Book Review: The Haunting of Ashburn House by Darcy Coates

 

Goodreads Summary: There's something wrong with Ashburn House...The ancient building has been the subject of rumors for close to a century. Its owner, Edith, refused to let guests inside and rarely visited the nearby town.

Following Edith's death, her sole surviving relative, Adrienne, inherits the property. Adrienne's only possessions are a suitcase of luggage, twenty dollars, and her pet cat. Ashburn House is a lifeline she can't afford to refuse.

Adrienne doesn't believe in ghosts, but it's hard to ignore the unease that grows as she explores her new home. Strange messages have been etched into the wallpaper, an old grave is hidden in the forest behind the house, and eerie portraits in the upstairs hall seem to watch her every movement.

As she uncovers more of the house's secrets, Adrienne begins to believe the whispered rumors about Ashburn may hold more truth than she ever suspected. The building has a bleak and grisly past, and as she chases the threads of a decades-old mystery, Adrienne realizes she's become the prey to something deeply unnatural and intensely resentful.

Only one thing is certain: Ashburn's dead are not at rest.

Goodreads Ratings: 4.02 stars with over 8,600 ratings

Genre Listing: Horror, Paranormal, Fiction, Mystery, Thriller, Gothic, Ghosts, Supernatural

Goodreads Challenge: 36/60 (Still really behind, because of who I am as a person)

2020 Reading Challenge: #17 Read a Suspense or Horror book (Find the full challenge here)

Book Review:

I have no idea what day it is, and I blame The Haunting of Ashburn House by Darcy Coates. I've been up very late reading this book since I started. It's totally a good idea to read a horror book beginning at 2 am, just FYI.

It may have just been the haunted house and potential for ghosts, but I was instantly drawn into Adrienne's world. I thought she was a likable character. Her story was a little bit of a sad one, but it was short, so the introduction to her wasn't bogged down with all these details of her life before the book starts. I dig that she named her cat Wolfgang.

At first, I wasn't sure if The Haunting of Ashburn House was actually going to be scary. It didn't seem like it at first, but I was enjoying the story, so I didn't mind too much. Some things were a little bit creepy at first, but I wasn't turning on the lights to make sure the ghosts weren't in my apartment. That all changed around chapters 29 and 30. 

I'll try to be vague because I don't want to ruin the surprise in the book, but I wasn't expecting the haunting thing to be what it was. Hopefully, that makes sense. The clues were to what was going on were kind of there, but I was so engrossed in the story that I didn't really try to figure it out. I just wanted to be in the moment reading. 

I really liked how the story concluded (again, trying to be vague because I don't want to give spoilers). I thought it was kind of a sweet ending, which was surprising for a ghost story. The one knock I really have is the friends that Adrienne made. The sweetness kind of seemed a little fake to me, but I could just be jaded and expect there to be ulterior motives behind nice gestures. 

Overall, I really enjoyed this book. I wasn't even halfway through, and I was telling friends to read it. I also went through and added a bunch of Darcy Coates' books to my want to read list. It was one of those books that just caught my attention early on and never let go. There were a couple of spots that I thought were kind of funny as well, so it was a nice balance. A lot of Darcy's books are on Kindle Unlimited, so after I finish an author requested review, I'll probably go on a book binge.