laurav's review
3.0
[Actual rating 2.5]
I was initially intrigued by this book because it sounded really interesting: I mean, haunted asylum. Unfortunately, I found myself ultimately disappointed by the book.
While it was interesting and intriguing and I was initially sucked in, I found that the further along I got in the book, the more annoyed I became. The scares were good, but the plot twist became painfully obvious very early on. The book just dragged on and on though, and the plot twist (which, again, very obvious) came at the end, and then I still had to slog through twenty more pages of repetitive wrap-up.
The characters were so-so and while I initially liked Phineas, the more the book went on, the more annoying he became. The sarcastic comments stopped being funny and started being obnoxious. Mason I didn’t mind, but his non-believing shtick got tiresome.
I felt that the book could have been a lot shorter than it was, and that a lot of the middle portion was draggy and repetitive. I was really disappointed because I had expected a lot more from it and it had seemed to start off really well, but by the end, I simply wanted it over and I wound up just skimming the last eighty-some pages.
I was initially intrigued by this book because it sounded really interesting: I mean, haunted asylum. Unfortunately, I found myself ultimately disappointed by the book.
While it was interesting and intriguing and I was initially sucked in, I found that the further along I got in the book, the more annoyed I became. The scares were good, but the plot twist became painfully obvious very early on. The book just dragged on and on though, and the plot twist (which, again, very obvious) came at the end, and then I still had to slog through twenty more pages of repetitive wrap-up.
The characters were so-so and while I initially liked Phineas, the more the book went on, the more annoying he became. The sarcastic comments stopped being funny and started being obnoxious. Mason I didn’t mind, but his non-believing shtick got tiresome.
I felt that the book could have been a lot shorter than it was, and that a lot of the middle portion was draggy and repetitive. I was really disappointed because I had expected a lot more from it and it had seemed to start off really well, but by the end, I simply wanted it over and I wound up just skimming the last eighty-some pages.
silverdire's review
1.0
I apologize if this review seems overly harsh but I feel the need to give an explanation for a one-star review. There's no point in giving one unless you lay out your reasons.
To start, I *love* haunted/abandoned asylum stories. There's nothing more spooky to me than the thought of ghosts who were possibly dangerous before they died. Unfortunately, there wasn't anything spooky in the almost 400 pages of this book. I thought I figured out all of the plot twists towards the beginning but decided it couldn't possibly be that transparent so I kept reading. Then I started skipping several chapters at a time and realized I hadn't missed anything. Then I skipped around 100 pages and found out everything I'd guessed at the beginning was the "big reveal".
Soul Asylum is an idea that could have been effective as a creepy short story but there is no reason on god's green earth it needed to be book-length, much less clocking in at almost 400 pages. The entire story was an excuse for a plot twist which is extremely frustrating for this reader.
(note to the authors: if you happen to see this, I don't think you're bad writers. You had a love story, a scary backdrop and the chance to explore the deplorable prejudices of the time. Leave out the gimmicks and focus on the heart of the story and/or scaring the bejeezus out of the reader.)
To start, I *love* haunted/abandoned asylum stories. There's nothing more spooky to me than the thought of ghosts who were possibly dangerous before they died. Unfortunately, there wasn't anything spooky in the almost 400 pages of this book. I thought I figured out all of the plot twists towards the beginning but decided it couldn't possibly be that transparent so I kept reading. Then I started skipping several chapters at a time and realized I hadn't missed anything. Then I skipped around 100 pages and found out everything I'd guessed at the beginning was the "big reveal".
Soul Asylum is an idea that could have been effective as a creepy short story but there is no reason on god's green earth it needed to be book-length, much less clocking in at almost 400 pages. The entire story was an excuse for a plot twist which is extremely frustrating for this reader.
(note to the authors: if you happen to see this, I don't think you're bad writers. You had a love story, a scary backdrop and the chance to explore the deplorable prejudices of the time. Leave out the gimmicks and focus on the heart of the story and/or scaring the bejeezus out of the reader.)
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