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3.48 AVERAGE
3.48 AVERAGE
dark
emotional
funny
mysterious
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
dark
Hmmm… how to write this review…
Ok, first- what a quirky idea for a plot! It’s essentially “The Bachelor” goes to a haunted house.
I enjoyed characters/contestants’ voices and narratives, the behind-the-scenes absurdity of the reality TV show, and some of the creepy scenes.
However, the narrative gets a little bogged down & repetitive for about the first 3/4 I’d say. Then the last 1/4 is totally bananas. There needs to be more to the backstory of the house, and its relation to one of the characters. Linda’s and Sabrina’s histories could be clarified more. Even as the reader seems to be getting some answers I could only keep asking myself “What? Why? How?”
Some of the transitions/scenes felt a bit off- I wasn’t sure if this was on purpose to create confusion or if parts had been cut out by accident. There are a fair amount of background characters to keep track of and some of what happened to them made no sense to me.
This is definitely a great story to read if you’re looking for alternatives to a classic/gothic haunting.
Ok, first- what a quirky idea for a plot! It’s essentially “The Bachelor” goes to a haunted house.
I enjoyed characters/contestants’ voices and narratives, the behind-the-scenes absurdity of the reality TV show, and some of the creepy scenes.
However, the narrative gets a little bogged down & repetitive for about the first 3/4 I’d say. Then the last 1/4 is totally bananas. There needs to be more to the backstory of the house, and its relation to one of the characters. Linda’s and Sabrina’s histories could be clarified more. Even as the reader seems to be getting some answers I could only keep asking myself “What? Why? How?”
Some of the transitions/scenes felt a bit off- I wasn’t sure if this was on purpose to create confusion or if parts had been cut out by accident. There are a fair amount of background characters to keep track of and some of what happened to them made no sense to me.
This is definitely a great story to read if you’re looking for alternatives to a classic/gothic haunting.
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
dark
mysterious
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Medical content, Alcohol, Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Alcoholism, Domestic abuse, Mental illness, Sexual content
Minor: Death of parent, Murder, Lesbophobia
I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily. This was such an odd book. If you like very campy, slightly awkward, steamy romance, AND campy horror, you might find this enjoyable. I can enjoy campy horror, but I got quite tired with the awkward romance elements and the repeated use of a specific word. I did read to the end because I wanted to know the end of the horror plot. The balance of the narrative felt off with the first half of the book spent on the reality show drama, then the rest focused on the campy supernatural horror plot. It was kind of weird and fun at times, but dragged significantly at others. Because of this imbalance, and another storytelling choice related to the character Linda that I can't share without divulging a spoiler, I think I can't give it more than 2 stars. I hate to leave a bad review, but it was honestly not working for me.
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Loveable characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
dark
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
This was ….strange lmao. The dating show aspect is what drew me in initially and that part of it was very spot on.
Idk how to explain this, but the story is unhinged and progressively gets more unhinged as it goes on. Almost none of the characters themselves are like ….particularly likable but you can see how they all ended up here. Everyone being low key crazy sort of made this better. It actually did feel like watching a tv show lol.
The romance aspects, some of them were shocking and some of them were expected but idk the mix of horror/romance is sort of iconic and more writers should explore that.
The horror part of this was gross and some of the scenes honestly made me feel weird lmaooo so like 10/10 on that. Like I said, it was just unhinged in the best sort of way.
I think the writing could’ve been a little crisper, as some of the sentences and scenes didnt really make sense to me and I had to re-read a few times to make it through but overall it was a pretty solid debut.
I would say if you like weird shit definitely read this lol.
Idk how to explain this, but the story is unhinged and progressively gets more unhinged as it goes on. Almost none of the characters themselves are like ….particularly likable but you can see how they all ended up here. Everyone being low key crazy sort of made this better. It actually did feel like watching a tv show lol.
The romance aspects, some of them were shocking and some of them were expected but idk the mix of horror/romance is sort of iconic and more writers should explore that.
The horror part of this was gross and some of the scenes honestly made me feel weird lmaooo so like 10/10 on that. Like I said, it was just unhinged in the best sort of way.
I think the writing could’ve been a little crisper, as some of the sentences and scenes didnt really make sense to me and I had to re-read a few times to make it through but overall it was a pretty solid debut.
I would say if you like weird shit definitely read this lol.
What I LOVED about this book:
-Short chapters and accessible, breezy storytelling
-Poking holes in the fake narrative of reality tv shows like The Bachelor
-The back & forth POVs
-The character development and the way Sabrina & Linda were very distinct with their own voice & behavior. I loved the antagonist, Deja as well
-Horror centered around a reality TV show like The Bachelor, is brilliant. Lots of opportunities for connecting with readers who are familiar with shows like that and poking fun at it, I loved that!
What didn’t quite work:
-The sex scenes were great, at first, but then I felt like there were too many
-Once the show moves locations and they’re at the haunted house, I was hoping the focus would shift to the supernatural or paranormal—center on the horror but it stayed pretty zeroed in on the relationship dynamics (like Nothing But Blackened Teeth by Cassandra Khaw)
-The middle gets bogged down a little with some repetition and circular situations/circumstances
-I didn’t quite understand the backstory of the house and the connection to one of the characters—I feel like the origin story of the house needed its own story within a story segment
-I was obsessed with the first & second act, the execution on the back half just wasn’t quite there but I will 1,000% recommend this book for niche reading lists and specific tropes and read more by Bonnie Jo Stufflebeam!
-Short chapters and accessible, breezy storytelling
-Poking holes in the fake narrative of reality tv shows like The Bachelor
-The back & forth POVs
-The character development and the way Sabrina & Linda were very distinct with their own voice & behavior. I loved the antagonist, Deja as well
-Horror centered around a reality TV show like The Bachelor, is brilliant. Lots of opportunities for connecting with readers who are familiar with shows like that and poking fun at it, I loved that!
What didn’t quite work:
-The sex scenes were great, at first, but then I felt like there were too many
-Once the show moves locations and they’re at the haunted house, I was hoping the focus would shift to the supernatural or paranormal—center on the horror but it stayed pretty zeroed in on the relationship dynamics (like Nothing But Blackened Teeth by Cassandra Khaw)
-The middle gets bogged down a little with some repetition and circular situations/circumstances
-I didn’t quite understand the backstory of the house and the connection to one of the characters—I feel like the origin story of the house needed its own story within a story segment
-I was obsessed with the first & second act, the execution on the back half just wasn’t quite there but I will 1,000% recommend this book for niche reading lists and specific tropes and read more by Bonnie Jo Stufflebeam!