3 Stars

One Liner: Got potential but tries to be too many things

 

1942 

Ellen is a young Irish nurse who arrives at the May Day House to help soldiers recover from the trauma of the war and send them back. However, the treatment methods are doubtful, and Ellen is not sure. She also realizes that she has to sort her life first. 

2013-14 

Meredith falls in love with the half-damaged May Day House. She and Philip put all their money into buying the house and hope for a fresh start. However, things aren’t going as per the plan. Meredith finds comfort in reading a lost notebook from the WWII times but what happens when reality knocks on the door? 

The story comes in the third-person POV of Meredith in the contemporary track and Ellen in the past timeline. 

My Thoughts:  

I enjoy books with dual timelines, even if one track works better than the other. This book promises a blend of history, mystery, drama, gothic atmosphere, and some romance (it is marked as general fiction, historical, and romance on NetGalley). 

The results are mixed, so here’s what I liked – 

The setting has terrific potential. The initial vibes of an ancient house on a small island in the River Thames are spot on. It is chilly, darkish, and alluring. 

The historical timeline deals with war patients but with a twist. Here, those suffering from psychological trauma are ‘healed’ and sent back to fight the war. The focus is not on healing but on doing anything that would make the soldier eligible enough to fight again. 

The prologue hooks the reader with a promise of paranormal and mystery. Also, the prologue is not an extract from later chapters but the beginning of the book. That’s how it should be. 

The book deals with heavy themes but doesn’t make things graphic. We get enough information about what happened. I appreciate this. No excessive detail to shock the readers. 

However, there are quite a few aspects that could have been better – 

Characters are the core of the book. We need to connect with or at least feel something for the main characters. Here, it was impossible to do so with Meredith and Philip. I could feel a little for Ellen, but even that wasn’t much. 

Most of the time, it seems as if they are mediocre actors enacting a script on the stage and mouthing dialogues for the sake of it. 

Contemporary thrillers specialize in TSTL heroines. While the book doesn’t belong to that genre, the FMC does. My eyes got more-than-good exercise from all that rolling. 

The setting’s potential is not fully exploited. After the gothic feel in the beginning, it becomes just another dilapidated house with too much mess. I couldn’t see why someone would love it so much. 

The paranormal touch is another aspect. It’s there but not there, but still there. Confused? Yep, that’s how it is; as if no one was sure if the book should go that route or not. Deciding on this would have helped the book (a lot). 

The connection between the two timelines does make sense, but it could have benefitted from more emotion for the main characters. This could have been achieved if the previous aspect had been better handled. 

The pacing is uneven, with a slow beginning. Moreover, some characters have a 180-degree change by the end, which almost comes out of nowhere. Similarly, the reveals were just okayish. 

The author’s note is informative, though. 

To summarize, The House in the Water has an intriguing premise but doesn’t translate to the final output. It tries to be quite a few things at the same time, which dilutes the core. I’m a bit on the outliner island now, so this may appeal to you. 

Thank you, Rachel's Random Resources and Boldwood Books, for eARC. This review is voluntary and contains my honest opinion about the book. 

#NetGalley