I thought the book was horrible. I spent 18% of the story wondering how Laura was related to everyone after the weird introduction of characters and closed it up.

Entertaining read, and fun concept - a family inherits a home and decides to renovate the home for an HGTV-type reality show. This part of the book got lost somewhere along the way, but the story was nevertheless interesting and fun to read. Nice ending, although a bit predictable. Nice nod to The Shining.

Amazon
This was one of the best haunted house/ghost story that I have read in a long time. I was spellbound from the beginning. I always am looking for Wisconsin Mysteries. While this was a haunted house story it did not disappoint and moved right along. I thank Net Galley for the opportunity to read and review this book and I look forward to reading more books by this author. Fans of Steven King will love.

If you like a tale of horror with some paranormal appearances and possession of the main character, this book is for you. Not only do characters become possessed, but the physical house itself becomes possesed as well. This house is a huge, one-of -a -kind home that the locals either don’t seem to know about its history or its location, or don’t want to know about it.. Lucas and his wife Laura have inherited this house that has been in the family, but unknown to all. The opportunity of a lifetime presents itself when HGTV agrees to film the restoration of this house and turn it into a series. Lucas will be in charge of the physical restoration while Laura will be in charge of decor. All is going well until a sealed underground room is found containing a cross, Bible, and human bones. Then the visions and ghostly appearances begin.
I was given a free copy of this book and am reviewing it voluntarily.

Unfortunately, this book was just not my cup of tea. The cover got me interested and the description got me hooked, but when I sat down to read it I couldn't connect to it. I found the book to be slow burning and a bit to jumpy from character to character.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this electronic advanced readers copy of this novel in exchange for an honest review. As always, all opinions are my own.

A worthy effort: Shepherd's Warning by Cailyn Lloyd

Thanks as always to NetGalley for allowing me to read an early version of this book.

It is to this writer's credit (and those of her editors) that I did not realise that this novel was self-published until the last page. It is a passable horror story centred around a haunted Elizabethan mansion in Wisconsin USA. I seem to have hit a slew of books lately where the protagonist is particularly unmemorable and, unfortunately, this novel is no exception. For all of her seventh sight, incipient epilepsy and love for her granddaughter, I found it very difficult to get emotionally invested in Laura McKenzie. Her breakup with her husband should also have been emotionally wrenching to lend the tale more excitement but was just sudden and rather dull. Sometimes the prose is also quite tedious, the "room cants sideways" numerous times as our heroine hits the concrete, or should that be the wooden flooring? Also, it was never clear to me why she seemed to be the sole custodian of her granddaughter following her son's death... Where was her daughter-in-law? Oh well.

For all of that it was pretty readable although I would hardly describe it as unputdownable.

A wonderful supernatural horror story

We find ourselves following a family that is moving into their shortly inherited big house they didn't even know existed. The town folks have always stayed away from that house believing it to be haunted and dangerous.

As the family moves in, strange things start to happen while Laura, the wife, starts to unbury some of the secrets attached to the house and their ancestors.

A fantastic gothic tale in the modern era that is mysterious, intriguing and will keep you wanting to read more and find out the real truth behind the house.

Do houses have souls? Can a house be evil? If so, how could this possibly come to be? The MacKenzie house stands vacant and hidden in the Wisconsin countryside. Legend surrounds the house. Tales that, hundreds of years ago when only native american people lived on the land, the solid, authentic English Tudor suddenly appeared out of nowhere. Then and now the house was thought of as evil, haunted and dangerous and the people stayed away.. All except for the MacKenzie family who had owned the house for generations. Strange deaths seem to plague the family. When her husband dies there, Elizabeth MacKenzie leaves and tells no one of the house.
Unfortunately, Elizabeth's son's Lucas and Nate, their wives, and a little grandchild inherit the home and move in to renovate. As with most renovations....things don't always go well. In this case, things go especially bad. Lucas, Nate and Laura all begin their own digging into the house's secrets and keeping secrets of their own.
I enjoyed this book. The was a unique take on the haunted house theme. The characters were well developed I cared about what happened to them. I highly recommend this read to those who love haunting stories. Thank you for giving me the opportunity to read and review this book. #netgalley #Shepherd'sWarning

Shepherd's Warning is a wonderfully written horror/ghost story. MacKenzie mansion has remained empty for years when brothers, Lucas and Nate, are bequeathed the mansion in their mother's will. Once they start renovations things begin to happen in their lives and their families lives. This was a fast-paced read told from multiple viewpoints. It was incredibly hard for me to put down and walk away. I love the world building, the amazing characters, and the history behind the house and characters. This was a wonderful debut!

I am a sucker for all things haunted house and ghost related. I can never get enough. Unfortunately it is so hard to find a good ghost story that grips my interest but this one absolutely did. It’s a slow burner and we’re introduced to a lot of characters. They’re complex and they’ve been through hell. The family dynamics can be rough to read at times so much so that I cringed reading some of the dialogue but it’s realistic and that’s what I liked about it.

