Thank you so much to Netgalley and the publisher for the chance to read The Suffering! I absolutely loved this book. It had a great atmosphere of creepy, mysterious, and intrigue, on top of being well-written.

I couldn't tell what this story was trying to be. A thriller, but YA? A horror, but funny? A mystery, but fantastical? The story itself couldn't seem to decide as it jumped all over the place in tone, pacing, and atmosphere. Otherwise, this story had a fun premise with interesting characters.

The Suffering is an entertaining, ghost story. The characters and ghosts themselves are interesting. The story is exciting and keeps your interest throughout.

One thing that people will either love or hate is that this horror book does not have the mood and tone that most typically expect from horror. It takes away from the horror itself. I would suggest this to folks that enjoy horror that is more “*fun* and less *terrifying*.

Thank you NetGalley and BooksGoSocial!

From very early on in The Suffering I became skeptical. The first half dragged on and on. Luckily the second half did eventually pick up. I really struggled with this one because of the serious lack of police involvement, it really threw this off for me. It came across as unrealistic and because of that it just did not hold the spooky effect I so desperately craved and wanted from this book. The purpose of horror is to make something that seems so unrealistic and so impossible, possible. This just didn't do that. My second big issue was the ending. It definitely ends on a cliffhanger, however that cliffhanger does not leave me much hope or excitement about a sequel if one were to come about.

This is another case of I did not love it, I did not hate it. So, it gets three stars.

I love thrillers but I tend to stick to crime thrillers, I rarely read books that are spooky and contain ghosts! I must admit this book wasn't as scary as what I thought, I was a bit apprehensive to start it in case it scared me and made me paranoid but it was okay, it wasn't a jump scare book thankfully; although, there was a small part of me that actually did want it to be a bit scarier (I realise how contradictory that sounds, haha).

It was a pretty nostalgic book and took me back to the days that I used to read Goosebumps when I was younger! I really liked the whole concept of the book; it took quite a while for me to get into it but once I did and the action started it was really good. After reading the first half there was plenty of gore, ghosts, spiciness and twists!

I also really liked the fact the book ended on a bit of a cliffhanger, usually I hate that and need to have a definitive ending but I really enjoyed the ending in this instance.

3.5 stars

So first off Awesome book, it gave the spooky factor along with some twists and different POV which worked out amazing in this book
It kinda gave off a vibe of Thirteen Ghosts, The Exorcist's House and The Haunting of Hill House, to me which I love all of these so it was a perfect fit for me
The Suffering was very well written and I loved all the Backstories (the ghosts, the house, the characters) it all told a great story
You really got to know all the characters so well
I couldn't put this book down, and when I needed to adult things in life I kept thinking about it and couldn't wait to get back to reading it. Def drew me in
Do ghosts just haunt a house or do they haunt people....?!?!?!!?
So I hear this is the author's MJ Mars' debut novel and this makes me soooo happy bc I feel like she is gonna produce some more really good books for us all to read and I can't wait.

I got this book as an ARC and I am so happy to have been able to read this book and am happy to review it. My review and opinions are my own and honest.

I started this, but it quickly became clear to me that the writing style was not going to work for me, and to avoid giving a negative feedback rating, I am going to not complete the story. Sorry.

This is had such a 13 Ghosts vibe with the cast of ghosts haunting a group a friends! Great atmospheric creepy read! Slow to start but ends with a bang! Loved the detailing on the ghosts, you could really envision each one as they appeared. Loved the beginning with the seance, and the more brutal ending! Definitely will check out other books by this author!

I enjoyed reading this alternative ghost story. After getting beyond the opening "well, that was a stupid thing to do." I thought the characters were interesting and engaging throughout. And who hasn't come across coffee which is both thin and entirely too strong at the same time?

This is my first book by MJ Mars & I was absolutely impressed! This book is a very good mix of horror/haunted and mystery!!
The plot and the character build are both amazingly written!

Picture it. Victorian England. 1876. A seance at Brackenby House, calling upon five ghosts with various, dangerous backgrounds, for the power for a person to see their fate; however, that fate was quickly realized when everyone in the house was massacred, except for Lucius Holgrove, the psychic who summoned the apparitions.
Fast-forward to Halloween 2016 at Brackenby House, where Lucius’s great-great-great-grand nephew, Kyle, and Kyle’s housemates, who are all aware of the legend and stories about the house, including the rumor that the ghosts are still within its walls, decide to hold a seance. Because, of course, they’re just stories… right?
After the seance, the housemates don’t feel as though the house itself is haunted, but that they, themselves, are progressively being haunted, even outside of the house. One roommate suddenly has vertigo, another hears the pattering of footsteps, and one starts smelling mold in his immediate area and saltwater when another roommate leaves the room.
Can Kyle and his housemates figure out how banish the ghosts before The Suffering: Part 2 occurs?

The Suffering provided great spooky vibes, and I was hooked from start to finish. There were incredibly creepy parts where I would literally say, “nope,” out loud and amazingly described gory and body horror parts where I could easily picture the scenes, which equally impressed and disturbed me. It was pretty fast-paced throughout; however, the build led to quite a flat and quick ending. I felt like I needed more explanation (especially from one particular character) and was left a bit unsatisfied.

