absolutely ADDICTED to this young man book... so let me wax poetics real quick

A slow burn of a sort... I wasn't fully convinced this book would be for me. But just like the weird intricacies of the house, this story opens its doors to you and only comes more and more alive the further you read (rising to a complete drencher of a final half that grips your hand and begs you not to wash away) (I say that with affection). I believe it is a book for the peculiars about the peculiar, and it should be allowed to exist as that.

Alix E. Harrow's prose is INCREDIBLE. She has a rare ability to control language in just the right way, so it fits perfectly into this strange, haunting world she has created. It forces the reader to taste each sentence and hold it on their tongue before swallowing. A magical storm that makes me want to live in this world and run miles from it (a true mystification that can only exist in estranged Kentucky towns).

All that's to say, I was charmed by this book, and it is probably The Halloween read if you are looking for a haunted house filled with ghosts or guardian angels and characters that show themselves as hazards or safe havens--depending on where you are in the story.

It's some good stuff, people! goooood stuff!