The house is an ancient evil that causes tragedy, injury, and death to anybody involved. So you can only guess what happens with the Mackenzie family moves in. This reminded me a bit of House on Haunted Hill remixed with The Shining. The pacing was a bit disjointed and it could have used a bit less show than tell but I enjoyed this horror tale a lot and I want to see what else this author has in store.

Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are my own.

I really enjoyed a Shepherds warning, although i was a bit confused in the beginning, The premise is two brothers inherit a English Tudor house in the middle of no where in America, No one knows how it got there and the boys had no idea of its existence until their mother passed away, They have the idea to renovate it but the house has a creepy past and soon things go out of control for them and their family. The story is well written and isn't graphically gory like some stories can be and as this is Cailyn Lloyds debut I shall definitely be looking out for future novels from her

Excellent haunted house/ghost story, Spooky house, interesting characters, and an ending I didn't expect.

Shepherd's Warning by Cailyn Lloyd
Review of a NetGalley eARC.

This is a haunted house story in the vein of The Shining or The Amityville Horror (which is referenced explicitly in the text). The McKenzie family: Lucas and Laura, with Lucas's brother Nathan and his wife Ashley, along with Lucas and Laura's granddaughter Leah, arrive at the brothers' inherited house in the Wisconsin countryside. A grand old Tudor mansion, they decide to renovate it for HGTV, but things soon take a terrifying turn. As you would expect from a horror novel.

This first book from Lloyd shows its influences on its sleeve, while working in a lot of unusual takes that would make for something refreshingly new, if so much of it wasn't just confusing.

The Old English spells, the nearly immortal wizard, the circularity of the events are all interesting and unique. They add flavor to the book and would help it stand out a lot from the crowd, if the rest of the pacing and structure stood up to them. Unfortunately, I don't feel like they did.

Events unfold in an awkward way, with things that seem really important at the time just fading away. For example, in one scene a young contractor falls off the roof, breaking his arm and impaling himself on a rusty piece of metal. This event IS NEVER MENTIONED AGAIN by the main characters, and only vaguely referenced by a side character (a "ghost" that made it happen). Not only that, but people continue to work on the roof without taking any safety precautions, and indeed someone falls again.

Then there's the idea that they are renovating the house for a TV show. This dominates the situation for the first few chapters, then it's just... Gone. No more cameras, no more interviews, no repercussions. Which could be code for the whole book: lots of things happen with no real impact.

The pacing is overall quite uneven. The book opens with a couple of big events, but then nothing really happens until halfway through. There is a lot of pointless running around, and I'll be honest--all the "L" names warped it into one big, blonde blur.

There is also an odd insistence on specificity, especially regarding brand names, that almost reads like advertising. The main characters don't drink beer, they drink Spotted Cow (which halfway through the book becomes italicized); the 1,000 year-old wizard doesn't drink port, he drinks Old Tawny port; Laura doesn't use a genealogy website, she uses Ancestry.com; Tom Wolff doesn't wear a trucker's cap, he wears a Purina cap. It stands out in an odd way, rather than adding any kind of realism or immediacy.

These all seem like minor points, but they build up until the text becomes a struggle. And it doesn't help that the essential conflict centers, once again, on the corruption of the father figure through his repressed Id. Ugh. Does the father grow distant from his family because of his inability to deal with loss? Yep. Does the father fall into dissolution through alcohol? Yep! Does the father betray his wife, who just wants him to get help, and call her concern nagging and prying? Bingo! At least he wasn't a writer.

Overall, I really struggled to finish this book, and once I did I wasn't satisfied.

This book was one of the best haunted house/ghost story that I have read in a long time. This book captured my attention from the first page and just kept getting better and better. I thought the ending was pretty shocking. I look forward to reading more books by this author.

Wasn't sure what to expect here, so was very pleasantly surprised to find such an engrossing horror/mystery. Hard to put this one down. An intriguing story line following two brothers and their wives (one of which is psychic), who come to a house they didn't know existed after the death of their mother. The townspeople talk about the house in hushed voices, and ghosts and dark entities are felt here and there. Throw in Shepherd, an ancient sorcerer from the 700s a.d. and the story takes on another level.Do not want to give too much away, but one of the better books I've read in awhile. Highly recommend this book and author. Now to see what else the author has written.

Let’s talk.

I just finished Shepherd’s Warning by Cailyn Lloyd and can I just say I am overcome.

I’ve never read a horror book before, not even the widely popular Goosebumps by R. L. Stine and this being my first horror book I am extremely impressed. It didn’t scare the shit out of me but it certainly held my attention from beginning to end and I devoured it in the span of one and a half days. It was that worthy.

