Loved the setting. Loved the ending. Pacing felt a bit slow throughout the middle. I wanted more action. Still an entertaining read!

The House of Last Resort has the perfect setup. All across Europe, towns are selling abandoned homes for a single Euro with the guarantee that the buyer will reside in the home for a minimum of five years. For Tommy and Kate, a lovely American couple who work remotely, this is a perfect opportunity. The home is in the city of Tommy's closet living relatives. It's the romantic adventure of a lifetime.

But the moment they move in, a darkness follows them around the house. Even Tommy's Grandmother is angry, even a little scared about the house. Door that were locked are now open and vice versa. Strange noises at night,....all the usual haunted house things one would expect....

.......

Here's the rub: this would be a FANTASTIC short story or a podcast teleplay. It's a good story, but the long rambling inner dialogue goes on a bit too long. The last act of the book is the standout section and I can see how that would be fantastic as the last episode of a podcast, blowing it out on a finale episode.

Still, I quite enjoyed this story and the idea of a single Euro home, even with the bumps in the night.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for the opportunity to read and review this book.

This is in part, a love story between Tommy and Kate, a mystery of what caused the rift between Tommy's father and grandfather, and the unraveling of dark family secrets.

Tommy and Kate seize an opportunity to own a beautiful house in Italy for practically no money. All they have to do is fix it up. It's a huge change for them from living in the United States, but Tommy has family there and they hope with a little time and effort they can convince some of their friends to follow in their footsteps to revive the economy in the half empty town.

When Tommy's grandmother sees which home they've chosen she is angry and fearful but won't say why.
Bumps in the night and slamming doors lead the couple to entertain the idea that their house may be haunted, but it took longer than I would have liked for the reveal of why their home is known as the House of Last Resort.
The pace was slow for the first part of the book. There were some odd occurrences but nothing really scary happened until close to the halfway mark when a shocking event led to the exposure of family secrets, Something happened at this point that just plain scared the bejeezers out of me.

The final third of the book is terrifying and the conclusion is a knock out.

My thanks to St. Martin's Press.

Honestly, I wish this book had just been about revitalizing Bechinna with some fun home reno as part of it. I didn’t love either of the main characters and I felt like this book just lacked subtlety. I don’t read a ton of horror, but I feel like as a genre it really thrives in the things that are unspoken. There’s a quiet, pervasive uneasiness. Nothing concrete has happened, but something is making the characters and the reader uncomfortable. That’s accomplished to some extent in the beginning of the book, but eventually that concept is completely thrown out the window and things start happening on the page. The last third of the book fell really flat for me. Overall, a pretty disappointing read to end the year.

Note: I received an advanced copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

This story was just entirely creepy. We have a new married couple who decide to move to Italy and buy one of the homes in Italy that they’re selling for very low dollars so that people will buy up some of these old houses and renovate them instead of them staying empty all the time. This couple moves to a town where the husband‘s family is from and his grandparents live in the neighborhood. They decided to live near them. Unfortunately, the house that they bought has a history and it’s not a pleasant one and the story progresses through all the craziness and chaos that occurs once they move into this house and how the neighborhood the family, and the church which is duplicitous now and throughout history to what’s going on. The ending was not good. It is not what I expected and I did not like it. I liked the story in general. It was a good story. It was interesting and the couple were OK but I was thrown by the ending and I didn’t like it so I gave this fairly low rating because of that.

Chills are still running down my spine, the hair on the back of my neck is standing, and my heart is pounding as I write this review. I was whipped up into a frenzy of fear and terror as I destroyed this book in one sitting. It captured my attention and imagination in one foul swoop. The entire idea of moving to Sicily and buying a home for just a euro has grabbed my attention. The thought of repopulating towns and homes with new people and business prospects sounds appealing. An adventure that you need to grab onto with both hands, with your fingers crossed that it will all work out.

