Based on the title and cover, I was expecting more of a quirky ghost story, so I was a little surprised at the more gruesome descriptions of the ghosts, and there were some actually creepy interactions between Elegy and the spirits she lives alongside. I know this is a book about living in a haunted house, but it is labeled as more romance and fantasy, so I was not expecting the actual creepy scenes that took place throughout the book. That being said, I really enjoyed this book, I thought the characters were well developed, and the story was unique and interesting.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an advanced copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

On Samhain night in 1902 a man by the name of Jasper Thorne throws a Samhain party, promising his guests a trick that few of them will ever forget. After the meal is eaten and the dancing done, five women appear in the ballroom, one in particular kneels on the floor covered in ruins and covers the floor in her blood. And out of the floor, a man appears, long dead by hanging, and that's when all hell breaks loose at Thorne Hall.

Today, Elgey Thorne lives in the time capsule that is Thorne Hall. Her clothes are hand me downs from women dead for over a century, she has never used much less seen a computer or even a washer and dryer, she's never been to school, she's never been on a play date, and she only has two human friends in the whole world. At twenty five Elgey has never done anything for herself and as her father is dying she knows she never will, because upon his death Elgey will become the mistress of Thorne Hall and inherent everything that comes with it. Including the fourteen spirits her ancestor summoned after that fateful Samhain a century before she was born. Spirits who she knows she will have to control even though they terrify her, even though she loves them. One morning, though, Elgey prepares to direct a group of workmen come to fix another disaster caused by one of the child spirits Elgey meets Atticus and she doesn't know it then but this fateful encounter will lead to something Elgey never thought possible: she'll rebel against her fate and her family in ways she never thought possible. All for the chance to be free.

I choose to read this at random with rereading the synopsis, and I'm really glad I did as I'm pretty sure I would have chosen something else, and that would have been a shame. This was not what I was expecting at all, and I loved it all the more for it. While it is most definitely a ghost story, a damn good one at that, it is more of a coming of age story where Elgey, the main character figures out that the only person she's beholden to is herself. Thomas uses a truly unique cast of characters in a found family setting that makes this one of the most unique stories I've read period, while being one of a handful of modern stories I'd call modern Gothic horror without an issue.

Elgey is at the heart of this story, and if her character had been written any differently, this would have been truly awful. The way Elgey works through figuring out that she can make her own decisions was at times wonderful and others heartbreaking but always real. And I really loved the fact that while she twenty-five she goes through these very teenage rebellion situations because thanks to her ancestors and her emotionally abusive father she's never had the chance to do any rebelling at all. Sneaking out to meet her boyfriend, wresting controll of the spirits from her dad in just a tiny rebellion, hell just choosing to make any decisions on her own is something I most definitely went through when I was fifteen and sixteen so for Elgey to be doing these things at twenty five helped to really drive home how bad it really was for her. Elgey never even thought to think for herself, and while that sucks it also made the moments that she did that much more important. It also really shows how strong she is, thanks to her dad (and the fact that she's literally been hanging around dead people who could in fact kill her, her whole life) she has so many insecurities about how strong she is and it's these little moments of rebellion more than anything that help give her the courage to truly rebel. Which, quite frankly, she should have done a long time ago.

More than anything, though, what makes this such an amazing book is the very blunt conversation about carrying on toxic family traditions. And I think it seems extreme almost, comical even to have the toxic family tradition be the caretaking of a bunch of ghosts your ancestor summoned over a century ago but it's genuinely not, at least not the way this is written. Because it's not just about the tradition, it's about how her father uses it against Elgey to control her, and because of this, the very complicated relationship she has with the ghosts. While her father sees them as things to be controlled, because Elgey has been controlled her whole life she gives them more leeway, which probably isn't the greatest idea but at the same time it drives home how even subconsciously she's been rebelling against the tradition her whole life. By simply treating the ghosts as something more than objects, she's already started to break the hold of the tradition, which is far more realistic than her, just all of a sudden starting to rebel.

