This book was exciting and suspenseful and I loved the creepy island house during a storm vibe! I found the characters intriguing, the story suspenseful and reading it was fun. 4 stars!

↦ 2.5 stars


unfortunately the island house was a bit of a miss for me. i'm sure other people will love it, but it had some problems that i simply couldn't get past, so i didn't really enjoy this novel.

i did like the setting. a gothic hotel situated on an island, while there's a storm so there's no way to reach out to anyone. makes for a perfect set up for murder. loved the creepy atmosphere and how paranoid the characters were when they got to said hotel.

i had problems with the pacing of the story. i did understand we needed a bit of context before we actually get to the fun parts, but it dragged a lot. the beginning could've easily been shorter, so it wouldn't get boring.

the worst part of this book is the different POVs mainly because i don't understand their purpose. the book is already written in 3rd perspective, so switching from alice to leon didn't do much for the story. i get that the switch was introduced at the beginning to let us know leon is keeping a secret, but was there no other way to handle this but a pov switch? their voices were similar and sometimes i forgot whose perspective i was reading from, which isn't a great thing. i also didn't understand why the author chose to add a character's perspective in 1st pov, while everyone else's is in 3rd person. the book didn't need this many perspectives.

verity's and hugh's story reminded me a bit of crimson peak, minus the incest (thank god). to be honest, verity was the only character that had a personality. i feel like both alice and leon were very one dimensional, while verity didn't lack in that aspect. although, sometimes it came across as if the author was trying too hard to let us know she's crazy by making her act weird, but it seemed so out of character.

i would have given the island house 3 stars, but the twists just put me off so much. i understand it tried to be shocking, but they were so far-fetched. it wasn't believable at all and it tried so hard to act like this is a perfectly normal ending. i really didn't like the ending.

↦ thank you to netgalley for providing me with an arc in exchange for an honest opinion!

3.5 stars rounded up to 4

When Alice's father dies after a tragic hit and rum, his death stirs up unanswered questions about her childhood. Who was her mother, why did her father never speak of the past, and and why can't she remember anything before the age of seven? But when she receives an anonymous letter containing a photograph of a refurbished guesthouse surrounded by water, an invitation to stay, old memories fight to resurface. Convinced clues of her past lie at the hotel, she checks in. A storm cuts the guesthouse off. Then two bodies are found. The hotel owner is missing.

This is a well written whodunit. I quite like reading them, trying to find out who and what had gone on. The story has a dual timeline, 2019: present day and 1980s: the past. Alice is quite a creepy character. There were some clever twists and a scary ventriloquist dolls. I did guess where the story was going from the start. The ending was a bit weird.

I would like to thank #NetGalley #HQ and the author #mandaBrittany for my ARC of #TheIslandHouse in exchange for an honest review.

Great premise but the book took a long long time to ‘start’ and by that time my interest had waned quite a bit, it did pick up and enjoyed it more once the story started , I like a Whodunit and it was intriguing and had suspense and also horrible ventriloquist dolls, some good plot twists and characters

<b>Note:</b> I received an advanced copy of this book from Harper Collins via NetGalley.

When Alice’s father dies after a tragic hit and run, his death stirs up unanswered questions about her childhood. Who was her mother, why did her father never speak of the past, and why can’t she remember anything before the age of seven? But when she receives an anonymous letter containing a photograph of a refurbished gothic guesthouse surrounded by water, and an invitation to stay, old memories fight to resurface. Alice has visited before. She is certain of it. Convinced the clues to her past lie at the hotel, she checks in. But once on the island, a wild storm rages, waves crash violently into the rocks, and the house is cut off by the roaring sea.

I am fascinated by whodunit books. I like the mystery of them, especially if they are stuck somewhere and cannot escape. I really enjoyed the lead-up and beginning of the mystery of this book, although, I found the ending to be somewhat disappointing and ridiculous.

This novel is addictive and seriously creepy. Alice’s dad was a reclusive author, who became famous using a pseudonym. After he died, his identity became widely known so, besides the grief of the loss, Alice has to hide from this unwanted fame. In the best tradition of “And then there were none,” she receives an invitation to a Gothic hotel, located on an island that is only accessible for a few hours a day. When she gets there, a storm is brewing. Phones go missing or are disconnected, a mysterious host is never seen and creepy puppets keep appearing. Worse things happen next and the feeling of claustrophobia and the locked-room mystery escalate until an explosive conclusion. Alternating flashbacks set some of the chapters in the past, explaining what is happening in the present. I must say that I saw it coming. Attentive readers will catch two clues that give the game away. I still didn’t guess all the twists and I loved the final explanation. Five stars!
I chose to read this book and all opinions in this review are my own and completely unbiased. Thank you, NetGalley/HQ Digital!

A tight little thriller with a very Agatha Christie feel.

Alice's father, who never spoke of the past, dies suddenly in an accident. She then receives a mysterious invitation to stay at a newly refurbished hotel on an island.

Cue storm, cue the dead guests and missing proprietor and I was all in!

Thank you to the publisher for gifting me a copy of this book. It was my pleasure to read it and to write an honest review.

Alice's father had died in a hit and run and left her with the great mystery about a past and a mother. All her collections were about a gothic home and when she got an invitation to stay in that home, she was eager to get to know her past.

