Steve comes through again 🙌🏽

You all know how obsessed I was with his debut novel, Dark Hollows last year because I couldn’t stop talking about it and recommending it to everyone. Well, I’m excited to tell you that 𝐍𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐚𝐥𝐞 𝐇𝐨𝐮𝐬𝐞 didn’t disappoint!

What I appreciated the most about this novel was that it went beyond a simple ghost story, as it dealt with some very real subject matters such as coming to terms with grief after losing a significant other and the struggles of being a single parent.

While I didn’t connect with this one as much as I did with Dark Hollows (and that’s a personal preference more than a critique as I’ve come to the conclusion that I’m not a huge fan of ghosts in books). I think that if you enjoy page turners with short chapters, creepy old houses, little girls with imaginary friends, small town settings and dual timelines (and this one is extra juicy because diary entries from 1900 are incorporated), you’ll love this book!

READ IT IF YOU WERE A FAN OF:

𝐇𝐨𝐦𝐞 𝐁𝐞𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐃𝐚𝐫𝐤
𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗪𝗵𝗶𝘀𝗽𝗲𝗿 𝗠𝗮𝗻

RATING: 4/5 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Nightingale House is told from Daniel’s perspective - a newly widowed author who moves into Nightingale House with his young daughter Caitlyn. We also have another perspective told through letters/journal entries from a young woman named Rebecca in 1900. 

I loved Daniel and Caitlyn’s characters - they felt real and jumped right off the page. I also loved their father/daughter relationship. 

Nightingale House was creepy and unsettled me - especially when I was reading before bed. I wouldn’t say it was scary but I couldn’t read the book in bed because I felt so creeped out. It did drag in some parts and it felt like we were being given lots of pointless information or having scenes that weren’t all that important to the story. 

I loved the letters - it was a brilliant way to integrate the two stories together. I was interested in finding out what really happened all those years ago and what they had to do with the present day.

The ending wasn’t all that surprising; it was easy to figure out what had happened in 1900 but it was clever how it all fitted together. I would definitely love to check out other books by this author!

Recently widowed writer Daniel and his daughter Caitlyn have just moved into their new house, purchased by him and his wife Nicole before her tragic death. While still grieving and adjusting to being a single dad, Daniel is haunted by strange dreams, visions and noises in the house. As he battles insomnia and hallucinations, Caitlin’s behaviour has changed as well. She’s lying and having problems in school, blaming her “imaginary” friend. With each strange occurrence, Daniel realizes that this house has a dark past and a mystery which needs to be solved in order to save himself and his daughter.
I really enjoyed this book. It was well written and engaging with two time lines, the past was my favourite. While I didn’t personally find it scary, there was a good mix of creepy and unsettling elements through out the book. I enjoyed the relationship between Daniel and Caitlyn and I kept being reminded of The Whisper Man while reading this. Definitely worth a read, especially for fans of the paranormal.

I was pleasantly surprised by how much I enjoyed this read. It is creepy and unsettling, but exactly the right amount to not be overwhelmingly. The two view points that switched back and forth, kept me completely interested. Highly recommend this read and can’t wait for the author’s next work. Thanks to netgalley and the publishers for the advanced reading copy.

Steve Frech has done it again! This is my second book by this author and I will be back for more! Nightingale House is a creepy ghost story that had me listening for bumps in the night. The characters were so vivid that I was on the edge of my seat the entire time. This story is told in the present day and also has a storyline from the past that is told thru a journal. I really enjoyed this book and recommend this story and this author to anyone who enjoys thriller/suspense. Five stars!!!

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read this book in exchange for an honest review.

This is eerily scary and has kept me awake.
I have loved it, this is a great book which I have been thinking about after reading

What a great read started quite sad Daniel Price is on his way home after looking at the dream home they have bought with his wife Nicole and daughter Caitlyn they are all very excited, then the crunch! accident! Nicole dies instantly at scene 8yr old Caitlyn in a bad way so after months of rehabilitation they Daniel and Caitlyn finally move into the old house that Nicole loved, and Daniel a budding author had already written 1 best seller was ready to start on another book. Things started to not feel right almost straight away, dripping noises in the writing room coming from inside a bookcase,! thumping noises and a sense of not being alone in the master bedroom where Daniel could never get a good night's sleep why? and Caitlyn who sees Katherine an imaginary friend? Do they need to go back in time? Things do not improve a must-read scary but left wanting to know the outcome, so you end up to keep reading. A new author to me and many thanks to Netgalley for introducing him to me as now I will be looking out for his books, and thanks to HQ Digital for giving me an ARC copy to review. This is my personal review and I would class this book as a Paranormal Thriller, but don't let the word paranormal be off-putting, it makes sense in a way. and not off-beat.

