ARC Book Review: House of Thorns by Isabel Strychacz

Rating: ★★★★☆
Audience: YA Horror
Length: 304 pages
Author: Isabel Strychacz
Publisher: Simon Teen
Release Date: August 20th, 2024
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

In the vein of The Haunting of Hill House , a teen returns to the mysterious house from her past to search for her missing sister and uncover the truth of Brier Hall in this atmospheric and eerie modern gothic novel.

Lia Peartree is haunted—by memories, by her past, by secrets, by the ones she left behind. Five years ago, the Peartrees fled their home—the infamous ancestral Brier Hall—and never looked back. But her oldest sister went missing that night, and there’s been no sign of her since.

In the aftermath, the Peartrees are traumatized and get by however they can. Lia’s remaining sister Ali says yes to any bad idea, and Lia tries so desperately to be the perfect daughter that it’s tearing her apart. But as the five year anniversary of the night they left nears, Lia begins seeing her missing sister everywhere, and memories of Brier Hall won’t leave her alone.

When Ali disappears with no warning except a cryptic phone call—“don’t follow me when I’m gone”—Lia is sure she’s gone back to Brier Hall. Lia must go home one final time and face what haunts her in an effort to find her sisters and uncover the truth of her past.

Thank you to the author for an eARC.

ABSOLUTELY CREEPY.

This is the first book in a long time that I can remember feeling genuinely creeped out by. I loved this haunted house and its many layers. The writing was incredibly atmospheric and built the scene so well I felt it. I was wrapped up in this gothic tale waiting to see what would happen next.

It’s a short book so the pacing moves quickly which keeps the entire situation from being bogged down. I would have loved just a little more build up of the characters backgrounds and relationships but that was my only minor issue.

This was lyrical and cinematic. As someone who doesn’t read a lot of the horror genre I think this is a great balance of scary with still being able to read it at night. I loved trying to solve the secrets of Brier Hall and the mysteries that it held. It’s incredibly eerie and made me crave all things autumn.

Overall audience notes: