Thank you NetGalley for the review copy!

Great debut! I am usually not a big fan of haunted house stories but I really liked this queer ya book.
Highly recommend for spooky season.

Where to start with this review? First of all I might have a new favorite author. I am bummed I waited so long to read this one. I found the pacing to be amazing and the characters were well developed.

This is the perfect book for fall/spooky season. Gives you all the haunted house small town vibes you could ask for.

Bonus is that it also has wonderful representation. I really loved the achillean romance it was beautiful and their relationship was so sweet.

I've had this book on my radar ever since it was first pitched and sold, because it was comp'd as The Haunting of Bly Manor meets Cemetery Boys—and if you know anything about me, you know exactly what that is absolutely my jam in every way possible.

I have to start by confirming that this does in fact have huge Cemetery Boys energy, which is possibly the highest praise I can give. It has that same dynamic of a goofy, loveable trio getting themselves into paranormal shenanagins and also the banter between Jaime and Theo is equally as hilarious and unhinged as any you find in Cemetery Boys.

Obviously, I'm not interested in comparing apples to apples or anything like that. Plot-wise especially, they're definitely two different stories trying to accomplish two different things. But I would absolutely say that if you loved one, you'll most likely love the other.

Admittedly, this story does take a while to find its footing, in my opinion. There's a fair amount of set-up at the beginning, and while it's necessary on some levels, I think it could have been condensed down to more quickly get to the heart of the story with Jaime being trapped in this abandoned, haunted manor. That's definitely where the story shines the brightest, and it feels like the beginning is keeping the reader at arm's length for a little too long.

That said, this was still wonderful. The story is creepy, it's mysterious, it's suspenseful, but it's also deeply emotional.

There's this really interesting parallel of Jaime being a foster kid who doesn't really have a strong sense of home or belonging and how he ironically becomes trapped in this haunted house that refuses to let him go. I love how the story excavates the way that being trapped there weirdly brings him a sense of consistency and shelter that he's been missing his whole life. Like, yes, it's a creepy haunted house and being there absolutely sucks, but at least he knows what to expect while he's there.

Through being trapped in this manor, Jaime is learning what it means to have to depend on others, how to ask and accept help from other people, and ultimately how to be vulnerable—which is, perhaps, the scariest thing of all.

The story is also, in large part, about discovering and understanding your own power. All the different characters are struggling to realize their agency in their own life, and through this budding friendship they all have together, they're learning that they're stronger together than they are alone. It's about how even when we feel trapped by the narrow ways in which society views, defines, and limits us, we have so much more power over our futures than we might think. Sometimes we're trapped and sometimes we're the ones who are trapping ourselves.

Through a pitch-perfect blend of humor and vulnerability, Saint Juniper's Folly gives us a loveable trio we can root for, while also exploring how we define "home," what accepting care for ourselves looks like, and how community is defined by those who teach us—over and over again—how to free ourselves.

I had such a great time listening to this one. It has amateur ghost-hunting, curse breaking, occult magic, incredible queer romance, begrudging yet sincere friendship. What more could you ask for? I'm so excited for whatever Alex Crespo cooks up in the future, because if it's anything like SJF, it will be sure to absolutely steal my heart. Highly recommend.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for granting me free access to the advanced copy of this book. This book had me at queer characters and ghosts and didn't let go until the final page. If you're looking for a creepy, atmospheric story, give this one a try.

I want to begin this review by thanking NetGalley for providing me with an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

This book has everything I love in a story. It has queer representation, ghosts, found family, witchcraft, and a healthy dose of romance that keeps you turning the pages. The comfort I found in this story can only be matched by that of a TJ Klune novel or a cool day wrapped up in blankets. While the stakes of the story are high for Jaime, it isn’t so nerve wracking that I have to walk away from the story to get a full breath in. Personally, that’s the level of anticipation I enjoy in a book. The ghostly element of the story takes some interesting twists as you uncover more and more about the house and the entity that keeps him locked in. The final reveal was one I didn’t really see coming; even if you can start to see the connections coming together before that point. Overall I didn’t find the book to be predictable in the slightest, and there was a good level of mystery that kept me glued to the pages.

