This is one of those books I should have DNFed. Three-fourths of the book was dreadfully slow and the last pages were it picked up had no horror or “ghost thriller” feel. The book was also repetitive at times.

One of my favorite bookstagrammers read this and loved it so when I saw it on NetGalley I instantly needed to request it. It was kind of slow in the beginning but once you hit the 70% mark it really picks up. This easily could’ve been at least 75 pages shorter. But the setting was there and I was immersed enough to enjoy.

I struggled to get into this book for the first few chapters. I kept thinking that the idea
For the story was such a good one that I just needed to give the author time to get where she was going.
I’m glad I stuck with it because I definitely became invested in figuring out the mystery of the Octagon House. A nice spooky read full of friendship, romance and a few scares!

n Fawcett's debut novel, my initial impression persisted for the first two-thirds: the narrative spans FOUR timelines concurrently, featuring Clare in the present, Clare at 14, and two prior timelines delving into the backstory of Octagon House. While the abundance of timelines isn't inherently problematic, it felt overwhelming. Juggling the who, where, and why of Fawcett's exploration became a bit taxing. Although intrigued by the backstory, I found myself wishing for a more streamlined approach, perhaps relegating some past storylines to newspaper articles or magazine clippings, leaving room for imagination.

Setting aside this complexity, the novel's atmosphere intensifies rapidly, with The Octagon House itself serving as a eerie character. Additionally, a couple of subplots unfold, capturing my interest more significantly by the 75% mark compared to the initial stages.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for sending a digital ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Wow, I was so involved in this creepy mystery and could not wait to see which turn the story took next! I loved how the setting was described, along with the character development and details about the past events. This was a great thriller that I have recommended to others and that has stuck with me long after finishing!

Decent story that I listened to as an audiobook. The development of getting to know the main character was well-done. I was intrigued to keep wanting to know more and more of what happened and rooting for a satisfying conclusion. It did have some "ghostly" spookiness, but the main source of haunting is more about how we process events in our own minds. The ending did leave me a bit unsatisfied with wanting more of a solid resolution, but overall kept my interest throughout.

I enjoyed this, it had a good building up of creepy atmosphere and I love an atmospheric story. It did take me a little while to get into the story, the beginning was not bad just not immediately gripping.

Oh man I FINALLY read this one! This was probably one of the first physical #arcs I received when I started my #bookstagram in 2021. Atria books was kind enough to send me a copy and I’m sooooo sorry it took me this long to finally read and review! I guess that’s the life of a #moodreader 🤣.

This is a telling of a haunted house in the middle of the woods. Generation after generation kids dare each other to go into the house where a man killed his wife and two kids. Some are unaffected by this hauntings and others… never come out the same.

One thing I thought was very well done in this book was giving the house a multiple generational story line and you get pieces of each story through out the book.

Available as a read now on @netgalley if you love a good haunted house read!

Perfect for those who like Wendy Webb or London Clarke and vice versa.

I'm back on a bit of a horror kick this fall - there's nothing scarier than when the weather gets cold, am I right? This was a nice take on a haunted house tale, with an intriguing mystery threaded throughout. I'm head-tilty about the choice of relationships to revisit here though. I really liked the old romance reigniting, but the lack of parental inclusion was to the story's detriment I think, especially given that it hinged on a parent just leaving a house unsold for the narrator to conveniently come back to - like okay, must be nice to be able to just leave a property vacant when you go buy a new one? Otherwise the POV switches and pacing were all really well done, with a real sense of weaving a tapestry that comes together nicely to resolve the central mystery.

I'm still a little baffled by the lack of genuine resolution with the Abby situation - like we really just never get to hear what happened to her when she went to the house?! I would have liked for her to have more of a presence in the current timeline given the weight of their friendship in the narrative, especially given how well the friendship was portrayed between Clare and Lori. This unsatisfying element of the ending made this more of a 3.5 star read but I'll round it up because this was otherwise an enjoyably atmospheric page-turner.

My thanks to Atria Books and NetGalley for the ARC.

Hook! Line! … But no sinker for me

I was hooked the entire book. Until the end. It just left me feeling like I didn’t get the closure I needed. I’d definitely say it’s worth the read, but just be warned: You may feel a little lacking when it’s over.

Thank you so much Atria Books, Jennifer Fawcett, and NetGalley for giving me the opportunity to read and honestly review this book.

This. Book. Was. SO. CREEPY!

