This was an exquisitely haunting read--the horror elements blended with the reflections on death and grief blended together beautifully, into a perfect tapestry of horror with a heartbeat.

Our protagonist Noelle is a burnt-out hospice caregiver, and an aspiring writer. We experience the unfolding horrors of August Manor through her eyes alone, which contributes to the sense of confusion about what's real, and what isn't. (I prefer multiple POVs in many genres, but for horror, I love the suspense of a single POV character.)

The imagery is immersive and creepy--the unnatural quality of the mist lingering within the trees, the lake surface that looks like black glass, the ravens, and the ashes that don't just fall from the sky.

This isn't a plot driven story, that drags you along. It's more of a creeping, slowly swallowing you whole kind of read.

This is eerie and atmospheric, which makes it a perfect horror book. This is a must read now when the days are shorter and the rain and fog is creeping up on us.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

This is a very dark and creepy in places book.
The MFC Noelle gets called to work in August Manor as an end of life carer do the head of the family - Ernest. The only other people living in the manor are his daughter Isabelle and his mute grandson Elias.
While staying in their residence, Noelle discovers some of the secrets the family is hiding; one of them being that they are a part of a secret cult - The Black Order.

There’s a lot of creepy paranormal moments in this book. Stuff that really gave me goosebumps a few times.
The author does a a great job building intrigue, dread and tension. There are quite a few very unnerving scenes.

I love the use of fog in the story. Reminded me of The Mist by Stephen King and The Fog by James Herbert.
It’s fear of the unknown, the fear of not really knowing what’s hiding in the fog. Until it catches up to you!

Some of the writing was a bit repetitive (grammar?) and the pacing was a bit too slow in places for me. Generally, a good read. If you like creepy, gothic, oppressive atmosphere in your books, you’ll like this one.

Daigle's entry into quiet, gothic horror is solid with The Ashes of August Manor.

Noelle, a hospice worker with a unique ability, eases and comforts the dying’s last moments before death. Her abilities stem from a hazy and tragic past that she’s tried to bury and move on with her life. Using her gift to provide peace to the terminally ill takes its toll on Noelle’s mental and physical health. So much so that she doesn’t know how much longer she can continue being a caregiver. If only she could afford to follow her passion of being a writer.

One day, she receives a call that seems to solve all of her problems. Isabel, the heiress to the August family fortune, heard about Noelle’s abilities and offered to hire her. Ernest August is terminally ill, and she thinks Noelle would be perfect to help ease her father in his final days. Noelle is hesitant to take the job, but Isabel isn’t taking no for an answer and offers compensation that’ll allow Noelle to quit hospice care and write full time. The offer is too good to turn down. But every offer has its price…

The Ashes of August Manor is chock-full of atmosphere. The imagery of ashes constantly falling on the grounds of the gothic mansion and the gloomy surroundings pulls the reader into its hypnotic pacing. It’s all about providing subtle chills, like a whisper along your neck causing the hairs to rise, rather than buckets of blood to numb the senses. If you’re a fan of Charles L. Grant, you’re going to dig what Daigle has done here. This is his first foray into quiet horror. I think he has a comfortable home within the sub-genre of horror.


4 Pitch Black Ravens out of 5

I cannot even begin to tell you how much I loved this novel. Breathtaking world building, eerie atmospheric tension, brilliantly clever characters and that deep underlying dread that comes with excellent horror novels. Blaine Daigle has once again captured my attention with his unique and utterly chilling, creepy, breathless horror. He simply can't write fast enough for me because I'm always ready for his next book, the moment I finish the current one! 100% recommend this one for lovers of gothic horror!

In the quiet town of Bell River, lies a mansion. An ancient mansion, filled with secrets. Or perhaps.... is it something darker? More sinister.... behind the mansion's gates... or perhaps even the forest surrounding it.... something isn't right....

something has been hidden from the peering eyes of the innocent town that lies not far from the grounds of Autumn Manor....

This book oozes suspense, dark twists, sudden plot changes, and an overall sense of foreboding and danger that keeps you at the edge of your seat, flipping from page to page until the end.

Gothic, chilling, and spine-twistingly good, this amazing work by Mr. Blaine Dagle takes us to a quiet Oregon town where we meet our main character Noelle, a quiet hospice worker brought to Bell River to take care of an ailing man, Ernest August... the father and master of the old mansion that lies beyond the gate.... and a mute child who seems to be frightened by something that she's unaware of... something unknown to her ... to a house that seems to have its own stories it wants to keep hidden out of peering eyes, with its own... seemingly dark secrets ... secrets that perhaps... are best not told?

Wicked engaging, well written, and giving off old school horror vibes, I loved every single page of this novel, from the creepiness of the old mansion, the slow-paced dramatic introduction of the story, the characters, and the chills it sent up my spine as more information and more suspenseful elements are revealed.

Dark, terrifically terrifying story, and DEFINITELY hard to put down.... this will leave your mind tingling with the next What If?

I want to first state that I do not think this book was my cup of tea, and I really can't tell you why, I usually like a good spooky story but I just feel like I couldn't connect with this one. So take my review with a hint of salt.

