Take a photo of a barcode or cover
daniellegorman's Reviews (411)
.jpg)
emotional
funny
hopeful
fast-paced
warning: this book starts with a truly WILD scene that paints our female lead in a pretty ugly light. while i think her overall anger and disappointment are justified... her actions were... yeah... not great. she grew on me as the story continued (and the main characters learned how to communicate), but i could see how people may feel turned off by this book almost immediately.
outside of the first half, i think i just found this to be mostly underwhelming. the characters, the plot, the horror elements, and romantic story were all (to me) overall forgettable. i cared for the characters to get together, but then couldn't seem to care about them after that. i was intrigued by the spooky house, but then felt bored at the climax of the book. i liked the side characters at the very start, but then they just became annoying (and flat) versions of the initial characters i met. or maybe they were always like that and i just had rose colored glasses on during the first 50% (i was desperate to root for a character. ANY character).
however, i think that Colby Wilken's can write very addicting prose. i can see her having a great catalog of weird books like this in her future (and i always appreciate someone willing to take a stab at an odd romcom premise). will be willing to check her out in the future!
outside of the first half, i think i just found this to be mostly underwhelming. the characters, the plot, the horror elements, and romantic story were all (to me) overall forgettable. i cared for the characters to get together, but then couldn't seem to care about them after that. i was intrigued by the spooky house, but then felt bored at the climax of the book. i liked the side characters at the very start, but then they just became annoying (and flat) versions of the initial characters i met. or maybe they were always like that and i just had rose colored glasses on during the first 50% (i was desperate to root for a character. ANY character).
however, i think that Colby Wilken's can write very addicting prose. i can see her having a great catalog of weird books like this in her future (and i always appreciate someone willing to take a stab at an odd romcom premise). will be willing to check her out in the future!
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!
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!