IF YOU LOVE – Insidious, The Skeleton Key, Hereditary, Relic, Flowers in the Attic – you might like this.
OVERALL – 4/5, i dont think i would revisit this, but it is a suspenseful read and pulls you into its world. would probably recommend to thriller fans, not horror though.
horror – 2/5, definitely not a horror book. there are disturbing moments and the author does an incredible job building tension but its not “scary” so to speak.
characters – i enjoyed the main character for the most part. sometimes it was frustrating as events unfolded and you want to yell out “just communicate, tell the truth!” but thats kind of the point. the family members had their moments but were lovable and generally realistic. hard pass on the demon grandma though.
spice – 0/5, not a mention of anything spicy and thats perfectly okay. it works for some stories but this plot is driven by other factors and spice would have thrown that off.
plot – 5/5, now i know what you’re thinking, how is the plot 5/5 but i have it overall at a 4/5. the plot, while not completely unique was a great premise. the book explores mother/daughter relationships and their intricacies, these kind of cyclical or hereditary issues. the lack of outward horror ( in what is being promoted to readers as a horror novel ) i can ignore for this horrible looming sense of unease. i can appreciate a subtle approach and that the horror is in this gradual descent into madness. i have a problem with the lack of resolution. unless this is meant to be a series, authors please give your readers a conclusion. you have as many pages as you would like to resolve the conflict, i don’t feel like having questions about the ending (and not philosophical questions about the meaning of life, i mean actual questions about the characters and the story after you finish the last page). its juvenile and cliffhanger horror/suspense happens way too often for this to be a “unique touch” from the author. ruined the aspect of a reread for me, but for anybody that this doesn’t bother i would say its worth your time.
narrator – 5/5 both narrators, though we spend more time with the main character, did a fantastic job.