This is my first Steve French book and I really enjoyed! I truly enjoyed the writing and storyline. It would make for a good jump scare film! I just wished that it was scarier, don’t get me wrong it does have some creepy moments especially if you’re reading it at night. This book is fast paced and light horror. Overall, I recommend this book if your looking for a creepy haunted house story! ⁣

⭐⭐⭐⭐
Nightingale house by Steve Frech is your classical suspenseful horror story.
If the shining and the woman in black had a baby it would be this novel.
Daniel Price has freshly become a best selling novelist. To compensate for many years of leaving in a small apartment with Nicole, his lifelong partner, and their daughter Caitlyn, he's decided to buy a bigger and nicer house.
On the outskirts of Kingsbrook, and grazing the shore of Willow Lake, was located their dream house: the nightingale house.
Upon their first visit, they were bewitched by the beauty of the Queen-Anne styled Mini mansion. And they've instantly decided to make the buy. Life seemed to smile to them, until later that same night a fatal traffic collision, where they've lost Nicole, had shifted their cheerful existence to the dark side.
After their recovery, Daniel took his child and carried out with moving.
Now they have to adjust not only to Nicole's death but to their new house, which now does not seem as welcoming as before. Soon Caitlyn is talking to an imaginary friend and Daniel is having the most vivid nightmares and seeing unexplainable shadows.
The novel has a sharply constructed storyline, written primarily from the point of view of Daniel, with extract of a journal. (Rebecca's)
The descriptions were brilliantly striking, explicit but never boring. Everything about the house, the surrounding nature, and the town were almost rigorously illustrated. It certainly gives a catalyst to your imagination to fully visualize the horror scenes.
Frech has also a great talent for outlining emotions as well. I was submerged into Daniel's suffering and the constant doubting of his new situation as a single parent. His gradual descent into madness was an epic development, especially the swimming in the Lake part. I was fascinated by that scene, I kept rereading it. Truly brilliant writing.
I'm a sucker for well-built descriptions, that's one of my favorite things about this novel. I just wanted to read the whole thing in one day. But I also wanted to enjoy every chapter. I'm really happy I've stumbled upon Steve Frech, I'm definitely adding Dark Hollows to my TBR list.
Many thanks to Netgalley, HQ Digital and the author for my ARC

Nightingale House is supernatural horror/thriller writer Steve Frech’s latest novel and after reading and enjoying his debut, Dark Hollows, all the way back in December, 2019, and realising just how few and far between decent, non-cliched books in this genre are, I decided to take the plunge again. Daniel and Nicole Price, whilst searching for a new home to make a fresh start and move on from past struggles, fall head over heels in love with the beautifully designed Nightingale House on the shores of Willow Lake, Kingsbrook, Maine; they see it as the perfect place off the beaten track to raise their eight-year-old daughter, Caitlyn. But their nightmare is just beginning and before they get the chance to move into the home of their dreams Nicole is killed in an horrendous car accident leaving Daniel to raise Caitlyn alone. When they start noticing strange and chilling events happening in the house they become terrified of what exactly is present within their four walls.

This is a good old fashioned ghost story with an increasing sense that the protagonist is rapidly losing his grip on reality and young Caitlyn now has an unhealthy obsession with an imaginary friend as she attempts to deal with the emotions surrounding her mother's tragic death. It certainly makes a welcome and refreshing change to my usual thriller fodder and the way it was constructed meant there were many terrifying moments and you could feel Daniel’s pain and anguish coming through on every page. It's a fun, relatively light horror story with an emotional undertone to it and Daniel’s hobby turned obsession in finding out what ”curse” the house holds creates a deep sense of mystery which gripped me and kept me reading. A great escapist read for these challenging times. Highly recommended. Many thanks to HQ Digital for an ARC.

If you are a fan of thrilling ghost stories and haunted houses, then get thee to the bookstore (maybe just online) and get this book. I absolutely loved it and highly recommend it.

The present day POV is Daniel, an author, who just wrote a best seller. He and his wife decide to move, with their daughter, into The Nightingale House. However, just before they move in, they are involved in a car crash and his wife is killed. Daniel and Caitlyn move in anyway and Caitlyn, his daughter, must adjust to a new house and a new school. She starts acting out and talking to imaginary friends and Daniel chalks it up as her adjusting to a new everything and the loss of her mother.

The alternative POV is written by Rebecca in 1900 via her diary entries. Rebecca is facing her own troubles. She has recently moved to town where her father has set up yet another doomed business. The most attractive guy in town is trying to seduce her, but he’s married. He also lives in the Nightingale House. Things start to go very badly. The two worlds eventually collide, and it is an epic ghost story with great execution.

