I give this book 2.5 ⭐️ stars but I rounded up than down. Wasn't a very interesting read until the middle and end it had a small twist but nothing crazy. I figured it out pretty quickly, their wasn't much of a Edgar Ellen Poe vibe to it so I was pretty bummed at that part. The beginning was very slow and to much nonsense going on in the beginning and it dragged on and was thinking to DNF it but I wanted to finish and I hate to DNF haha. With the description and the cover I was expecting a more eerie experience and I was very disappointed 😞

This book was my first book first book from this author. It was a very ominous, foreboding, mysterious thriller. I liked the story but I think some of it could have been better. The ending was kind of lackluster. I wish the author pushed it a little more, maybe more twists and some shocking at the end of the book.

Thank you to NetGalley and Wicked House Publishing for providing me with a free ebook in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you Netgalley, Cassandra O'Sullivan Sachar and Wicked House Publishing for the eArc of Darkness There but something More.

When I read the burb of this dark suspense novel, I was really curious and really enjoyed the mix of genre. Mystery, thriller with dark elements which is being told on 2 timelines.

Marissa, who has already suffered a great deal in her life, gets an opportunity to work at her old university as an English Professor. As the narrative progresses, Marissa casts her mind back to her days at BlackThorn Uni, and the secrets that she keeps which are triggered by a disappearance of one of her students.

I found the main character, Marissa, felt real. Someone who carries a lot of pain but is willing to still be a good person and I really liked her. I really enjoyed the dark elements of this thriller, is went overdone and gradually weaved its way through the story and crescendoed at the end. The only thing Im not sure with, is the title. Im not sure if the title of the book suits the narrative but that's a personal preference.

The cover is beautiful, as is the writing. Read this story!! You will not be disappointed! I thoroughly enjoyed this read.

This was a quick read, though a bit predictable. It centers on Marissa, who takes a teaching job at her Alma Mater after the death of her newborn baby and subsequent divorce. The college holds bad memories for her and when a favorite student disappears, it brings back ghosts from her own college days. The book is told entirely from Marissa’s POV (with the exception of one chapter from an unknown person), between current time in the first person and Marissa’s college years in the 3rd person.

I couldn’t really relate to Marissa but I did find her to be a mostly likable character. I do wish there was more action and less internal narrative, though. There really wasn’t much related to Poe in this book, which was a bit of a disappointment. I was surprised when the villain was revealed, despite other parts of the book being more predictable, but I did feel that the reveal was a bit unrealistic. I thought the ending was pretty well done and was faster paced than the chapters leading up to it.

Overall, this wasn’t exactly what I expected and I didn’t see too many twists, but I did think it was a quick (and overall decent) read. Thanks to Netgalley for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

This was a beautifully done horror novel and enjoyed the overall feel of the concept. It had that horror element that I was looking for and thought the characters were everything that I was hoping for. I really felt for Marissa and appreciated how great she felt. I can't wait to read more from Cassandra O'Sullivan Sachar. The cover was everything that I wanted from the story and glad I read this.

Title: Darkness There but Something More by Cassandra O'Sullivan Sachar
Genre: Thriller/Suspense
Pub Date: March 1, 2024

⭐ 4/5

TW: child loss, miscarriage

🕯️ Dual Timelines
🥀 Sorority Hazing
🔀 Unexpected Twists

I love Edgar Allan Poe, so with that and the dark book cover, I was certain I'd enjoy this one!
The dual timelines, jumping from preset day back to Marissa's own time spent being hazed in a sorority, kept the pace quick and keeps you guessing. I enjoyed the Poe references sprinkled throughout.
Overall a good, quick thriller with some unexpected twists.


Thank you so much @netgalley and Wicked House Publishing for the advanced reader copy!❣️

I thought that this was a great dark thriller. If you are into dark then this is for you. I will definitely recommend this one to anyone

A really gripping read, I thought the characters were intriguing and I'm going to look out for more by this author.

When people come together to hide a secret, that secret can have long lasting effects. For Marissa, a mistake while pledging in college, provides anxiety and stress long into her later years. When a murder happens on campus, Marissa begins to relive her college days. Some of her memories are good but many are sad. When she begin to investigate the latest murder on her own, someone decides she needs to confess a secret she has held in since her college days. Threatening notes begin to arrive and Marissa is unsure who is behind the threats. The reader is given a shock when the person behind the threats makes themself known. An excellent psychological thriller.

