Review to come in a few days on my blog/other places.

I received this book from Netgalley/the publisher in exchange of an honest review.

The newest Wendy Dalrymple and of course I couldn't just leave it when I saw it on Netgalley, I had to request it! I am so thankful that I got to read this book! It was a ride! I started reading on one day just to get a taste and then the next I just read it all. It was that good. You just don't want to stop. 

I thought this book would just be about a spooooooky credenza and see people get haunted, I would have been happy with that already, but instead it is so much more. The credenza is almost alive. It seems to have a heartbeat. Then there is a weird and creepy dude who is desperate to get his hands on it which already raised many a red flag for me. And then as the story continues we learn more about the credenza, about our MC's family, why her mom went crazy and why her mom is so desperate to get that credenza out of this world, and much more. I loved every nugget of new information and I was just so invested. I never once thought it was too much, in fact it was just perfect. Plus, it got really scary and I love that. 

Then it all comes together in the end and boy there were some revelations that had me GASPING and going OMG. Plus, that last bit of the story? Perfection! And yes, as you may notice I am keeping things vague as much as I can. I want people to gasp and squeal and go OMG at all the points as well. 

The only parts that didn't work for me were the cannibalism parts at the end. I am already not a gore girl, but with my (I assume given other symptoms) perimenopause around I really cannot stomach much. So yeah, I almost puked over my Kindle, sorry Kindle. 

And as a Dutchie, I appreciate the Dutch references/the fact things were made in my country. 

All in all, if you want an exciting read with cannibalism, mysterious organisations/protectors, and tons of scary WTF/OMG moments, I would highly recommend this one. You won't be bored!

Truth be told, pink horror and Florida gothic? I knew there was an excellent chance I'd love this book. Dalrymple does a spot on job of combining the intricacies of familial relationships, inherited trauma, and horror. The book was creepy and unsettling without jump scares, moving us further into the weeds of how an ancient evil ended up on the southwest coast of the Sunshine State. If, like me, you prefer your horror with a bit of femme rage and more, it's 95 degrees out so why do I have goosebumps, then dive into Credenza, and see just how menacing a piece of furniture can be. Maybe you'll read it in one sitting like I did.

This was so fun! CREDENZA isn't breaking any molds—this is a pretty standard cursed object story—but I didn't think too hard about that. I was enjoying the ride. I honestly wish it was longer—there were a few events the story skimmed over where I thought we could have gone deeper into Ronnie's interiority and experience, and with this being under 250 pages, there was definitely room for some more depth. But I would still recommend!

My first Wendy Dalrymple, I will be searching out her backlist. I couldn't put this down. Fast paced with many twists and turns, but enough ick to satisfy, but doesn't push it too far. Likable characters with real life problems aside from the horror.
Gives us all a good reason to let go of the stuff our parents hand down to us!

Credenza is described as a gothic pink horror and I think that is such an accurate take. It follows a single mother, Veronica, after her grandmother passed away leaving her heirloom credenza. Veronica decides to bring the piece home and it begins to rip her life at the seams. Only, she was never warned how to stop it.

After reading the first chapter of this novel, I instantly felt unsettled and became hauntingly addicted. Wendy Dalrymple tackled difficult family dynamics and the trauma that occurs and passes down to generations. She tackled grief and the stigmas of mental health in such a raw manor.

I did not expects the twists in the trip this book took me through. I would recommend this quick read to lovers of gore, horror, and antique thrifting.

Thank you to the author and publisher for providing me with an advance reader copy of Credenza via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Veronica inherits a credenza from her Grandma Maddie. However, once she has moved the furniture into her own home, it turns out the credenza is more than just an old piece of family furniture and old secrets start to emerge.

This was creepy in all the right ways and had me gripped throughout reading it. It was an enjoyable fast paced read.

They're something so chilling about a horror book that starts of utterly mundane and then just erupts into chaos. Wendy Dalrymple does a great job of situating you in a typical day, with a typical experience that we have all lived. As I started Credenza and read the scenes about Veronica moving the furniture, I immediately thought back to all the times I've moved and it built a kind of personal backstory into the plot that I wasn't expecting. When things start to go south and the hauntings and such start, it's so easy to imagine it happening because you've already built that personal relationship with the plot. I have to say that kind of thinking is a first for me while reading. But the juxtaposition of mundane and supernatural was so jarring it immediately came to mind.

For anyone who likes horror I would recommend Credenza. I actually discovered this book on an instagram post about Pink Horror and realized I hadn't really read anything that fit that bill before and I am so glad I found it! This was such a fun time, cursed objects and Florida gothic? How could you possibly say no!

I felt a personal connection with parts of this novel; just like Veronica and Star, my mother and I were also the only ones there for my grandmother in the end and I actually ended up furnishing my apartment with my grandmothers furniture luckily I did not encounter any cursed or haunted pieces of furniture but reading this book made me appreciate that I have her items.
I definitely was not expecting the twist in this book, I actually had to set my kindle down and walk away for a minute because I was shocked!