This was one of those books that pulled me from a slump when I hadn’t felt like reading in months! I really really enjoyed Saint Junipers Folly and I can’t wait to see what else Alex Crespo comes up with.

I didn't really resonate with this book but that may be in large part because I am not it's intended audience. It was not written for people like me. THis is an outsider story for sure. Apart from that lack of connection, I'm not 100% sure this works over all. There are decent elements at play. We're looking at different ways a person can be haunted and how some protection is toxic. Interesting stuff. But it is revealed in random ways without logical progression. It is unbalanced.

Well done, well plotted. An excellent character driven story featuring fleshed out and realistic characters.
The world building and the plot are well developed and the storytelling is good.
Can't wait to read another book by this author.
Highly recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher for this ARC, all opinions are mine

Character building was the highlight of this book for me. The voices of Jaime and Theo are pitch perfect for this slightly haunting, but highly enjoyable read. As a person who typically does not read horror, this was a great book to dip into the genre, while getting invested enough in the story’s d characters that I wasn’t worried about what happened next. Crespo writes with ease and heart, bringing representation to the genre!

This was such a treat from start to finish!
Everything about it work so well for me: I believed each of our characters, as well as the bonds forming between them as they are brought together by chance, I got drawn in and spooked by the setting, I felt my heart ache for each of their emotional journeys, and I mostly just wanted to keep reading and dreaded every moment when real life forced me to put down the book.
It's not easy to deliver romance, coming of age stories and horror with the same level of excellence and care at once, but Saint Juniper's Folly manages to do this; what I admire the most is that it does all this in a manner that feels effortless when it must've been anything but.
Such a stellar debut for Crespo, who's likely to become an auto-buy author in the future!

Alex Crespo creates an enjoyable world for readers who are young, as well as older readers. Crespo guides the reader through the experiences of these youthful characters in believable and entertaining ways. Recommended for school libraries and classroom shelves.

Big thanks to NetGalley and Peachtree Teen for providing me with an early copy in an exchange for an honest review. I’m sorry for being terribly late with this.

“I’m so scared life might pass me by, and I don’t want to wake up one day and realize I’ve been faking everything so long I never actually figured out how to live for real.”

I know this was released during pride month but this is such a perfect Halloween read actually.

Saint Juniper’s Folly follows the point of view of three different characters whose lives get intertwined; Jamie who basically gets stuck in a haunted house; Theo, a boy who stumbles onto him; and Taylor, a witch that sets out to help get James out of that house. The house seems to be possessed by a ghost that doesn’t want to let James go but as the story unfolds we find out what the real truth is and how characters are connected more than they initially thought they were.

I really liked the character dynamic and the friendship they had as well as the individual arcs of each character. The book has a haunting atmosphere but it’s actually not too scary if anyone is not sure should they give it a try because they are not a fan of horror. I definitely feel the emphasis is more on the found family and dealing with some of the issues each character faced. There are few things I wish it touched upon more but I think it’s great for a debut novel and I’m looking forward to more work from Alex Crespo.

Jaime, who's been in foster care since he was seven, recently moved back to his hometown of Saint Juniper. He can't imagine going back to school in the fall in this tiny space where he's already talk of the town even though he's only been back shortly. Theo spends his summer volunteering at the library and trying to make everyone happy. He's the golden boy, and he's trying his hardest to maintain that, no matter how difficult. Taylor lost her mom at the beginning of the year. Now, her dad is trying to keep her from practicing witchcraft at all costs.
When Jaime gets stuck in an unexpected way, the unlikely trio has to band together to figure out what's wrong with the valley, and, quite frankly, Jaime.
Oh! This was such a sweet read! I enjoyed it a whole lot, the family lore, the haunted house, the teens coming together ... it very much had The Raven Cycle vibes for me and I tremendously loved that. I am very sure this will be my next birthday present for my little sibling.

