs not because i didn't want to read it fully, but because i was too scared to know what was happening in detail. i didn't want to give myself nightmares because of the terrifying imagery i knew darcy coates would be capable of achieving. she's a master at ratcheting up the the tension slowly - everything seems fine if not just creepy in that way that old and abandoned places are, but then a few things happen, and you start to doubt if things really are just fine. (yes, i know that we know they aren't just fine because of the entire existence of the book, but coates does an excellent job of making you forget that.)
coates also does something amazing - she manages to create a scenario where the main character is totally isolated and it's not unbelievable. no cell phone? makes sense because addy was clearly not in a good financial position and cell phone plans, even pay-as-you-go ones, can be too expensive. even if she had one, there'd likely be no service at the house. no internet? why would this old house last occupied by a solitary old woman have internet? no car? cars require money that addy very clearly doesn't have. it's an accurate representation of how someone in her shoes would be living, and i want to applaud that, because most times when these scenarios arise in horror it feels forced and unbelievable at best.
my last bit of praise has to go to wolfgang and how addy cared for him - i am a proud cat mom myself, and everything addy did for wolf is something i would do for kahlua. prioritizing his health and safety, turning to him for comfort, doing her best to make sure he acclimated well, talking to him about life choices, it all resonated in such a heartwarming way. wolfgang does not get harmed for the duration of the story.
all in all, i found this to be a lovely and terrifying read. i can't wait to check out more of coates' writing!