Category: gothic horror

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Book Review. Girl in the Walls by A. J. Gnuse

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Title: Girl In The Walls

Author: A. J. Gnuse

Length: 384 pages

Publisher: 4thEstate Books

Synopsis: Elise knows every inch of the house. She knows which boards will creak. She knows where the gaps are in the Walls. She knows which parts can take her in, hide her away. It’s home, after all. The home her parents made for her. And home is where you stay, no matter what. Eddie is a teenager now, almost a grown-up. He must no longer believe in the girl he sometimes sees from the corner of his eye. He needs her to disappear. But when his fierce older brother senses her, too, they are faced with the question of how to get rid of someone they aren’t sure even exists. And, if they cast her out, what other threats might they invite into their home?

I was lucky to receive a very early proof of this book from 4thestate and now that I’ve read it I feel even more lucky because it was so incredible. It’s not out till March 4th 2021 but I couldn’t wait to read it.

What an interesting premise. I was so intrigued by the synopsis and it didn’t disappoint. I’ve always said there’s someone living in out loft called Harrison but that’s a different story. The author has crafted the story so it’s totally believable. It’s the little details of house Elise moves through the walls, how she lives while the family are out that I loved. I was genuinely intrigued from the first page until the last. It was brilliant.

At the heart of this novel is grief, and A. J. Gnuse has dealt with it brilliantly. It’s subtly heartbreaking. A girl so lost by her parents death that she has to return to the only home she knows to feel close to them. As story goes on and you learn a little more about Elises life before she became the Girl in the Walls, it becomes even more heartbreaking.

Elise is a brilliant character, In fact it’s full of brilliant characters. Marshall and Eddie are fantastic. The tension and connection that’s between Elise and Eddie is genius, the way he knows she’s there but won’t admit it. He’s terrified of her but also protects her. I love it. I didn’t expect the story of the family in the house but I’m so glad it was included. It made this book even better.

I’m not going to lie to you, at times I was scared. When a certain character is introduced (no spoilers) there were times I was holding my breath. This is by far the best gothic novel I’ve ever read. It’s just written so brilliantly, it’s got moments of real tension and fear.

The ending. Oh my god. It was brilliant. Those last few pages had my heart pounding. Literally pounding. I couldn’t turn those pages fast enough. I just had to do find out what happened. And it didn’t disappoint. At all. My stomach was literally in knots. I haven’t been like this about a book in a while. But Girl in the Walls was so brilliant I couldn’t help it.

I can’t recommend this book enough. It’s a grippy gothic tale that doesn’t disappoint. I can’t stop thinking about this book. It will stay with you a long time after you’ve finished it.

Thank you to Liv at 4thestate for sending me a copy of this book in return for an honest, unbiased review. It’s out April 1st.

Until the next review

Jthbooks

author, blog, book blog, book blogger, book bloggers, book review, books, bookstagram, gay, gothic, gothic horror, lgbt, middlegrade, queer, Uncategorised, ya

ARC Book Review: Me, My Dad and the End of the Rainbow by Benjamin Dean

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Title: Me, My Dad and the End of the Rainbow

Author: Benjamin Dean

Length:

Publisher: Simon & Schuster Children’s

Synopsis: My name’s Archie Albright, and I know two things for certain 1. My mum and dad kind of hate each other, and they’re not doing a great job at pretending they don’t anymore. 2. They’re both keeping a secret from me, but I can’t figure out what. Things aren’t going great for Archie Albright. His dad’s acting weird, him mum too, and all he wants is for everything to go back to normal, to three months before when his parents were happy and still lived together. When Archie sees a colourful, crumpled flyer fall out of his Dad’s pocket, he thinks he may have found the answer. Only problem? The answer might just lie at the end of the rainbow, an adventure away.

I absolutely loved this book. It was so wholesome and sweet, yet I believe it has such an important message.

Archie, Seb and Bell are such a fantastic characters. I loved them, what a trio. I loved there friendship, I loved how the support each other. They also made me laugh, Bell is so funny. It made me laugh out loud and books never do that. Honestly they are so adorable. There’s other great characters in this. Archie dad, who journey of self acceptance is touched upon, is really moving.

It’s such a fun, meaningful story. I loved the adventure that the gang went on. And I have to say, as someone who has never been to a pride parade I am insanely jealous of them. I don’t want give to much of the gangs adventure away but it is fun, and it also has so much heart. And the adventure ends so brilliantly.

Can we also talk about how stunning the proof is?

This is obviously a book for children, but i think its a book everyone should read. It has such a wonderful important message. It shows the importance of acceptance. And its from a perspective I’ve not read before. It also shows the importance of found family that is often so vital to the queer community. It also made me cry, I couldn’t help. The message is just put across so well.

Dean has written a brilliantly book. It’s funny, it’s sweet and its vital. I love that theres a queer book like this out in the world, especially for children. It’s a diverse, inclusive book that I sincerely hope you all decide to pick up.

I can’t recommend this book enough. I’m looking forward to what Dean writes next. I guess all there’s left to say is, can we have some more adventures from Archie and the gang?

Thank you so much to Simon & Schusters Children’s books for gifting me a copy of this book in return for an honest, unbiased review. It’s out February 4th.

Until the next review

Jthbooks

author, blog, book blogger, book bloggers, book review, gothic, gothic horror, historical fiction, review, thriller, Uncategorised

Book Review: The Shape of Darkness by Laura Purcell

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Title: The Shape of Darkness

Author: Laura Purcell

Length: 398 pages

Publisher: Bloomsbury Raven

Synopsis: When silhouette artist Agnes’s clients start being mysteriously murdered, she approaches Pearl, a renowned child spirit medium to try and make contact and reveal who killed them. But Agnes and Pearl soon discover they may have opened the door to something that they can never put back…

I know Laura Purcell is a hugely popular author, who many of my fellow bookstagrammers absolutely love, but I’ve never read a book by her before. So The Shape of Darkness is my first.

I really did enjoy this book. I found it super intriguing throughout and I can definitely say that Laura keeps her readers on their toes. I never knew what was going to happen and I absolutely love that.

We follow to main characters, Agnes and Pearl, as they team up to try and find out who is murdering Agnes’s customers. I really enjoyed the character of Agnes. From the start I just connected with her. I felt for her. It took me a little while to connect with Pearl, but I can definitely say she is an interesting character. There characters arcs and the way they connect is so interesting.

The Shape of Darkness is wonderfully gothic. It’s at times dark, and I’m not going to lie to you at times I was very creeped out. This book is really atmospheric. It’s also meticulously researched, you can tell. The detail Laura goes into about Agnes’s job as a Silhouette artist is phenomenal. It’s such an interesting aspect to the story.

I said earlier that this book is intriguing and keeps you on your toes and it’s true. You just never know where the story is going to go. And I will say I didn’t expect it to go that way. At all. I was so shocked. I won’t give anything away as I know so many of you are going to read this book, but you’ll know what I’m talking about when it happens.

I can’t recommend this book enough, it’s a wonderfully gothic, intriguing story with some character depth. I don’t think you’ll forget this book once you’ve read. Now you’ll have to excuse me, I’m off to buy Laura’s other books!

Thank you so much to Bloomsbury for sending me a copy of this book in return for an honest, unbiased review. It’s out January 21st.

Until the next review

JTH