If I had to summarize The House of Dust in one word, I would tell you it’s confusing. During the first quarter of the book I almost gave up and put it away. Now having finished it, I have to say I’m extremely glad I did not do that.

You may ask why I say it’s confusing, but I still soldiered on. Well, it’s a good kind of confusing. Not often do I find a book where I honestly can’t figure out exactly what’s going on, but it still draws me in so deeply that I can’t look away. The mystery of this book truly compelled me.

The novel is basically about a true crime writer by the name of Brad, a former prostitute named Missy, and a really weird town with an even weirder house. Already sounds like the perfect set up and it should’ve been a pretty forward story, right? Well, it’s not. There is also a cult and a bunch of odd side characters.

What really drew me in with this book was the dreamlike, surreal setting and the melancholic tone the author set throughout it. Also, the vivid and creepy scenes within the story. It’s hard to believe this is his first published book (from what I have seen on Goodreads at least).

A big thanks to Netgalley and Inkshares for the advanced copy.

It was such a slow book and parts of it I had a hard time really wanting to keep reading it and I actually enjoyed it once I got to the halfway mark and was impressed with it.

The House of Dust

[Blurb goes hear]

I was pleasantly surprised. This book is beautifully written. The author takes his time to introduce you to the setting of this character driven story. Two time lines that seemed to intersect here and there, are two different stories with one thing in common, they are told by people living in the same house, separated for more than half a century. The author gives you glimpses into the characters past lives, while writing unsettling imagery and strange events that will come together as the story progresses.

I didn't know what to expect when I started reading it, and that was a good thing. Everything about the story was surprising enough to keep me reading until the end. A great ending, by the way.

There's nothing not to love in this southern gothic adventure, and though I'm not familiar with the genre, I truly admire the author, weaving a tale with subtle hints that soon become something frightening. Something that lurks beneath the eerie town of Three Summers, trapping you and giving you no way out.

Thank you for the advanced copy.

I unfortunately had to DNF this one. I really wanted to like this book, the description seemed right up my alley, but in the end the lack of character development and a captivating story line kept me from being able to keep my attention on this title. Thank you to netgalley and the publishers for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

I had high hopes for The House of Dust by Noah Broyles as the synopsis sounded great and the genre is right up my ally however this was a "Did Not Finish" for me. From my understanding the publication of the book is contingent on it's presales and unfortunately I don't feel it is ready for publishing. I felt like I was reading a 3rd draft that really needed to go through the hands of several beta readers. I was confused several times throughout. For instance, the sheriff would be really angry and "lunge" at with our protagonist Bradley Ellison one moment but then right after act like everything was normal there was no real transition from one emotional extreme to the next. Something like that would have been ironed out with proper editing.

In terms of the characters, I felt no connection to any of them, in fact I was more interested about the people of the odd town than Brad or his girlfriend Missy. There were a lot of unbelievably odd scenes that I couldn't get passed and I don't mean from the town, I mean from Brad and Missy who were supposed to be the relatively normal ones.

In saying that because I feel awful about this review, I do believe the concept is promising and has huge potential but as I said, I don't believe its ready just yet.

I really struggled with this story. I had trouble with the story switching between the generations. I found it to be confusing. It took me about half way through to be able to keep it straight. I enjoyed that it included snippets from the article that the character was writing at the beginning of each chapter. The wrap up of the article at the end of the story was great. While this wasn't a story that I loved, I believe that there is definately a market for it.

I’m going to preface this by saying, I hate DNF-ing books and writing bad reviews because
1. this is someone’s hard work
2. it’s only MY opinion and not matter of fact and
3. I was probably not the targeted audience for this book even though I wanted to be.

I honestly can’t even give a synopsis outside of a man and fiancé move into a house in a small town and creepy weird occurrences start to happen.

I was left feeling very confused especially in the beginning, it just didn’t flow. I couldn’t get attached to the characters or the story. I made it to about 35% before calling it quits.

There is definitely a reader and a audience for this book, I was unfortunately just not one of them.

2/5 ⭐️

I really wanted to love my first venture into southern gothic style writing but this book was not for me. I found the split timelines so confusing and didn't even realize it until about half way through. I also wish more had been explained about how and why the "curse" had started and where the name came from. The House of Dust just fell flat for me.
Thanks to Netgalley for the digital copy in exchange for an honest review.

My thanks to the author and to NetGalley for providing me with a free ARC to read in exchange for an honest review.

This novel is vividly drawn and envelopes you in it's creepy imagery and unsettling characters. It is about as fine an ode to classic Southern Gothic as it gets. The story draws you in and doesn't want to let you go until you've seen what it has to show you.

If I was to elevator pitch this novel; Twin Peaks meets Truman Capote and William Faulkner, directed in the style of a noir.

Its almost incredible to think that this is a debut novel and I'm very interested to see what Noah Broyles comes up with next. 4/5

I'm new to the Southern Gothic genre. The only thing I could relate to this genre was the movie "Blair Witch Project". So I started this book not knowing what to expect.
In the first half of the book I was honestly quite confused, but some of the creepy and disturbing scenes piqued my curiosity and kept me going. Everything eventually fell into places after the final chapter and I was impressed!
I can totally see the potential of the story. It would be a very intriguing book if it is presented in a more "reader-friendly" way. I feel like the author had lots of good ideas going on in his mind and he wanted to present it in to the readers excitedly in one single dish. Or maybe it's a characteristics of Southern Gothic? I don't know. After all, I'm new to this genre.

The House of Dust has a strong hook: we see a man pull into a dilapidated old town in Southern Tennessee with the intention of committing suicide. Through a series of unforseen circumstances, the plan changes somewhat as he, and us, become embroiled in an horrific story of cults, madness and religious mania.

