Great story, thrilling plot that I could not put down. Well worth a read, and would recommend to others. Definitely a great blend of genres!

The Well

The Well is a great mix of mystery, ghosts, and suspense. A group of teenagers camp out overnight in a haunted house in their town and they hold a seance. This then leads to other events and the next day one girl( Elise) is missing and is never seen again.

Twelve years later Haven, the cousin of the missing girl is a successful horror author. He blames his cousin's disappearance on Jordan Hunter. Jordan's twin brother Pierce was also there the night that Elise went missing but he believes his brother is innocent. Pierce and Jordan have a successful ghost hunting TV show and they decide to re-visit the supposedly haunted house and broadcast a programme from there. They invite Haven who they haven't seen during the last twelve years.

Haven had a big crush on Pierce as a teenager but their feelings for each other were never given a chance to develop because Haven has always blamed Jordan for his cousin's death but so much remains unexplained. Haven also wants some answers about Elise's disappearance so he agrees to meet the twins only to find that his attraction for Pierce hasn't waned despite them being apart for the last twelve years.

But the bigger issue is not their attraction for each other. Each man needs to know what happened to Elise. Other young women have also gone missing from the area over the years. Pierce and Jordan decide that they will hold a seance. When they did this twelve years ago inexplicable things happened but they have never been sure if what they saw and heard was due to ghosts or due to trickery. They now have a chance to trace their steps and this time they might find out what happened to Elise twelve years ago.

I thought this was a good book. It had just the right amount of romance, mystery, suspense and hauntings. I read a lot of mysteries and I thought the story was a bit predictable but it was still a very satisfying read. I thought it was well written too. Usually I am not a fan of stories which switch between the past and the present but the author did this really well and it made the story seamless.

It isnt a scary story but the ghostly parts provide a nice edgy feel of suspense. The book gradually gains momentum and even though I could see the end coming I still enjoyed the 'big reveal'. If you like a mystery along with some ghosts and suspense then this will be a good book for you.

Copy provided via Netgalley in exchange for an unbiased review.

Here are five things you should know about The Well:

1) It’s told in a non-linear fashion

The chapters in The Well alternate between the present, and twelve years ago. In the past the main character, Haven, is seventeen, which obviously makes him twenty nine in the present chapters.

I think I may be a fan of books told in non-linear format because this is the second non-linear book I’ve read this year and I’ve really enjoyed both of the titles. With The Well the non-linear format worked really well to uphold the suspense and mystery. The alternating chapters between past and present gave insight into Haven as a person now, and also built up the suspense about what really happened that night at the haunted house.

2) It was actually creepy

Now I’m not talking chilled to the bone creepy, but there were definitely elements of creepiness to The Well, especially in the past chapters where the group of teenagers were doing a séance and hunting ghosts in a haunted house. Whether or not there were actual ghosts or whether everything was a hoax played out by Haven’s cousin, Cassie, was left up in the air, which I think added to the creepiness. Were there ghosts? Or was it all just made up? I like to think that there were ghosts in this story.

3) It’s a YA/adult cross-over

Because of half the book is told from Haven’s seventeen year old perspective and the other half told from his twenty nine year old perspective this book is a perfect cross-over between YA and adult. I think most readers of YA could easily sink their teeth into this one – the content in the present (adult) chapters is not anything you wouldn’t already find in a YA book.

4) The romance was sweet

Even though The Well was largely a story about Haven’s missing cousin (and other things, but I’ll leave them for you to find out for yourself), there was a thread of romance in both timelines. Haven had a crush on Pierce when he was seventeen, but hasn’t spoken to him in twelve years. I liked how sweet this romance was and how, together, the two of them had to overcome what had happened twelve years ago. I especially loved how Pierce saw things in Haven that Haven himself didn’t see, and how patient he was with Haven.

5) It will keep you guessing

The Well is one of those books that makes you point fingers at everyone, and will never tell you if you’re right until the very end. I did end up guessing the mystery aspect, but it wasn’t straight off the bat by any means.

~

Overall, I really enjoyed The Well! It was a creepy paranormal mystery that had me hooked from start to finish.

