โ๐ ๐ฌ๐๐ญ ๐ฐ๐ข๐ญ๐ก ๐ญ๐ก๐๐ญ ๐๐จ๐ซ ๐ ๐ฅ๐จ๐ง๐ ๐ญ๐ข๐ฆ๐. ๐ ๐ญ๐ก๐จ๐ฎ๐ ๐ก๐ญ ๐จ๐ ๐๐ฏ๐๐ซ๐ฒ ๐ฉ๐๐ซ๐ฌ๐จ๐ง ๐ ๐ก๐๐ ๐ฆ๐๐ญ, ๐ฐ๐จ๐ง๐๐๐ซ๐ข๐ง๐ ๐ก๐จ๐ฐ ๐ฆ๐๐ง๐ฒ ๐จ๐ ๐ญ๐ก๐๐ฆ ๐ก๐๐ ๐ฐ๐จ๐ฅ๐ฏ๐๐ฌ ๐ข๐ง๐ฌ๐ข๐๐ ๐ญ๐ก๐๐ฆ ๐๐ง๐ ๐ฃ๐ฎ๐ฌ๐ญ ๐ก๐๐ ๐ง๐๐ฏ๐๐ซ ๐ฉ๐ฎ๐ฅ๐ฅ๐๐ ๐ญ๐ก๐๐ฆ ๐จ๐ฎ๐ญ. ๐๐ซ ๐ฉ๐๐ซ๐ก๐๐ฉ๐ฌ ๐ฆ๐จ๐ซ๐ ๐ก๐จ๐ซ๐ซ๐ข๐๐ฅ๐: ๐ก๐จ๐ฐ ๐ฆ๐๐ง๐ฒ ๐จ๐ ๐ญ๐ก๐๐ฆ, ๐ข๐ง ๐ ๐ฆ๐จ๐ฆ๐๐ง๐ญ ๐จ๐ ๐๐๐๐ซ, ๐ซ๐๐๐๐ก๐๐ ๐ข๐ง๐ฌ๐ข๐๐ ๐ญ๐ก๐๐ฆ๐ฌ๐๐ฅ๐ฏ๐๐ฌ ๐๐จ๐ซ ๐ฌ๐จ๐ฆ๐๐ญ๐ก๐ข๐ง๐ ๐ญ๐จ ๐ฌ๐๐ฏ๐ ๐ญ๐ก๐๐ฆ, ๐๐ง๐ ๐๐๐ฆ๐ ๐ฎ๐ฉ ๐๐ฆ๐ฉ๐ญ๐ฒ.โ
Tim burton meets Adamโs Family in this gothic fantasy about confronting the darkness within. Estranged for years, Eleanor Zarrin flees her boarding school to return to her family home. She must face her monstrous relatives who prowl the woods at night and read fortunes from the guts of dead birds. When her grandmother suddenly dies, she is the only one who can hold them together. Especially when a threatening arrival wants to swallow them whole.
A gothic haunted manor, ghosts, the undead, werewolves, and a girl who wants to understand what she is. Thereโs so much to love! This creepy book was exactly what I needed. It was fun, weird, and soaked with mystery. Rose Szabo writes to creates questions. Her style was perfect for this setting. Perfect for a story of discovery. I devoured this book in two sittings. I didnโt want to put the book down.
I knew I was going to love this story from the first pages of the prologue. Iโm not generally a gothic dark fantasy reader. I hate scary movies. Theyโre too jumpy for me. I donโt read horror or scary books either. But this book reminded me a lot of Horrid, which I read back in October. It has just the right level of creep factor. It wasnโt as spooky-give-you-goosebumps as Horrid. But it still had that overall New England creepy gothic manor feel.
