This book starts on an intriguing note, leading us into the world of teenage twins, Tim and Abi, as they orchestrate a ghostly photograph, the beginning of what can only be described as unfortunate incidents. The first 25% or so successfully keep me reading as I was curious to see where it went However, the story takes an unexpected detour early on, evolving into a different story than promised altogether.
The following story is told from the adult twin Tims POV, angsty coming of age drama, with very, very little supernatural elements made this quite disappointing from what I was led to believe it would be about in the synopsis. The atmosphere just didn't quite hit the Haunted House tropes that it was trying to, and seemed hard to get back to the eerie-ness and tension that the start of the book captured.

Due to a sudden, unexpected passing in the family a few years ago and another more recently and my subsequent (mental) health issues stemming from that, I was unable to download this book in time to review it before it was archived as I did not visit this site for several years after the bereavements. This meant I didn't read or venture onto netgalley for years as not only did it remind me of that person as they shared my passion for reading, but I also struggled to maintain interest in anything due to overwhelming depression. I was therefore unable to download this title in time and so I couldn't give a review as it wasn't successfully acquired before it was archived. The second issue that has happened with some of my other books is that I had them downloaded to one particular device and said device is now defunct, so I have no access to those books anymore, sadly.

This means I can't leave an accurate reflection of my feelings towards the book as I am unable to read it now and so I am leaving a message of explanation instead. I am now back to reading and reviewing full time as once considerable time had passed I have found that books have been helping me significantly in terms of my mindset and mental health - this was after having no interest in anything for quite a number of years after the passings. Anything requested and approved will be read and a review written and posted to Amazon (where I am a Hall of Famer & Top Reviewer), Goodreads (where I have several thousand friends and the same amount who follow my reviews) and Waterstones (or Barnes & Noble if the publisher is American based). Thank you for the opportunity and apologies for the inconvenience.

This book just didn’t work for me. I found it hard to engage with the protagonists (maybe younger readers would enjoy it more?). The situation seemed interesting, but it was taking too long to get where it was going. Apologies, DNF.

The Apparition phase left me with alot of questions.

The book starts off focusing on the conjuring of a fake ghost , a spooky foretelling from a school girl and then ultimately Abi going missing and the circumstances surrounding that.

Then is becomes a haunted house social experiment which in itself was good although I personally feel that the author could have done so much more with this idea. That concept could have been a book all on its own !

I did enjoy reading it. I just wish that some of the loose ends were tied up. I wanted more information about Abi disappearing, the spirit that seems to have attach itself to Tim, the people involved in the experiment at Yarlings and to know really happened to the house on that final night .

It was a good lightly spooky book to kick off autumn reading . It could have been so much more though !

Many thanks to the publisher and to netgalley for my copy of this book to review. All thoughts are my own and are in no way influenced by the nature in which I received this book.

The apparition phase by Will MacLean.
Tim and Abi have always been different from their peers. Precociously bright, they spend their evenings in their parents’ attic discussing the macabre and unexplained, zealously re-reading books on folklore, hauntings and the supernatural. In particular, they are obsessed with photographs of ghostly apparitions and the mix of terror and delight they provoke..
An ok read with good characters. Slow but readable. 3*.

Reminiscent of The Haunting of Hill House, The Apparation Phase mainly follows Tim after the disappearance of his twin Abby.
Obsessed with the supernatural he finds himself part of a group of strangers investigating a haunted house.

I did not vibe with this book and ended up DNFing it at 54%

Chilling and unnerving, I was totally gripped by this book. Maybe let down a little by a rushed ending but I look forward to more from this author.

Tim and Abi are twins, very bright (and aloof) and with a keen interest in the supernatural. Then Abi disappears and Tin’s life changes forever.

I was attracted by the title and cover of this book and the promise of a spooky read but there is no real mystery or ingenuity to the story. The hints of the supernatural in the early section of the novel disappears and there is no tension at any point.

Disappointing.

Seriously unsettling. If you’re in the mood for a modern ghost story, this is a book for you. It’s bleakly atmospheric with complex characters that you end up feeling connected with despite yourself.

Set in the 1970's this novel begins with precocious and insular twins, Tim and Abigail, who are obsessed with the supernatural. They decide to fake a picture of a ghost in their attic and use it to scare an unpopular girl at school. However, Janice Tupp does not react in the way they imagine and, trying to improve the potential crisis of adults become involved simply results in the situation escalating out of control.

The beginning of this book is unsettling and creepy. When we meet up with Tim again, he is in therapy and his psychiatrist, Mr Henshaw, takes him on a trip to Yarlings Hall, where a researcher is aiming to investigate the house, which is said to be haunted. After his earlier experiences, you would have thought that Tim would have learnt his lesson, but he enthusiastically embraces the chance to take part in a seance and later joins the group at Yarlings.

I loved the Seventies feel of this book. I could imagine the corduroy wearing Graham Shaw, intense and enthusiastic, along with the young ghost hunters. This is a character led read, with a good sense of the period, and enough chills to make this genuinely disturbing and ominous. I really loved this and will be looking out for more by this author.