© 2017, Chiara @ Books for a Delicate Eternity. All rights reserved.

Two timelines. A haunted house. A missing teen. A murder. All the elements are there.

The Well by Marie Sexton is interesting, in theory. Split between present day and events that happened 12 years prior, the story of a missing teen and the mystery of the night she disappeared had potential to be a terrifying story. The meat is there....but lacks some salt.

There's a SLIGHT, and only VERY SLIGHT romance between Haven and Pierre. (Such exotic names for two white kids in the midwest.) The mystery of the murder kind of speeds through very quickly and I still don't quite understand what happened.

All in all, good read, but lacking the umph that a few other 'thriller' novels have had this year.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read and review this book.

This was a really good ghost story, spooky and mysterious but not at all scary or creepy. I would highly recommend this book to young adults.
It's a wonderful cozy paranormal story with some suspense and mystery thrown in. Nothing vulgar or gruesome if you are sensitive to that sort of thing. The book is exactly as it is described in the description on the back cover.
It was a fantastic read.
Thank you netgalley for letting me read and review this book.

The Well is a perfectly creepy, atmospheric little read for those of you who don’t like their horror all up in your face. I’m not going to say it scared me, because books rarely do, but it did build up a dastardly little mystery that did make my skin crawl a time or two.

It’s told in two timelines. Twelve years ago Haven is goaded into staying the night at a rumored haunted house by his cousin Elise. It didn’t take a lot of goading though because Haven’s crush, Pierce, was also attending. He knew nothing was likely to happen either ghostly-wise or with Pierce but off he goes with Elise, Pierce and a few other teens for a night of spooky fun. When Elise decides to throw a séance things take a sinister turn and later Elise disappears.

The other timeline is set in the present day. Since that fateful night, Haven has been haunted by the loss of his favorite cousin Elise and spent most of his youth believing one of the teens present that night committed murder and has distanced himself from them. He’s become a horror writer to excise those demons but hasn’t kept in touch with his old group of friends – until now. Pierce, now a tv ghost hunter, has returned to town to do a segment on the vacant house and he wants Haven to participate. Old lusts are reignited as well as old suspicions . . .

There is a little romance here so if you don’t like that sort of thing invading your horror fiction you have been warned. Mostly this book is a slow burning murder-mystery with a side helping of ghostliness. I enjoyed it watching it all and especially loved the ghost-busting segment where scary sh*t actually happened! It kept me guessing and had just the right mix of thrills, atmosphere and engaging characters.

Twelve years ago a group of teens - Haven, his cousins Linsey and Elise and a few others, including the boy he'd had his eye on - broke into an abandoned haunted house to hold a seance. By morning, Elise had vanished. Twelve years later, Haven is contacted by his old crush, Pierce, and his twin - now paranormal investigators - for help in hunting down the truth. This isn't an adventurous or genre-changing plot but it made a damn solid novel for an afternoon at home. It's a sharp, concise mystery novel, focused on the murder with a M/M romance. The plot is a page-turner, no wasted words in telling the story of ~what happened on that spooky night~and the added diversity is always a point in a book's favour.

It was good fun! The unfolding investigation always kept me interested, it was easy to follow and the conclusion and eventual murderer reveal wasn't contrived at all. There were some really great, genuinely suspenseful moments towards the end of the novel where I couldn't stop reading and didn't <i>want</i> to - I would have read this in two sittings instead of three, thanks to work lol. The twists in the mystery were fun and definitely heightened my interested instead of making it convoluted, and the paranormal twist was <i>especially</i> fun - I enjoyed that it was used, primarily, for a really emotional touch rather than <i>spooooky</i> happenings. I was actually quite pleased with how the ending focused on resolving the murder for the mystery as well as in an emotionally satisfying way.

The M/M plotline was nice - the ridiculous teenage longing and resulting adulthood reunion was sweet and added more emotion and depth to a story that always had plenty. I enjoyed that Haven's emotional connections were given equal importance between his lost cousin and his love interest - in a mystery novel Elise would have taken precedence, and in an M/M novel her importance would have been (rather stupidly) downplayed in favour of ~sexy gay love~ so I'm glad Sexton gave both aspects the pagetime they deserved to be explored. And yet, because this was a mystery first and M/M romance second, the romance plotline in the present section wasn't as compelling as it could have been - it was a sweet complement to the mystery, but this novel would have gripped me even more if it had put more effort into the relationship building.

