The Suffering is my first exposure to MJ Mars’s writing. The description seemed like it would be right up my alley. A Victorian mansion. A seance gone wrong. Not one, but five terrifying ghosts haunting the place. Sign me up. Ahh, but the meat on the bones doesn’t always make for a very satisfying meal.

Kyle Birbeck and his college friends move into said Victorian house, the very one his ancestor not only owned, but is reportedly haunting. None of them seem very concerned about the rumors, and Kyle thinks it would be a hoot to hold a seance on Halloween attempting to contact these ghosts.

Again, it all sounds good. I may question the wisdom of the seance and the potential of playing with fire, but hey, college kids do dumb shit all the time. I’m still on board at this point.

Of course, shit goes south releasing the ghosts. At first, you have ghosts doing your typical ghostly things. Now, do the kids pack up their shit and split? Nope. They stick around and continually dismiss everything, as if they have mice in the house rather than ghosts. Kyle gets more information about what’s going on. Does he share it with his roommates? Nope. Instead, he splits to Peru on what he tells everyone is a grad study trip. When in reality, it’s doing more investigating on one of the house’s nastier demons. He comes back armed with valuable information weeks later. Does he share with his roommates? Nope. It also appears that the ghostly visits are happening more often and having more serious consequences. Do the roommates want to split now? Nope. Just keep doing what you’ve been doing. Okay, now you’re losing me.

Back at the house, instead of staying content to rattle around in the shadows, they appear to each be choosing a different roommate and attaching themselves to them. And they’re ramping up their game to the 10th power. Is it time for Kyle to share his info? Nope, not quite yet. Okay. You get where this is going. I know it sounds like I’m crapping all over Mars’s story, but I’m really not. There IS a good story there. MJ can write. There’s no doubt about it. I simply think she needed a more honest editor to point out the plot holes, so she could tighten things up. Instead, all the characters’ denials and holding information stretches out to 384 pages with a pretty lackluster ending. Again, the ability is there, but The Suffering is a textbook case where the right editor can make or break a book.


2.5 Indifferent Yawns While Your Friends Die Around You out of 5


- I received this ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

This book was just what I needed to get me out of a reading slump. It’s captivating, full of twists and turns that I didn’t see coming, contains multiple povs (that I love), and it offers insight to not just the current lineup of characters but also the house itself and the ghosts involved. It’s reminiscent of all my favorite horror movies like A Haunting in Connecticut, Thirteen Ghosts and The Haunting of Hill House. So, if that’s the vibe you’re in to, you’ll love

I love a haunted house story. This house has a haunted history which is just fascinating and a haunted present. The current residence soon find out how horrific their situation is. The ghosts were scary and the effect on all the flat mates was intriguing. The writing doesn’t have much finesse and the ending just wasn’t fair. This book will suck you in. Thank you to NetGalley for an ARC

Very scary, horror read that means I will now be sleeping with the light on for the next couple of days!

Brilliant but not for the feint-hearted, easily scared or the easily offended as there’s some sex action in this book that may affect the “sensitive” folk out there!

The author really makes things very clear and easy to imagine so it really does scare the you-know-what out of you! The characters are very relatable and likeable too. The only negative were the sprinkling of American words used which would never be used by the English characters of the book.

This being said, it didn’t spoil my enjoyment of this tale of supernatural mystery and mayhem. I would definitely recommend this book to my horror-loving friend! Thank you @netgalley for letting me read this book.

Absolutely loved rescuing this book. Don’t normally go for horrors but the book cover looked exciting and drew me in. The plot was fantastic the suspense and excitement . It was very well written

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
SPICE: 🌶️
TW: Gore, Death, Sex, vivid details of demise




The Suffering started out super strong in the way of an introduction, and continued strong to the end. This is a book that will keep you engaged with everything going on within the story. I thoroughly enjoyed how well you got to know ALLL of the characters, and their quirks.

I honestly didn't expect to like this as much as I did but I couldn't stop reading because I had to know what happened. Within the storyline you expect a certain amount of terror to happen when you have vengeful spirits, but what you don't expect is a little bit of spice to go along with it. It gave a great break from what was happening mainly within the story to show that the characters are just asuch human as we are. And at times need that breakaway from the terror they have been facing. But nothing could have prepared me for the last quarter of the book. Which was fantastic.

Thank you to Netgalley for the copy in exchange for my honest review!

The beauty of this horror book is that it is what all horror fan wants! The classic seance scene on Halloween night to a group of young college students to tension releasing humor in between. There are so many elements that keep pulling you in to read until the very end. Highly recommended!

Any book that starts off with a séance is all right with me! I will admit, I found this book a little difficult to get into at the beginning even though it centers around everything that usually holds my interest. However as it got moving, I found it very well written, and I enjoyed it! Thank you to netgalley and publishers for giving me the opportunity to review.

This was overall a good read for fans of classic ghosts, seances and hauntings. The prose is clear and original, never feeling boring. The author brings new action and descriptions all the time and the pace is kept.

However, some elements weren’t to my personal liking. Firstly, there seems to be no protagonist and no emotional growth that counts as a protagonist challenge. There were so so so many characters in this story that I finished the book and still wasn’t sure who’s who. The 5 ghosts were also a bit much, and personally I’d rather see less people facing less ghosts in order to feel “claustrophobic”.