โ๐๐ก๐ ๐๐๐๐ค ๐จ๐ ๐ฆ๐ฒ ๐ง๐๐๐ค ๐ฐ๐๐ง๐ญ ๐๐จ๐ฅ๐. ๐ ๐ฌ๐ช๐ฎ๐๐๐ณ๐๐ ๐ฆ๐ฒ ๐๐ฒ๐๐ฌ ๐ฌ๐ก๐ฎ๐ญ, ๐ก๐จ๐ฉ๐ข๐ง๐ ๐ ๐ฐ๐๐ฌ ๐ฌ๐ญ๐ข๐ฅ๐ฅ ๐๐ซ๐๐๐ฆ๐ข๐ง๐ , ๐ญ๐ก๐๐ญ ๐ข๐ ๐ ๐ฌ๐ก๐ฎ๐ญ ๐ฆ๐ฒ ๐๐ฒ๐๐ฌ ๐โ๐ ๐ฐ๐๐ค๐ ๐ฎ๐ฉ ๐๐๐๐ค ๐ข๐ง ๐๐๐, ๐๐ง๐ ๐ข๐ ๐ ๐ฌ๐ก๐ฎ๐ญ ๐ฆ๐ฒ ๐๐ฒ๐๐ฌ ๐๐ ๐๐ข๐ง ๐โ๐ ๐ฐ๐๐ค๐ ๐ฎ๐ฉ ๐ข๐ง ๐ฆ๐ฒ ๐ซ๐จ๐จ๐ฆ ๐๐ญ ๐๐๐ข๐ง๐ญ ๐๐ซ๐ข๐ ๐ข๐โ๐ฌ, ๐๐ง๐ ๐๐ซ๐จ๐ฆ ๐ญ๐ก๐๐ซ๐ ๐ ๐๐จ๐ฎ๐ฅ๐ ๐ฌ๐ก๐ฎ๐ญ ๐ฆ๐ฒ ๐๐ฒ๐๐ฌ ๐๐ง๐ ๐ฐ๐๐ค๐ ๐ฎ๐ฉ ๐ ๐๐ก๐ข๐ฅ๐ ๐๐ ๐๐ข๐ง, ๐ฌ๐จ๐ฆ๐๐ฐ๐ก๐๐ซ๐ ๐ข๐ง ๐ฌ๐จ๐ฆ๐ ๐ก๐จ๐ฎ๐ฌ๐ ๐ฃ๐ฎ๐ฌ๐ญ ๐ฅ๐ข๐ค๐ ๐ญ๐ก๐ข๐ฌ ๐จ๐ง๐, ๐๐ฎ๐ญ ๐ฐ๐ก๐๐ซ๐ ๐โ๐ ๐๐ ๐ก๐๐ฉ๐ฉ๐ฒ.โ
I related with Eleanorโs character immediately. When she arrives home, itโs clear that the family is keeping secrets from her. She immediately feels like an outcast. She feels like no one wants her there. How many of us have had those feelings? The family dynamic, her internal conflict, and quest for answers about herself and those around her are all things that allowed me to connect with the story. Moreover, sheโs struggling to confront something ghastly sheโs responsible. The reason she fled the boarding school in the first place. This mistake follows her and she must face it to conquer her darkness. Her biggest struggle is wanting to be loved. She doesnโt feel loved by anyone.