Honestly, I couldn’t have asked for a better read for October. This was a very atmospheric, spooky read that genuinely freaked me out. There’s something about a creepy, abandoned house that just chills me to the bone, and Fawcett tapped into that vibe perfectly. I really loved all of the different storylines that were interwoven through the book, and I felt like the anticipation of seeing how they’d all come together really added to the suspense. My only issue was that the ending felt rushed to me, and I’m not always a fan of open, ambiguous endings (although it did sort of fit here). Overall, this was a great debut, perfect for moody fall reading!

Thank you to NetGalley and Atria Books for the free digital ARC in exchange for an honest review. All opinions presented here are my own.

Read if you like:
👻 Spooky Vibes
#️⃣ Multiple POV
⏳ Alternating Timelines
🏠 Haunted Houses

If you like spooky vibes that are sure to give you the creeps, this book is for you!

This book follows a story starting from 1988 when Claire, Abby, and Lori enter a creepy house, but then we get 4 different timelines as well.

The house is the site of a reported murder where a man killed his wife and daughter.

If you want a creepy haunted house thriller with all the reveals and twists! I highly recommend this one!

I think as kids we all have heard that one ghost story, or that one abandoned house….. the story changing with each new generation. Daring each other to get close or go inside if you’re not too scared. That’s usually where it ends. If you made it in you were the talk of the group and of course you’d add your own spin to those to chicken to find out. Well this is definitely a house in the woods that you don’t want to go into. Something is there in the basement. Something that seems to call to only select people like a siren song, it’s pull so strong you just have to go. You don’t know why you just have to go. And for one person that proves almost deadly. Being hospitalized twice because of this house! Every one thinks she was attempting suicide but that’s not what she was doing. That thing that thing in the basement needed her. Needed her to help. But how can you explain that to someone with out making yourself sound like a mental case? When her best friend gets word that she’s been put back in the hospital after all these years she returns to see if she can help. She needs to stop this she needs to end this and stop anyone else from getting hurt. Finish what her best friend accidentally started. But can she figure it out in time before it takes her too? This was suck a good book. Especially if you grew up with these kinds of lure stories. Thank you to NetGalley for allowing me access to this book!

I wanted this story to work for me, but unfortunately my expectations differed from reality. The synopsis made this sound like more of a haunted house story, but it was really more of a story about grief. There was potential and some spooky moments, but the ending wasn't satisfactory to my liking either. Giving this three stars because this isn't objectively bad, but this is not what was advertised.

Thank you Atria Books and Netgalley for my gifted copy.

Beneath the Stairs by Jennifer Fawcett was received directly from the publisher and I chose to review it. I had never knowingly read this author before but I will certainly read more from her. This book was a rarity nowadays in that I didn't get bored in "character development," and start skimming, The character development fit right in I read the book in its entirety. If you, or someone you buy gifts for like a spooky haunted house type book, where you are not sure if is it supernatural or is it an act of crime, then give this book a read.

4 Stars

I received a copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. This book drew me in on the premise of being about a haunted house and the need for the characters to face that horror to stop what was happening now. While there were some supernatural elements, or certainly seemed to be, it was more of a journey through guilt and grief. The main character, Clare, was returning to her chilhood home at the request of her former best friend, Abby's parents when Abby had fallen into a coma. I felt as though, overall, the book didn't really deliver. There is very little of the Octogon House even in it- just a lot of visited memories that point more toward human monsters than supernatural. And we end without having any real answers to the alleged haunting, just the reparation of old friendships and some new beginnings. While that is a valid story, the synopsis should have made it much more clear, because, honestly, I was here for a haunted house, not a journey of grief and guilt. Well written, but a disappointment.

What a great read going into autumn! I loved the layers of mystery and taut pacing. There was a terrific feeling of eerie dread that built up and the pages couldn’t fly fast enough!

I loved this book. Very suspenseful. It’s about a house and the effect it has in some people due to what happened there.

I ended up DNF'ing this one, but I'm still giving 3 stars as I think it's decent for some folks, it just wasn't for me. There was a good premise, with the woman returning to a spooky house of her childhood where something very spooky happened - both as children and now - to her previous best friend. The recipe is there, but I just wasn't drawn to actually finish the book, and I'm not sure if that was the page-turning-ness of the book or just me!

There's a LOT going on... with three past timelines, plus two present day timelines, all following different characters, I found it difficult to differentiate between who was who and what was going on, especially at first. I also am left with SO MANY QUESTIONS! There are some plot holes that I wish would've been further developed. However, I really enjoy a creepy house story with "characters return to past" tropes. I also enjoyed the small bit of romance too! All in all, I would highly recommend this book, even with all the chaos of trying to get straight who is who and what's going on.