shereadytoread's Reviews (806)

This book is a great example of YA horror that works. Following four female protagonists in a quest to save a loved one, and hopefully everyone else, from a haunted mine that has been ruining (and taking lives) in their town for decades. This book genuinely creeped me out toward the end and I took a small break but wanted to keep reading because it was so engrossing. It's not often that I am genuinely scared by YA/MG horrors. It's fast-paced and keeps you guessing what will happen next. 

Pros: 
- horror without being overly violent or gory 
- strong female friendships 
- different personalities that mesh well and each have strengths 
- fun little interludes that lighten the tone without seeming out of place in the book 
- manages to show complex emotions of teens without reading as melodramatic 

 

Riley Sager excels at setting a creepy atmosphere and this book is no exception. The building of tension was really good as the reader follows Jules in her journey at The Bartholomew. The ending twist is definitely not one I saw coming (and it's a little out there), but by setting the book both as flashbacks and the current time, the reader is able to try to piece together what happened.

Pros:
- creepy atmosphere
- great gothic setting
- plot twist that was actually surprising

Cons:
- the "too good to be true" aspect makes the main character a little unbelievable
- the scale of the twist took away from it a bit

 

A good classic haunted house story. The book takes place in the past (not specified but before cars) but the dialogue seemed very modern which interrupted the flow for me a bit as the dialogue and descriptions didn't always line up. Overall it had good build up, a small twist and a few genuinely creepy moments. The story was pretty fast-paced which made the story a better read in my opinion.