Thank you NetGalley for an ARC!!

Our main character, Noelle, is an end of life nurse/assistant, and she has been asked to move across the state to help assist a dying man at the August Manor. She arrives to find Isobel, her son Elias, and her dying father Ernest - only things are not what they seem. Isobel has promised to pay her handsomely so that she may leave her job and become the author she has always wanted to be, even going so far as to get her her own typewriter. As the story progresses we learn about the August family and their dark pasts, misery and death seems to follow them wherever they go, and now Noelle has been drug into it.

This story is of a darker nature, flashbacks to Noelles past show us that she hasn't always had it easy. The arc of overcoming her past is the main focus of the story, along with the reiterated phrase of "No one should die alone." - while I loooove me a good dark story, I feel like the story was slow in the beginning, a high peak towards the 3/4ths mark, and then a slower finish. While this book was only 212 pages, it took me almost a week to finish as I just couldn't get into it.

I will say that I did absolutely fall in love with the character Elias, and would have done the same thing as Noelle had I been in the book.

Ashes of August Manor by Blaine Daigle is exactly the kind of haunting, slow burn horror that creeps up on you, settles into your bones, and refuses to let go. From the moment Noelle arrives in the eerie forest town of Bell River, Oregon, you can feel that something is deeply, disturbingly wrong — and Daigle masterfully builds that unsettling feeling into a full blown nightmare.

The setup is instantly compelling: Noelle, a hospice worker who is no stranger to loss and grief herself, takes on a private job caring for the reclusive patriarch of the August family. She’s welcomed into a decaying, candlelit manor that feels lost in time — a place where the electricity doesn’t work, ashes fall from the sky, the woods are off-limits, and the dying man she’s supposed to care for remains hidden behind closed doors.

There’s a sense of dread on every page, and Daigle’s prose leans into that perfectly. The descriptions are rich and gothic, conjuring a mood that feels both cinematic and claustrophobic. The characters, particularly Noelle and young Ernest, were standouts for me. Noelle’s quiet strength and empathy made her a grounded, relatable protagonist, and her relationship with Ernest added emotional depth to the story. I also appreciated how the author slowly peeled back the layers of the August family’s secrets — and how the novel shifts from haunted house horror into something far more cosmic and unsettling.

That said, there were moments where I felt slightly adrift. Some plot elements — particularly the backstory connections and the “why” behind the ashes, the ravens, and the August legacy, could’ve been explored a little more clearly or deeply. The ambiguity mostly works in the story’s favor, but I was left with a few lingering “but why?” questions that weren’t entirely answered by the end.

Still, this is gothic horror done right — rich in atmosphere, slow-burning, and filled with that delicious sense of “something is very, very wrong here.” If you like books that feel like old black and white horror films come to life (in the best way possible), this one will absolutely deliver. Daigle is a master at unsettling you quietly, and I will absolutely keep reading whatever he writes next.

🐦‍⬛ An atmospheric story of a haunted manor located in the depths of Oregon and a hospice worker tasked with end of life duties for a man with a reputation. 🐦‍⬛

I love books like these. Finding a horror novel that fits my specific taste is difficult because I don’t like many horror elements. I’m not a fan of body horror, gross shit, or in-your-face scares. I like the subtle horror: the creepy, the atmospheric hauntings, whispers in the dark, creatures in the woods.

And oh my god did this book deliver! Honestly, it gives me The Haunting vibes (you know that 1999 film).

It’s a ghost story done well, creepy as all fuck, weird shit happening with the town this house is associated with, and twists that I did not see coming.

You should know that it does get weird at the end, but that only heightened my enjoyment of the book.

I highly recommend adding this one to your fall TBR.

🎧 The audiobook is also incredible.

A huge thank you to NetGalley, Wicked House Publishing, and Blaine Daigle for the eARC in exchange for an honest review.

📖 I will definitely be adding a physical copy to my shelves.

Just wow. This book completely floored me. If you’re a fan of The Haunting of Hill House—that slow-building dread, the grief-laced horror, the lingering sense of unease—this is for you.

I went into Ashes of August Manor not knowing what to expect, and I’m so glad I grabbed a copy through NetGalley because I had never heard of Blaine Daigle before. That’s going to change now. His writing is atmospheric, intimate, and emotionally devastating in the best way.

I’ll absolutely be keeping my eye out for anything else he writes. Horror fans, don’t sleep on this one.

Noelle is a hospice worker who helps her patients to pass peacefully and makes sure they’re never alone after she’s suffered her own personal traumas. The job begins to weigh on her when she’s offered the job of a lifetime to help one more hospice patient peacefully pass in his home and is promised to be paid handsomely. Upon arrival to the manor, Noelle begins to understand something is very wrong and must confront the traumas of her past and present.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I love this authors books, but some times his characters fall flat. I could not find myself being invested in what happened to most. The storyline was intriguing however and kept me reading.

Ashes of August Manor is the third book by Daigle that I've read and I still can't make up my mind.

Blaine Daigle and Grady Hendrix both have this way of very blandly presenting a *really* interesting story that leaves me confused on if I actually enjoyed the book or just wanted to.

