The Haunting of Ashburn House by Darcy CoatesMy rating: 5 of 5 stars
I selected this book during the final hours of a 24 hour readathon. I had the hope it would keep me reading during my hardest hours of the 24. The creepiness of the story certainly did just that. It actually became hard to put down once the readathon ended. However as I needed the sleep, I put it down. When I picked it back up to finish it, (or so I intended), a hilarious thing happened.
I woke in the early morning hours and could not get back to sleep. I decided I would read a bit in bed. The house was completely dark except for my Kindle. My dog was sleeping next to my bed. Now, you need to understand this book is very atmospheric. For me, the creep factor is high. The writing had totally drawn me in and I was transported to Ashburn House. At a part that involved a lone neglected grave and a dead looking body, (I don't want to tell you if they were or were not dead - sorry), I felt my bed suddenly start violently shaking! Being completely disorientated, I was wildly trying to figure out where I was and what was happening. The shaking stopped but my heart was racing. The shaking began again along with the doors loudly rattling and my dog freaking out at nothing I could see. Being fully awake now, I realized we were having an earthquake and the haunt of Ashburn House was not in my room. The earthquake was a 6.3 one so you can imagine how it felt. We are fine but I thought I would share that with you. I know I am not the only one who gets so drawn into a story.
I really enjoyed the story. In my opinion the build up was well timed. We were given a chance to experience Addy getting to know an old house she inherited. We became aware of something being wrong the same as she did. This is what allows us to fall so deeply into the story that we are lost in Ashburn with Addy. I do wish we had a bit more information on Marion. It would have been interesting to know her character better. The gore level was a surprise. In my experience you either get a ton of gore or none with an atmospheric book. I felt the author put the right amount of it in the story.
There is no sex in this book, the violence/gore level was appropriate for the story and there is some mild adult language for those who are interested. I would absolutely recommend this book for teens and up. I am looking forward to reading more work by Darcy Coates.
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