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enchantressreads's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
“Maybe memory was a kind of haunting in itself.”
All the Dead Lie Down is the gothic haunting story I didn’t know I was missing.
Marin Blythe has recently lost her mother, the only person she really had. After living a life of constantly moving, she has the chance to settle down at Lovelace House in coastal Maine, owned by Alice Lovelace, an acclaimed horror author. Alice is not some random woman, however; Marin’s mother Cordelia and Alice actually grew up together. Marin, anxious to a fault, tries to use this to keep a connection to her mother.
Alice’s two youngest girls, Wren and Thea, keep Marin on her toes with seemingly harmless pranks. Soon, the eldest daughter, Evie, comes home, and things move more into scary territory. Not only does the house seem haunted, but the very land itself. Marin sees some things she can’t explain, and doesn’t want to explain. As she grows closer to Evie, Marin has to face her fears in order to stay with this ethereal girl she’s grown fond of.
I originally requested this book because of the cover, but as soon as I read it was being marketed as similar to The Haunting of Bly Manor, I knew I would enjoy it. I didn’t realize it was YA at first, and while I have no issue with YA, I feel it could have gone a little further had it been adult. It still doesn’t shy from the horror, though. Be aware, this book contains a lot of animal death. If you’re squeamish, I would maybe sit this one out.
Thank you to NetGalley and Katherine Tegen Books for the chance to read this advanced review copy. I look forward to reading more Kyrie McCauley in the future.
CW for death, animal death, animal cruelty, death of parent, blood, gore, body horror, panic attacks, mental illness/anxiety, stalking, and emotional abuse
All the Dead Lie Down is the gothic haunting story I didn’t know I was missing.
Marin Blythe has recently lost her mother, the only person she really had. After living a life of constantly moving, she has the chance to settle down at Lovelace House in coastal Maine, owned by Alice Lovelace, an acclaimed horror author. Alice is not some random woman, however; Marin’s mother Cordelia and Alice actually grew up together. Marin, anxious to a fault, tries to use this to keep a connection to her mother.
Alice’s two youngest girls, Wren and Thea, keep Marin on her toes with seemingly harmless pranks. Soon, the eldest daughter, Evie, comes home, and things move more into scary territory. Not only does the house seem haunted, but the very land itself. Marin sees some things she can’t explain, and doesn’t want to explain. As she grows closer to Evie, Marin has to face her fears in order to stay with this ethereal girl she’s grown fond of.
I originally requested this book because of the cover, but as soon as I read it was being marketed as similar to The Haunting of Bly Manor, I knew I would enjoy it. I didn’t realize it was YA at first, and while I have no issue with YA, I feel it could have gone a little further had it been adult. It still doesn’t shy from the horror, though. Be aware, this book contains a lot of animal death. If you’re squeamish, I would maybe sit this one out.
Thank you to NetGalley and Katherine Tegen Books for the chance to read this advanced review copy. I look forward to reading more Kyrie McCauley in the future.
CW for death, animal death, animal cruelty, death of parent, blood, gore, body horror, panic attacks, mental illness/anxiety, stalking, and emotional abuse
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Death, Gore, Blood, and Grief
Moderate: Animal cruelty, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, and Death of parent
Minor: Emotional abuse and Stalking
gorejoyous's review
dark
mysterious
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.75
A queer gothic horror novel that explores grief and trauma set in (what is essentially) a haunted house? This book sounded exactly my speed.
The first half begins with creepy or unsettling occurances around the house but after we find out the cause in the second half—that's when the true horror begins (and where the story really hooked me). The relationship that blooms between Marin and Evie is touching and you really understand how deeply they care for each other. The writing is a little boring and clunky at times (not unexpected given that it's YA), but then you also get lines like:
The first half begins with creepy or unsettling occurances around the house but after we find out the cause in the second half—that's when the true horror begins (and where the story really hooked me). The relationship that blooms between Marin and Evie is touching and you really understand how deeply they care for each other. The writing is a little boring and clunky at times (not unexpected given that it's YA), but then you also get lines like:
"The way Marin's arms formed parenthesis around her. When Evier sighed against her neck, it was an apostrophe—in the possessive. And Marin knew all the words. She had been memorizing them for months."
Which is just *chef's kiss* the kind of romance perfect for the gothic horror genre. Aside from some pacing issues, I found the story compelling—it had me, in equal parts, on the edge of my seat and sighing forlornly, wishing that I too lived in a giant weird house full of dead things.
Thanks to HarperCollins Children's Books and NetGalley for the digital ARC!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Body horror, Death, Gore, Grief, Death of parent, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Animal cruelty, Panic attacks/disorders, Violence, Vomit, Kidnapping, and Stalking
Minor: Child death
loreofthebooks's review against another edition
4.0
Thank you to HarperCollins and NetGalley for an ARC!
Creepy, creepy, creepy! This is a YA horror novel that uses atmosphere and mystery to keep you hooked all the way through the book.
This is a much darker YA horror book, it contains a lot of death. The title pretty much says it all. This book certainly has some gothic horror undertones to it, past family secrets, graveyards, an ancient house...it has all those pieces. It reminded me very much like the Netflix show the Haunting of Hill House. So if you liked that, you'll probably enjoy this as well!
Marin was a great character, she was thrown into the middle of a mysterious family, and is a nanny for two children of an eccentric writer. It gets more convoluted from there, and I don't want to spoil too much of the book. Suffice to say it was good!
I really liked the plot of this book and how it played out. I couldn't put the book down; and there were moments I was going "WHAT?!" at the book.
There was also a sapphic relationship that was really sweet admist all the horror in this book.
All the Dead Lie Down is a twisty, mysterious, and thrilling horror book for all older audiences.
Creepy, creepy, creepy! This is a YA horror novel that uses atmosphere and mystery to keep you hooked all the way through the book.
This is a much darker YA horror book, it contains a lot of death. The title pretty much says it all. This book certainly has some gothic horror undertones to it, past family secrets, graveyards, an ancient house...it has all those pieces. It reminded me very much like the Netflix show the Haunting of Hill House. So if you liked that, you'll probably enjoy this as well!
Marin was a great character, she was thrown into the middle of a mysterious family, and is a nanny for two children of an eccentric writer. It gets more convoluted from there, and I don't want to spoil too much of the book. Suffice to say it was good!
I really liked the plot of this book and how it played out. I couldn't put the book down; and there were moments I was going "WHAT?!" at the book.
There was also a sapphic relationship that was really sweet admist all the horror in this book.
All the Dead Lie Down is a twisty, mysterious, and thrilling horror book for all older audiences.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gore
Moderate: Animal death, Child death, Death, and Death of parent
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