Tommy and Kate have made the decision to move from Boston to the small town of Becchina, Italy. A town that Tommy has visited his grandparents in years past. With the death of both of their parents, they jump at the chance to move and be by family once again. The house they bought is stunningly beautiful. At the edge of a cliff, flowers fighting their way up the walls, the view of the surrounding valley is something you only dream of. When Tommy's Grandmother comes knocking with a look of fear and anger. Do they start to wonder what they have gotten themselves into? The small door that is locked, not knowing what it leads to. Calling silently to Kate to open it. The catacombs that spread like a maze beneath the town is tantalizing as it is creepy. The feeling of someone watching and the entire house holding its breath finally takes a toll on the young couple. As they go looking for answers.

This book was such a fun read. I do not want to go into too many details and give anything away. I have always been fascinated by catacombs and this book does not lack descriptions and details. The further you get into the book the faster you read. Thank you to Christopher Golden and St. Martin Press for my gifted copy of this eerie book.

Have you ever seen those advertisements for European towns offering homes for 1 euro to bolster population? This book starts off with that concept, which I found neat. American couple Tommy and Kate decide to relocate to Becchina, Sicily for such an offer and to be closer to Tommy’s grandparents. But their plans for a new life start to go awry when they discover the history behind their new house, known to the locals as The House of Last Resort.

This book was a fun concept and I loved the small Italian town setting, which was why I stuck with it. But I found the writing and pacing not great and I considered the ending to be stupid. I probably would have enjoyed this more as a cheesy horror movie 😂

Thank you to St. Martin’s Press for the ARC ebook!

This was a great horror/thriller book. I was immediately intrigued by the story of this book and although this book started out a bit slow, I couldn’t wait to see where the story would go. I loved the author’s descriptive writing style in this book and the eerie setting he created. This was a really enjoyable and unique read that I think lovers of haunted house stories will love reading.

Wow. What an incredible book. This is my second book by the author, and I can't wait to read more. 
Tommy and Kate have picked up their lives in America for a new life in a little town in Sicily. The town, in order to bring in tourism, decides to sell abandoned houses for 1 euro as long as the family lives there for 5 years and invests 50,000 euros in renovations. But Tommy and Kate start to see things in their house and are shocked to learn the home’s history. 
I loved this book. It has such an original storyline which makes it stand out from other horror books. I also felt like the characters were very realistic. No one did or said anything that didn't feel authentic.
My main criticism is that some things were a little overkill. There were times where I felt like Tommy and Kate were saying the same thing over and over again. Also there is a recurring theme that comes up way too often. 
This book wasn't incredibly scary, but like All Hallows it does get good and creepy in the later half. I would definitely recommend this book

The concept for this book was so interesting and different that I immediately requested it when it popped up. Unfortunately, the follow through was not that great. I'm all for a story that turns supernatural unexpectedly, but this one went a bit too far off the rails for my liking.

The House of Last Resort is a horror/thriller based in a small town in Italy where a young couple moves into a large old house with many secrets that they aren’t aware of. I did not really know what to expect from this book because it is not my typical genre, but I did enjoy it. It has aspects of paranormal activity, demons, and exorcisms, which I found interesting and also spooky. The characters were relatable and fun, and I honestly really enjoyed myself reading this book. It wasn’t as scary as I thought it was going to be, but that is definitely my objective view, some might find it pretty terrifying. Definitely recommend this book, and I think it has encouraged me to explore more horror books!

This is my first serious horror in a while so I had a hard time keeping up with the plot. It was also kind of a slow start but the story built up towards the middle. I feel like horror fans would enjoy this a lot! I just think it’s not the right book for me.

Tommy and Kate decide to leave their American lives and purchase a crumbling Italian Villa as part of the town’s attempt to invigorate the economy and bring new people to the area…cue the creepy house shenanigans, townsfolk hiding secrets, undiscovered catacombs, and the occult. This book sucked me in and was hard to put down. I wish the story was a little more fleshed out, it seemed to wrap up a bit too soon. Thank you to NetGalley for the opportunity to read review this book!