I really enjoyed this book. The found family aspect- just so well done.
A foster care boy - self hatred strong, hurt by the world.
A naïve boy - desperate to get out of the dmall town so he can find out who he is.
A young woman mourning the death of her mother - father has withdrawn, desperate to find her place in a long line of witches.
A creepy house. What more could I need?

Abandoned houses, complicated family legacies, secretive parents, family trauma, and of course ghosts - this gothic YA provides all of these things, along with three PoV characters, and an enjoyable fast-paced storyline.

Jamie, Theo, and Taylor are all three teens with completely different experiences and history, but they'll be brought together by Saint Juniper's Folly - the woods near the town where they all are spending the summer.

I enjoyed the way that the different histories and family pressures of each of these teens impacted where and how they ended up in the narrative of the present. The relationships between the three, who at the beginning of the book do not know each other, but by the end are like family, are built beautifully throughout the course of the events in the book.

This was a quick read, and a truly enjoyable one. Highly recommended for reading during spooky season.

‘Saint Juniper’s Folly’ follows the three POVs of Jaime, Theo, and Taylor through their adventure of trying to get Jaime out of a haunted house. This is a wonderfully sweet and sometimes sad novel with a focus on the characters and a creepy setting. This isn’t incredibly scary but it very atmospheric.

This is a pretty quick read that I enjoyed every second of. The characters were definitely a highlight and I really liked all of them! Each character had their own sort of arc and it was fun to follow their development through this mystery. It has so many touching moments. The found family was heartwarming and it also went a bit into family relationships which I liked.

Overall, I’d definitely recommend if you like haunted houses, sweet queer relationships, and witches!

I think this is probably a great book, just not for me. While this is YA and the characters are teens, it reads very young. By the 50% mark, I just felt like I knew exactly what emotional beats we were about to hit and what the solution to the mystery was going to be.

Some odd decisions were also made here. Crespo makes the choice to add a "ticking bomb" mechanic, but then sets the deadline two months in the future... but THEN jumps a whole month in between chapters? Setting an actual pressing deadline on the characters would have been a great opportunity to tighten up the plot and eliminate some unnecessary meandering. There's also some clunky and awkward dialogue, particularly in the beginning, when the characters are being needlessly (and somewhat unbelievably) antagonistic toward one another.

This could be a perfect read for young teens or mature middle grade readers coping with grief and/or tumultuous home life, as well as for young people in the early stages of figuring out their identity. As an adult reader, though, many topics felt shallow and surface-level. Crespo's writing does show promise and the premise of the story is unique and interesting, so I'll definitely keep an eye on what he writes next.

i really really enjoyed this book a lot more than i thought i would! it was so fun and enjoyable to read. the author really hit the nail on the head with everything they talked about. it was so fascinating!!!

“If this was my life flashing before my eyes, I probably should have lived a little more.”

I absolutely devoured this book, and loved every minute. From the get go, the writing style had me in a trance. Beautiful metaphors that made me have to physically pause to admire them, witty dialogue between friends, and atmospheric description making the town of Saint Juniper feel alive, a character itself on par with the three narrators. Jamie, Taylor, and Theo, each with their own familial baggage, are thrown into a magical conundrum, in the middle of the forrest, and the middle of each other’s lives. The story it tells, of generational trauma, and the power we hold to make decisions over our own lives, filled parts of my heart that I didn’t know were empty. The audiobook—which I listened to in three sittings—is also splendidly done. Each narrator made their character come alive, highlighting their distinct voice through their tones.

Easily in my top books of the year.

Thank you to NetGalley and Peachtree Teen for providing me with an ARC of this copy.

I had high hopes of Saint Juniper's Folly giving me Nancy Drew (the CW version) creepy supernatural vibes. It, unfortunately, did not. And I, personally, did not enjoy reading and dnfed this book.

Thank you to Netgalley and Peachtree Teen for providing me with a review copy.

i really liked the gothic vibes and mystery but i think the characters could've been fleshed out more. their stories were interesting but i didn't care a lot about the characters themselves.