A dark thriller with multiple timelines and some great character work. If you like dark academia, this one's for you.

I wasn't a huge fan of this one. I was looking forward to this book having more about Edgar Allen Poe, but that was not the case. He doesn't have much to do with the story. other than the main character being an Edgar Allen Poe specialist. There were a few references here and there, but that was it. It was a disappointment and I felt a little mislead by the description.

It was also difficult to get involved with the story. It was hard to care about the characters and the plot and it was way longer than it needed to be. There were many chapters where nothing really happened and it just made the story even slower. and a bit boring.

The more I think about this book, the more I don't think it's for me. The writing was.. fine. The story lacked nuance in both plot developments and characters, but it didn't come across in an unreliable narrator way, just a one-sided story. Additionally, the romance was out of nowhere and didn't add to the story any.

1.5 stars rounded to 2. I rarely give bad feedback, but I try to be honest in my reviews. What happened to Wicked House Publishing? Most of their books lately have been really dull and uninspired - a couple of their well-known and time-proven names naturally excepted. Sachar's book is a case in point: so many words to say the simplest thing, so much thinking over the slightest issue. Overthinking is one thing, but the main character of this novel is thinking about everything that happens, and I mean EVERYTHING: she's opening her door, she's telling us about it, thinking about it, contemplating it, uses it as an opening to mention her troubles for the hundredth time. What really saddened me, however, is that this book is not even horror: there's absolutely NO basis to categorize it as such, literally nothing. Horror fans are not the intended audience. What a disappointment.

I really, really wish I had liked this book more. I am an avid lover of dark academic / gothic horror books, and this one was ALMOST there. The plot in general had really promising bones.

My two main issues I had with this novel were a) that there was so much more telling than showing. I wanted to feel INVOLVED in the story a bit more, instead of like someone was just reading it to me; and b) that so much of it felt irrelevant - I could have skipped entire chapters and still not have missed anything essential.

I do think the writing was good, so maybe just a solid round of editing and it would have been much better for me!

Slow, clunky. I couldn't get into this. I was bored after only a few chapters. Nothing happens and, despite what the blurb says, there's no connection to Edgar Alan Poe.

I’m reviewing this ARC from NetGalley. This is my honest opinion.

As a lover of Poe and all things macabre, I had high hopes for this book. Unfortunately, I did not like it much at all.

I found the blurb to be a bit misleading as the story doesn’t have much to do with Poe beyond the mention of a couple of his quotes and stories.

The first 75% of the book was an unnecessary info-dump. Not much of it was conducive to the stories progression, and only made it seem to drag on. The dialogue was dry.

It took way too long to get to the climax, and it tapered off rather quickly leading us to a rather anticlimactic end.

1.5 stars rounded up to two because the twist at the end was the best part of the book.

It was a little confusing at first with the story going from past to present time. Marissa decides to leave her tenured position after her baby dies and she divorces her husband. An old professor whom she has kept in touch with tells her about an opportunity at her old university. She thinks it’s a good opportunity and moves back home. Where she meets a student that reminds her of herself at that age. After tragedy strikes, she begins to realize the similarities between what happened to her student and something from her past. A long buried secret that must come to the surface. Definitely recommend this books if you want a suspenseful read.

Thanks to NetGalley for providing me with an ARC copy in exchange for my honest review.

thsi was NOT a "dark suspense". It wasn't even really (to me) a Thriller. It felt to me somewhere between a Cozy mystery and a Louise Kennedy mystery, leaning closer to the cozy. by a lot. still, kinda fun!

Thank you to NetGalley and Wicked House Publishing for the chance to read this advance ebook in exchange for my honest review.
My main takeaway was disappointment. I was really hoping that Poe - his life, writing, imagery, etc. - would play a large role in this story. However, even though the main character is a Poe expert, and teaches classes on Poe's life and works, this has nothing really to do with the story.
This was more a cautionary tale about the dangers of college life, Greek life, and secrets.
While I was unhappy with the lack of gothic horror elements, the story was ok. I could relate to being young, unsure, worried about making friends, going along with the group, etc. I did have empathy for the main character and for the victims.
I guess I wish that there had been more darkness and more suspense - as advertised in the title.
So while I never wanted to leave the story unfinished, I never was able to immerse myself in the tale.
2.5 stars rounded to 3