I enjoyed the hauntings, but personally didn’t like the ending very much. I felt cheated by the last few lines.

Even so, the author knows her tropes and conventions very well, and crafted a richly detailed universe. It’s perfect for those who enjoy a long, cozy spooky read.

What a ride! The book starts off with a bang, a seance in an old house on Halloween. Yeah, sign me up. As the book progresses we watch our housemates deal with the sinister forces that they've conjured from the start. It's a quick, easy read that holds your attention. If you're into haunted house stories with a little bit of possession and lore on the side, this is definitely the book for you.

What a fun tale on the haunted house trope! The different ghosts for each of the housemates, and learning about their horrible histories was unique and made for a fun read.

The characters were mostly likeable, although I didn’t understand why none of them attempted to get help from an exorcist or actual practicing psychic. The motives of Kyle’s ancestor were unclear as well.

I thought Po was the most frightening ghost/creature and I wonder why Kyle didn’t bring back more protection bracelets for his friends from Peru.

This book was a bit on the longer side, but the terrors, twists, and turns make it worthwhile. The ending was a bit disappointing, unless there’s a sequel, it felt like you went through all this trauma with these folks for naught.

Thank you to NetGalley, the author, BooksGoSocial, and Wicked House Publishing for a copy!

This book is what a ghost story should be. It had angry ghosts, people being haunted, great friendships and curses needing to be broken. Once I began reading this book, I was so much invested that I did nothing but read until I finished this tale. The group of friends completed a seance that should have never been done. Kyle, who the house was given to because he was family, did not think much had happened during the seance. Little did he know that the entire house would be in danger. The danger increased as the ghosts grew stronger. The group became increasingly involved in danger, especially if they left the house. When Kyle decided to try and find a way to send the ghosts back to where they came, the danger to him and his friends increased the danger to everyone. The whole idea of disgruntled ghosts who were able to attack the living with such vengeance that their attacks became ingrained in my imagination. I am not sure if there is going to be a sequel but I sure hope so.

Halloween, an old Victorian house, an attempt at ouija gone terribly wrong. For a lover of creepy stories this one has just about everything you need. The hauntings are truly creepy and chill worthy! The fact that the characters are interesting and get some development only serves to elevate this read. The ending could come with a little less "puzzle-solving" but that doesn't take away from the reader's enjoyment. Finally, the ending serves some delicious shivers.

This was such a great ghost story!! I thought it was really quick read because you just get pulled in. It gave you a creepy feel that was nice. I love when I can get a creeped out feeling. I wanted a chance to read this because I fell in love with the cover and I choose most of my books by their covers and I have only been burned a few times so I stick with my method. If you want a good creepy horror book then this is definitely for you!




Thank you NetGalley and BooksGoSocial for allowing me to read this ARC for my honest opinion.

Kyle and a small group of people live in a house with a sinister past. They decide to recreate a seance and catastrophic events occurs after. Spirits are unleashed and they tether themselves onto the group. Will they survive? A Horror story with plenty of suspense and a nail-biting plot. A well written ghost story.


Disclaimer: Thank you NetGalley and BooksGoSocial for this review copy and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

4.5 so so close to being a 5 star for me. What a way to start a story... at Halloween with a seance! Creepy! I would have loved to have listened to this on audio! I bet it was twice as creepy. Loved the ghost and their background stories. I had no problem flying thru as the ghosts became more apparent and forced themselves into the daily lives of the houses occupants. I can't say I really had a favorite character as all of them were unique and fun to follow in their turmoil but Cassie... I really felt badly for what all was happening to her especially. The last few pages.... I literally stood from a seated position and exclaimed oh hell naw!

If you like creepy and things that go farther than a bump in the dark don't miss The Suffering. Don't recommend reading it in the dark alone either.

An entertaining haunted house story, albeit predictable in places. I really enjoyed all the lore attached to the different ghouls and their "modus operandi". Definitely a book that needs more attention!

I received a copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

***

"The Suffering" popped up as a pre-approved recommended read and since I enjoy haunted house stories, I decided to give it a go.

This was a fun take on haunting. I particularly enjoyed the scent aspect of the attachments and that they were mostly able to puzzle out the whos before the ghosts themselves began gaining in power and manifesting.

Overall, the story was interesting. There were quite a few moving parts and I did find it took a minute to sort everyone out. But, ultimately, I thought the author came up with an interesting haunting concept and things ramp up and get pretty violent. These are not friendly ghosts.

Really enjoyable read - atmospheric writing really sets the scene when Kyle and his housemates release the ghostly residents of Brackenby House. Genuinely creepy as the ghosts gradually gain power and make themselves known - suspense builds to a gripping final few chapters which are not for the faint hearted!
Horror at its best - an excellent debut novel from MJ Mars!

It’s spooky, scary, creepy book, filled with paranormal wild Ghosts! It’s a slow burn but give it a chance.

Set in the UK, very close College friends live in a house known to have ghosts, so they set to do a Seance on Halloween. Well, from that night forward they see and hear things that make them believe that each ghost is connecting to each one of them.

The twists and turns and back stories will keep you wanting more.
My favorite kind of spooky ending!!
I love horror flicks and anything to scare me and this did. I enjoyed it very much

Thank you NetGalley, the publisher and Author for my free ebook in exchange for an honest review.

3.8stars