There are some genuinely disturbing scenes in this book that I will not be able to shake out of my head for quite a while. There is no denying that Broyles is a skilled writer as he manipulates the very core of the story in several ways. This creates a sense of confusion as you don't always understand what you are reading and the significance of it as the lines between reality and madness, characters and time start to blur.

Luckily for us, Broyles wraps it all up at the end as we go full circle, reflecting one of the major themes of the book: is history doomed to repeat itself over and over again?

This is my first experience of the Southern Gothic genre. As said earlier, there is no disputing Broyles' literary prowess. The imagery that this book conjures is fantastic (and terrifying), the language is great and the cyclical structure is very clever. But I found parts of the book to be hard work. I enjoyed being scared and confused (to a degree) and I liked the issues that the book raised but I think I would have preferred a more linear path in getting there.

Thank you to Netgalley, Inkshares and Noah Broyles for the ARC. A great introduction to a brand new genre for me!

This author has a phenomenal gift of rendering vivid imagery that will make you shudder. Not since Mexican Gothic has a novel produced such an immersive setting; I can still feel the dust in my lungs. This novel weaves two timelines almost too tightly and some differentiation between perspective shifts with separate chapters would have been preferable. I think the work could have been tightened up with more aggressive editing as I found myself starting to skim towards the end.

THE HOUSE OF DUST was a 'Did Not Finish' for me and I gave up around 30% as so little had happened and the plot seemed to be going nowhere I did not have the heart to continue. A true crime reporter ends up at a dead end town in rural Tennessee in which he decides to stay for a very tenuous reason after being intent on suicide. As a true crime reporter, he is looking for the next story and feels he has found it in the town of Three Summers. Any decent reporter would have left this town in a flash as it was so boring the liveliest event in the first 30% of the book was a funeral.

The main character (Brad) was dull, whiny and unengaging, his girlfriend was no better and the other characters introduced, such as the policeman, did not give any indication there was much excitement on the horizon. Brad pops pills all the time and although some of the scenes in the (obviously dodgy) house had potential it was not enough to keep me interested. I found other scenes unbelievable within the frame of the story, digging up the grave to find the body of the old woman gone on a pill popping whim, was the final straw. Weighing in at 445 pages this novel was too much of a slog for me and although it has some of the atmosphere associated with the Southern Gothic, it falls well short of the better recent examples and of the best ghost stories on the market.

Southern gothic fans - this is the book for you. This is a strong, strange and creepy debut by the author. Think...Hotel California vibes meets the Twilight Zone. The hitchhiker episode in particular kept popping into my brain. I was a bit confused while reading since there were a bunch of storylines/flashbacks being threaded but was relieved when the end of the story had a summary in the form of Brad’s article. Without the article I think I would have sat back for a little while and said...”what the heck did I just read?” I did that anyway but it was much better to have a refresher at the end! I felt like the story went on a little too long and could have been cut down a bit. I also think it could have been easier to separate the different timeframes as I didn’t really catch on to the different stories until longer than I’d like to admit. The plot is so original - I think this would make for a fantastic movie.

I read this free ARC on Net Gallery in exchange for an honest review. A history that started around 200 years ago. A brutal history involving dirt(healing) of all kind but can also be brutal to its residents and outsiders. This cult of a book will keep you up late at night while you desperately try to solve the riddle of thos cultish town.

Ever wonder what goes on in that lil seemingly deserted backroads town you once briefly drove through? No? Just me? Well, my crazy imagination and love for American Gothic would boarder the same as this novel!

-- In deep rural Tennessee is an old plantation house on an island called "Angels Landing" ..... Brad ( a writer for Southern Gothic) and Missy (a former prostitute) are drawn to this old home. Brad is looking for his next big story after he witnesses a very peculiar burial among the reclusive town folk. Missy seeks a place to call home and peace from her past. Both start to uncover the past and may have to pay a steep price for its future.--

At first it seemed a little difficult to follow along time wise, unless I totally missed something. Didn't take to long to figure out though.

The House of Dust by Noah Broyles.

Inviting haunting. This book reminds me of a Stephen King Novel. Mystery. Suspenseful. The read had great moments that had me cling to every word. Unfortunately, the remainder I felt was slow. Entertaining at a slower pace. I fully enjoyed the details.

A house with secrets best kept.

Bradley is a struggling writer with a suicide wish. But life gets in the way when he finds his next article subject. Coming upon a plantation home that’s been abandoned. Jennifer is excited to have a place to call theirs. But the town is a little strange.

Some things should just stay dead.

Cult rituals, with the whole town following. Bradley wants to dig up the past. When he wants to leave Jennifer wants to stay in the home she has made. How will they face the past and the future?

Southern gothic novels are my favorite rainy day reads, and #TheHouseofDust did not disappoint. The story was wonderful albeit nightmarish, but a bit confusing at times, which lead to me having to go back and reread parts. The House of Dust has horror, will induce goosebumps at times, but it is not a book for the faint of heart. This book is not everyone's cup of tea, but I found it devilishly delicious. I look forward to more from Noah Broyles.

Thank you #NetGalley, Inkshares, and Noah Broyles for this digital ARC in exchange for my honest feedback,

Really Enjoyed this book a very different read! This is one of my first thriller/horror reads of the year and it certainly didn't disappoint!

I thoroughly enjoyed this dark gothic story of a remote town in the South. The beautiful descriptive writing transported me into the world and I felt like I was right alongside the characters, experiencing what they were. You don’t come across authors who are able to be so descriptive in their writing very often so I would definitely recommend this book. Somewhere between a mystery and a horror, it’ll keep you wanting to turn the pages to see where the story takes you.