Reviews tagging 'Grief'

Die Geheimnisse von Hill House: Roman by Elizabeth Hand

7 reviews

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.

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.

ash_bees's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

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

3.0

This book was more frustrating than scary.  And I say this as a person who doesn't like scary stories.

The climatic scene was essentially a scene from "A Bug's Life":

"Don't go into the light."
"But it's so pretty."
*zap*

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Child death, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Gore, Infidelity, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Grief, Car accident, Murder, Pregnancy, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail

amandas_bookshelf's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

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

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Confinement, Drug abuse, Gore, Infidelity, Blood, Grief, Alcohol, and Classism

Moderate: Domestic abuse

Minor: Child death

obsetress's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense fast-paced

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

2.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Confinement, Cursing, Death, Infidelity, Toxic relationship, Blood, Grief, Fire/Fire injury, Toxic friendship, and Alcohol

Moderate: Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Murder, and Pregnancy

Minor: Addiction, Alcoholism, Child death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Panic attacks/disorders, Pedophilia, Rape, Sexual assault, Car accident, and Pandemic/Epidemic

maryellen's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark mysterious sad tense fast-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcohol

Moderate: Drug abuse, Drug use, Infidelity, Grief, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Blood, Grief, Car accident, and Injury/Injury detail