The only one not so tiny complaint I have here is that one of the running themes here is that the reason Elgey is trapped in this tradition is because "people of her station" are just like that. Elgey is rich, like at no point is it ever said how rich but her human besties spend their lives bouncing around continents so it is implied that they are very, very, very rich. I could have done without the very clear message that I should somehow feel sorry for rich kids because they feel pressured by their lineage to tow the line or end up broke. It doesn't come up often but it's often enough that it did drive me bonkers. When the wealth gap is larger than ever in most developed countries reading about "poor" rich kids, even if it is only a few pages was less than entertaining and completely 100% not needed. I think what made it worse was to have Hugo, one of her human friends be gay and then have his parents threaten to remove him from their will if he doesn't marry and produce an heir. Are there probably LGBTQ+ humans whose families have threatened to disinherit them? I'm sure there are. Are there probably middle class LGBTQ+ kids whose family literally kicked them out of the house? Most definitely. The whole like 1% thing was just completely unnecessary for the story and had it been brought up more often I probably wouldn't have finished the book no matter how well written the rest of it was.

Overall, this was really excellent regardless of the "poor rich kid" stuff. It's definitely a conversation I think a lot of millennials need to have with themselves about the family traditions they choose to carry on and why they are doing it. 100% recommend it, especially for anyone who enjoyed Saint Death's Daughter.

And as always thanks NetGalley and Alcove Press for the eArc!

Thank you so much to NetGalley and the publisher for access to the eARC in exchange for an honest review.

Picture if you will, an old manor lost to time, a young woman who struggles under the weight of familiar responsibility and a collection of ghosts not ready and some not willing to move on. So is The Spirit Collection of Thorne Hall, a deliciously gothic tale ripe with eerie atmosphere and a longing romance reminiscent of Jane Eyre.

The Spirit Collection of Thorne Hall was a haunting but beautiful story best enjoyed when the winds of Ocober are whistling outside your window, and a candle is your only source of light.

the gothic atmosphere and tender romance in this book is the perfect combo to both enchant you and chill you to your bones.

my only criticism is that it's not releasing in time for Halloween season, it's the PERFECT book to add to any spooky season lovers!

Idee ist super, die Geister sind richtig creepy beschrieben - perfekte Stimmung für den Oktober. Aber die Passagen zu ihrem love interest könnten nicht kitschiger sein. Absoluter Traummann, es könnte nicht besser passen, und dass nach drei Tagen. Ob das als Antidote für den Grusel in Thorne Hall gedacht war oder nicht, für mich war es ein bisschen zu viel.

Thank you so much to NetGalley and J. Ann Thomas for providing me with a complimentary digital ARC for The Spirit Collection of Thorne Hall coming out February 11, 2025. The honest opinions expressed in this review are my own.

This is the first book I’ve read by the author. I’m obsessed with haunted houses and Gothic tales. I loved the Jane Eyre and Thornfield Hall vibes. I think the book is perfect for Halloween. It’s very spooky and mysterious. Elegy was a really interesting character and she was clearly bogged down by her responsibilities. There were a lot of characters with the spirits, so it was a little hard to keep track of who was who. But I really enjoyed Elegy’s journey. At times it felt like the story was set in the 1800s, but it was a modern tale. It would be interesting to see a continuation of the story. I think Atticus could have more to say. I would definitely check out more books by this author!

I would recommend this book to anyone who enjoys gothic ghost stories!

The Spirit Collection of Thorne Hall by J. Ann Thomas is hauntingly beautiful and it kept my interest throughout the entire story.

The story follows Elegy, who is forced to live with ghosts in a mansion frozen in time. She becomes torn between her desire to follow her heart and her duty to her family and its legacy. She (and her friends) begins searching for a way to release the spirit collection back to the afterlife and set both herself and the ghosts free.

I recommend The Spirit Collection of Thorne Hall to fans of gothic fantasy!

Thank you NetGalley and to Alcove Press for the ARC!

The premise for this book was so fascinating — an old house/family that boasts a “collection” of ghosts. The first chapter set this up perfectly too, and immediately lent it a spooky atmosphere. I expected this to be entirely historical but really liked that it was modern with the dichotomy of the house — and Elegy — being forced to live in the past. It was easy to root for Elegy right away, and to want her to have the life and romance she’s been deprived of. It was a creepy setting but there was still plenty of lightness to the story and a good cast of characters, ghost and living alike.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I absolutely loved this book. The writing was so detailed and atmospheric that it really immersed me into the story and how Thorne Hall should look. There is some historical fiction woven into a supernatural plot which I think helped build the world of this book.