There was one thing I did have an issue with that didn’t have to do with the ending of the story. One of the male characters described a female student of color as “exotic,”which made me a bit angry, as this is an obvious microaggression and not the compliment the author thought it was.

Overall, I enjoyed the ride and couldn’t believe this was MJ Mars’ debut novel, but I was left wanting a bit more at the very end.

I enjoyed everything about this book. The characters were likable, the story moved at a fast pace. There were genuinely frightening moments. It would make a great movie. I’ll definitely look for other books by this author.

"There is no exquisite beauty...without some strangeness in the proportion"

I ought to start this review by admitting that I was expecting to like this book way more than I ended up doing.
The reason for this has more to do with the plot than it does the writing. As a matter of fact, I think the author really knows their way around storytelling, and managed to write scenes that felt really easy to visualise, thereby feeling all the more true.

However, to me, plenty of parts in the plot outline felt far-fetched or too hasty. Going in too much detail would entail spoilers. What I can do is going as far as saying that our protagonists made certain game-changing
discoveries way too quickly and based on hunches and gut feelings that were not really explained. In addition, I felt that lots of the possible pathways the story has opened were not really explored - and that's a pity, really. Kyle travelling to the other side of the world, just to mention one. The stories of the ghosts, also, which were as much of a protagonist as the kids living in Brackenby, could have been examined more.

Lastly, there were no incredible plot twists or unprecedented developments, and that greatly hampered my reading experience. I would definitely like to try out something else by this author, though!

I'd like to thank NetGalley and Wicked House Publishing for giving me the opportunity to read an advanced copy of this book!

The book follows 5 housemates who live in Brackenby House, filled with 5 ghosts who were banished there in the 1800’s. The students, Kyle, Cassie, Tad, Lance and Pete, perform a seance on Halloween that leads to the ghosts latching on to each individual.

I really enjoyed this book, i don’t typically gravitate towards this kind of genre, but it hooked me in and i didn’t want to put it down! The characters were all very interesting and the book keeps you going with unexpected twists.

It was intriguing learning about each of the ghosts as well and reading about how each of the characters interacted with them/had run ins.


I was provided this ARC on behalf of NetGalley, this does not influence my review.

I recommend this book if you are into the horror genre or just like ghost stories!

The Suffering was, at times, an exciting read. I loved how it started right out of the gate. Boom! You have ghosts. Learning about each ghost was really interesting. There were a few paths that never got fully explored that I wish had been. The entire Peru thing would have been fascinating to see, instead of just hear a little bit about it. Overall, I thought the characters were well defined if not overly likable. The ending was a bit rushed, so there was a chance to have some real tension built up that I think was missed. Overall, this was just a good haunted house story.

I thought this was a very different and interesting ghost story! There were parts that creeped me out. Each ghosts back story was very interesting and thought provoking. It was a fun horror story that I would recommend.

If you are a fan of horror don't miss this one.

Kyle and his friends are living in a Victorian house where The Suffering Ritual took place in 1876. On Halloween the roommates decide to have their own Seance with an Ouija board and unleash their own haunting.

This book was atmospheric and eerie, the paranormal activity growing more and more prevalent with each chapter. There were 5 spirits of divination representing Malice, Strength, Stealth, Deception and Frivolity. Each has a gnarly backstory and latches onto a roommate, trialing them wherever they go - there is no escape.

When I got to the 80% mark I made popcorn and settled in because the ending was unputdownable.

I received this book from Wicked House Publishing in exchange for an honest review. This statement is always true. I’m not given compensation to discuss a book and I’m not told how to rate a book. I am given a book in exchange for my opinions on it, and I am truthful in all my reviews whether I loved them or not.

Boy, am I suffering. Within the first 2 chapters, there are 15 characters to remember, 5 current characters, 5 characters from the late 1800s, and 5 "ghosts". Unfortunately, the author uses first names or last names for some of the characters, so it sounds more like 17 or 18 characters. I had to keep backtracking to the characters introductions just to remember who is who. I want to really shelf this one and not finish reading it. I find my head spinning just to keep up with which character is which. I don't know if I should continue through it and maybe it gets better, or if I should dump it. But I am so confused right now, and there are no significant backgrounds or character developments on any of the 10 human characters, except for two. I can't keep the characters straight. I read just the first 2 chapters three times already. It seemed like an overload of information all at once.

I really wanted to like this book, seances, paranormal, ghosts, creepy stuff. It sounded really good. I do understand why the author needed 15 characters, the past comes into the present. And there is a link to it all. Maybe it just wasn't the book for me, at least for now. Maybe I will try again in the future, but after finishing 3 chapters, I couldn't flip another page. Maybe in the future, and I will re-rate the book.

It just wasn't for me.

Thank you Wicked House Publishing for giving me the opportunity to read and review this book

Great ghost story about a group of university students that are living in their friends house that has a less than stellar history. One Halloween night, they all decide to recreate the seance that led to an infamous massacre in the house back in 1876.
Perfect for fans of ghost stories and haunted houses and even had a bit of spice thrown in.

Even Though the story is good and can keep you reading it does not feel like a horror book it feels and reads as more of a thriller book. The character telling is ok but there is nothing to really make me feel like I should care about what happens to them as the story goes on. So if I was to recommend this book to someone I would do it as a thriller instead of a horror book