Title: Malice House
Author: Megan Shepherd
Series: Book 1
Rating: ★ ★ ★ ★ ★
*Note:I received a copy of this ARC in exchange for an honest review.
Of all the things aspiring artist Haven Marbury expected to find while clearing out her late father's remote seaside house, Bedtime Stories for Monsters was not on the list. This secret handwritten manuscript is disturbingly different from his Pulitzer-winning works: its interweaving short stories crawl with horrific monsters and enigmatic humans that exist somewhere between this world and the next. The stories unsettle but also entice Haven, practically compelling her to illustrate them while she stays in the house that her father warned her was haunted. Clearly just dementia whispering in his ear . . . right?
Reeling from a failed marriage, Haven hopes an illustrated Bedtime Stories can be the lucrative posthumous father-daughter collaboration she desperately needs to jump-start her art career. However, everyone in the nearby vacation town wants a piece of the manuscript: her father's obsessive literary salon members, the Ink Drinkers; her mysterious yet charming neighbor, who has a tendency toward three a.m. bonfires; a young barista with a literary forgery business; and of course, whoever keeps trying to break into her house. But when a monstrous creature appears under Haven's bed right as grisly deaths are reported in the nearby woods, she must race to uncover dark, otherworldly family secrets―completely rewriting everything she ever knew about herself in the process.
I was so excited to pick up this book! I loved a good horror, mystery/thriller combo. I have to admit that the premise of the book pulled me in because it sounded really similar to The Hazel Wood by Melissa Albert. Going in with that in mind might have influenced my opinion of it a bit, but we'll get to that.
This book is hard to discuss without spoiling the plot, but since the book synopsis basically gives some of it away I'll go with what you already know. After her father dies, Haven finds an unpublished manuscript and becomes obsessed with illustrating the nightmarish creatures he describes. One night she sees a terrible creature in the house and it all basically goes downhill from there for her. I really loved how vivid the descriptions were. I felt like I could imagine the sounds in that house and picture the creatures myself. It was really well done. I got a little creeped out reading this at night a few times, but I loved it.
The characters though, felt a bit flat to me. I didn't really feel a connection to anyone besides Haven, but even that was a little thin. I think Haven was just so detached at times that it was hard to connect with her. I liked her, I just didn't connect. That's also part of the reason that I think the romantic angle didn't interest me very much either.
The pacing itself felt very slow, but I was so invested in seeing how everything played out (even though I think some of the plot twists were predictable) that I didn't mind too much. The ending is really where everything explodes. There was a lot going on and it left me curious to see where the sequel will take things.
But going back to the similarities to The Hazel Wood, I think if you enjoyed that series this is going to give you a lot of deja vu. That's not to say this is good or bad, take it as you will. Both female main characters describe themselves as being emotionless or fearless. They feel detached emotionally from things. Aspects of the plot played out very similar to the plot of Hazel Wood.
Something I would definitely be interested in seeing in the future is a companion novel with the bedtime stories alongside some of Haven's "illustrations". Overall though, I think this was a fun, quick read if you're in the mood for something spooky!
No comments:
Post a Comment