This was entertaining. Nothing spectacular but an enjoyable read for spooky season. I didn't like the love triangle but the mystery was good, and sad. Satisfying ending

This book is full of everything I look for in an October read: haunted house, mysterious happenings, a murder/disappearance to solve, and a little romance thrown in for good measure. I wish this story had been full length to really dig deeper on the characters and then plot elements. Most books have too much exposition, this novella didn't have quite enough for me.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for the advanced read copy.

This ARC was provided to me via Kindle, from Independently Published and #NetGalley. Thank you for the opportunity to preview and review. Opinions expressed are completely my own.

What a ride. This fast-paced thriller captures the senses.

Well, this was very much on par with the sort of quality one finds at the bottom of the barrel of random kindle freebies. It was short enough to check out, but in retrospect certainly not worth the time, no matter how quickly it read.
A haunted writing retreat isn’t all that fresh or exciting, so the author (to her credit) did have the right idea to put an neat original spin on it with that art imitating life imitating art thing.
The art in question being writing since the protagonist is a writer. Not a very good one, presumably, or maybe that’s just the way she is written…ah, see what I did there?
Anyway, this protagonist, so pretty, with HUGE blue eyes (like, really, is she a freaking anime?) and blonde, and all the man around the manor immediately begin to throw themselves at her feet. And they are all either handsome or cute and this is mentioned with exhaustive frequency.
Actually, most things here are mentioned with exhaustive frequency that often accompanies amateurish writing, like stiltedness of narrative, wooden characterizations, etc.
So anyway, once upon a time some murders occurred in the manor and the tragedy haunts the place since but now that the giggling blonde is here (yes, readers, she giggles, A LOT) the manor just wants to love her and tell her all her secrets.
All that and a bag of laughably silly and processed cheesy romance and there you have it.
It is readable a such, does appear to have been professionally edited and does go by quickly, but that’s about all the things you can put in a Pro column here. Pass. Thanks Netgalley.

Thank you for the ARC. I loved every word of this book until the end.
Thanks for the nightmares. That is literally my worst fear.

I probably should not have read this in my haunted workplace. It was creepy and wholesome.

Mitchell Manor by S. R. Leinbeck.
The Mitchells were one of the most prominent families in the area. In 1843, Theodore Mitchell’s family and household staff was found murdered. When Theodore disappeared, rumors began accusing him of the crime. What would cause a normally well-mannered and well-liked individual to completely snap? Over one-hundred years would pass before the true answer to that question is discovered. Elle Lewis is a novel writer looking for inspiration for her next book. She rented Mitchell Manor in hopes of removing herself from the distractions of the city. As soon as she arrives at the manor, strange events start to happen. Believing it’s her imagination, Elle dismisses many of the occurrences. When things start to escalate, Elle can’t ignore the manor anymore. She realizes it is her responsibility to find out what really happened the night of the murders.
A great read. Creepy. 4*.

This had what I was looking for in a classic ghost story, I love the writer going to a murder house. This book was so well done that I had no complaints when finishing it. The characters were great and it did what I was hoping for. I really enjoyed the way S. R. Leinbeck wrote this and I look forward to reading more from them.

"The house doesn’t want me here,” Harrison shouted over all the noise. Elle looked over at him, but to his surprise she didn’t seem afraid, just confused. “What do you mean, the house?” Another loud crack of thunder rattled the truck. “Elle, you should go inside. I think it’d be best if I left.” Elle shook her head. “Is it safe?” “For you.” Harrison smiled. “I’ll come back tomorrow. We can talk and go get your car.”

Ugh . . . I wanted to like this book. It had some great elements but in its current form it all fell flat. The writing is so jarring, choppy, and the story is rushed. It's not a suspenseful pace but rather jumps and leaves out too much. This needs a good edit or two.

This book had an okay story, but I definitely had an issue with the pacing. I understand that this is a novella length book, but everything felt entirely too rushed (especially the romance element).

I had previously read this book and wanted to give a review here on netgalley. What a great horror novel that had me totally freaked out. I love a good haunted gothic mystery/horror novel and this checked all of the boxes for me.

So I mainly picked this up because based off the synopsis it seemed right up my alley and I love true crime stories but upon reading this book feels like not polished if that makes sense. the writing feels very lackluster and I almost felt like I was reading fanfiction.