Thanks to Net Galley and Books Gone Social for the chance to read this debut novel ARC.
Honestly, I picked this book because I will read anything that has a haunted house and promises to be Gothic in some way. Lovely cover by the way.
The plot revolves around a woman who finds herself in a strange house surrounded by water-and she is deathly afraid of water. How did she get there? Why is she there? How did her sister end up in the same house? Who are these weird people on the island including the caretakers and two handsome men?
I almost gave up and did not read past the first couple of chapters because I couldn’t figure what was going on and the main character did not resonate with me. However, being a debut novel, I gave it a chance and read through to the end.
Unfortunately, I figured out the main twist quickly and the rest of the story was flat for me. I did read on to find out how the main character got into the predicament she was in and how the rest of the characters fit into her world. There is an awkward romance which when the twist is revealed is even more strange, and some unnecessary cursing that read out of place since it only occurs in one section of the book. The dialogue is klutzy in spots and the mantra the main character repeats kept reminding me of the book “Live, Love, Pray” in not a good way. The twist is mostly explained although some threads were not clear.
Not my type of Gothic and definitely not a haunted house story, more like a psychological mystery/romance.
I rate this one 2/5 stars.
The Book Was Better ! 