Good haunted house story....but

Warning Spoilers:

Similarly to some of the other reviewers, I'm not usually a huge fan of time-slip novels and this one was no exception. I've listened to it twice now and was relieved that I knew the story well enough the 2nd time around to be able to skip over the parts where it goes back to 1864. That being said though, the male narrator did a very good job - I just found the character he played irritatingly intense and erratic. The more you hear his side of things the more it becomes clear why he's so intense, but I wish someone had mentioned that it contains elements of abuse. I found that massively triggering and probably would've avoided it altogether had I known beforehand. That part doesn't take up a lot of the storyline, so if you can handle about 1/4 chapter of it being discussed then you should be fine. I just happened to listen to it when I was working through some personal stuff and found it very uncomfortable to think about.

The female narration was too 'drama school try hard' for me. A good story tells itself and gets helped along by a good narrator. Her delivery - to me at least - felt like she believed she had to tell the entire story with every ounce of her being as though she was delivering an intense Shakespearean soliloquy or something. Even if the lead character was just making a cup of coffee it sounded like the most dramatic/harrowing thing ever. It got very annoying after a while and I just wanted to shout 'calm the heck down, woman!'. A previous reviewer mentioned that she had a tendency to make even the mundane stuff sound dramatic and I couldn't agree more. She wasn't bad per se, but she certainly could've toned it down a little and let the story 'tell itself' more effectively than she did.

Despite those issues, I did actually really enjoy the story and agree that the historical background of the house was interesting and kept me hooked so that I could see how everything resolved itself in the end. I definitely won't willingly listen to another book narrated by Antonia Whillans but at least it's not put me off Carly Reagon's writing.

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2 people found this helpful

Good haunted house story

This had some very good moments of pure spookiness, uneasy dread filled accounts of her being woken in the dark, alone & afraid in an old country house with an unquiet spirit. Atmospheric & entertaining this is a solid haunted house story.

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Solid ghost story

Few twists and turns that keep it interesting all the way to the end. I liked how it went back and forth in time to the two different periods at the house.

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very engaging story

Really enjoyed this story and I thought the readers were excellent.

Looking forward to more stories from this author.

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A good old ghost story

Another book I was recommended and it did not disappoint. Set in 2 eras to build the whole picture was well done and without confusion. The narration was great. My only gripe was that there were a few too many characters which served no real purpose to the story. Otherwise a gothic tale well told.

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Enjoyable

This was a good read. The narration was good and the story was engaging. Some parts seemed a bit unnecessary, such as bits about where she worked. I liked that it was set in two different eras so you got the real story of why the house was haunted from their own lips and I liked the two eras had two different narrators. I know it's bit unreasonable but I got annoyed by the main characters silly name.

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Brilliant story, can’t wait for more!

I loved this book. After a dubious start, unsure about the main narrator I soon got used to her voice. I found to me she spoke dramatically even during the general story, however I soon got used to her and thoroughly enjoyed it. The male narrator was great too, both speaking very clearly and no noisy swallowing which can somehow be heard listening to books. The whole story was very well thought out, what an imagination the author has! I really didn’t want it to end so am looking forward to her future books! Thank you for an excellent read.

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3 people found this helpful

Good Story

Really enjoyed this from the beginning, it was hard to put down. Nice plot with a good writing style. Narrators were quite good. Definitely worth it.

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Great Gothic

I found this book dragged a bit at the start, however, the narration was beautiful and the second half of the book is pure gothic.

If you don't mind waiting, it's worth it!

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Story is really good however

the female narrator is ruining it - her speech is stilted and jerky, no flow in her speech - awful 😣- male narrator is excellent though

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1 person found this helpful