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A review by dowryofbooks
Catherine House by Elisabeth Thomas
2.0
2/5 stars
SO UPSET that a book with such a beautiful cover let me down so much.
Catherine House has been one of my most anticipated reads of the year ever since I first read the synopsis. Dark academia is a subgenre that I haven't read much from, but one I'd really like to explore more of and I figured this book would be a good start.
The only thing saving my rating from being a one star is that I think Elisabeth Thomas did so well building an eerie, gothic atmosphere and I enjoyed the writing style a lot.
I was loving the setting, all the imagery of the house. The beginning of this book had me thinking this was about to be an enthralling slow burn mystery, but then I hit the 50% mark and nothing was happening... and then the 70% mark and nothing was still happening. Even the ending felt anticlimactic.
There were interesting characters that ended up being not so interesting after chilling with them the entire book through an endless routine of studying, eating, getting drunk, partying, and having sex. It got so repetitive and boring to read about the characters doing the same things every chapter, meanwhile nothing significant is happening to progress the plot. A lot of scenes exist in this book that probably could have been cut out, because they add literally nothing.
Positive side note- Ines and Yaya's friendship was my favorite thing in this book.
Also I wanna let it be known that this is advertised as an "infused tale of literary suspense" and it is NOT that. The suspense is very light to nonexistent. Even the "mystery" of this book, the whole plasm thing, was always very painfully vague every time it was brought up. I read the ending and I still feel confused about what plasm is and whats the purpose ?? This book ends with a lot left unanswered and I was not a fan.
With the intriguing setting, characters, and a secret mystery surrounding a secluded school THIS HAD SO MUCH POTENTIAL TO BE AMAZING. I'm disappointed it wasn't what I hoped it would be.
All that being said, this is a debut and I loved the writing, so I'm curious to see what this author writes next. I wouldn't confidently recommend this book to anyone, but if you're someone that likes heavily character driven stories with little plot, you could possibly enjoy this one.
SO UPSET that a book with such a beautiful cover let me down so much.
You are in the house and the house is in the woods. The woods are in the house. The stairs are in the house. Down the stairs is the hallway, and at the end of the hallway is the ballroom. You are in the ballroom. The ballroom is in the house. You are in the house and the house is in you.SERIOUSLY WHAT THE HELL?????
Catherine House has been one of my most anticipated reads of the year ever since I first read the synopsis. Dark academia is a subgenre that I haven't read much from, but one I'd really like to explore more of and I figured this book would be a good start.
The only thing saving my rating from being a one star is that I think Elisabeth Thomas did so well building an eerie, gothic atmosphere and I enjoyed the writing style a lot.
I was loving the setting, all the imagery of the house. The beginning of this book had me thinking this was about to be an enthralling slow burn mystery, but then I hit the 50% mark and nothing was happening... and then the 70% mark and nothing was still happening. Even the ending felt anticlimactic.
There were interesting characters that ended up being not so interesting after chilling with them the entire book through an endless routine of studying, eating, getting drunk, partying, and having sex. It got so repetitive and boring to read about the characters doing the same things every chapter, meanwhile nothing significant is happening to progress the plot. A lot of scenes exist in this book that probably could have been cut out, because they add literally nothing.
Positive side note- Ines and Yaya's friendship was my favorite thing in this book.
Also I wanna let it be known that this is advertised as an "infused tale of literary suspense" and it is NOT that. The suspense is very light to nonexistent. Even the "mystery" of this book, the whole plasm thing, was always very painfully vague every time it was brought up. I read the ending and I still feel confused about what plasm is and whats the purpose ?? This book ends with a lot left unanswered and I was not a fan.
With the intriguing setting, characters, and a secret mystery surrounding a secluded school THIS HAD SO MUCH POTENTIAL TO BE AMAZING. I'm disappointed it wasn't what I hoped it would be.
All that being said, this is a debut and I loved the writing, so I'm curious to see what this author writes next. I wouldn't confidently recommend this book to anyone, but if you're someone that likes heavily character driven stories with little plot, you could possibly enjoy this one.