Reviews

The Haunting of Blackwood House by Darcy Coates

mouwuol's review against another edition

2.0

very very very below average.
My favourite genre (or sub genre i suppose) is supernatural horror set in houses AKA haunted houses.
I also love horror novels but this book just fell very flat.
The main character is not a good person, she treats everyone around her like trash (like shes yelled at multiple strangers she only just met because they didn't magically know about her childhood) and shes very very VERY dumb.

Comedy was thrown in at the worst times. I love comedy in horror novels (thank u stephen king) but not when your near death.. it just takes me out of the story and atmosphere.

Neil was a big pushover. Grow a backbone and stand up for yourself Neil...like seriously???

It read like a middle grade book which is not a good thing when the story is very gruesome and meant for adults.

Maybe i just read this during a bad time. I'm living through a natural disaster right now, my house might be submerged any day now and a lot of people have died from it so far so i was using this book as a distraction from everything going on around me which might of impacted me.
i was hoping this would scare me more than the heavy rain outside but no.


I read this in a rocking chair which is ironic as a rocking chair is a common occurrence in this book so whenever the creepy lady in the chair showed up.. it felt like i was her because i was also slowly rocking in a creaky rocking chair.. idk but it was fun lol

renae1299's review against another edition

adventurous funny mysterious tense slow-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

3.75

bookshelfinchaos's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional funny mysterious reflective sad tense fast-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

5.0

brii_brii's review against another edition

3.0

Overall, this was a pretty okay ghost story. 

A little bit lackluster. I kept waiting for the shoe to drop and a big twist to happen, but it never did. This was really more about Mara dealing with her childhood trauma and her relationship with Neil than it was a ghost story. 

I could have used more history on all of the people who died in the house. The little bits and bobs that were dropped along the way really didn't cut it for me. 

The suspense was never really there; I was never on the edge of my seat. It didn't give me a spooky scary vibe at all. 

Overall, it was a good ghost story. I did enjoy it, even if it wasn't as much as I usually love Coates’ stories. 

aurban's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional funny mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? N/A

5.0

jaselynn_23's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.25

clownmama's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.0

Extremely annoying, even unlikable, main character, Mara. Her milk toast boyfriend, Neil, is really not that much better. Feels kinda repetitive at times, the main action is really only in the last quarter of the book. 

imyerhero's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious sad tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.0

la_carsia's review against another edition

1.0

I hated this book and it felt like a chore to get through! I can’t stand a dumb/stubborn af MC. Obviously ghosts are real! Who else is in the empty rocking chair going back and forth, walking in the attic at exactly 11:15 every night, and I don’t know.. the man hanging from the bannister that is there one minute and gone the next? Just old house things, am I right? Sheeesh.

DC dropped the ball with this one.

madalinaelena's review

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? Yes

3.75