I thought I would like this more. The premise is good, enjoyed the beginning but I don‘t know, I didn‘t like the execution and didn‘t connect with the characters. But I still liked the story🤷🏽♀️ 2.5/3⭐️
I thought I would like this more. The premise is good, enjoyed the beginning but I don‘t know, I didn‘t like the execution and didn‘t connect with the characters. But I still liked the story🤷🏽♀️ 2.5/3⭐️
WWI, Britain, 1917. A house party on a remote island, a country grieving the loss of its sons, a seance, a spy in their midst. Oh, also the ghosts are real. I‘m not sure the book worked for me 100%, and like many stand-alone mysteries I had little attachment to the detectives, but I was happy to be along for the ride. Great for fans of Jacqueline Winspear and Charles Todd.
Started listening to this #audiobook from #hoopla on one of my sister‘s coworker‘s suggestion. (Libraries run in the family here.) It has mixed reviews but I turned it on to walk the dog and, an hour and a half later, I‘m utterly absorbed in this story of WWI Britain, secret agents, spiritualism, and ghosts. It may become a mystery at some point, too...
Set on a island off a coast in England in 1917 during the First World War. A wealthy Lord Highmount and his wife invite a group of people to Black water Abbey for a spiritualistic weekend to try and reach their two dead sons that died in the war. There are ghosts, secrets, espionage and many insights to the horror of the war. The narrator was English and I personally enjoyed it maybe not for everyone.
I really wanted to love this but I feel meh. It took 170 pages for anything to happen, it wasn‘t nearly as creepy or ghostly as the synopsis suggested and the ghosts that were there didn‘t add anything. There were loose ends like bits of subplot the author meant to weave in but overall forgot to include the information needed for it to matter and the ending wrapped up so fast after such a slow build up the solution wasn‘t believable👇🏻
Curled up on the couch with a book, a bowl of peppermint ice cream, and my dog with Elf playing on the tv ❤️💚🎄
Rainy weather, cozy blankets, and a mystery. Happy holidays! #currentlyreading
Set on an isolated island in WWI England, Kate and Donovan are attending a seance weekend. Their assignment is to identify the German spy believed to be in attendance. The story was fine, but personally I prefer the kind of mystery where the author lays out all the clues and the reader can solve the mystery. This is not that kind of story, and I‘m note sure the sabotage was explained? Audio was fine. #audiobook #mystery #hoopladigital
This story takes place during WWI in an Abbey on an island, cut off from the main land by a horrible winter storm. Ghosts, murder, secret passages and spies....this book has it all. Maybe a little overdone, but I really did enjoy it. So for it‘s entertainment value, I give it a thumbs up. On to the next one, here I come Stephen King!
The supernatural element served no real purpose to the plot. Seems to me to only be a way for the author to distinguish his novel from all the other WWI novels hitting the market recently. Ignoring the ghosts, the mystery was... ok.
A sort of whodunnit, classic remote house full of guests & mystery, strong connection to WWI, with seances & spiritualists.
I liked Kate & Donovan and the supernatural element but it didn't quite come off like I would have hoped. Maybe too much WWI trying to be connected for me? 🤔
Happy Halloween bookworms! 🎃👻🎃💀🎃 What is your favourite spooky read?
Such a huge shame!
The book started out awesome. I loved the characters, who felt real and witty. I loved the setting, a haunting house on an island isolated by a storm. I loved the supernatural elementi connected to WWI.
But about halfway through the whole thing started to crumble. I'm still not sure what the mystery was about. The supernatural elementi was totally useless. Characters became cliched.
Such a disappointment 🙁
I'm quite exhausted this week. But this baby is expiring in three days and l need to know how it ends!
This was a fantastic read. I remembered hearing about secret agents eavesdropping on seance's and thought that was interesting. The book isn't a factual historical read, but it's a similar situation. I've attached an article about it, (no spoilers in it).
https://www.historyanswers.co.uk/people-politics/victoria-helen-duncan-and-brita...
This is a good one for a cold restless late night. 🎃👻
Only six day to finish this, then the #NetGalley files will expire. But shouldn't be too difficult. I'm loving it.
This is a mix of historical fiction, an Agatha Christie style whodunnit, spies and a supernatural tale of ghosts roaming the earth, all seamlessly put together due to the clever, atmospheric writing of W.C. Ryan. A haunted house story perfect for a Halloween read.
https://orlando-books.blog/2019/10/04/a-house-of-ghosts-by-w-c-ryan-book-review-...