Set in the 1970’s with precocious twins Tim (the narrator) and Abi who love anything to do with ghosts, folklore or indeed anything and everything unexplainable. Part one was brilliant and I got into the story immediately but part two came as a disappointment. It improved a bit later with some genuinely creepy and tense moments but the end with a more grown up Tim was a big letdown leaving lots of unanswered questions. There were also some far fetched coincidences I felt. I would definitely read other books by the author as he seems to have some good ideas! Loved the cover too.

Omg, I loved this one, like, seriously. I don’t remember the last time I read a YA gothic horror and enjoyed it so much. There is no gore, blood, or cringe romance. Very reminiscent of the period, and so atmospheric. I literally got chills reading it, and that last line gave me shudders, not even kidding, and I’m so used to reading horror. Super awesome! A bit slow in the beginning but so good once it gets going, I could not put it down. This read like a very clever, intellectual read, and I can’t say the same about any of the YA, or horror books that I’ve read before. I’m gonna go and check out all the books by this author! Y’all seriously need to check it out!

Thanks so much to Netgalley, author, and publisher for the DRC. All opinions are my own.

I really enjoyed the first half of this book, the twins story and their relationship and there were a couple of creepy moments. Unfortunately my attention started to fade a bit about 3 quarters of the way through. Only because I found the parts set in the Yearlings to drag on a little. I would say the blurb is a very small part of the story and I really wanted more of that part.
The characters are well written and I think the grief Tim's parents are going through was really well portrayed.
I would definitely be interested in reading this authors future books as I did enjoy his writing style.

This is a new author for me. The Apparition Phase is a terrific read, an unsettling urban ghost story. I thought it was great and would read more from the author. I knew I was going to enjoy the book within a few pages. The book starts innocently enough with Tim and Abi deciding to fake a ghost photograph and they use it to frighten a classmate which works a bit too well when the terrified girl refuses to believe it was a fake and insists they have summoned a real ghost. This is when things get darker and darker. Abi vanishes and Tim is left bereft without his twin wondering what’s happened to her and if it has anything to do with the prank. Time passes and Tim, still searching for his sister becomes embroiled with so-called ghost hunters conducting an experiment in a creepy house. Things get freaky and point to an actual haunting but is something else going on?

This was a mystery/paranormal book with a focus on ghosts/hauntings that did a lot of things right! It was fast paced with well written characters and a beginning that captivates you straight away. It is another book where it is hard to review as I don't want to give too much away. This did not feel like a debut book and I look forward to readying more from this author.

A book with much more to it than the blurb suggests. Narrated by Tim from a much later point in his life as he looks back on his even-more-than-average tumultuous teenage years. Set in England in the 1970s, Tim gets caught up in an experiment to find a ghost at an aged country house in Suffolk with some explosive consequences.

The prose and pacing are both excellent from Maclean and here he has produced a great haunted house tale with a twist. Without giving too much more away, this is a great read and - as a debut - a definite indicator a talent I will be keeping an eye on!

The Apparition Phase is the eerie debut novel by television scriptwriter Will Maclean. It is both beautifully written and haunting, with wonderfully diverse characters and chilling storyline.

Tim and his twin sister Abi, are obsessed with everything macabre and unexplained. They spend hours each evening reading old books on ancient folklore and the supernatural and pondering photographs of suspected apparitions.
When Tim and Abi decide to prank a timid young girl at school, it sets off a ripple effect which will change their lives forever. Using chalk and chanting an unnerving poem, which Abi wrote, the twins create their own paranormal photograph. The question they are left with, did they conjure up a malevolent being in their pursuit of a twisted prank?

Will Maclean has created ominous atmosphere, with phantasmal events that leave the reader guessing.
The author has also included references to published investigations, suspected hauntings and real life paranormal photographs, which definitely sparks some interest.
I very much enjoyed reading this book, it kept me fully engaged from the first page right through to the spine chilling end.

Twins, Tim and Abi, form a self-contained unit. Their gifted brilliance, their snarky humour, and, most importantly, their interests in the occult, also mark them as different from their peers. This last point is what so closely bonds them but will soon also be the thing that forevermore drives them apart.

I was immediately invested in the story of these twin teens. Tim provides the reader with his insight into their relationship and also the events that occur after this bond is shattered. It was, therefore, a far more emotional read than anticipated and I thought Maclean harrowingly rendered the different human responses to grief.

Predominately however, this remained a haunting tale. I was immediately granted dreadful premonitions and spine-tingling chills, which is exactly what I desire from the horror fiction I read. Later events only proved to become more focused on the supernatural, with an abundance of scenes directly focused on conversing with the dead, ensuring these feelings continued throughout. I did guess some of the twists that occurred but not the final one, which guaranteed I was gripped throughout and left desperately yearning for more after the sinister open-ended conclusion.

An intriguing and spooky story about highly intelligent 13 year old twins Tim and Abi, who have an almost unheatlhy obsession with the paranormal. For fun, they fake a ghost photo and show it to a schoolmate, who believes that it's real. What does she say and do when she finds out it's not? Read the story!

Chilling in parts, well written and keeps you absorbed and interested.

In my opinion, this book is best aimed at the young adult audience. Don't get me wrong, I enjoyed it, but parts of it seemed to be more suited for late teen years than for an old codger like me!

I thoroughly enjoyed this entertaining and gripping story.
I loved how the author mixes ghost stories with thriller and it kept me hooked till the end.
Excellent storytelling, world building and character development. It has the right spooky factor to keep you on the edge.
Highly recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are mine