bybrookenelson's reviews
171 reviews

I will state up-front that I am not typically a historical fiction reader. Therefore, I was mainly drawn in when I heard this was also a coming-of-age/murder mystery. Heads up: it is hardly the latter.

I found myself half bored for most of the story, yet I couldn't seem to put it down, because I kept expecting something more to happen. I wanted something, anything. Alas, it was not meant to be, until the very end, as in the last few pages. For me, that ending and that reveal made it all worth it and bumped my three stars to four.

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I have very mixed feelings on this book.

For one, Noemí is a standout MC. She is well-written and strong (but not obnoxiously so), and caring toward those around her. Beyond that, she has a tendency to enjoy the company of a man for a short time before moving on, never wanting to get too serious. These are all characteristics that combine to create a character I adore, and surprisingly, one that I don't see as often as I'd like to.

The writing with the rest of the characters, particularly Catalina and Francis, is similar, and made me feel for them almost instantly and enjoy them more and more as the story goes on.

Despite this focus on great characters though, I find the story itself to be offputting, particularly toward the end. Without spoiling anything, I will tell you that I enjoyed the suspense of the first half but was disappointed in, for lack of a better description, the only semi-sensible gore that comprised the conclusion. I know that isn't a pretty way to put it, but I don't know what else to say. I expected Mexican Gothic to maintain its creepiness and add in more horror elements as we went on. I just found the conclusion very boring and more let's-see-how-gross-we-can-be rather than scaring the life out of me. I would have preferred the latter.

However, it maintains a solid 3 and a half stars for me. Not bad, but not what I wanted.

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I have no idea why I never reviewed this book on Goodreads. It's such a cute story, and I love Molly with my whole heart, even if she frustrates me at times. But that's all the fun of the story! I will most definitely be tuned in to book 2 as soon as my hold comes in at the library.

I have a love-hate relationship with this book.

Where to start? Let's see... We'll go with the hate, and lead into the love.

Zoë Nightshade. What an absolute pain. Maybe it's all the thee this and thy that, but if somebody accidentally dropkicked her into Tartarus, I wouldn't complain. Maybe characters with a superiority complex just aren't my thing (but I tend to lean toward my she, in particular, is annoying as heck theory).

Then, there's the di Angelos. Fortunately, Nico wasn't around enough to start grating on my skull yet, but there's always time! Quite frankly, there's not much to say about Bianca beyond this: a piece of plywood would have been just as compelling a character.

Thalia was the only character with which I was on the fence. I didn't love her. I didn't hate her. She was just there, and she was pleasant enough.

Now, onto the love.

The storyline was so good! From beginning to end, I remained engaged, particularly at the end. It definitely left me wanting to read the next. I just dread what additional characters might show up this time to ruin my day.

I really just want the fantastic ones we started out with: Annabeth, Grover, Percy, Clarisse. They are the best, and that is that.

(Connect with me.)

I have such a love/kind-of-enjoy-just-a-little relationship with this series. On the outside, it looks fun and great. And then every time I actually read one of the books, I don't feel like reading another for many months (or years).

Well, let me assure you, this one is wholeheartedly worth the read. I haven't been this impressed with a Percy Jackson book since The Lightning Thief. If we ignore for a moment my intense distaste for many of the girls written in this series *cough* Rachel, Thalia, Bianca *cough*, this was really a lovely ending to a pretty fun series.

Bravo, Rick Riordan. You've renewed my enjoyment for your writing, and I will be picking up The Chalice of the Gods, hopefully sooner than a couple years from now.

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Have I mentioned I'm a little bit jumpy? Because I am a little bit jumpy, and this audiobook had me nervously shifting all over the place.

I am very new to the horror genre within books. (I do have a tendency toward scary movies.) But this was a definite win for me. The MC was phenomenal, both compelling and frustrating, sometimes at the same time. Hendrix did a great job writing from a female's perspective without making it sound like he is a man writing from a female perspective. I appreciate when male authors are able to write a woman that I relate to; this reminded me a bit of Riley Sager's books in that respect.

I have read one of Hendrix's other books, Horrorstör, in the past, and I was not overly impressed. I am also permanently scarred in the sense that I can no longer walk around an IKEA store without feeling somewhat certain that if I opened one of the fake display doors, it would lead me somewhere I don't want to be.

That being said, How To Sell a Haunted House was an absolute thrill of a story. I was spooked out the whole time. Even in the beginning, when the real scary parts hadn't shown up yet, the story was still so well-written that I wanted to keep moving. And once the action started up, I didn't want to stop until I reached the end.

Were there some brutal parts? For sure. Was it as unnecessarily gross as Horrorstör? Not even close. I hope Hendrix realizes how great this story is continues writing this type of horror. This is what I need more of in my life.

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Was this book objectively spectacular? Nah.

Did I love it? Oh yeah.

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(Tune in to my full podcast review of Gillespie House here.)

Here I am, with another Darcy Coates book, sitting down to write yet another review where I just... don't quite know what to say.

Did I like the book? Yes. Was it objectively well written, following a spectacular storyline? Well, kind of.

I am a very subjective book rater, meaning that when I like (or dislike) a story, I figure it is for reasons all my own (how I interpret the book), and not because the book is definitively good or bad. I think that is a good way to describe why I am giving Gillespie House four out of five stars.

There wasn't much mystery for me, as those parts were pretty quashed by the spoiler-filled synopsis on the back cover. I also just guessed key plot points a lot more quickly than they were revealed in the story. I don't know if the reader was meant to do this, but I read it more as solely a horror story than a mystery, even though it was perhaps meant to be both.

On the other hand, I enjoy Coates' simple but effective writing style. She isn't overly poetic. She is straightforward, and for this genre, I think that style works to her advantage. While horror can be made scarier and more gruesome with fanciful language, it can be just as bone-chilling in plain language, when the characters and plot are effective enough (as they are here).

Another thing I particularly enjoy about Coates' stories are that she always creates a haunting, vivid setting. That is a factor I often see overlooked in literature, but Gillespie House, along with her other stories, perfectly set up the creepy feeling I look for when starting a horror story.

Note: If you are not a fan of characters who talk out loud to themselves, this is not the book for you. It didn't bother me, but it was quite noticeable and I know that can be a pet peeve for some.

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This book. This book! THIS BOOK!

This book made me feel so many things. After reading the four preceding it, including Nesta's story at this point just felt right. I love that the story truly revolved around her. It wasn't just a Nesta POV. It was a Nesta POV and story.

Now, was Nesta my favorite character in this story? That's debatable. But I loved how her character developed. It felt realistic. I liked getting a glimpse into her head and understanding her actions from a place other than through Feyre's eyes.

I will patiently await the next story and pray that it is a beautiful electric purple cover with Elain's POV at long last.

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