I give up. I made it 20% into the novel and just couldn't make myself care enough to continue. This may be someone else's cup of tea, but in the end I decided I had (much) better stuff to read. Here are my main problems with this book:

1. I had no clue what was going on. I don't mind a novel starting in media res, but at some point things have to start making some sense for me to want to keep reading. And yes, I get that there will be an "all will be revealed" moment somewhere down the line, but I honestly didn't care enough to find out.

2. While I love a good forced confinement story (Misery is one of my favorite novels ever, in any genre), this one just felt like a trip through one of these extreme haunted houses that have become popular in recent years. Instead of gripping psychological terror, it's simply torture porn and seems to be geared towards being consumed more as a film than a novel. This is made worse by the fact that the main character doesn't have enough of a personality to drive the story forward. He's simply a prop for things to happen to him.

3. The popular trope of book/video/message that curses anyone who handles it has become overused and boring. In this case, it's a book, and there are sporadic, clumsy callouts to the reader (that is, us) warning us to put the book down, or mentioning that there's a camera recording us right now... yawn. This might have worked if it had been better planned.

Otherwise, the writing was actually quite decent. I just wish it had kept me interested.

If anyone else reads this and actually likes it, I would love to chat about it. And I'm not being sarcastic here; part of the problem might be that I'm just not the right audience for this book. But hey, maybe this means I won't get killed by the creepy book. Right?

I received this copy from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I'm not sure how much I like this so far. For one, the beginning is really confusing; I get not wanting to give too much backstory, but there's such a thing as too much in the other direction. It's also one of these stories where the reader is supposed to now be implicated (by virtue of the book itself, which we now own and is supposed to be affecting us); so far, the references to this aspect have felt clumsy (there's a phrase at some point that says something like "I didn't notice the camera, which is like the one now pointed at you" sigh okay). Finally, and this is just a personal preference, I'm not too into the "person chased through the woods after car breaks down" kind of narrative (unless it's done by someone like King; I'll forgive that man just about anything). As much as I love reading horror, I'm not a fan of horror movies at all, and this feels a bit too much like a film trope at this point. But we'll see.

itle: Will Haunt You

Author: Brian Kirk

Pages:288

Genre:horror

Publisher:Flame Tree Press

book synopsis



You don't read the book. It reads you.

Rumors of a deadly book have been floating around the dark corners of the deep web. A disturbing tale about a mysterious figure who preys on those who read the book and subjects them to a world of personalized terror. Jesse Wheeler--former guitarist of the heavy metal group The Rising Dead--was quick to discount the ominous folklore associated with the book. It takes more than some urban legend to frighten him. Hell, reality is scary enough. Seven years ago his greatest responsibility was the nightly guitar solo. Then one night when Jesse was blackout drunk, he accidentally injured his son, leaving him permanently disabled. Dreams of being a rock star died when he destroyed his son's future. Now he cuts radio jingles and fights to stay clean. But Jesse is wrong.

The legend is real--and tonight he will become the protagonist in an elaborate scheme specifically tailored to prey on his fears and resurrect the ghosts from his past. Jesse is not the only one in danger, however.

By reading the book, you have volunteered to participate in the author's deadly game, with every page drawing you closer to your own personalized nightmare.

The real horror doesn't begin until you reach the end. That's when the evil comes for you.



My thoughts 

Would I recommend it: No

Will I read anything else by this author: don't know

When I say the cover I was hopping for book that was going to keeping me up all night reading and one that was going to be scary and creepy , and sadly it didn't do any of those things, in fact there was times I wanted to DNF it but I didn't for I kept hopping it would get better and win me over ,once again it didn't do any those thing, its not a story kept me wanting to read it , in fact there was non thing I liked about it at all , it didn't pull me in to , it didn't hook me , it was just boring and confusing .With that said I want to thank Netgalley for letting me read it and review it exchange for my honest opinion.

This book is all about ghosts!! What they are, what they do, where to find them. Despite the subject matter, it is not a scary book, though it is perfect for Halloween. Pablo the ghost is friendly and he delivers information about ghosts in a light and whimsical way. He explains how ghosts are portrayed in different cultures and what to do if you were to have a ghost problem. My favorite part of this book is the writing activity that is suggested at the end. It also has websites that teachers can visit in order to enhance learning if this book were incorporated in their lesson. 

Reading Level: 2nd grade

Lexile: 530