Reviews tagging 'Infidelity'

Die Geheimnisse von Hill House: Roman by Elizabeth Hand

20 reviews

erinreading's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

The audio book has sound effects which are both amazing and unnerving

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood

Moderate: Addiction, Death, Drug use, Toxic relationship, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, and Alcohol

Minor: Confinement, Gore, Infidelity, and Injury/Injury detail

chaisquarelatte's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

I really enjoyed aspects of this book, some parts were really well done, and other parts I think could’ve been done better. I will be thinking about the story for a long time.

The four people who stay at the house have a vested interest in remaining in the house when things clearly are not right. There is jealousy, toxicity and promise of renewed careers and it seems that the play that has bought these people together is doomed. The thing that kept me going was waiting for the metaphorical car crash to happen. But when it did happen, it didn’t really pan out in a way that made sense.

Stevie was the one that was supposed to go and while it was in some way an interesting twist that Nisa’s spoilt attitude made her fall victim instead, the fact there is no body really makes no sense given the House’s history/MO

. I also think the epilogue was unnecessary and actually made the ending worse. 

I know this review sounds quite scathing for a 4 star, but I really enjoyed the build up, the ending fell flat. Also, as I listened to the audio book, I really have to give kudos to the production. I don’t think I would’ve been so invested if I had read a physical copy.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Confinement, Blood, and Pregnancy

Moderate: Child abuse, Drug use, Infidelity, Pedophilia, Toxic relationship, Blood, and Alcohol

Minor: Death and Car accident

cococorycollins's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.25

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Confinement and Infidelity

Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Biphobia, Death, Pedophilia, and Car accident

kaiyakaiyo's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious sad tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

spectacular, give me 14 of em right now

but in all seriousness this has the exact dreamlike, lurking, looming presence Shirley Jackson created, but brought into the present and made all the more frightening for being juxtaposed with technology

i… for once i have no real complaints, this was scrumptious 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Animal cruelty, Child abuse, Drug abuse, Infidelity, and Toxic relationship

Minor: Adult/minor relationship and Sexual assault

silea's review against another edition

The characters are all horrible people. And according to reviews here, there’s no growth for any of them. And when the infidelity subplot came up I knew this wasn’t a book I cared to finish. 

And I’m not a die-hard fan of Jackson’s original Hill House, but I liked it well enough. Hand’s story uses very different horror elements, abandoning the gothic horror of the original for weird black rabbits and witches, to the point that I’m not sure why it’s set in Hill House except to sell books under a misleading premise. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Infidelity

Moderate: Toxic relationship and Gaslighting

abbyynormal's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse and Infidelity

Moderate: Confinement and Blood

Minor: Cursing, Death, Drug use, Sexual content, Grief, Car accident, and Alcohol

vixenreader's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

The best move the author did in writing a sequel to “The Haunting of Hill House” was not attempting to aspire to the same level as the iconic novel. Furthermore, it captures the spirit of the original text without losing an original story about the horror of no boundaries and no self-awareness. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Cursing, Death, Mental illness, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexism, Sexual content, Blood, Grief, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Child abuse, Child death, Infidelity, Toxic relationship, Violence, Gaslighting, and Toxic friendship

Minor: Addiction, Drug abuse, Drug use, and Fire/Fire injury

Be aware that this book addresses ageism (especially for women), problems in theatre, an incident involving falling from a great height, stigma against people struggling with addiction, fear of abandonment and failure, witchcraft, and tensions between theatre people.

lefthandlou's review against another edition

dark tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

2.25

Pages and pages dedicated to a stained table cloth and creepy bunnies? A tiny door? A magazine? The first 80% of the book had nothing actually scary, horrifying, or even a little creepy. And so much was left unresolved. Not in a mysterious way, but in a “the author forgot about this plot point” kind of way. 

Deeply irritating, self-absorbed, and boring characters with extensive back stories that do nothing to make them feel more real or likable. Their backstories are also awkwardly shoe-horned into the rest of the story. 

The constant inner monologues from the characters were an attempt at building suspense but were just irritating. 

This felt less like an homage to Jackson’s work and more like a mish mash of everything that has ever tried to capitalize on the genius of The Haunting of Hill House. 

There were some creepy moments in the last bit of the book, but not enough to redeem the lack of cohesion in the plot, the detestable characters, the abrupt ending, and the many forgotten threads. 

I’m disappointed. I really, really wanted to like this but it’s a failure for me, both as a riff on Jackson’s work and as its own story

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Child abuse, Child death, Drug use, Infidelity, Pedophilia, Sexual violence, Murder, and Toxic friendship

jan_coco_day's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Loveable characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.25

Lots of atmosphere and gore, but a very low body count. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Gore, Toxic relationship, Blood, and Gaslighting

Moderate: Infidelity

themelaniewaite's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

The day I sat down to read this, I read through 70 pages. It’s so easy to get into, and while it felt like a slow start getting to know characters - the eerie factor of the story begins very early on. The atmosphere, the loss (and gain?) of time, the black hare that seems to be following the main character Holly.  

Throughout the story there are so many brilliant callbacks and subtle nods to the original novel woven within, it feels like you’re in on the secrets of the house in how it comes back to life again. It is absolutely clear that the author is a fan of the original novel. 

I read this so fast, I could not put this book down. While some of it felt a little slow, and the storytelling shifted through memories of how the characters were connected, to even switching between first (Holly’s perspective) person to third person (for the others’ scenes/perspectives), it all helped in the overall tone of the story. It all paid off with the climactic few chapters, really bringing the house to life and tying into the original story with a warning of what might happen if anyone else dared to underestimate Hill House. 

The moment I found out about this book, I had to have it and I am so, so glad I gave it a chance. It mirrors that eerie, impending horror that has been building under the surface that the original had, the execution and pay-off were totally worth it, and I have been recommending this book to anyone that enjoyed the original story or enjoy a haunted house plot. I couldn’t stop thinking about this book, eager to get back and read more; even now, after finishing it I can’t stop thinking about it. The hares, the shadows, the voices - that ending! It has definitely left an imprint on me like Shirley Jackson’s original novel, and I think that really says something about the love and dedication that went into creating this story. 

A sequel or continuation is never as good as the original - we know this for many examples - but this is a strong follow-up to the Hill House universe. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Animal cruelty, Bullying, Child abuse, Cursing, Drug abuse, Drug use, Gore, Infidelity, Pedophilia, Self harm, Sexual assault, Suicide, Blood, Grief, Gaslighting, Alcohol, Injury/Injury detail, and Pandemic/Epidemic

Moderate: Addiction, Animal cruelty, Confinement, Death, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gore, Infidelity, Mental illness, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Blood, Car accident, Murder, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, and Pandemic/Epidemic

Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Child death, Emotional abuse, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Self harm, Sexual assault, Suicide, Religious bigotry, and Pandemic/Epidemic

The characters are pretty complex and have reasonably traumatic background - including grooming, accidental death, suicide of a friend.