I really did enjoy all the characters, the various dynamics - my only qualm, really, is that I wish there had been more. I would have adored this if it had been a 400 page novel - Sexton is absolutely a competent writer with great, clear prose. The flashback chapters were perfectly done, but I would have loved more on the present day. If it had gone into greater details on the facets of Haven's life, as a writer, on living life after such a great tragedy; on injecting even more tension and longing into his relationship with Pierce, or exploring Pierce and Jordan's life... honestly, I enjoyed all of it, I would have happily read more Sexton had to write about any part of this story.

3.5 stars. Honestly, though, I had a really hard time rounding down on this one. For there being no romantic build or even an HEA, I usually round down but there was something sweet and anticipatory that kept me interested. Then there was the paranormal/suspense aspect. That was so well done that I pretty much overlooked the fact that I typically like a bit of romance and steam in a book categorized as part romance.

With one phone call Haven and Pierce reunite for the sake of the Hunter twins' TV show. But by recreating the seance that opened the tragedy that occurred 12 years prior they find more questions than answers. Together they piece together the information and insights of the present with feelings and clues of the past. When everything comes together, the answers are scarier and far closer to home than they could have imagined.

Marie is an incredible writer and kept the pacing steady. She mixed the past and present in a way that made sense, didn't feel confusing, and drew me in to the story completely.

I would have liked more for each character. Each one seemed quite superficial, meaning they didn't have a lot of depth beyond a shared past and similar careers in terms of subject matter. Outside of that, it was the possible ghost of Elsie that kept the story moving and kept the characters connected. Without that I don't know that there would be much to draw and keep them together. Because of that I am more okay with the idea of an HFN than an HEA. If it ended with the latter I would have absolutely dropped this down to three stars because there was little to no basis for a longer-lasting or believable future for Haven and Pierce. As it stands is better than fabricating something more. Would I have liked more? Absolutely! But that would require a longer book and more than what was already there.

Thank you, NetGalley, for the ARC for review.

Ich liebe Geistergeschichten! Als ich noch ein Kind war habe ich diese Groschenheftromane über den Geisterjäger John Sinclair gelesen und alles andere, was ich in der Richtung in die Finger bekommen konnte. Seitdem ist mir das Geistergenre aber etwas abhanden gekommen, weil ich irgendwie nichts mehr gefunden habe, was diesen urigen Spukzauber rüberbringen konnte. Nach diversen Fehlversuchen über die Jahre hatte ich daher nicht zu viele Hoffnungen für The Well und wurde dafür umso mehr belohnt.

Ich bin ausgesprochen froh, dass ich dieses Buch neulich in einer Rezension von Books to get lost in entdeckt habe. The Well liefert einen gelungenen Mystery-Krimi mit spukenden Geistern und einer Reihe mysteriöser Morde und verschwundener Personen. Persönlich empfand ich diesen Roman als klassischen Geisterspuk, inklusive einer Séance und Augen-in-den-Kopf rollendem Medium. Kein Splatter, keine abgefahrenen Versuche aus der Geschichte mehr zu machen als sie ist. Einfach nur eine solide Geschichte die einer Linie folgt, wo Äste gegen die Fenster hämmern und die Dielen des verlassenen Hauses Knarzen. Kurz gesagt: Ich fand’s super! Und auch unheimlich. Der Grusel versucht einem in The Well nicht ins Gesicht zu springen, er schleicht sich langsam durch die Zeilen, bis man anfängt die Schatten im eigenen Heim argwöhnisch zu betrachten. Herrlich! Wer jetzt schon überlegt was man zu Halloween lesen könnte darf sich das Buch gleich auf die Liste packen.

