3.5 stars Overall, this was very enjoyable. I wish the gothic/horror elements had been more vivid, and I The cover is so creepy! SHE'S SMILING AT YOU.
3.5 stars Overall, this was very enjoyable. I wish the gothic/horror elements had been more vivid, and I thought I was going to love the ending (view spoiler)[I got excited when she returned to the villa because I thought omg, this is shades of Eleanor and The Haunting of Hill House and it would have been a much more worthy spiritual successor than A Haunting on the Hill(hide spoiler)], but the plot ended up being a bit more conventional than I had initially hoped. And while there are flashes of wry humor and some zingy comebacks, I wouldn't call this "wickedly funny," either. The humor is actually a bit tricky, because I'm not sure the balance with the darker stuff was there or was sustained in a consistent way, though it certainly does have its moments. (view spoiler)[The thwarted Italian ghost following her around was especially amusing. (hide spoiler)]
The dysfunctional family stuff is so well done, though, and I have a lot of affection for and identify with Anna in many ways. And after The Villa, my takeaway is that we Americans should think twice about renting massive vacation homes in Italy with our loved ones.
Audio Notes: I liked narrator Andi Arndt's calmness, and I am no fan of screechy hysterics, but when there were actual creepy things going on, I would have appreciated a little more technical skill in showing emotion now and again. ...more
The first third or so is excellent. The tone is somber, the writing is evocative, the setting is isolated, and most women will understand the anxiety The first third or so is excellent. The tone is somber, the writing is evocative, the setting is isolated, and most women will understand the anxiety and pain of what the characters are going through.
It loses its way after the set-up, however, and never fully regains its urgency or depth of feeling. I really wish this had gone through a couple more rounds of edits to punch up the plot, enrich the character arcs, and more fully explore the fraught themes presented. This promises to take you to a devastating place, but leaves you a few stops short of that experience.
Categorizing this is difficult, too, it’s sort of a dystopian set-up but it’s supposed to take place in the forties—but it doesn’t really feel of that time period, either. And it approaches The Yellow Wallpaper-type psychological horror, but abandons that far too quickly.
Trigger warnings, obviously, for difficult pregnancy, childbirth, and loss.
Audio Notes: Narrator sets the tone very well with her delivery....more
Holy shit. A world where women hold all the (impressive) power, unapologetically blood-soaked vampire sex, and guys who tell you that you never have tHoly shit. A world where women hold all the (impressive) power, unapologetically blood-soaked vampire sex, and guys who tell you that you never have to clean anything? Sign me up for this fever dream.
This isn't going to be for everybody, but I'm so glad I took a chance on it. The writing is so evocative, with intensely visceral descriptions of wielding power, blood lust, and magic. I've never felt closer to being a vampire myself. :D...more
Do these characters or plot add anything to the iconic story we know so well? Not in my opinion.
Atmosphere is not bad, but could be better; most of tDo these characters or plot add anything to the iconic story we know so well? Not in my opinion.
Atmosphere is not bad, but could be better; most of the “horror” is at the end. There was one late scene I found that approached the feeling I had hoped for (when Nisa is singing alone and feels at one with the house because of the acoustics), but otherwise I didn't get much out of this. I am indifferent to the plot and ultimately didn’t find any of the characters compelling or nuanced, and frankly disliked most of them. Overall serviceable, but underwhelming.
Audio Notes: I really disliked the choices made for the audiobook. The haunted house noises added to the atmosphere for the most part, but making a big production of ordinary auto noises and such is annoying and distracting. The singing was fine the first couple of times, but the songs kept coming again and again and again, each more irritating and repetitive than the last. But most of all, I don’t know why Carol Monda was chosen as narrator, both her cigarette voice and the way she interpreted the text felt wrong for the character’s age and experience and modernity, and certainly didn’t lull me into the kind of spell Hill House is capable of casting....more
Narrative voice is compelling, but this reads like a short story expanded to novel length--as if The Yellow Wallpaper was turned into a 368 p2.5 stars
Narrative voice is compelling, but this reads like a short story expanded to novel length--as if The Yellow Wallpaper was turned into a 368 page book. When the scope of the story is this limited, however, and the characters and relationships and plot and themes all underdeveloped, it just doesn't have the kind of impact it should. Horror only by technicality, as it doesn't incite fear or grief or much of anything other than the most abstract of sympathy for the subject matter.
Audio Notes: Mara Wilson's narration is easy to listen to, however. I'd happily listen to another book read by her....more
I liked the narrative voice, but this needed more focus, more plotting, more character work, more tension, and a lot more atmosphere. Not at all creepI liked the narrative voice, but this needed more focus, more plotting, more character work, more tension, and a lot more atmosphere. Not at all creepy or gothic, and the human stuff isn’t nearly as poignant as it could be. A debut, however, so it might be interesting to see if the author develops into one to watch. But please, not so many POVs and more showing, less telling.
Audio Notes: I LOVED the narration by Adam Lazarre-White, however. His voice reminds me of a couple of my favorite Headspace sleepcast narrators, and he does different voices and accents—and women and children!—so well....more
3.5 stars Such a hard book to rate. The first 40% or so, I was enjoying it so much I kept thinking it would be at least a 4.5, but it sort of became u3.5 stars Such a hard book to rate. The first 40% or so, I was enjoying it so much I kept thinking it would be at least a 4.5, but it sort of became undone as the story got more complicated.
