I'm trying to think of something good to say about this book and nothing comes to mind. It is just terrible throughout.

First, the writing is very odd, almost as if it's a very unsuccessful translation or written by someone who is not a native English speaker.

Secondly, the blurb promises a story about the russification of Finland in 1902, which is not what it actually is. Instead, more than 50% of the book is a completely unrelated story about a 47-year-old doctor who is horny for a 16-year-old girl who he hires as his servant. The other portion is just unrelated chapters where nothing of importance happens. The author tried to create some political subplot (which should have been the FOCUS of the story), but it was basically incoherent rambling that went nowhere.

It's quite literally a book about nothing. She doesn't even provide any historical context to guide the reader and I suspect it's because she didn't know it either. The entire story feels like a wasted opportunity because no research was done to give it any substance.

The poor excuse for a story we do get in this book is underdeveloped, aimless, disconnected and jumpy. Take the doctor, for example. He sees Eeva once, hires him as his servant, ogles him a few times and suddenly he's presented as tormented by love. What love? There is nothing in the story to make the reader feel that it's anything other than a sudden onset of perverted horniness for a girl who could be his child.

Thirdly, the characters were all flat and had a one-track mind. All they did was live in their head and their inner monologue was identical. Even their own thoughts didn't develop from chapter to chapter.

And lastly, why is this titled House of Orphans? The orphanage was a minor part of the story and nothing was done with it. It served as filler for the doctor's parts, maybe to make him more likable so we'd forget he's an absolute pervert. 

I was not at all enthusiastic going into this because I normally do not like Moominpapa as a character, but it quickly became my favourite (so far) in the series. We get to know a ton of new characters and learn about the origins of Snufkin and Sniff. Little My makes her first appearance and immediately starts causing mayhem. It's just such a fun, lighthearted adventure story. 

omg what a ride! The story pulled me in really fast. I loved getting these little pieces of information throughout and attempting to put them together (I failed). I maybe would have liked a little bit of a different ending, but it's also fine as is. 

You ever read a book and once everything is revealed, you feel like something just isn't adding up, even though you can't exactly put your finger on it? This is how The Haunting of Ashburn House left me feeling. The reveal raised so many questions, and while some of them were answered at some point, the explanations felt flimsy, which made the foundation of the book shaky.

The biggest things that I'm still wondering are:

1. Why was Eleanor an adult? She died as a child, so, logically, her undead body would be that of a child.

2. Why didn't Edith just leave? Eleanor started scrabbling out of her grave only when she went back to the house at 18, and after Edith's death, once Adrienne was at the house. So it seems a family member's presence in the house is the trigger. She didn't seem interested in other people. Otherwise she could've massacred anyone and gotten back her strength + more years. It had to be family.

3. I'm highly doubting that Edith would've left that important letter in the house and not to her lawyer/whoever handled her will. Her house was cleaned up after death (Who did it all? It would make sense if Adrienne had been contacted to take care of her funeral arrangements, but it was conveniently all done without her even knowing where Edith was buried) so there was high chance it could've been lost. She would not have risked it with that much at stake.

4. Edith said her memory was starting to fail her as she aged, hence the carved messages. And yet she remembered to get the paper every single day.

5. Edith said that Eleanor's powers were affected by what she believed. That means she could have made herself believe all kinds of things to make herself stronger.

6. Edith learned all those things about Eleanor, so one would assume that the four adults in the house had as well, so how could none of them overpower her, yet Edith - a child - could? And why were Eleanor's burnt-to-ashes remains conveniently left out of the story Adrienne was told at the café?

I could probably continue the list for a while. It wasn't horrible, it was kind of entertaining and I enjoyed reading it for most of the time, but the overall experience was underwhelming and the book is clearly full of holes. 

I enjoyed it at first, but my enjoyment quickly waned as I kept reading. And pretty soon, reading this book felt like wandering around in the shadow Gallant – dull and lifeless.

At the beginning, the writing seemed beautiful, but then it started feeling really forced and frilly. It was also reminiscent more of a fairy tale than a fantasy novel – key information was conveniently left out so as not to have to explain anything. Everything was simplified and the reasoning never went beyond 'just because'.

She doesn't give the reader any information. What's the history of this place? How and why did it come to be? Why is it all happening? Who's the man beyond the wall and what's his plan? No clue! There was just NOTHING of substance to make this story good. And the repetitions, my god. If you cut them out, there's barely anything left of the book.

Perhaps the weirdest thing was that even though the book doesn't read exactly juvenile, I was flabbergasted to find out that Olivia was 16, not a little child. Even after I found out her age, I kept imagining a child because that's how her character came across.

I've enjoyed everything else I've read by V.E. Schwab, but this was a huge flop for me. 

I'm at a loss for words. I loved it SO MUCH!

An amazing idea with a powerful message and superb execution. I had so many questions in the first half and worried that I wouldn't get answers, but she delivers.

If you like The Hunger Games, The Handmaid's Tale and Yellowjackets (the series), you will likely love this as much as I did. I'm a fan of standalones, but I'm really hoping for a sequel or even a trilogy, because this was really fast-paced and I'd love to spend more time with Tierney. 

Really enjoyed this thriller. I found the story original and different from ones I've previously read in the genre. What I loved most was the fact that the police team in the book was not the usual bunch of toxic men you see in thrillers and crime novels. Instead, Peter James has written men who display emotional intelligence, who aren't afraid to show their emotions and who don't act like women in their life are nothing more than a ball and chain, except of course their pretty co-workers whom they love to ogle.

A big part of my enjoyment came from the simplicity of the story. It was clear very early who the bad guy was and I loved being able to see the team reach the same knowledge. I also liked the little side plot with Grace's ex-wife, as it definitely left me wanting to continue the series to find out what the deal is.

The only negative for me was the amount of filler and repetitions that bulked up the book unnecessarily. 

Unique and interesting premise and great execution. One small thing I wasn't very keen on throughout the book was the vilification of China, Ukraine and Russia in this entire game and emphasising the idea that UK has had higher standards and regulations from the get go. Whether intended or not, it came off xenophobic and/or chauvinistic.

The ending was also a little too 'and then they lived happily ever after' for me. I think the story would have benefited from

Susan dying

tbh.