fleeno's review
4.0
Imagine you have the mother in law from hell.
She is nasty, vindictive, cruel, and manipulative. Then she dies and as awful as it sounds, you think "Thank God, we are free". But then your husband starts acting strange, you hear voices, smell perfume, and wouldn't you know it, you're not free. You're being haunted by the mother in law from hell.
This is what happens to Abby and Ralph. Abby has come from a broken home and has always longed for a family. Despite everything Ralph tells her about his mother Laura, Abby still hopes she can win her over when they move in to help. When Laura dies Abby assumes they will be able to move out and start their own family, but with Laura haunting the basement and Ralph going slowly mad, a baby seems out of reach.
This isn't your typical haunted house horror, there aren't the jump scares but there is a building sense of tension through the novel. The real horror comes from the mental illness that plagues first Laura, then Ralph and Abby. This story isn't just about the haunting of Laura, it is about what it means to be a mother and how dysfunctional parents, can make dysfunctional adults. I felt really bad for Abby (even though she is a little nuts) she has such hope and sadness.
The story can be a little slow paced and surprisingly this book is also full of dark humour - which won't be for everyone! I really enjoyed this book, it was so original, weird, and funny. And the ending.....oh that ending... shocking, hillarious, terrifying, brilliant.
She is nasty, vindictive, cruel, and manipulative. Then she dies and as awful as it sounds, you think "Thank God, we are free". But then your husband starts acting strange, you hear voices, smell perfume, and wouldn't you know it, you're not free. You're being haunted by the mother in law from hell.
This is what happens to Abby and Ralph. Abby has come from a broken home and has always longed for a family. Despite everything Ralph tells her about his mother Laura, Abby still hopes she can win her over when they move in to help. When Laura dies Abby assumes they will be able to move out and start their own family, but with Laura haunting the basement and Ralph going slowly mad, a baby seems out of reach.
This isn't your typical haunted house horror, there aren't the jump scares but there is a building sense of tension through the novel. The real horror comes from the mental illness that plagues first Laura, then Ralph and Abby. This story isn't just about the haunting of Laura, it is about what it means to be a mother and how dysfunctional parents, can make dysfunctional adults. I felt really bad for Abby (even though she is a little nuts) she has such hope and sadness.
The story can be a little slow paced and surprisingly this book is also full of dark humour - which won't be for everyone! I really enjoyed this book, it was so original, weird, and funny. And the ending.....oh that ending... shocking, hillarious, terrifying, brilliant.
waypenel's review against another edition
challenging
dark
funny
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Loveable characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.75
memorylent's review
dark
emotional
funny
tense
fast-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
5.0
lisainletters's review
dark
funny
fast-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
5.0
audrey2909's review
dark
funny
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
mothgirlie's review
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
bessies_books's review against another edition
dark
funny
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
em_harring's review
3.0
2.5 stars rounded up.
Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for an e-arc of the novel!
This novel, unfortunately, suffers from mis-marketing. I would not call this a horror novel. I'd call it a literary fiction with horror elements (which really only appear at the end). The synopsis definitely makes it sound like it's going to be more of a ghost story than it is.
This is a novel written in an absurd, over the top way á la Melissa Broder. It's not really fun reading from the main character's POV, because while it seems like she thinks she's just quirky and a little weird, she's deeply, deeply entrenched in her depression and trauma. It's hard to read, sometimes, because it's so clear to the reader how much she needs help, but how okay she thinks she is. And when she comes to the conclusion she's not okay, it's in a way that she thinks services her husband. It's uncomfortable.
And the middle section really drags. This is a relatively short novel, but I think the story would have been better told in a novella format. It would have made the story tighter and cut out all of the repetition, of which there is a lot.
Overall, I can't say I enjoyed my time with this novel. It just made me uncomfortable, and not in a way that's particularly helpful. I just really wanted someone to tell the main character to get a therapist.
Can't say I would recommend.
Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for an e-arc of the novel!
This novel, unfortunately, suffers from mis-marketing. I would not call this a horror novel. I'd call it a literary fiction with horror elements (which really only appear at the end). The synopsis definitely makes it sound like it's going to be more of a ghost story than it is.
Spoiler
The ghost is depression. Shocking.This is a novel written in an absurd, over the top way á la Melissa Broder. It's not really fun reading from the main character's POV, because while it seems like she thinks she's just quirky and a little weird, she's deeply, deeply entrenched in her depression and trauma. It's hard to read, sometimes, because it's so clear to the reader how much she needs help, but how okay she thinks she is. And when she comes to the conclusion she's not okay, it's in a way that she thinks services her husband. It's uncomfortable.
And the middle section really drags. This is a relatively short novel, but I think the story would have been better told in a novella format. It would have made the story tighter and cut out all of the repetition, of which there is a lot.
Overall, I can't say I enjoyed my time with this novel. It just made me uncomfortable, and not in a way that's particularly helpful. I just really wanted someone to tell the main character to get a therapist.
Can't say I would recommend.