Hearthstone Cottage...
What can I say about this book? It was a slow read for the first 70%. Events moved slowly and with little shine. Lots of shadows spotted at the corner of the eye and figures fleeting pass here and there. It was really uninteresting at the start and while reading I start to question the direction of this book.

Why the focus on Mike? Was it that he pocketed the broken stag antler and now the stag or some righteous anguished Earth Spirit is haunting him and making him pay the price? But it didn’t make sense because though he pocketed the antler, Alex was the one who killed the stag. So you can imagine my confusion at the focus on Mike. The unexplained focus on Mike continued for nearly 70% of the book. Sure there was some hint on his relationship with Meggie, but it wasn’t strong enough and to me I saw it as an intended “calefare” to spice up the story. Imagine my dismay when the “stolen” antler was not the least of the reason why Mike was indefinitely stewing in a cauldron of bizarre happenings.

The truth was only unraveled in the last 10% of the story, where Mike was left stranded by his friends in the cottage. But from here on the story picked up beautifully. And what I thought was going to be a mediocre book morphed to develop solidarity, meaning, and purpose. It was just a pity that the story peaked so late towards the end...

Kind of reminded me about the movie Silent Hill 1, and I wonder if the author picked up his inspiration for this story from there. That movie was all scares at the front only up till the end where the truth unfolded to a heart wrenching experience of an abused kid bent on revenge.

So back to Hearthstone Cottage, I was upset that it ended so abruptly and in melancholy when Mike chose Helen. It literally ended with “Trapped inside Hearthstone Cottage forever”. Which had me thinking if there could be a better way to put across such an unfortunate fate after a soul wrenching build up?

That aside, I am not excited to spend a few hours reading on a story only to have it go back to square one. What I mean is Mike having a second chance before the car wreck. Two things- is it realistic in the first place? Guaranteed that this is in a supernatural setting, but how much powers must Elsa/Meggie invoked in order to reverse such a long chain of events? Secondly, I felt like I’ve wasted time reading about their lives at the cottage if that was not going to be the ultimate reality in the end.

Overall, all this conspired for me to give a rating of 3 stars. It was a great last 10% read, no doubt. But the first 90% really dragged it down for me, and throwing in the abrupt ending that could have been better crafted. The author did write some really creepy scenes though, and that I appreciate. I do imagine a movie version of this would fare better than a book.

I started reading Hearthstone Cottage with absolutely no prior knowledge of author Frazer Lee but when I checked his bio afterwards and saw that he is a screenwriter a lot of my thoughts about the novel clicked into place. Hearthstone Cottage is a visual novel, every character looms large, every scene is dripping with atmosphere.

The novel begins with a quite literal bang then continues in that vein, never once letting up the pace as Lee lays out horror after horror for our (somewhat hapless) protagonist Mike. Him and his companions, old friend Alex and their girlfriends Helen and Kay, are met at the cottage by Alex’s little sister Meggie – a highly intense woman from the outset – Lee continues to drop tantalising hints throughout about a shared history between her and Mike which come to a not fully expected ending. I wish we had seen more of Kay who seemed to be an interesting sort, while Helen and Alex were tedious in their own ways, but they were made up for by the vividness of Meggie.

I really enjoyed Lee’s writing and he even managed to break down one of my pet hates in horror. Dream sequences can have a tendency to be dull and I had to suppress an eye roll when they kicked off during Hearthstone Cottage. Then I had to give myself a kick up the arse and stop being so cynical because they’re actually very well done. It was that cinematic turn of hand that gave them something extra and drew me in instead of pushing me to skim.

This is a wild ride of a novel steeped in Scottish lore and while it’s a hop across the North Sea away subject wise, I think this would appeal to fans of The Ritual by Adam Nevill.

This book started out a little slow but picked up the pace quickly. It built to a fast paced novel with more than a few chills. A very enjoyable book. I'll be looking for more from this author.

