JD

I had hope after reading the strange case of the alchemists daughter I wanted to read Beatrice's story. But as with the scarlet letter this reads like puritanical bs. Beware of beautiful women and their sorcery!

I'd actually say the movie from 1999 called the Haunting is actually really true to the book but has a more satisfying conclusion.

And while the TV show has the same name they have zero in common essentially. So that was interesting.

Like many classic horrors I feel like this one ends very abruptly. It is also fairly short, so there is no real details into why the haunting started or what's actually going on. It's just very focused on Eleanor aka Nell. So I actually like that the movie filled in those questions.

And this becomes a book I'm glad I read but it's not my favorite or my least favorite. Just middle of the road.

This is a cozy, feel-good read! And to be honest, I loved it!

I do get the issues that others are having with the style. A lot of writers do not use 3rd person omniscient anymore. It can be harder to follow for some people. You are bouncing heads from paragraph to paragraph, so you have to pay attention. I do feel like she used this style well and it conveyed that the characters were stuck in their head. Communication was the main theme and I feel like the POV added to the sense of that.

The star deduction for me was the absolute lack of dialogue, especially around the inciting moments of romance throughout. That was a big problem for me. The romances included felt too easy like they were a spell. I would have loved a longer book that flushed the romance out as well as she did the characters. More dialogue would have helped give some substance versus fate like obsession. Dialogue is a tricky art and I wonder since this book was early in career if she shied away from it because it wasn't a strong suit.

To the reviewers that dislike this because they love the movie, I get that too. They are very separate things. Going into a book thinking it will be exactly like the adaptation is almost always going to lead to disappointment. I personally, loved getting to know the inner workings of these women. The book is far more focused on the lives of the women and their motivations rather than the movie focused on the magic and spookiness far more. Both have their merits.

I think it is also worth noting that this book is Literary Fantasy. Heavy on the Literary part. It is not supposed to read like an urban fantasy. To me, it reminded me of reading classic literature. It is somewhat flowery and poetic. In my opinion, she does poetic gracefully and it didn't feel overdone or lengthy. But it is a literary novel so it is going to be more character-driven.

The characters were the best part of the book by far. I felt the character were real living beings. I could relate to the characters. I saw myself, my own sisters, and mother in the thoughts of these women which drew me in even further. The book was almost like reading each of their diaries which is an unusual writing style. This is my first Alice Hoffman novel, and I'm looking forward to seeing how her style shifted and grew as time went on.

I will definitely be reading Rules of Magic before the end of the year as the Aunts' lives are fascinating to me! And I recommend this as a feel good book about family with a touch of magic.

This is concise and actionable. It gives you clear things to think about not only while editing but while writing to make your work clearer.

This man has been an editor for over 50 years and he knows what it takes to get published. Concise writing with good books will get sold a whole lot easier.

This is a valuable tool to improve your writing. Period.

The author is already dead. Is it because of an exorcism gone wrong? Because of Jack's reckless behavior, his drug use? No matter the answer, the ride you take to get there is exciting and unnerving.

This is a book that should have so many more eyes on it than it does! Some of my least favorite troupes are in this book but are done well! Unreliable Narrator, Unlikeable main character, Found manuscript, an “editor” as a second narrator are all present here but are perfectly crafted together!

This is what I wanted House of Leaves to be in the way of style. Every piece builds on the other. There is no fluff here. Not a single scene that could be removed without affecting the story. Which is super rare to see anymore.

And I can honestly say that there were parts of this that gave me the creeps, hardcore! Which is hard to do.

I was pleasantly surprised at the main character's back story. That was nuanced and felt incredibly real. It was peppered into the book in stages, no info dumps here. You see those layers fit together as you start to get why Jack is the way he is. The author didn't take any shortcuts with Jack's psychology.

And while there is a bit of body horror here, it isn't gratuitous. It all has a purpose and it isn't described to a point of nauseous! It also isn't in every scene.

I do wonder if the author uses the Save the Cat beats to outline or edit his work? Because this fits perfectly into the mold and he is a screenwriter as well. Either way, though the story was structured to perfection and edited to be immersive and creepy.

The bottom line is read this book. It is one of my new favorite horror novels.

And for any other Whovians out there, I especially challenge you to this read. The nods to Doctor Who are subtle, except for one part where Jack actually brings up Doctor Who. But if you look under the hood I think you will see some inspiration that was uniquely taken and molded into a different kind of monster.