Die Geschichte springt hier kapitelweise zwischen Gegenwart und Vergangenheit hin und her. Dadurch lernt man die Charaktere in zwei Phasen ihres Lebens kennen. Einmal hat man da ihre Zeit als Teenager und die Ereignisse unmittelbar vor und nach Elises Verschwinden, und dann die Perspektive zwölf Jahre später, mit den nun erwachsenen Protagonisten. Gegenwart und Vergangenheit verschmelzen so in der Erzählung, die nach und nach alle Puzzleteile zusammenfügt. Die Charaktere in The Well haben mir entsprechend gut gefallen, da sie viel Unterhaltung bieten und zudem lebendig aufgebaut sind. Einzig die Romanze zwischen Haven und Pierce wollte bei mir nicht so recht zünden. Das Knistern hat irgendwie gefehlt und die etwas tragische Seite, die ihre ursprüngliche Verbindung verhindert hatte, konnte mich nicht erreichen. Man liest es, aber man fühlt es leider nicht. Allerdings braucht die Geschichte von The Well den romantischen Part nicht um gut zu sein. Daher bekommt das Buch von mir die volle Punktzahl mit einem minimalen gedanklichen Abzug.

Fazit
Wer Geisterspuk sucht wird ihn hier auf gelungene Weise finden. Mir hat The Well richtig viel Spaß gemacht und ich werde mir nun auch gerne noch andere Werke der Autorin ansehen.

The practical joker in a group of teenagers goes missing in mysterious circumstances following an evening of spooky shenanigans at a supposedly haunted house. 12 years pass and the mystery still hasn't been solved. Two of the original group are now TV ghost hunters, and they return to the house hoping to film a ratings winner and maybe get some closure.

This is a very entertaining murder mystery with a creepy edge, though the outcome is somewhat predictable. There is a very sweet romance between two of the young men but it doesn't overtake the story. Recommended.

It took me way to long to review this book even though I really loved it. Twenty years ago a popular high school student and 5 of her friends decide to spend the night in a supposedly haunted house. Although Cassie loves to play jokes and her cousin, Haven expects a night of twists and turns, things go horribly wrong and Cassie ends up dying. Haven has never really gotten over the death of his cousin and now, two of the twins that were originally there have a "ghost hunting" show and contact Haven because they want to go back to the scene of the crime. Haven used to have a secret crush on one of the twins, Pierce, so he agrees to go back home.

I really liked the way the book is told in dual timelines. The author makes it easy for the reader to understand what is going on now and what has happened in the past. As the take unravels, I really started connecting with Haven and really wanted him to find out once and for all what happened to his cousin and how it ties it to a mysterious well on the abandoned property. I also really enjoyed that Haven and Pierce's budding relationship wasn't "in your face" and instead complimented this tale of horror - not take it over.

This is a really good thriller/mystery. There is just enough horror for it to be considered a horror novel, but not a whole lot. I would definitely recommend this book to anyone who wants to give horror a try but doesn't want to go all out and gruesome. Also, it's a really fast paced read and did a wonderful job of getting me through a potential slump. I really glad I picked up "The Well" and hope more people give it a chance.

A spooky supernatural thriller for the YA audience. The story alternates between the disappearance of as young girl during a night at a haunted house with friends and twelve years later when those left behind are still trying to figure out what happened. A well told story, with a nice same-sex romance thrown in as well.

I really should read everything by Marie Sexton!

This story is so, so great and fun to read with the right amount of creepiness. I especially enjoyed how you (or at least I) don't know if there are really ghosts at work or not. There is evidence pointing towards yes and evidence pointing towards no.

The book changes between 'Now' and 'Then' and I found it at times a little bit spoilering. But you'll read about the thing happening very soon after the spoiler so it's not too bad.

I liked each character on their own, but I didn't really root for the pairing. They were okay together, I guess, but I didn't feel them.

But you don't even need he romance with this book! The paranormal aspects and the murder mystery are so intriguing on their own that the romance (that doesn't play that big of a part anyway) is not even really needed.

Now I have to decide which book by Marie Sexton I'll read next!

THIS WAS ABSOLUTELY EXCELLENT.

The mystery was genuinely baffling, and when the murderer was revealed, it didn't seem contrived, but made sense. The plot twists were so unexpected, and the paranormal aspect was really well done. The relationship between Haven and Pierce was also realistic, and super cute. The writing was fantastic, and the alternating chapters between present day and twelve years ago fit seamlessly together rather than seeming like a tangent.

