ancarroll5's review
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
4.0
This book reminds me alot of the Lost Apothecary with a little more spooky vibes…I also enjoyed TLA so if you have read that and liked it you will love this because it was better on my opinion
michelareads's review
dark
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? N/A
4.0
When her mother passes away, Mel and her husband find out that she left them a property in West Virginia: it's a beautiful old house, in the middle of the hills, isolated and with no reception but incredibly charming. Since they both need a change, they decide to move. But during the renovations, they start noticing weird events in the house and Mel, now pregnant and scared, questions her mental health. But the past can't stay hidden forever and Mel is determined to understand what is really going on in her house and put an end to it.
Who doesn't love a haunted house? It's a classic trope of the horror genre, certainly not very original, but one of my favorites. If you're like me and enjoy dark atmospheres and feeling chills down your spine, while also being charmed by an intriguing plot, then The Hills Know by Breanna Leslie needs to be on your TBR. The reader follows Mel in her "investigation": she is looking for information about the tragic past of the house she inherited, and at the same time she is exploring her mental state, her feelings during pregnancy and her relationship with her husband. I didn't always agree with Mel's choices, as she often remains at the mercy of the events without reacting or asking for help, but luckily I don't need to like a character to enjoy a story. I think the main (little) issue I had with this narrator is that she explains most of the unusual events she witnesses as consequence of her "pregnancy hormones": the reader is well aware she's pregnant, she doesn't have to repeat "pregnancy hormones" 100 times.
Having said that, my favorite thing about this novel is that it almost reads as a movie: I could picture every single scene and character in my head, and for me this is proof that The Hills Know is a great book. I finished it in less than a day, it's well written and I couldn't put it down (it's also not very long). Overall I really enjoyed it, and I would recommend it to all horror and suspense lovers.
4 stars.
TW: violence, death, abuse
* I'd like to thank Breanna Leslie and Reedsy Discovery for providing this ARC in exchange for my honest review.
Who doesn't love a haunted house? It's a classic trope of the horror genre, certainly not very original, but one of my favorites. If you're like me and enjoy dark atmospheres and feeling chills down your spine, while also being charmed by an intriguing plot, then The Hills Know by Breanna Leslie needs to be on your TBR. The reader follows Mel in her "investigation": she is looking for information about the tragic past of the house she inherited, and at the same time she is exploring her mental state, her feelings during pregnancy and her relationship with her husband. I didn't always agree with Mel's choices, as she often remains at the mercy of the events without reacting or asking for help, but luckily I don't need to like a character to enjoy a story. I think the main (little) issue I had with this narrator is that she explains most of the unusual events she witnesses as consequence of her "pregnancy hormones": the reader is well aware she's pregnant, she doesn't have to repeat "pregnancy hormones" 100 times.
Having said that, my favorite thing about this novel is that it almost reads as a movie: I could picture every single scene and character in my head, and for me this is proof that The Hills Know is a great book. I finished it in less than a day, it's well written and I couldn't put it down (it's also not very long). Overall I really enjoyed it, and I would recommend it to all horror and suspense lovers.
4 stars.
TW: violence, death, abuse
* I'd like to thank Breanna Leslie and Reedsy Discovery for providing this ARC in exchange for my honest review.
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