Thanks to NetGalley and Sourcebooks Fire for providing an eARC in exchange for an honest review.
Release Date: November 1st, 2017
288 Pages
Synopsis: When her mom inherits an old, crumbling mansion, Seda’s almost excited to spend the summer there. The grounds are beautiful and it’s fun to explore the sprawling house with its creepy rooms and secret passages. Except now her mom wants to renovate, rather than sell the estate—which means they’re not going back to the city…or Seda’s friends and school.
As the days grow shorter, Seda is filled with dread. They’re about to be cut off from the outside world, and she’s not sure she can handle the solitude or the darkness it brings out in her.
Then a group of teens get stranded near the mansion during a blizzard. Seda has no choice but to offer them shelter, even though she knows danger lurks in the dilapidated mansion—and in herself. And as the snow continues to fall, what Seda fears most is about to become her reality…
Welcome to the Bismarck-Chisholm House—where murder is only the beginning of the fun! Stay in one of eighteen comfortable guest rooms. You’ll sleep like the dead. We guarantee it…
How bone-chillingly cool is that opening? If you think the premise sounds vaguely familiar, you’d be right. Alone pays homage to The Shining , even mentioning it during one scene, yet it has several unique twists of its own.
Seda is an unreliable narrator and her actions kept me off guard throughout the story. She’s isolated in a creepy rundown mansion that used to be a hotel that held themed murder mysteries for their guests. Except for a general store twenty miles away there’s no other contact with the outside world as they have no cell phone service or landline. And to top things off, the father, fed up with his wife’s insistence that the house only be sold to someone who will stay true to its history, deserts the family. After four months of this, Seda seemingly goes from a once popular sixteen-year-old girl, to a socially awkward one who has a difficult time with even the most basic conversations. Part of this is explained by the secret she’s been keeping from everyone for years. I’d be sympathizing with her one moment, and left scratching my head at her puzzling actions the next. Every time I thought I had a handle on who she was, something would happen and I’d be right back at the beginning. It was infuriating yet mesmerizing at the same time.
The rest of the characters didn’t stand out all that much, although I thought Seda’s younger siblings (two sets of twins), were adorable. The mother was a little out there and I wound up disliking her intensely. I thought her actions were selfish, neglectful and uncaring. She supposedly loved Seda and her siblings but aside from inventing entertaining games to keep them distracted, she seemed otherwise disengaged. The stranded teens pretty much fit the standard roles: romantic lead, mean girl, loner, etc. and didn’t add all that much until the end of the book.
The descriptive setting was the best part of the story. You can feel the eeriness and claustrophobic atmosphere creep off the pages and surround you. Each chapter begins with a heading that ties the crumbling ruin back to its heyday of being a popular hotel, which was an imaginative touch. The pace though, was extremely slow for about 70% of the book, and at times, I was ready to tear out my hair waiting for something, ANYTHING to happen! And then it finally did, and yikes! What a rollercoaster ride! There’s a huge twist at the end that I still can’t make up my mind as to whether I loved or hated it. Either way, I’m still thinking about it two days after I finished the book, which makes it a success in my mind.
While Alone didn’t quite live up to my admittedly high expectations, I still enjoyed it and I think it’s a good read for teens, especially this time of year. It’s creepy and unsettling and I guarantee the ending will give you goosebumps!
beetleypete said:
I am already thinking that the twist is that they are already dead. I am channeling The Shining, and The Others, as well as so many more haunted house stories. That makes me think this might not be original enough, and your 3.5 stars seems generous, given the 70% of nothing happening.
Best wishes, Pete.
LikeLiked by 1 person
By Hook Or By Book ~ Book Reviews, News, & Other Stuff said:
I can’t comment on the twist Pete, because of the whole spoiler thing. It’s definitely reminiscent of The Shining, but then that’s its intent. I went back and forth on the rating before settling on the 3.5 stars. I really liked Seda, and the way she kept me guessing, and the story raised the hair on the back of my neck more than once.
LikeLiked by 1 person
beetleypete said:
I didn’t expect you to reveal the twist, Kim. I was just using that as an example of how your excellent review got my mind into gear. 🙂
Best wishes, Pete.