โ๐ ๐๐จ๐งโ๐ญ ๐ญ๐๐ฅ๐ฅ ๐ก๐ข๐ฆ ๐ญ๐ก๐๐ญโ๐ฌ ๐ก๐จ๐ฐ ๐ข๐ญ ๐๐ฅ๐ฐ๐๐ฒ๐ฌ ๐๐๐ ๐ข๐ง๐ฌ: ๐ข๐ง ๐ฌ๐๐ฅ๐๐ข๐ฌ๐ก๐ง๐๐ฌ๐ฌ, ๐ข๐ง ๐๐ฆ๐๐ข๐ญ๐ข๐จ๐ง, ๐ข๐ง ๐ฅ๐ฎ๐ฌ๐ญ ๐จ๐ซ ๐๐๐ฌ๐ฉ๐๐ซ๐๐ญ๐ข๐จ๐ง. ๐๐ก๐๐ญ ๐ฅ๐จ๐ฏ๐ ๐ฌ๐ญ๐๐ซ๐ญ๐ฌ ๐จ๐ฎ๐ญ ๐๐ฌ ๐ฌ๐จ๐ฆ๐๐ญ๐ก๐ข๐ง๐ ๐ฒ๐จ๐ฎ ๐ฐ๐๐ง๐ญ ๐ญ๐จ ๐๐ข๐ญ๐ ๐ข๐ง๐ญ๐จ ๐๐ง๐ ๐๐ง๐๐ฌ ๐๐ฌ ๐ฌ๐จ๐ฆ๐๐ญ๐ก๐ข๐ง๐ ๐ญ๐ก๐๐ญ ๐ฌ๐ฐ๐๐ฅ๐ฅ๐จ๐ฐ๐ฌ ๐ฒ๐จ๐ฎ ๐ฎ๐ฉ.โ
The plot was fast paced, well structured, and full of twists and turns. I had so much fun reading this story. It wasnโt quite a five star for me, just because it doesnโt have that complexity and layers. But it was absolutely enjoyable and I recommend it. Perfect for fans of Horrid, Tim Burton, Stephen King, and Adams Family. MY RATING: 4/5 stars
A big thank you to Bookish First and Farrar Straus Giroux (Macmillan Publishing) for this advanced copy in exchange for my honest review.
Tim burton meets Adamโs Family in this gothic fantasy about confronting the darkness within. Estranged for years, Eleanor Zarrin flees her boarding school to return to her family home. She must face her monstrous relatives who prowl the woods at night and read fortunes from the guts of dead birds. When her grandmother suddenly dies, she is the only one who can hold them together. Especially when a threatening arrival wants to swallow them whole.
A gothic haunted manor, ghosts, the undead, werewolves, and a girl who wants to understand what she is. Thereโs so much to love! This creepy book was exactly what I needed. It was fun, weird, and soaked with mystery. Rose Szabo writes to creates questions. Her style was perfect for this setting. Perfect for a story of discovery. I devoured this book in two sittings. I didnโt want to put the book down.
I knew I was going to love this story from the first pages of the prologue. Iโm not generally a gothic dark fantasy reader. I hate scary movies. Theyโre too jumpy for me. I donโt read horror or scary books either. But this book reminded me a lot of Horrid, which I read back in October. It has just the right level of creep factor. It wasnโt as spooky-give-you-goosebumps as Horrid. But it still had that overall New England creepy gothic manor feel.