#WeekendsReads @rachelsbrittain
1. I'm trying to catch up on the #FellowshipOfTolkien #LOTRHistory buddy read. I've fallen so behind. And l've just started reading A House of Ghosts
2. I'm sorry, but when l read Tolkien, nothing compared. My favourite book in September was The Hobbit 😆
3. A House of Ghosts is actually a book l've highly anticipated. Together with another #NetGalley ARC l'm going to read, The Poppy Field
#7Days7Covers #CoverCrush
Day # 1
Thanks for the tags @BarbaraBB and @CarolynM (I asked the latter for a tag! 😆😘😘).
Okay, @Melissa_J . Are you playing yet? 7 days, 7 book covers you love with no explanation. Tag someone new for each day of your posts. And go!
Set during WWI, Kate Cartwright teams up with killer-for-hire, Donovan, to find out who is stealing classified documents.
Although there is a seance & ghosts do make an appearance, it was nowhere near as spooky as I expected. A slightly above average mystery. 3⭐️
Down with the flu again - it‘s becoming a bit of an annoying habit - so I‘m self-medicating with lemonade and books. 🤧😷🥴
This was such a fun read - perfect for dark and stormy nights. While it wasn‘t as creepy as the blurbs implied, it was fast paced, tense and pleasantly dark. Plus, it featured one of the best creepy houses with secret passages I‘ve ever read. The sexy tension between Donovan and Kate didn‘t hurt either.
Well, that was fabulous! A WWI ghost story, set in an island off the Devon coast in 1917, Lord Highmount, the owner Of Blackwater Abbey, has organised a spiritualist weekend to try & contact his two sons, dead in a conflict in which his armaments company has played a significant part. Unfortunately for him, it‘s not just the anger of the dead he needs to be worried about. Wonderfully gothic ghost story, I loved every minute.👻💣🧨🔮⚰️ #warishell
I‘m already 50pgs into Bk97 Of 2018, it‘s looking like a brilliant read so far. I have 8 more days to finish this plus 2 more to hit my goodreads challenge of this year. I aimed high(200)at the beginning but my eyes forced me to cut it in half. Still, with $2 put away for every book I finished, that‘s still $200 for new books in the Boxing Day Sales! This pic taken today at my grandsons “Santa‘s Birthday Party” he insisted on having.🎅🏻🎁
#BookMail Pt1 I suppose I should talk about the book too hey😏. It‘s the winter of 1917 & at Blackwater Abbey, off the coast of Devon UK, Lord Highmount has organised a spiritualist gathering so he can contact the 2 sons he lost to WWI. But when a storm cuts off the island, every guest finds the secrets they‘ve been hiding are bubbling up, soon one is dead. Sometimes it‘s not just houses that are haunted. #itwasadarkandstormynight
So, my Goldsboro Books order finally turned up. Over 2 months later. They‘re supposedly “replacements” but the thing is, at least 2 of those books were sold out limited editions. Things that make you go hmmmmm. I think my order got misplaced in their stockroom & they finally found it a week ago & sent it by air courier from London to Sydney. I‘m just happy to finally have them! If they didn‘t have unique editions I wouldn‘t be going back honestly.
This was a great read, very Agatha like for the fans on here. Old haunted house, cut off island, stormy weather, First World War and a murder mystery, AND a lovely cover
Liked the characters, can see there is potential for further books with the two main characters.
Happy to have matched my Devon bookmark with a book set in Devon 😁
#lunchtimeread
Making myself have a lunch break today....please also admire my lovely new lilac DMs which were a consolation return to work present (from myself!)
This book is great so far!
Read (Oct 5-6)
Spooky Autumn read 20 pts
Hours read 6 hours x 10 pts = 60 pts
Readathons 7 x 10 pts = 70 pts
#Witchathon (HF)
#Spookiweenbingo (haunted)
#FrightFestBingo (ghost)
#GottaCatch‘emAll (family)
#AfterDarkBingo (isolated location)
#BodyCountBingo (HF)
#BookSpinBingo #DoubleSpin @TheAromaOfBooks
#ReadAway2024 @DieAReader
1 pt post
Total = 151 pts + 1,871 pts (previous) = 2,022
1mo