“Across Italy, there are many half-empty towns, nearly abandoned by those who migrate to the coasts or cities. The beautiful, crumbling hilltop town of Becchina is among them, but its mayor has taken drastic measures to rebuild - selling abandoned homes to anyone in the world for a single Euro, as long as the buyer promises to live there for at least five years.”

This sounds like an incredible deal, and something that I would have considered in a heartbeat. Especially if I were the main characters in The House of Last Resort and had family ties in Becchina! I really enjoyed this spooky, atmospheric gothic set in the hills and catacombs of old Italy.

When Kate and Tommy move into their 1 Euro house and find a locked door to an annex - they think nothing of it besides the fact that they got even more house in the deal. But when their family starts to whisper about the “House Of Last Resort” and they find that their house was owned by the Church for generations - they begin to realize they’ve bit off more than they can chew.

While this book was fairly predictable at certain points, it was a fast, tense read and had some great horror elements. Check this one out if you like horror, catacombs, Italy, and psychological thrillers!

As someone who visited the catacombs in Paris, this was both so intriguing and terrifying. This book was written so beautifully with its dialogue, character development, and setting. I really enjoyed the focus on Kate and Tommy’s relationship in the first half of the novel as well as their individual adjustments to moving halfway across the world and figuring it out together. I found the plot extremely captivating when it unraveled, but there was a bit of a lull near the middle of the book in my opinion around 60% in. Besides that, I was completely engaged and stayed up so late to finish this book because it was just that good. The ending left me absolutely wanting more; what an ending!!! I’ve never read this author before, but I’m very eager to read more of his work now. If you enjoy paranormal horror and movies like “The Exorcist”, this is the book for you.

This book was okay! I didn’t connect to the plot as much as I wanted to but it was still an okay read! This is a slow burn read too, took a while for this book to get moving.

this book was good! It had a lot of thrills and the occult was disturbing. I’m not into the priest occult tropes as I’ve seen it done before. The writing style is very good!

The premise of the book was interesting, but unfortunately, I did not enjoy the read. Most of the plot dragged, and it was a slow read. I didn't feel the spooky atmosphere and the danger didn't seem real until the very end. The last chapter really picked up and I really wish the entire book had the same energy as the very last few pages.

Thank you to Netgalley and St. Martin's Press for this ARC in exchange for my honest review. I will not be posting this review onto retail sites.

I really liked how this was just a different take on your typical “haunted house” story. I loved it was placed in Italy and made me want to be there. I will say I found myself bored somewhere in the middle. I felt that there were parts that just dragged or maybe too much information. I also felt the use of the title in the book was used a little too often. Overall though it was a solid read.

Thank you St. Martins Press and Christopher Golden on the e arc.
PUB DATE 01/30/24

"The next high concept horror novel from New York Times bestselling author Christopher Golden.

Across Italy there are many half-empty towns, nearly abandoned by those who migrate to the coast or to cities. The beautiful, crumbling hilltop town of Becchina is among them, but its mayor has taken drastic measures to rebuild - selling abandoned homes to anyone in the world for a single Euro, as long as the buyer promises to live there for at least five years.

It's a no-brainer for American couple Tommy and Kate Puglisi. Both work remotely, and Becchina is the home of Tommy's grandparents, his closest living relatives. It feels like a romantic adventure, an opportunity the young couple would be crazy not to seize. But from the moment they move in, they both feel a shadow has fallen on them. Tommy's grandmother is furious, even a little frightened, when she realizes which house they've bought.

There are rooms in an annex at the back of the house that they didn't know were there. The place makes strange noises at night, locked doors are suddenly open, and when they go to a family gathering, they're certain people are whispering about them, and about their house, which one neighbor refers to as The House of Last Resort. Soon, they learn that the home was owned for generations by the Church, but the real secret, and the true dread, is unlocked when they finally learn what the priests were doing in this house for all those long years...and how many people died in the strange chapel inside. While down in the catacombs beneath Becchina...something stirs."

I mean, I'm here for anything that Christopher Golden writes, he's an awesome writer and human being. But the buzz on this book is beyond anything I can imagine. This is your "must read" for January.