I don't think I have any complaints!

3,5 Stars
Stephen King meets Mark Frost / and why not David Lynch

"Welcome to the world of paranormal investigation. Even when you experience something first hand, you're left with more questions than answers and no proof whatsoever. "

This is a very good, dynamic story for all the fans of suspense and mystery.

There isn't much focus on the romantic side of Pierce and Haven's relationship, but I think that fit the story very well.
I liked how the action is composed with chapters set in present day and past. I will not spoil anything about the murder case from 12 years ago, the investigation of which brings back our main characters together,I'll only admit I couldn't really predict who the culprit was, so the book kept my interest to the very end.

And let's not forget we have a paranormal element.
I won't dwell on that, since I think my fellow readers have shared some great thoughts on that side of the story, let me just share my favorite example Pierce gives about human perception:

"Let's say I stand in front of a room full of people with a little vial of water. I tell them it's peppermint oil. Then I open the vial and spill it on the floor. I tell them to raise their hands the minute the smell of peppermint reaches them. Without fail, about half the people in the room will eventually raise their hands. Now, are they lying? Or is just the thought of peppermint oil enough to convince their brain they smell it? And if their brain thinks they smell it, and our brains create our reality, then how is thinking we smell something any different from actually smelling it?"

This was my first of Marie Sexton's stories and I am definitely looking forward to seeing more of her works.

It wouldn't be pride month if I didn't spend some serious time digging through NetGalley for the best and brightest of upcoming LGBT+ titles. And the diversity aspect of this story did not disappoint. Add in that The Well is deeply creepy and I'm all kinds of in love.

This story follows the mystery of the well, which is tied to the disappearance of two local girls, more than a decade apart. The characters pasts are directly tied to this same mystery, so you feel the pressure to figure out what's going on right from the first page.

I really enjoyed Sexton's writing as it captured the perfect tone for this type of story. And while this isn't your typical summer read, I imagine there are a lot of readers out there who are going to love this as much as I did.

This book.

If I was able to describe the kind of story I would love to read and read again, this book would be it.

This story is so reminiscent of the books I chased when I was a kid. The perfect mix of what is real and what is just my imagination, good and bad, scary and safe. Believe me when I tell you, I loved every single page of this story.

The back and forth between the past and the present was done seamlessly and I never fell out of the story, if anything, I fell even more into the story.

Probably my most favorite thing about this story was the one character that isn't really. The house. One of my favorite things about any scary story is the authors ability to make an inanimate object feel like a main character. I love when a house is part of a story. I love old houses and I love all their history. This story not only achieved this it went one better. SPOILER REMOVED.

Now let's talk about the romance or lack there of. I will agree with some of the reviews out there that the blurb does not lie and pretty much sets you up for what the story will be about, and no, it is not a romance. But, I do feel like there was romance to this story. Most definitely not your conventional romance but to me the whole book felt a bit romantic. Folklore sometimes can do that to a story so I imagine that is why I felt it overall, but I still also felt there was a romance happening it just didn't take center stage. I love romance stories, the majority of what I read is romance, but I don't always need it to be the focus. I love stories for what they are sharing and it doesn't always have to be just two people falling in love. It was enough for me in this book because the story itself was better than any romance could have been. I wanted to know all the answers more than I wanted them to fall into bed. But, if you need romance to be 80% of your book, you probably won't like this one. If you can deal with it being 20% (but not really if you ask me) you may end up loving this one as much as I did.

I am terrible at reviews when I feel like this. I can never find the words. So, I'll just reiterate. I loved this book. I feel like it was written just for me and if anyone knows any other books like this let me know!

I've heard so much about this author - I even have quite a few of her books on my TBR shelf - but this was the first I actually got around to reading. Way to make a great first impression!

The writing was excellent and very atmospheric, setting the perfect mood for an intriguing ghost story.
And that is exactly what this was. A paranormal mystery with only just a side of romance, so anyone looking for an epic love story won't get their money's worth. Sorry.
If you're content with a well-spun but slow-paced crime story though, along with spooky paranormal elements and a bunch of amiable characters, this might really work for you.

