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anazap's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
bkmckown's review
3.0
There were some really great, creepy parts of this book but the overall feel was a little too fantasy or gothic romance for me. The idea of the house was interesting but some parts of the story really dragged.
toriana's review
challenging
dark
tense
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
4.0
Bridgerton meets The Haunting of Hill house in this novel that will surely pull you out of your recent reading slump
beccam2012's review
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.75
bookmarkedbyheather's review against another edition
5.0
This book surprised me, I honestly didn't think I would like this getting into it but overall i think this is another GREAT book by the magnificent Darcy Coates. What I loved most about this book is the romance that was growing between the two main characters while all this crazy thrilling shit is going on at the same time. I love all the characters in this book except for the crazy aunt, duh but what I liked most is i wasn't able to predict the secret that was hanging over their head. I like how it was kind of ghostly but also old folk lore at the same time. I love the gothic scene she portrayed and I am excited to read the second one!
megoosa09's review
3.0
I love Darcy Coates and while the plot of this story was interesting, the writing was cheesy when it involved relationships.
wordswritinstarlight's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Diverse cast of characters? No
3.0
This book was fine, I just wanted it to be…more? I feel like this book set all dials to about a 6 when it easily had the material to go to 11. It definitely gets points for the core concepts: I like Sophie as a protagonist for a Gothic horror, the premise of Northwood’s cursed vibe is really interesting, I would watch this movie. I just wanted more of essentially every element—this book feels almost like a film script that was rewritten into a novel. I wanted to see more of Joseph and Sophie’s relationship development, I wanted to see more of Elise’s whole deal, I wanted to see more of the horror of the house, I REALLY wanted to see more of Rose. Rose is easily my greatest complaint here—I love a genuinely deranged Gothic character, and Rose has great potential, but she’s just not onscreen enough to get into it! Show me the pathological greed and utter devotion! I want to see it! Ultimately, this book is sort of a cross between the movies Ready Or Not and Crimson Peak, and it mostly just made me want to watch one.
A couple additional notes about things that specifically bothered me:
A couple additional notes about things that specifically bothered me:
- There is NO sense of time in this book. I would believe you if you told me this book covers six months, I would believe you if you told me it took a week and a half start to finish. It progresses relationships like it’s been months, but also, the narration is pretty uninterrupted and I don’t think I missed any offhand “and then several months passed in this manner”, so in terms of time actually shown to pass it feels like it’s been a couple days. Sophie is
still getting lost in the house at the end of the book, so, I guess it hasn’t been that long? Unclear. - This book uses the word “cryptid” left, right, and center. The rest of the book is set with…passable accuracy as sort of a vaguely Regency situation, with the dresses and the carriages and the arranged marriages and the whole thing. I literally looked it up halfway through the book because “cryptid” felt so jarringly out of place, and the reason it feels that way is because it was coined in the 1980’s. This is such a petty complaint I almost feel bad about it, but it made me twitch like an anxious rabbit every time it was dropped into the writing. Just say “monster”. Also, similar notes about tiptoeing around discussing
Rose’s behavior as “madness” and using more modern terms like “mental instability”.
jordans_bias's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
xennial_reader's review
dark
fast-paced
3.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death and Gore
Minor: Sexual content