Ashes of August Manor is a classic haunted house/family story and I truly did enjoy the dark, gothic, gloomy atmosphere this book portrays.
The entity of Old Crow as the proverbial "big bad" was super creepy, peeking from behind trees, elongated, and talons out everywhere.

Where it fell short was, essentially, everywhere else. I wasn't invested in what happened to any of the characters, didn't care about them (in a good or bad way) or what happened to them, and wasn't too concerned about the township of Bell River. This felt like a fun ghost story to tell around the campfire, but was way too long.

That's not to say that I didn't enjoy the book! I've read Daigle's other books (Broken Places and A Dark Roux) so clearly there's something that keeps me coming back for more. I guess I'll say what I said after reading the other two: "I'll have to read his next one to decide for sure how I feel!"

The atmosphere of this book is the main character in my mind. There is a very strong sense of place. The setting plays a dramatic impact on all of the characters and their development. An enjoyable, creepy read.

Ashes of August Manor drew me in right away with its suspenseful tone and eerie setting. The beginning delivered strong tension and a haunting mystery that kept me turning pages. The writing was immersive, and there were moments that genuinely gave me chills. It had all the makings of a dark, emotionally driven gothic story.

However, once the story recapped the death of the main character’s fiancé, it lost some of its intensity. The way it was written made the outcome feel inevitable, as if she already knew what would happen—this took away a lot of the suspense for me. Even though the plot continued to unfold, that moment flattened the emotional impact and made the rest feel more predictable. Additionally, while the book had a strong atmosphere, it didn’t quite feel like horror—it leaned more toward mystery with a dark tone, but lacked the deeper psychological tension I was hoping for.

Still, this book has its strengths, especially in its setting and opening chapters. Readers who enjoy slow-burn, atmospheric mysteries with gothic themes may find it more satisfying overall.

I loved the feeling in this book of being gloomy, dark, and creepy. This was an enjoyable, creepy read that is sure to delight many readers. This book is done well with solid writing and keeps you entertained. I might try to read other books by this author but still haven't decided if its something I'll do soon.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley.

If I had to pick one word to best describe Daigle's writing, it would be BEAUTIFUL! His prose flows so elegantly and gracefully with a quiet simplicity in juxtaposition to its profound horror. The entire time I was reading this book it felt like a weighted silence enveloped me with a loud hush. It was creepy and scary and extremely atmospheric. I felt like I was experiencing all of the terror and fear right there alongside Noelle. I loved the story and the plot. I had no trouble comprehending any of the details either. Every word was woven together seamlessly to create the perfect tale of a haunting. Whomever marketed this book as being for fans of The Haunting of Hill House or The Haunting of Bly Manor were on point. I loved every minute of this purely gothic splendor! I strongly recommend this to fans of the haunted horror genre! Be warned that this is not a fast-paced book nor, in my opinion, should it be. Every minute detail is meant to be felt and savored for its profoundness and the depth of feeling that it evokes within the reader.

Thank you to Wicked House Publishing for granting me a digital ARC via NetGalley in exchange for my honest review!

Hospice worker Noelle had a life filled with death and tragedy but now she had an offer she cannot refuse. This could be her last job before she goes back to writing. All she has to do is go to August family manor and take care of their dying patriarch. But the offer is too good to be true and nothing is what it seems.
What lurks in the forest surrounding the house? And what secrets does the family hide? Why do locals react so badly to the August family? And what’s the deal with the ashes permanently falling from the sky?
Noelle shall uncover all of it while at the same time dealing with her own past.

Forget any comparisons with other works. “Ashes of August Manor” it’s it’s own thing and it will not help you to go into it with other books in mind.

As per usual, Blaine Daigle brings us a story filled with very cinematic descriptions and a whole lot of action. There is not a minute too slow in this book and unfortunately we might have needed some. Too much is happening in a very little time and sometimes we jump from revelation to clue, to another spook, to another revelation really quick. More days passed on the manor would have helped the store immensely.

Yet, despite the pace issue and the fact that sometimes it feels like there is too much going on, I still cannot tell you to not give it a try. There are really good spooky moments and visuals and, even though it might not be the best story about a mysterious manor, it is definitely an entertaining one.

"The Ashes of August Manor" is the latest release by one of my favorite horror novelists. This is a gothic horror set in the 90s about a troubled hospice worker who takes a new job for a strange family. Very similar to "The Haunting of Bly Manor" but with a nice little Lovecraft twist. 4 stars.

Really enjoyed the prose, the pacing, the twists, the characters.

Daigle continues to go from strength to strength.

Ashes of August Manor is a very detailed book. The depth it has to explain and help you "see" the manor is amazing, but it is also the reason I gave this 4 stars instead of 5. It is a lot of depth and information just to help you mentally see the setting and atmosphere that the characters are in and experiencing. Finally when the book starts coming together and all the clues and descriptions begin to paint the picture of what Noelle has been experiencing it gets good! The secrets that August Manor as been keeping will really through your mind for a loop! I recommend this book because the ending made it all worth it!