This is a very slow paced story however for fans of classic gothic fiction you will enjoy every second of the atmosphere in this book.

I look forward to seeing what the author will write next.

You can't get more Gothic than this.
Elegy sees no future for herself. Her father has virtually locked her away in a mansion her entire life with very little knowledge of the outside world. She even wears hand me downs from long dead women.
Even when she makes friends with two outsider rich brats called Floss and Hugo, nothing changes for her. Elegys' family have a huge secret. They've resurrected 13 spirits from the dead and only Elegys' bloodline can control them.
It's predictably a dark novel, not all of the spirits are adults and Elegys' father is cruel and abusive, her stepmother doesn't really care.
I like how it takes you along on a nice, easy ride where everything's going well, then it suddenly makes you sit up and take notice.
I did really enjoy this book, but it's not the sort that grips me and makes me desperate to find out what happens next.

The Spirit Collection of Thorne Hall follows Elegy Thorne, who is cursed to remain bound to her ancestral home, tasked with keeping her family's restless spirits pacified. It’s a gothic story full of duty, longing, and Elegy’s fight for freedom. With a richly atmospheric setting and a haunting tone, it's a good pick fall pick and picks up after the beginning.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for allowing me to review this book.

Elegy is trapped. She lives in Thorne Hall, a mansion that has been in her family for generations. However, instead of collecting art, her family collects ghosts. Elegy is bound to the house, and its spirits, because upon her father's death, she will take control of the 14 spirits in residence...that is, unless she can find a way to break the curse. Oh, and there's this guy...

I enjoyed this book. It's a great spooky season read. I will say there were parts that were a little slow, but overall, I liked this one!

This was a fun read! I enjoyed the atmosphere and the descriptions of the manor. I didn't completely connect with the characters but other than that I had a great time reading this one!

Me gustó. Al principio me costó un poco de trabajo, ya que el ritmo era muy lento, pero después de unos capítulos le tomé el ritmo.

Elegy Thorne es la encargada de vigilar y contener a los fantasmas que habitan en la mansión Thorne debido a una maldición. Aunque no está contenta con su vida, sabe que es su obligación y que no puede irse; sin embargo, la aparición de Atticus la hará replantearse toda su existencia.


Thanks to NetGalley, the publisher and the author for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

The Spirit Collection was a good book that's perfect for spooky season. While it did take me some tome to get into this book and to have a clear understanding of all of the characters, it was an enjoyable book once I did.

"The Spirit Collection" by J. Ann Thomas is a captivating and well-crafted novel that seamlessly blends elements of mystery and the supernatural. Thomas's vivid descriptions and engaging plot keep readers hooked from start to finish. The characters are well-developed, and the storyline offers unexpected twists that make it hard to put down. It's a perfect read for those who enjoy a thrilling tale with a touch of the mystical. Highly recommended!

It took some time for me to get into this book, but I ended up really enjoying it. There were a lot of characters I produced early on and it was a little confusing as to who was alive and who was not. Once I was able to keep most of them straight, the story was much easier to follow and get into. The romance was sweet and easy to get behind. It had a unique storyline and concept and I enjoyed some of the side character arcs (Fletcher) alongside the main characters. I wish we saw a little more of Floss because I feel like she had one heck of a personality, but overall I would definitely recommend.

OMG, where do I even start with this book? It’s, like, totally captivating! The gothic vibes are next level, and the atmosphere just drips with mystery and intrigue. The setting is so beautifully described that I could practically feel the chill in the air. I was totally swept away by the rich imagery and haunting elegance of the storyline. The characters are well-developed, and their connections are, like, so intense and real! I couldn't help but get emotionally invested in their journeys.

If you’re, like, into dark romance and a sprinkle of the supernatural, you have to check this out! Seriously, grab your favorite cozy blanket, pour yourself a pumpkin spice latte, and get ready for an enchanting ride that’s gonna keep you up all night! You won't wanna miss this magical journey!

A huge thank you to NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for my honest opinion!

The Spirit Collection of Thorne Hall by J. Ann Thomas is a captivating and atmospheric read. Although the beginning is slow, it is worth sticking with until the end. Thomas delivers a spellbinding journey that will linger with you long after the last page.

Very slow start where I almost DNF’d but I’m so glad I kept on going because it was definitely worth it!!