I could not put this down. I kept wanting to read one more chapter and before I knew it, I had read the whole book. It’s just creepy enough that I want to read it in the daytime but am crazy enough to read it at night. From the vivid nightmares, to the dripping water, to the whispers in the walls, I was hooked. It went even farther than that, though. I was easily pulled in by the characters and the story line. Daniel’s grief over his late wife is real and raw and is carried throughout the book. Like I said, great execution.

Thank you to HQ and #NetGalley for the e-ARC. Publication date is June 19th.

An old house? Check.
A history shrouded in mystery? Check.
A grieving husband? Check.
Spooky noises, black mists, foreboding feelings? Check.
A little girl who can see the dead? Check.

Everything you could possibly need for a classic haunted house ghost story is right here at Nightingale House.

Just months after the tragic death of his wife, Daniel Price and his daughter Caitlyn move into the beautiful house of their dreams. There are good points: a turret bedroom that makes Caitlyn feel like a princess, a perfect writing space for Daniel to crank out his next novel, the beautiful Willow Lake right out their back door, and a lovingly sassy old lady of a neighbor.

But it doesn’t take long for things to go downhill. Caitlyn’s newest imaginary friends seem a little too real. There are strange noises in the house and a dripping that Daniel can’t quite locate. The master bedroom is off-putting in its creepiness. And oh, Daniel keeps seeing nightmarish visions of his dead wife. Add to all this the fact that both father and daughter are still grieving, that Daniel isn’t sleeping, and it’s no wonder that at first he thinks perhaps he’s simply on the verge on a nervous breakdown.

All the scary things can’t really be happening, can they?

Present day chapters are interspersed with hundred-year-old journal entries by a young woman named Rebecca detailing the dangerous relationship she has with an older man, and as the story progresses the past and present overlap and intertwine until Daniel has to face the fact that his house is haunted…and his daughter is in danger. He must discover the truth, defeat the evil, lay the spirits to rest, and save Caitlyn. If he can find her in time.

This story reminded me of the old short ghost stories I read in my grandmother’s collections when I was a child. There’s not a lot of flowery prose or deep character development, and certainly none of the gore so often present in modern horror, but in the end you just don’t care because the scare factor is right at that perfect level to make you jump at the slightest sound while you’re reading.

I love a good ghost story and this one did not disappoint.

Nightingale House by Steve Frech is published by HQ Digital and will be available on June 19, 2020.

I received a free electronic copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

This review was posted to NetGalley, Amazon, Goodreads, Instagram, and my personal blog.

I absolutely loved the Nightingale House by Steve French. It was written beautifully, and the emotions really jumped off the page. It pulls you in from page one and does not let go. I love stories set in older houses, and this was no exception.
Daniel Price and his daughter move into the Nightingale house, a place chosen by him and his late wife, to raise their family. Soon after moving in, strange noises start, such as a dripping he can not seem to find the source off. His daughter, who has a history of making up stories, soon starts talking to an imaginary friend, and Daniel cannot seem to get any sleep due to vivid and terrifying nightmares. Daniel chalks it all up to grief, for both him and his daughter. But is it the grief that is wreaking such havoc, or is there something more sinister at play?
Throughout the book, there are journal entries from a young woman from years ago. This brings some insight into the house’s history, yet I felt as though it also left a lot of questions unanswered for the reader. Maybe a good open ending for a sequel? Either way I cannot wait to read more from Steve French.
Thank you to the author, Steve French, publisher HQ Digital, and Netgalley, for providing me with this ARC copy in exchange for my honest written review.

Nightingale House by Steve Frech ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Daniel and Nicole have found the perfect new home for them and their eight year old daughter. Before they can move it, Nicole tragically passes in an automobile accident. When Daniel and his daughter, Caitlin, do move in it’s with a heavy heart. They soon realize there may be more than their grief haunting the new home.

This book started off really strong and it was so creepy. The storyline of moving into a haunted house was a bit used, but it still managed to have a fresh take. I enjoyed the history and the diary entries from 1900. I will say that I felt the ending was a bit rushed. Everything seemed to happen quickly and at once towards the end. That said, this was a quick and spooky read for anyone that enjoys haunted house stories.

The Nightingale House releases 6/19

Many thanks to Net Galley, HQ digital and Steve Frech for a chance to read and review this book.

