3.5 rounded up.
4 friends go to a haunted house *on purpose* because a bride-to-be wants to elope in one. The connective tissue in this is without a doubt, tenuous. Their past history comprised of various dalliances and lives cut short and diverted stokes their inner turmoil, and when they decide to try and wake up the house, marital problems and past history become the least of their worries.

Let’s start with what didn’t work so I can end happily.

It is very meta and self-aware, which is a stylistic thing. It’s not for me. The whole, people who know they’re in a horror movie thing but actions have their own momentum so being aware that you’re acting out a kind of play doesn’t help whatsoever. Coupled with thin connective tissue though, this feels more contrived than an effective device.

Eventually, after the 6th Why Are We Here?, We’re in a movie, and What We Are Doing Doesn’t Make Any Sense, I tended to agree. I think this would have been loads better without the meta component and a more effective lead-up than them just being in the house.

However, there’s plenty I did like about it, too.

Atmospherically and outside of the meta component this shows really fine craftwork. Diction, specificity, verbiage, and simile use are all so good. Some of the most evocative prose around, especially when revealing character, and I include the house here as well.

Plot-wise, it’s… unconventional I’ll say. Sometimes it conforms to even the meta-perspective of how a horror story goes, sometimes it doesn’t. It’s effective at keeping you guessing but fulfilling tropes genre seekers will want. I particularly liked the third act and how it closed out.

As a sum of its parts it comes out ahead, and just to underline how great the prose work is, I boosted it up. I really loved that aspect of it. Had it ended poorly, just from the pleasure of reading it, I might have decided on 3 stars anyways. That’s how consistently good it was.

Definitely worth picking up when it drops and thanks to Netgalley for sending it to me.