โ๐๐ก๐ ๐๐๐๐ค ๐จ๐ ๐ฆ๐ฒ ๐ง๐๐๐ค ๐ฐ๐๐ง๐ญ ๐๐จ๐ฅ๐. ๐ ๐ฌ๐ช๐ฎ๐๐๐ณ๐๐ ๐ฆ๐ฒ ๐๐ฒ๐๐ฌ ๐ฌ๐ก๐ฎ๐ญ, ๐ก๐จ๐ฉ๐ข๐ง๐ ๐ ๐ฐ๐๐ฌ ๐ฌ๐ญ๐ข๐ฅ๐ฅ ๐๐ซ๐๐๐ฆ๐ข๐ง๐ , ๐ญ๐ก๐๐ญ ๐ข๐ ๐ ๐ฌ๐ก๐ฎ๐ญ ๐ฆ๐ฒ ๐๐ฒ๐๐ฌ ๐โ๐ ๐ฐ๐๐ค๐ ๐ฎ๐ฉ ๐๐๐๐ค ๐ข๐ง ๐๐๐, ๐๐ง๐ ๐ข๐ ๐ ๐ฌ๐ก๐ฎ๐ญ ๐ฆ๐ฒ ๐๐ฒ๐๐ฌ ๐๐ ๐๐ข๐ง ๐โ๐ ๐ฐ๐๐ค๐ ๐ฎ๐ฉ ๐ข๐ง ๐ฆ๐ฒ ๐ซ๐จ๐จ๐ฆ ๐๐ญ ๐๐๐ข๐ง๐ญ ๐๐ซ๐ข๐ ๐ข๐โ๐ฌ, ๐๐ง๐ ๐๐ซ๐จ๐ฆ ๐ญ๐ก๐๐ซ๐ ๐ ๐๐จ๐ฎ๐ฅ๐ ๐ฌ๐ก๐ฎ๐ญ ๐ฆ๐ฒ ๐๐ฒ๐๐ฌ ๐๐ง๐ ๐ฐ๐๐ค๐ ๐ฎ๐ฉ ๐ ๐๐ก๐ข๐ฅ๐ ๐๐ ๐๐ข๐ง, ๐ฌ๐จ๐ฆ๐๐ฐ๐ก๐๐ซ๐ ๐ข๐ง ๐ฌ๐จ๐ฆ๐ ๐ก๐จ๐ฎ๐ฌ๐ ๐ฃ๐ฎ๐ฌ๐ญ ๐ฅ๐ข๐ค๐ ๐ญ๐ก๐ข๐ฌ ๐จ๐ง๐, ๐๐ฎ๐ญ ๐ฐ๐ก๐๐ซ๐ ๐โ๐ ๐๐ ๐ก๐๐ฉ๐ฉ๐ฒ.โ
I related with Eleanorโs character immediately. When she arrives home, itโs clear that the family is keeping secrets from her. She immediately feels like an outcast. She feels like no one wants her there. How many of us have had those feelings? The family dynamic, her internal conflict, and quest for answers about herself and those around her are all things that allowed me to connect with the story. Moreover, sheโs struggling to confront something ghastly sheโs responsible. The reason she fled the boarding school in the first place. This mistake follows her and she must face it to conquer her darkness. Her biggest struggle is wanting to be loved. She doesnโt feel loved by anyone.
โ๐ ๐๐จ๐งโ๐ญ ๐ญ๐๐ฅ๐ฅ ๐ก๐ข๐ฆ ๐ญ๐ก๐๐ญโ๐ฌ ๐ก๐จ๐ฐ ๐ข๐ญ ๐๐ฅ๐ฐ๐๐ฒ๐ฌ ๐๐๐ ๐ข๐ง๐ฌ: ๐ข๐ง ๐ฌ๐๐ฅ๐๐ข๐ฌ๐ก๐ง๐๐ฌ๐ฌ, ๐ข๐ง ๐๐ฆ๐๐ข๐ญ๐ข๐จ๐ง, ๐ข๐ง ๐ฅ๐ฎ๐ฌ๐ญ ๐จ๐ซ ๐๐๐ฌ๐ฉ๐๐ซ๐๐ญ๐ข๐จ๐ง. ๐๐ก๐๐ญ ๐ฅ๐จ๐ฏ๐ ๐ฌ๐ญ๐๐ซ๐ญ๐ฌ ๐จ๐ฎ๐ญ ๐๐ฌ ๐ฌ๐จ๐ฆ๐๐ญ๐ก๐ข๐ง๐ ๐ฒ๐จ๐ฎ ๐ฐ๐๐ง๐ญ ๐ญ๐จ ๐๐ข๐ญ๐ ๐ข๐ง๐ญ๐จ ๐๐ง๐ ๐๐ง๐๐ฌ ๐๐ฌ ๐ฌ๐จ๐ฆ๐๐ญ๐ก๐ข๐ง๐ ๐ญ๐ก๐๐ญ ๐ฌ๐ฐ๐๐ฅ๐ฅ๐จ๐ฐ๐ฌ ๐ฒ๐จ๐ฎ ๐ฎ๐ฉ.โ
The plot was fast paced, well structured, and full of twists and turns. I had so much fun reading this story. It wasnโt quite a five star for me, just because it doesnโt have that complexity and layers. But it was absolutely enjoyable and I recommend it. Perfect for fans of Horrid, Tim Burton, Stephen King, and Adams Family. MY RATING: 4/5 stars
A big thank you to Bookish First and Farrar Straus Giroux (Macmillan Publishing) for this advanced copy in exchange for my honest review.