LikeLiked by 1 person
By Hook Or By Book ~ Book Reviews, News, & Other Stuff said:
Oh no. I know you weren’t Pete. I’m frustrated that I can’t! And thank you for your lovely comments!😙
LikeLiked by 1 person
raistlin0903 said:
It is exactly the first thing that came to mind: The Shining, so it’s cool to see it mentioned. I have to say that the description for the book already made my visualise it in my mind, so that’s usually a good sign. I am a bit worried about the fact that the book is apparently pretty slow, but if it has a good twist to it, I guess it is worth it. Added this one to my to read list on Goodreads 😀
LikeLiked by 2 people
By Hook Or By Book ~ Book Reviews, News, & Other Stuff said:
The slowness did drive me crazy Michel simply because I knew something horrible was going to happen, but it took sooo long to get there! But when it did…😱
LikeLiked by 1 person
raistlin0903 said:
Haha, you are making me more curious by the minute 😀 Seriously ever since I started following your blog and Dani’s and Didi’s, my Goodreads to read list has exploded all over the place. I’m adding more and more books, instead of reading them lol. Great stuff though: one can never have enough books 😀
LikeLiked by 2 people
By Hook Or By Book ~ Book Reviews, News, & Other Stuff said:
So true Michel.😊📚📚📚📚📚
LikeLiked by 2 people
Dani☆Touch My Spine Book Reviews☆ said:
I’m glad you followed us Michael we are pretty awesome blogger babes😉Lol. But your pretty awesome yourself! But understand so many books, so little time. I agree though you really can’t have too many books. I mean my loved ones might differ but even Kim agrees so it must be true!😁 Sorry rambling… I’ve got laryngitis so I’ve been double dippin the Nyquil.🤕😷👎
LikeLiked by 2 people
By Hook Or By Book ~ Book Reviews, News, & Other Stuff said:
There’s definitely no such thing as too many books! 😊
LikeLiked by 1 person
Dani☆Touch My Spine Book Reviews☆ said:
😥That makes me feel so much better. So many people call me a hoarder because of my books!📚😍💖
LikeLiked by 1 person
By Hook Or By Book ~ Book Reviews, News, & Other Stuff said:
#bookdivas
LikeLike
raistlin0903 said:
Haha, as I said yesterday, I don’t think you are rambling, and I love reading these comments, so really no worries 😀 I really do hope you will be feeling better soon though.
And thank you for these amazingly kind words: really appreciate them. Both of you have been totally awesome, so it has been a joy to follow along (and keep adding books to my to read list lol 😂😂).
LikeLiked by 2 people
Dani☆Touch My Spine Book Reviews☆ said:
Awesome Sauce!!!😊 My reading list is out of control and I can’t keep up with it😱😱😱
LikeLiked by 2 people
iArtichokeu said:
Glad the ending left an impression. 3.5 seems fair, considering it’s slow start.
LikeLiked by 1 person
By Hook Or By Book ~ Book Reviews, News, & Other Stuff said:
Thanks!😊
LikeLiked by 1 person
thesarahdoughty said:
Oh nice. I’ll check this one out!
LikeLiked by 1 person
By Hook Or By Book ~ Book Reviews, News, & Other Stuff said:
Awesome!☺️
LikeLike
Pingback: Alone, by Cyn Balog ~ 3.5 Stars — By Hook Or By Book | The Little Blue Balloon
theorangutanlibrarian said:
Gosh that opening is incredible! Shame it didn’t totally live upto your high expectations- but I’m glad to hear it was good anyway!
LikeLike
Carrie said:
Great review Kim! I think this one was put up when I was still closing my eyes everytime I saw Sourcebooks Fire but since they decided to be nicer I haven’t seen them add anything to the site. LOL
LikeLiked by 2 people
By Hook Or By Book ~ Book Reviews, News, & Other Stuff said:
Thanks Carrie. It’s still available to request if you’re interested.😏
LikeLiked by 1 person
cantstopwontstopbooks said:
I’m actually just about to pick this one up, so I’m glad to know about the pacing. I’ll stick it out even if it’s slow. As always, awesome review.
LikeLiked by 1 person
By Hook Or By Book ~ Book Reviews, News, & Other Stuff said:
Ooh! I can’t wait to hear what you think Macy!😊
LikeLike
Dani☆Touch My Spine Book Reviews☆ said:
This book looks chilling and perfect for the upcoming holiday! I wish it was a better pace for you but glad you enjoyed the characterization some! Oh and girl….. Those GIFs creeped the hell out of me!!! Those creepy looking girls!😱😱😱 *hides under the cover*
LikeLiked by 1 person
By Hook Or By Book ~ Book Reviews, News, & Other Stuff said:
I’m telling you, the setting and atmosphere of the book made my skin crawl! Even though the majority of the book was slower-paced than I would have liked, I’d still recommend it. And the picture and gif are both from Stanley Kubrick’s adaptation of The Shining. MOWAHAHA!😈
LikeLike
Dani☆Touch My Spine Book Reviews☆ said:
Scary!!!😱😱😱
LikeLiked by 1 person
M. Miles said:
I never know quite what to make of unreliable narrators either. On one hand, I do feel like they are a bit of a lazy plot device. On the other, I do love surprises!
LikeLiked by 1 person
By Hook Or By Book ~ Book Reviews, News, & Other Stuff said:
If they’re interesting, I think they can be a lot of fun. In this case I had no clue what was going on with Seda which kept me glued to the pages even when the pace was to slow. I NEEDED to find out what was going on with her and what the end game was.😊
LikeLike
Lashaan (Bookidote) said:
Gosh, based on the blurb and your review, the spookiness of this novel is real! Unfortunate that it didn’t break new grounds, but the twists on The Shining sounds interesting.
LikeLiked by 1 person
By Hook Or By Book ~ Book Reviews, News, & Other Stuff said:
If it hadn’t been so slow for 70% of the book, my rating would have been much higher.😕
LikeLiked by 1 person