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sassyykassie 's review for:
These Fleeting Shadows
by Kate Alice Marshall
*Thank you Penguin RandomHouse for an e-ARC in exchange for an honest review.*
This book was perfect for October, and it gives great Haunting of Hill House vibes as well as the labyrinth feeling of House of Leaves (although much more palatable in my opinion).
We follow Helen Vaughn, and immediately she lets us know that she's a liar, or unreliable narrator. Helen was hidden from her mother's side of the family until her grandfather passes away and her mom, Rachel, feels she needs to go back home for the funeral. Of course, during this visit, things start to get weird. We find out that in order for any of the Vaughn family to keep any of the inheritance, Helen must agree to stay on the estate for a year. She agrees if only for her mom.
The cast of characters were fun if not a bit campy. We have the over the top villain and the rich and looking down at you matriarch of the family. We have the the friendly cousins as well as the sapphic romance.
The spooky vibes were right on point and I loved that there are no ghosts at Harrow - this made for a fun and new way to play into creepy that I felt was so original how it was done. I loved that we have a sapphic relationship in the lead here, although I did fine the build to the romance a little off for what the story was.
I wanted more of the mother daughter relationship, and felt this was the strongest part that I would've loved to see throughout the novel instead of taking a back seat in the middle of the story. I felt it was the strongest connection between characters and I wanted more focus there.
Overall, a fun YA spooky story perfect for fans of Gallant and similar stories.
This book was perfect for October, and it gives great Haunting of Hill House vibes as well as the labyrinth feeling of House of Leaves (although much more palatable in my opinion).
We follow Helen Vaughn, and immediately she lets us know that she's a liar, or unreliable narrator. Helen was hidden from her mother's side of the family until her grandfather passes away and her mom, Rachel, feels she needs to go back home for the funeral. Of course, during this visit, things start to get weird. We find out that in order for any of the Vaughn family to keep any of the inheritance, Helen must agree to stay on the estate for a year. She agrees if only for her mom.
The cast of characters were fun if not a bit campy. We have the over the top villain and the rich and looking down at you matriarch of the family. We have the the friendly cousins as well as the sapphic romance.
The spooky vibes were right on point and I loved that there are no ghosts at Harrow - this made for a fun and new way to play into creepy that I felt was so original how it was done. I loved that we have a sapphic relationship in the lead here, although I did fine the build to the romance a little off for what the story was.
I wanted more of the mother daughter relationship, and felt this was the strongest part that I would've loved to see throughout the novel instead of taking a back seat in the middle of the story. I felt it was the strongest connection between characters and I wanted more focus there.
Overall, a fun YA spooky story perfect for fans of Gallant and similar stories.