Since this is an ARC my standard style of reviewing won’t apply (because that would mean spoilers) but we’re still going to be diving deep into certain aspects of this book and the one scene near the end that you need to be ready for if you’re easily triggered.

Summary
(official Goodreads summary)

For years the abandoned MacKenzie mansion remained hidden in rural Wisconsin. Rumours and stories of apparitions, odd noises, accidents, and strange deaths in or near the property were enough to convince the townsfolk it was haunted and they stayed away.

Lucas MacKenzie and his brother Nate know nothing of this when they inherit the property and decide to bring their families to Wisconsin for a major renovation project with HGTV stardom in mind. As they tear out old fixtures and open shuttered windows, the house begins to reveal secrets of a terrible past and it soon becomes clear the MacKenzies are in grave danger. In the end, only one person can save them.

Writing Style
Cailyn Lloyd did okay in this department. The writing built up the suspense throughout the book and I was pleased to find that everything flowed from one scene to the next without any leaps, gaps or loopholes.

All the sequences were highly engaging and I particularly liked that scene at the end when Laura decided to just fuck it all and end things on her own terms.

Plot
Not much to say here either. I liked the natural progression of things and everything felt very natural for me. The middle could have lagged a little less but generally, it was passable. Each action seemed to have an equal and opposite reaction that compounded over the course of the book and ended in a resounding conclusion. There is a rape scene at the end and if you’re easily triggered then you need to know so you can skip past it.

Characterisation
All the characters were well fleshed out save one: Ashley MacKenzie. Her character seemed a little vain and her only purpose appeared to be the fact that she was one of the character’s wives who enjoys daily shopping and other such mindless activities. I didn’t particularly like her and it didn’t seem like she had much to contribute to the story other than being the ‘blonde’ and a convenient vessel for the antagonist in the end.

Favourite Quotes
“In practice, the years had taught him toleration and mindfulness, and he shrugged off the small slights of life and moved on”

“He acted as though his grief was greater and she resented his lackadaisical attitude”

“Her dreams were often vivid and seldom happy, but now she dreamt of a funny little man wearing the cap and cloak of a magician, a wand in his right hand, mumbling unintelligibly”

Overall, this was a very engaging book and I found only one typo. I’m so very glad I picked it up. Will you be reading Shepherd’s Warning by Cailyn Lloyd? Tell me in the comments down below!

A very good book, engrossing and entertaining.
I liked the world building, the fleshed out cast of characters and the fascinating plot.
I look forward to reading other books by this author.
Highly recommended!
Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are mine.

I love when fate intervenes. I was on NetGalley to see what books I needed to post reviews for, and I decided I wanted to read a horror book soon. So I clicked on that section, and saw the cover for Sheperd’s Warning because it caught my eye. When I read that it takes place in rural Wisconsin, and it was a debut novel, I knew that would be my next read.

And I must say, an excellent book for a new author.

Cailyn Lloyd does a fabulous job with the building of suspense. While I was never freaked out (watching horror movies since the age of eight, might have jaded me a bit…) she kept perfectly ratcheting up the anxiety that her characters were experiencing. What started as a new beginning after a tragedy, quickly led to feelings of uneasy, then to the characters feeling jittery, with the final outcome of complete terror.

Lloyd also did very well with incorporating the supernatural aspect. Wisconsin is well known for its many haunted houses, hospitals, and buildings, so the MacKenzie mansion fit in perfectly with it’s rural surroundings. Lloyd has the perfect balance of very detailed descriptions of the mansion, surrounding woods, and town. But she doesn’t go on and on with it, to the point where I wanted to skim, so that is always a plus for me.

I think the reason why I enjoy horror so much is because there is almost always a mystery involved in the story. Why is the killer or supernatural entity doing what they are doing? Lloyd wrote a very interesting mystery, incorporating historical data and folklore. I enjoyed the journey she took me on.

The very small thing that I have to mention is how I was a bit confused, at first, in regards to the characters. Lloyd gave us half a dozen names, and it was immediately on with the story. Although she does develop the characters going forward, it took me a couple of chapters to straighten out their relationships to each other. But it could have been that I was a bit sleepy since I started reading right before bed.

Looking forward to her future works. And if you enjoy Dean Koontz or John Saul, definitely give this one a try.

Shepherd's Warning is a fantastic paranormal book. The author has done a good job with character development and making a interesting storyline. I enjoyed this book.

SHEPHERD'S WARNING is an immensely engrossing horror/paranormal novel with contemporary issues and deep historical background. The paranormal elements are inventive, focusing on one ancestral lineage. Additionally the author weaves in a congruent plot line in one Kenric Shepherd, University professor and sorcerer. This is a "can't-put-down" paranormal thrill ride, wrenching reader's emotions and delivering an ultimately gratifying and re-readable novel.