#NightingaleHouse #NetGalley

A widower, a young child of 8, shifting to new home, grief and loneliness, desperation and adjustment, the story begins in similar line to The Whisper Man by Alex North but that’s exactly where the similarities end. The Nightingale House is one of the cherished historical houses in Kingsbrook and one glance at it, leaves Daniel and his wife Nicole in love. But the anticipated move becomes marred by sadness and as Daniel and his daughter Caitlyn tries to adjust to the new circumstances and their loss and grief, things begin to go bump in the night.

Interwoven thru the story is the journal account of the young Rebecca in 1900’s whose infatuation with Thomas Carrington of the Nightingale House causes unforeseen aftermath.
The author has a written a creepy and scary story of the ghostly Nightingale House and its occupants. The drip-drip, the thump-thump, the image of a man, an imaginary friend only seen by Caitlyn, the nightmarish dreams, it is no wonder that Daniel is unable to sleep peacefully in the night and keeps returning to the couch in the living room.

The Nightingale House is a terrific thriller with necessary chills that is perfect for the readers of this genre. It was such a fast-paced read that turning the pages for one last chapter late into the night became the whole book. The reasons of the ghostly presence can be guessed at but it was exciting to see how Daniel uses his will-power and fights to save his daughter.

Excellent!

P.S. I loved that creepy cover image.

"Nightingale House was not born with secrets, but they were made here. They were sealed into the walls and buried beneath the floorboards."

The Story: Writer Daniel Price recently lost his wife, Nicole, in a car accident and he now must raise their six year-old daughter, Caitlyn on his own. Hoping to begin their new lives together, they move into the majestic Queen Anne styled Nightingale House on the shore of Willow Lake, Kingsbrook. This will be the best place for him to write his next novel too after the huge success of his debut novel. However, his plans turn awry when soon after moving into the house, strange things begin to occur - a constant dripping sound, an eerie presence - and now Caitlyn claims that she has a friend living in the house too.


My thoughts: This is a light horror story about a haunted house with a century old mystery and I quite enjoyed it. It is a fast read and has just the right elements of a haunting story although I have to be honest that the plot did feel familiar. However it did not affect the overall story as the writing is good and suspenseful, with some bone-chilling and spine-tingling moments! I also enjoy the mystery element which unfolds imperceptibly through a century old journal entries of a young girl.

If you're new to the horror genre or would like to try out this genre, this is the book for you! It is a light and entertaining horror story that would appeal to all readers!


Pub. Date: 19 Jun, 2020

**Thank you HQ Digital and NetGalley for this gifted eARC in exchange for an honest review.***

Another read I was drawn to because of the cover. The mesmerisingly eerie haunted house drew me in immediately and I just knew I had to read this one.

Daniel and his wife Nicole fell in love with The Nightingale House in Maine as soon as they set eyes on it and just knew it would make the perfect family home to raise their daughter Caitlyn. Unfortunately before they had the chance to realise their dream Nicole was killed in an horrific car accident, leaving Daniel and Caitlyn to make the move on their own.

Right from the start things don’t feel right. Full of unexplainable noises and “things that go bump in the night”, plus trying to deal with his daughter’s unhealthy infatuation with her new imaginary friend, Daniel starts to feel more and more like he is losing his grip on reality. He becomes desperate to learn what secrets the house is hiding, no matter what it may cost him.

More than just a spooky ghost story, this has a real undertone of grief and loss throughout as we feel Daniel deal with the unimaginable pain of losing his wife and the struggle to now bring up his daughter on his own.
The story is set in the present day through the eyes of Daniel plus journal entries written by a young woman in the early 1900’s. I loved the way the history of the house was interwoven into the story through these journal entries, it added a layer of intrigue for me as I felt everything starting to come together.

This was an enjoyable and quick read where the pages turned easily and although eerie and creepy, it was still quite light and I was definitely able to read this one at night before turning off the lights.

Thank you to NetGalley and HQ Digtital for the opportunity to read this.

Honestly this is probably a 3 star ghost story at best... There isn't anything that stands out or is different from other ghost stories I've read/watched. However the way this was written made it so easy and fun to fly through and I ate it up like candy so I'm giving it an extra star for pure enjoyment.

Though this book doesn't fall into my preferred category of mystery thriller, I really enjoyed this book and finished it in five hours. I picked it up after seeing reviews of my goodreads friends. The book is very well written. I liked the character Caitlyn very much. The narrative kept me going on into late night. A beautiful story. This is a thriller with a touch of horror perfect for fans of Simone StJones.

Holy cow this book is just what I needed to read! NIGHTINGALE HOUSE was an exciting, fun and spooky read that immediately hooked me. I was swiping those pages as fast as I could late into the night to see how it was all going to end. I might have even been spooked out a little bit while I was reading it. I would highly recommend it!