First thing I always cover and perhaps the most important thing to any story – the writing. In this case, I found the writing to be very enjoyable and easy to follow along with. The author was descriptive without leaving me reading about the pattern of wallpaper for three pages. In other words, the story never felt like it was dragging nor did I find myself skimming, looking for something interesting. The editing and formatting were also both well done.
When I first read the summary of this book, I will be honest… it held maybe 30% of my attention. Maybe something I’d read on KU if I was bored. It appeared to be little more than a typical haunted house story. Sure, it hinted at more, but the foundation (ha!) was too identical for me to have any real faith. After all, it was about a family moving into a new, huge house to try to pick up pieces that had broken them as a unit only to find out they had other things to worry about. For winding up giving this book a chance, I would like to thank the cover artist. It was the cover that eventually got me to hit that ‘request’ button.
For a little while, the book did nothing to prove my theory wrong. But then… it crept up on you. It crept so slowly and so carefully that by the time you realized the formula was all wrong, it was like being hit in the face. And it was beautiful, because it didn’t hit you in the face with what was actually going on, but just that something was off and you needed to be paying full attention.
As to what was actually going on, when that was finally revealed… I don’t honestly know how I feel about it. Was it interesting? Would I have rather it have just been a typical haunted house after all? I think I was most bothered by the things that weren’t answered in the reveal. I had so many questions. Was this a problem Tenn had always had? If so, how had she failed to notice it before? I know that filmmaking took control of things for a part of her life, but she wasn’t always filmmaking and it had been a while since that had been a part of her life anyway. What about the house in particular made it kick up? Especially if, as revealed, it could and did happen just about anywhere she went. To me, the lack of explanation on so many questions almost ruined the book for me. I was already preparing a review in my head that just did not discuss that at all and focused on the things that I did like until I reached the ending. The ending, in my opinion, more than redeemed unanswered questions and made the question of whether or not I liked the reveal irrelevant. The ending, how they dealt with what was going on, was utterly brilliant and unexpected. What I wouldn’t give for a channel like that!
With the way that I speak of the ending, you would think that would have been my favourite part of the book, but no. I’m all for imaginative and creative, but with horror, I am here for the dread, the weird, the piece that makes you tilt your head and say, “… huh?” And for me, that was the time loops. The first time it happened, I thought to myself that the scene seemed strangely familiar, but by the third time… I almost threw my kindle. I love a good time loop. I love it even more if/when one or more characters start to realize what’s going on, only to start again. This whole aspect of the plot was done brilliantly.
Now, onto the characters. The daughter, whose name escapes me right now and I apologize for that, was decent. I am not much of a fan of children, but she was not obnoxious or dislikable and she had some moments that really grabbed your attention. (Walking into the dresser repeatedly? The dog house?)
I more want to talk about Tenn and Ward, because I’ve seen a lot of complaining about them and I couldn’t disagree more. If you want perfect people in a perfect relationship, go read a cozy romance. These were two individuals who were… human. They were flawed. They made mistakes. Their intentions, however, always seems to be in the right place. Tenn’s mental breakdown was one of the most relatable things I have ever read and actually only the second time I have highlighted something in my Kindle app. I did grow a little frustrated with her, “I have to stay away from you!” only to run right back, but being realistic, I’d probably have done the same thing.
Ward, I think, gets the most unfair treatment. I don’t know if people forgot that freeze is a perfectly normal response for some people in terrible situations or if they just didn’t care. Possibly I defend Ward so much because freeze is also my response. It seemed to me that neither of them knew much of anything about mental health and that Ward was completely under the opinion–which he’d formed from doctors–that Tenn would be fine if she continued her medication. I don’t disagree that his initial reaction was completely shitty, but sometimes that’s the real world when we panic. He knew he messed up, he did his best to fix it and make it up to Tenn. Could he have done more? Sure. Honestly, they both could have, because we can’t just write Tenn’s mental health as being solely Ward’s responsibility.
There was also some complaint about how absent Ward was, but I considered two things. First of all – how do people think that other people pay for moves into huge homes? How do they afford it when the wiring completely needs to be replaced, the pipes need to be fixed, the very foundation needs to be redone? If you didn’t go into this thinking that Ward was going to be in a place where he was working constantly, especially when it was explained what his boss was like and that he was on call at all times… (And I know, yes. He cost Tenn her job. What could he have done, realistically? As cruel as it sounds, would her income have been enough to support them and their huge house? It’s not like he did it on purpose, either; a lot of people do not have the ability to answer the phone whilst on the clock, emergency or not.) The second thing that I considered was… how much of Ward was just a time loop? He seemed to be the one most heavily affected by it, being the one stuck in one in 98% of the scenes. He couldn’t have realized the hours spent in his office, the time he didn’t spend with his wife or daughter or anything like that if he was just replaying things over and over.
Overall, I just found the two of them to be very human and I appreciated that they both, as the book progressed, did their best to try to better themselves and their actions. I liked that when it all came out into the open, Ward believed her. I liked that he worked to help her solve the problem in the moment and for the future. I think they’ll be all right.
Anyway, yes. I am glad that I picked up this book. It is definitely one that I need a physical copy of for my library and I anxiously await for the release of the paperback. (I cannot be the only one who just lays her face down on the table when she sees a hardcover for $30.) Read this if you’re not expecting perfection of characters and if you are looking for a slow, creeping dread that builds. This is not jump scares. This is something that slowly eats at you.