Atmospheric and surreal, this haunted house story will keep you on the edge of your seat. Four friends head for a holiday getaway and before they even arrive, creepy events begin to transpire. The main character Mike has increasingly bizarre and scary experiences that drive him to solve the mystery of the cottage the four are visiting. But the longer they stay, the more uncertain he, and the reader, are about what is real and what is not. Great flawed protagonist, descriptions that transport you into this village by a loch. Splendid twists and turns in a story with a satisfying conclusion.

A good horror story, well written and entertaining. I liked the plot, how the tension build and the cast of characters.
Recommended!
Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are mine.

Hearthstone Cottage was an exciting new read that is set in Scotland. I really enjoyed this story although it was not as scary as I thought it might be but there is enough action to keep it interesting.
When Mike and his friends embark on a post University Holiday they are excited to begin their new lives now that finals and school are finished. Mike's friend Alex takes them to his family's vacation cottage in the country side. The cottage is old and homey and the perfect place to relax post finals. The trip also includes Alex's girlfriend and Mike's girlfriend and when the arrive at the cottage they discover that Alex's sister is there already.
The girl's go explore the nearby village while the boys go fishing. The girls love the village and the guys find a welcoming pub. It seems like an idilic getaway. But Mike starts to see and hear things that he can't explain. His vacation and good times turn into his worst nightmare. Is he dreaming or is he going crazy? Are there ghosts at the cottage and do the sins of the father fall to the son?
This is not a G-rated book so i would not recommend for a young person. If you like to read tales of ghosts and witch craft this book might be for you.

Thanks to Netgalley for the Arc of this book in exchange for an honest review. This book took some time to build up, but when it delivered, it delivered big! I really enjoyed this book and the unique storyline.

Four friends travel to the Scottish Highlands for a post graduation holiday, and of course things go terribly wrong.

Mike, a party hard kind of guy, and his girlfriend Helen begin to drift apart. Their friends Alex and Kay seem to just be along for the ride, while Alex's sister Meggie, the vegetarian artist, haunts the fringes.

This felt like a very confused book from the beginning. It starts off like a pretty traditional "folk-horror" story, with legends of witches and creepy locals mocking the city kids, but then the growing fixation on Mike's drinking and weed smoking starts to feel like an 80s slasher morality story.

There is plenty of chilling atmosphere and gross-out horror to satisfy the horror feels, but I honestly felt so disgusted by Mike as a character that I just didn't care what happened to him. The tension eventually just became a sense of wanting to know how much of what was happening was actually in his head.

Then comes the end and you realize nothing at all had anything to do with what just happened, and the story falls apart.

So disappointing.

I really wanted to like this book, and had high expectations for it, due to other books I've read by the author. It's not a bad book, it just never seemed to jump out at me. Unfortunately. It just seems like standard horror fare. Nothing unique here sadly. Disappointing.

When four friends take a holiday at a remote Scottish cottage, the accidental death of a stag causes something dark to stir within it's walls.
Something that reaches out from the past, driving one of them to the edges of alcoholism and insanity.
His past sins are the catalyst.....but there are older debts, darker sins waiting in Hearthstone Cottage.....and now, there are choices to be made because what has been wronged must be repaid.

A chilling, atmospheric tale that creeps up on you like fog off a loch.

Highly recommended.

Hearthstone Cottage is a good horror story. Nothing good ever happens when friends travel to a remote cottage. Well written and great suspense.

A proposed post-graduation blowout for four close university friends results in an unending nightmare for one, feckless Michael Carter, who like the Fool in Tarot, is often second-chosen and first-to-fail. But the stay at Scotland's isolated Hearthstone Cottage targets Mike with terrifyingly realistic nightmares, visions of the dead, sleepwalking, and rampant paranoia, which the others blame on his alcoholism and marijuana.


HEARTHSTONE COTTAGE is a nonstop riveting read and the suspense never slackens. Prepare to lose sleep.