No spoilers!

I really enjoyed this book. It is fairly short and gets right to the point, but still allows for some story weaving to be done. This was a unique read. I've never come across a book like this before for multiple reasons. In my opinion, thus is one of those books you just have to read to understand how good it is.

I had never read anything written by Wendy before but I really enjoyed CREDENZA.

I like just a touch of horror and this was a nice (actually kind of a gross) story and a quick read.

The relationship between the main character and her daughter was interesting, as well as the relationship between her and her own mother and grandmother.

I thought the pacing was both a bit too fast and a bit too slow. I know, I know. I think maybe we needed more character development from the main character's mom and grandmother.

Nonetheless, this would be a good story for those who like antiques and wonder about the history of items. I'm sure there are cursed antiques floating around out there. :)

Thank you NetGalley and Quill & Crow Publishing House for an e-copy of CREDENZA to review.

I rate CREDENZA four out of five stars.

I don’t typically read horror, but in searching to expand my genres, I was given Credenza. I was a little concerned going into this that I wouldn’t enjoy it because I’m terrified of all that goes bump in the night. To my surprise, this was a really enjoyable read, more of cozy horror in my opinion—but that’s probably just me trying to be hopeful during the tame parts. The author's writing style was easy to follow, and the way the story progressed kept me interested enough to finish this in one evening.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for allowing me to read this for my honest review.

Thank You NetGalley and Quill & Crow Publishing House for the ARC!

This book had so much wonderful haunted blends and suspense within family drama! The world building is wonderfully eerie and haunted and there's creepy heirlooms at every corner, you can't tell if its haunted or there's something darker looming. The twists and tension always keep you on the edge of your seat. There were just a few things that needed more clarification, but the language itself flowed so well it always kept you interested.

I was able to get this ARC through NetGalley.

Veronica, used to handling things on her own gets thrown into a dark and horrifying reality. When her grandmother dies, she inherits her credenza. Taking it home Veronica plans on making use of it with her daughter Star.

Once she gets it home though, Veronica starts experiencing weird things. Why is she seeing her dead grandmother, why do strange things keep happening at home? Why is her daughter Star hearing whispering coming from the credenza?

This book had me in its claws the ENTIRE read. I couldn’t wait to get home to see how it ended. There were plenty of twists and turns, with some nostalgia thrown in as well. The ending had me floored and wanting to know if anything else evil is to come… I definitely would recommend this book to anyone craving a good dark thriller.

We love a Florida horror story! This was a relatively quick read at 234 pages and had an easy pace that kept me hooked. I enjoyed the complicated matriarchy themes and diving into the back stories of the four women (1 child)'s life. The novel dives into what we pass down our family tree both physically, mentally and spiritually. I love a haunted object, cursed family trope. It was definitely a lighter horror read than I am used to and it didn't get gorey until the end.

This novel took a real turn that I did not see coming. It was interesting enough, but it did leave me wanting after such a big lead up. There were also a few inconsistencies and plot holes that needed plugging.

Thank you NetGalley and Quill & Crow Publish House for an ARC copy in exchange for an honest review.

Deliciously creepy, makes me not want to flip furniture ever again.

I love books that have a creep factor attached to perfectly innocuous objects! A monkey doll, a couch? A credenza! Why not?

In my mind, true horror is the one that sneaks up on you while you're busy doing something else and you find yourself distracted from your task, heart racing and hair on end.

Hello, you sneaky piece of furniture!

Enjoy the creepy.

Thank you to Quill & Crow Publishing House, NetGalley & Wendy Dalrymple for the eARC in exchange for an honest review.
Rating: 4 stars.
Genre(s): horror.

Overall impression: a fast-paced and quirky pink horror novel that revolved around a very unassuming piece of furniture. I really liked the backstory to the credenza and could have easily spent more time going down a rabbit hole to learn about the evil wood that it was crafted from. The rest of the story was exciting and unpredictable, with lots of twists and turns. I found the characters to be really relatable and their reaction to supernatural events to be very realistic. I had a lot of fun reading this!

Tropes:
➵ Single mum
➵ Family heirlooms
➵ Haunted furniture
➵ Evil book
➵ Helpful or harmful ghosts
➵ Mystery men in black
➵ Rituals & human sacrifice
➵ Secrets & betrayal
➵ Flawed characters
➵ Not everything is as it seems
➵ Not everyone survives
➵ Happy-for-now (HFN)

⤷ Plot:
The story was a mix of plot- and character-driven. Veronica inherited an evil piece of furniture from her deceased grandmother and was subject to hallucinations, unsavoury characters and deadly rituals. At the same time, she had to mend broken relationships, be a steady presence for her frightened daughter and redefine her identity as life evolved. There were a few twists towards the end which I wasn't expecting and it had an open 'happy-for-now' ending that left me a bit unsettled (which I don't mind at all in horror books).