4.5 Stars!

Twelve years after the disappearance and believed murder of his cousin Elise, Haven has come back to his hometown of Hobbsburg with the intention of reconnecting with those who were there that night in hopes of finding answers. His disconnect with Jordan who had been seeing Elise back then has come from his belief that Jordan had actually murdered Elise. Pierce, Jordan's twin brother, stood by his brother's innocence and in the end, it drove Haven and Pierce apart. Craig who was dating Elise's younger sister Linsey was there that night as well but after he and Linsey parted ways in a less than amicable manner he hasn't spoken to the man again. In fact, all but Craig have moved from Hobbsburg and only Haven and Linsey have remained close.

What I Loved: I love mysteries, especially the whodunnit element when I have to really try to put the clues together. I didn't have to think too hard who the murderer might be but I still enjoyed putting the pieces together. I liked that we got snippets of what happened in the past that slowly unraveled the story at the same time giving us the look at the present and how the characters are putting together clues and basically solving the crime.

Jordan and Pierce are paranormal investigators with their own television show. Haven writes Horror stories. Craig is a cop. It seems that all the characters from that fateful might have become something in life that was influenced by Elise's death. The premise of the story surrounds the twins inviting Haven to come on their show. I love the idea of paranormal investigators teaming up with a horror author to check out reports of a haunting that they all might be connected to in some way.

I loved the ghostly, mystical, paranormal feel that the story had because of its subtlety. Yes, these characters are deep in the world of paranormal occurrences and in that sense, it's front and center throughout the story. However, there is subtlety with what is really happening and that's what I truly enjoyed.

What I Liked: I really liked the characters. Haven, Pierce and Jordan were all easy to connect with and easy to like. I think the chemistry between Pierce and Haven was there from the beginning of the story and I was anticipating when they would finally act on their attraction, it was kind of a slow burn in my opinion. The romance was not necessarily at the forefront of the story and kind of quietly ran alongside the mystery of what really happened to Elise.

What I Didn't Like: I have to say I was going into this story with the expectations that it would be scary or chilling. I expected to be scared. That was not the case at all. Yes, this is a murder mystery with paranormal elements but it was not frightening in the least. This is probably good for those readers who would avoid this particular title based on that. For me, however, it was very disappointing.

Overall, I very much enjoyed The Well and thought Marie Sexton did a wonderful job writing the story. While I longed for a more frightening tale, I can not complain about the story itself since I had trouble putting it down for more than a few minutes at a time. I'd definitely recommend this book to readers who enjoy a mystery/suspense or ghost stories. Don't worry if you are not into scary because this one is pretty tame.

***Copy provided to me by the author/publisher via NetGalley for my reading pleasure in hopes of an unbiased opinion, a review was not a requirement.***

What an intriguing spooky tale.

Paranormal? Yes. Mystery? Yes. Romance? Um, no.

The blurb is pretty truthful to what the book is about so I won't repeat it. What I will say is that this author weaved quite the interesting ghost story. I was sucked in from start to finish. I'm a sucker for a spooky tale. Although this one wasn't scary nor did it make me want to sleep with the lights on, (very few books have this power over me. I'm too jaded lol) it did have a great mystery surrounding the disappearance of Elise. I'm proud to say that I figured out who was responsible for Haven's cousins disappearance about half way through. I gave myself a little pat on the back for that since I am usually so bad at it. lol

A bit of the downside of the book is that you never really got to really know the characters. There wasn't a lot of development to get a real feel of who they are. We were just kind of dropped in the middle of a moment that was taking place in their lives.

The "romance" between Haven and Pierce was very subtle and barely there. I think the story could have done without it and would have still have been a solid read because even the one sexy time they did share was brief and anticlimactic. It might as well have been written off page for how non-descript it was.

But still even with all that I felt that was missing, the story worked. I had a good time reading it. I didn't miss the romance. I thought the paranormal part of the book was really fun. I hope the author writes more stories like this because I would read it.

If your in the mood for something a little creepy with a good mystery and that has a flare of paranormal included, than pick this one up. I have no doubt you will enjoy it!

Happy reading dolls!