First off: the book cover and marketing are all wrong. WRONG. It is a book that sort of blurs category lines, but it is not at all a typical thriller and the expectations set up by the artwork and synopsis don’t do it any favors. Much of it is written like a slightly demented cozy mystery, which is super fun. The protagonist is a woman in her fifties, who has learned to live with the blood pouring down her walls and the ghosts that inhabit her house during the month of every September. Fans of Anna Dressed in Blood will appreciate the creepiness of the apparitions, as well as the offbeat humor throughout the story.
I don’t want to spoil anything, but for me, it’s when you begin to doubt what’s going on that I became less enamored. (Of note: this is the writing debut of a psychologist.) In a way, the serious questions raised and the back story with her husband had too much time spent on them, but not enough depth; they are impossible to ignore, so the less than satisfactory execution of serious, sensitive subjects—abuse, denial, mental illness, etc.—were worrisome and distracting. One of the few cases where I think I would’ve enjoyed a simpler story you could take more at face value, or at least one that took a second look at how some of this was portrayed. ETA: I had many of the feelings as described here, which is why it’s on my problematic-but-compelling shelf. (Potential spoilers, obviously.) https://lithub.com/whats-unreal-is-re... This is done effectively here (maybe too effectively), but in 2023 it’s difficult to look on stories like this without acknowledging what we have collectively learned when it is so central to the plot.
I also found too many familiar elements from other stories, among them The Others, The Birds, The Shining, and many more. They’re incorporated well, but it’s better when authors trust in their own originality rather than borrowing from such iconic scenes and characters.
But I do so love Elias, the feral ghost boy who leaps out and savagely bites at our protagonist whenever she gets near him. And I’d check out the author’s next book, with the hope that it’s less referential and better thought out.
Audio Notes: Narrator is a little stridently chipper, but it’s okay for the most part since it’s the POV of an older woman, albeit one that feels like a fairly dated idea of a middle-aged woman. But she uses pretty much the same voice and speech patterns for her daughter and the other secondary voices aren’t standouts either (acknowledging that the writing here could’ve been improved), so I think another reader would elevated the material a little more....more
4.5 stars A twisted, sadistic mind fuck centered on the complicated relationship between mother and daughter. This author writes vivid female characte4.5 stars A twisted, sadistic mind fuck centered on the complicated relationship between mother and daughter. This author writes vivid female characters with such absorbing inner lives, with excellent tension, plotting, genuine surprises, and as with my very favorite horror stories, moments of unexpected poignancy and emotion as well. ...more
The paleontology is interesting, but the paleontologist is not. And unfortunately, the science takes a back seat to a mystery that is never enga*yawn*
The paleontology is interesting, but the paleontologist is not. And unfortunately, the science takes a back seat to a mystery that is never engaging, supernatural elements that are neither scary nor exciting, themes that are undeveloped, and personal backgrounds and relationships that fail to incite any emotion. ...more
3.5 stars A little unpolished, but the author writes suspense well. Somewhere between light horror and a thriller, I read this on a plane and it was a3.5 stars A little unpolished, but the author writes suspense well. Somewhere between light horror and a thriller, I read this on a plane and it was a great choice. ...more
Sorta straddles horror and thriller-suspense, and enjoyably popcorn-y! (I say that even though it’s a bit gruesome, subject-wise and in a few well-choSorta straddles horror and thriller-suspense, and enjoyably popcorn-y! (I say that even though it’s a bit gruesome, subject-wise and in a few well-chosen details. It’s not gory or explicit, however.)
The first quarter is a bit underwhelming, but the writing got better and better as the story took off. Groundwork is well-laid for some good twists, the plot moves along briskly, the many POVs were all distinct and contributed to the story, and it was just ghoulishly, satisfyingly entertaining. ...more
Finally got around to this after all these years and I am stunned at the impact of this story.
In a few dozen pages, the power of the imagery and writFinally got around to this after all these years and I am stunned at the impact of this story.
In a few dozen pages, the power of the imagery and writing was overwhelming—I felt my skin crawling along with our unnamed narrator’s and my heart aching for her plight. Modern readers can look at this and easily recognize symptoms of postpartum depression, anxiety, gaslighting, etc, but it moves me unbearably to know this was written during the height of the Victorian era and imagine the woman who wrote it rebelling against the oppressive and abusive diagnoses and treatments she was given. (The fraught word “hysteria” is used at one point.) An important, incredible early work of feminist literature that I’m ashamed I haven’t experienced until now.
Audio notes: There were two versions available through my library and I ended up going with the one from Dreamscape Media. (I usually take pains to find the correct edition on GoodReads, but with literally thousands of versions, it wasn’t possible this time.) I really enjoyed Erin Yuen’s narration—it was clear and calm, and just dramatic enough but not too dramatic, as befits an unreliable narrator and my personal taste. And while the text is exactly as it appears in the 1892 story as far as I can tell, her narration also sounded somehow modern without being anachronistic. I much preferred this version to the other one I sampled from Redfield—that narration was fine and I liked some of the music, but the sound effect running through it during the story was just too distracting....more
Wendy Darling
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horror
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