by Sarah Pinborough
A Horror, 2025 by Flatiron Books, 291 Pages
What I Didn’t Like:
- Content Warning: adultery, murder, death
- I could’ve done without the constant Nevermore inserts from the raven, and that’s coming from a Poe fan. It just seemed a bit over the top.
- A bit slow to start. This is common in the “haunted house” subgenre, so I wasn’t surprised. But you do notice. You are sort of waiting for something else to happen for much of the opening of the book.
- Some repetition of ideas, concepts, and phrases. It feels like the author doesn’t trust the readers to remember things so it keeps getting repeated. Mildly annoying.
What I Did Like:
- I love original and unusual things in books so throwing me chapters from a raven’s perspective was very cool.
- What a creative way to do the haunted house trope! I was surprised, which is always fun, and I loved it. Once you really start to know what’s going on, this one SPEEDS to an ending.
- That ending works in the absolute best way. I have a particular kind of ending I enjoy, the kind that lingers in your mind and makes you think. This is that ending. I’d call this ending perfect.
Who Should Read This One:
- Haunted house fans who like paranormal explanations and don’t mind waiting for it, as long as the wait pays off.
Leave a Reply