Let's close out the month of October with the latest YA Horror phenomenon, House of Furies. The hype around this book is pretty real. Lots of people were telling me that this book is super scary and the best/scariest book to come out this year. Naturally, I was pretty excited to get a chance to read it and seeing as I liked Asylum pretty well, I found myself really looking forward to it. How did it hold up to my expectations? Let's find out.
Louisa Ditton is down on her luck. Shipped off to school by her family, running away from said school, and now living on the streets telling fortunes just to get by. But she's then offered a place at Coldthistle House, a boarding house run by the mysterious Mr. Morningside. But more goes on at Coldthistle House than Louisa could ever have imagined. Those who visit the house are sinners who receive their just desserts at the hands of the House's otherworldly staff. Louisa soon fears for Lee, a young man boarding at the house with his uncle, and hopes to save him before he, or herself, is next to suffer the wrath of those within the house.
First things first, I actually really liked Louisa as a character. Much like Roux's last protagonist, Dan, Louisa is more than meets the eye and is a mystery even unto the readers. She's a very complex character as well and nicely flawed (yes, flaws are a good thing). She's short tempered but never to the point where it became annoying. She steals and can come off as selfish at times, but she's not a bad person. She's a product of her circumstances and yet manages to genuinely care about Lee. She keeps her head a lot of the times, even when faced against terrible creatures of darkness. She worked really well for me.
Now...for the big problem. The pacing in this book is slow! Very, very slow. So much so that, for me, it kind of kills the mood of the book. It's hard to be on edge and scared of what's to come when there's page after page of nothing scary happening! She gets to the house, nothing happens. She meets Morningside, nothing happens. She starts working at the house...nothing happens. Then, when things do get started, you have to wake yourself up and realize that it's finally happening. Granted, when the scary moments finally come they are pretty intense. Running into a group of wraiths that chase you through the house, witnessing the aftermath of a ritualistic sacrifice, and a rather nasty encounter with a cannibal all manage to do their job in scaring the reader. The problem is that they are too far in between long stretches of nothing happening that does little to capture the reader's interest. The pace really killed a lot of this book for me.
But the pace isn't the only problem with the book. Mostly, outside from one of the boarders at the house, there's almost no threat to Louisa in this book. They make it pretty clear right away that everybody in the house, all the staff that live there and are supposed to add to the horrors of the place, are all very friendly and kind to Louisa and do their best to help her. If we know she's safe, then the reader is comforted instead of nervous. Even when she attempts to flee the house, she's met with little in the way of obstacles. And she's so desperate to flee the house yet...she keeps going back of her own free will. It's hard to sympathize with her inability to get away when she get's away but goes back on her own. Now, when she does go back, she does so for unselfish reasons so, there is that, but it's marred when she just goes back to the house and is already plotting to get away again.
The book also includes hints about what is to come in this story. This comes in the form of pictures and excerpts from Mr. Morningside's book about rare dark creatures. Now, the pictures I don't mind as they're vague enough to leave you guessing, but the excerpts feel like overkill. Plus, the excerpts come right out of nowhere, meaning the actual story has to take break while we're spoon-fed information that we probably didn't need. Instead of telling me what these people can do, how about you show me. That's what they do, they tell instead of show. Aside from some Scary Stories To Tell In The Dark-esque illustrations, I could have done away with them all together.
Final Verdict
I was a bit disappointed in this one. It wasn't as scary as I thought it would be and it wasn't as good as Roux's other works. Still, there is some good stuff to be enjoyed and, if you like it or want to read it, feel free to do so just probably wait for it on paperback.
Have you read the book? What did you think? Comment below and share your thoughts. Please make sure to Follow Midnight Readings for instant updates. Have a book you'd like me to read or would like to make a recommendation? Contact me on goodreads at https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/65448711-michelle-beer
Next Time: We're not done with horror stories yet. Try to banish your worst fears, they'll just come back...with a vengeance.
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