⤷ Characters:
Veronica and her family were really interesting and had very complex relationships. Generational trauma and mental illness were unpacked and we got to see the start of the healing process between Veronica and her mother/ex-husband. I found the characters to be very relatable with their flawed personalities, ability to adapt and grow, and responses to supernatural events. There was a lot of depth to the story which made it even more intriguing to read.

⤷ World-building:
The initial setup for the story was really well done and it had me hooked. The first scene showed where the wood came from that was then crafted into the credenza and we got to see some of the early horrors it brought to people through newspaper clippings and flashback/old POV's trickled throughout the story. I wish there was a bit more time spent describing the old days and how the wood actually grew from evil. It was glossed over at one point and I felt like it was a missing part of the story. The world-building did ramp up a lot towards the end and we were confronted with some grotesque scenes involving cannibalism, rituals and sacrifice. It certainly felt like a horror book in the last few chapters!

⤷ Writing:
The story had a great flow and it was a very quick read. I liked that we got to see the different generations cope with the credenza through past POV scenes - it helped build a few of the characters' backstories up and made it easier to understand how they ended up the way they were. I'll definitely read more of Wendy's books in the future.

A short, fun, horror-tinged romp. I love haunted houses, and cursed furniture is adjacent to that so I enjoyed myself with this one. It's nothing groundbreaking, doesn't explain itself very well, and rushes at a breakneck speed to the conclusion - these aren't necessarily bad things, just observations. If you're looking for a creepy, easy summer read, this has got you covered.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC .

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this copy.

I went into this book completely blind. If I’m being honest, I didn’t even know what a credenza was before I started reading, but I figured it out quickly and flew through this short read.

The pros: This book is written well and the creepy scenes did a good job of creeping me out. Veronica is a relatable main character and her story was very real.

The cons: I didn’t find the plot very exciting. I love a good haunted house story, but I don’t know if I’m crazy about haunted furniture. I also would’ve liked more chapters from Grandma Maddie and Karen to build the history. I know not everyone is a fan of multiple POVs, but sometimes they help the story. The ending was rushed and left me with more questions than answers and it’s a bummer that didn’t feel full fleshed out.

With all that taken into account, I still enjoyed the book. It was creative and kept me interested. However, won’t be buying any credenzas in the near future.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for sending me an advanced copy of this!!

At it's core this book is about generational trauma and learning to trust those who may have hurt you in the past. But also TW's for cannibalism, murder, familial trauma, houses burning down, and gore.

A fair amount of this book wouldn't have happened if any character (aside from Star because she is a child) participated in healthy communication methods rather than trying to solve everything by themselves or just ignoring the problem and hoping it disappears and YES I am blaming grandma here. The story would have also resolved so fast if I was in Veronica's shoes, as soon as weird shit started with this credenza I was like "girl you need to burn it. get some salt, some sage, the wholeass pope for a cleanse and then cast this piece of furniture into the fires of Mt Doom."

I felt like a fair amount of the more "supernatural" moments initially involving the credenza didn't have a lot of value because me as the reader was instantly clued in that this thing is bad news and yet with all of the weirdness happening Veronica is just brushing it off, trying to force normalcy and pretend that nothing is wrong even though her sliced open and charred finger is no longer sliced open OR charred.

This story moved at a breakneck pace which when looking at the page-count makes a ton of sense but there are some things that I think deserved to have more time spent with them. Like the book Veronica receives in the mail from an unknown international sender, it appeared and was gone almost within the same chapter.

All in all though I really did enjoy this! I mostly liked all of the characters or grew to like them as the story continued... some of them I grew to hate. But it was really enjoyable and I think if you can enjoy and appreciate a story about generational trauma and Old Gods (though they didn't have much of an appearance) you would enjoy this book.

Y’all. CREDENZA by @wendydalrymplewrites is pink gothic at its absolute finest. When Ronnie, owner of a vintage boutique, and an EXTREMELY relatable parent to her middle school daughter Star, inherits her grandmother’s old credenza, she is NOT READY for the world of evil scary shit that’s about to descend on them. This is a lean and mean cursed object story that moves fast through unease into fear and outright terror, while still very deftly giving us hugely empathetic characters, complex family dynamics, and a ton of supernatural lore too. You really feel for Ronnie and the day to day things she’s struggling with, from paying bills to grappling with how fast her daughter is growing up. And that’s all before the horror starts creeping into their world, building unrelentingly to a truly upsetting crescendo (in a good way!). Many thanks to @quillandcrowpublishinghouse and @netgalley for the arc! CREDENZA is an excellent blend of character and terror, and I insist that you preorder it immediately! The Old Mothers would want you to…..