This is an exciting thriller my first by this author. A locked room mystery, it kept me on my toes though some subplots were quite tangential, but I didn't mind it, given that the atmosphere totally made up for it. Absolutely captivating this was with horror and Mystery. Enjoyed it

Alice's father dies suddenly and his death reveals many mysteries including who he really was. Soon after, Alice receives an invitation to stay at a new remodeled gothic home on an island. The picture alone stirs deep emotions and memories. Recovering from a breakup, Alice decides to go and that's her first mistake...

I loved this book. I truly enjoy any locked room mystery and this did not disappoint. I have to say some of the twists and plot building were a bit of a stretch...but the gothic imagery and the haunted island made up for a less than plausible set up. The overall theme of the novel reminded me much of my childhood favorite Flowers In The. Attic. Don't worry, there's an attic, but I didn't give away the mysteries. Recommend.

This book was sent to me on Kindle by Netgalley for review. Lost memories…intrigue..mystery…character driven…an old house maybe haunted…boutique hotel…mysterious host…guests unaware…all of these sum up a story that is difficult to read and sometimes horrific…mystery lovers will get into this one to solve the puzzle…

Thank you to the author, publishers HQ and NetGalley UK for access to this as an advance reader’s ebook. This is an honest and voluntary review.

Alice has nightmares of a dark and ominous house she has no memory of ever seeing. Then in quick succession she receives photos in the email of an identical looking house, and someone buys the sculpture she made of it saying that it looks exactly like the gothic hotel they’ve just opened.

Mourning the sudden death of her father and estranged from her long-term boyfriend, Alice is encouraged by her friend Faith to visit the hotel, Flynn House, and find out why there’s a portrait of someone who looks exactly like her father in the reception.

Trapped in an isolated hotel run by a mysterious missing owner, Alice, Faith and a small group of other guests can only hope to survive a stormy night. But, one by one each the guests start to disappear. What secrets are hiding in Flynn House, and does Alice really want to know the truth?

An intriguing horror story with writing which creates a sense of suspense. The plotting does go a bit OTT at times which made it hard to keep engaged, but overall a good read.

This is a good atmospheric mystery which reminded me of Agatha Christie’s writing style. It definitely kept the suspense. The characters were very cleverly written. Good overall.

<i>The Island House</i> is a murder mystery whodunnit set in a suitably spooky hotel on a barren island.
With echoes of Agatha Christie’s <i>And Then There were None</i>, this is a story that will appeal to fans of the genre as well as those curious (or brave enough) to take their first step into a world of ‘murder most foul’. I read it effortlessly in two days.
The initial half of the story was a little protracted, but things moved along at a decent pace on the island.
Despite a clutch of characters often lacking in empathy and acting selfishly, irrationally, and aggressively my instincts were correct. I saw through the smoke and mirrors to pinpoint the real villain.
Although the storyline felt rather improbable at times, it is a decent enough read that raises the pulse!
My thanks to NetGalley and HQDigital for the e-ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I have mixed feelings about this one! I mostly enjoyed the idea about trapped in isolated gothic hotel inspired by Tim Burton movies! And then there were none meets Clue theme with an unleashed killer is one of them to avenge storyline hooked me up! But… well I have some issues about writing style.

Let’s summarize my feelings about this one:

Pros:
Heroine is introvert, giving creepy vibes with her lack of memory about her childhood, depended to her father too much, creating creepiest sculptures. Is it a good thing? Well, short term amnesia and her motivation to find the ugly truth about her past and the reason of her nightmares picked my interest! So yes, I cannot say no to a little weird, peculiar heroine.

-ventriloquist dolls : the author used those disturbing creations adroitly! They always give me so much creeps. Especially the ones without legs as they’re described in this book!
Aaahhhhhh!!!! Even thinking about them makes me scream aloud!

-fast, gripping pacing, heart throbbing and action packed direction of the story keeps your attention intact

-the conclusion was creepy, bloody, a little gory but I have to admit some of the twists were so smart, satisfying.

-Flashbacks of Verity and Huge’s stories were better written than the present time. The brother and sister’s bounding story reminded me of Ryan Murphy’s Ratched a lot.

Cons:
The perpetrator was a little obvious from the beginning.

-Leon was keeping a big secret from our heroine Alice. But just because of the secret: we didn’t need to read POV of Leon. We already read way too much POVs including Tiger, Hugh, Verity with flashbacks.

-When we read the POVs, the person who tells his or her own perspective was also seen as third person at those parts which was weird.

-Some parts of the book are a little over exaggerating. The characters acted like unstable lunatics who were talking nonsense!

Overall: the creepy, gothic elements and bloody conclusion surpassed my negative thoughts about the story and I added extra half point which made me round up 3.5 stars to 4 I think ventriloquist dolls are scarier than clowns, dysfunctional family, haunted mansion stars !

Special thanks to NetGalley and HQ Digital for sharing this digital reviewer copy with me in exchange my honest opinions.

Thank you Netgalley and HQ for allowing me to read an arc of this book. I was just approved for it yesterday and I read it right away. The writing drew me in right away and before I knew it, I was a third through the book. I loved the characters-they had distinct personalities and lives. I have read a lot of thrillers, and this one is a step above - the writing. the characters and the story were all excellent and I read it in two sittings. (It would have been one, but I felt the need to eat and do a few chores!)

This was a very interesting book and I am really glad that I have read it. Yes the hype re lots twists and turns applies. Really liked it as it challenged me a lot.

I have not read anything previously by this author but I am going to rectify that.

I was given an advance copy by the publishers and netgalley but the review is entirely my own.

This book was not as good as I thought it would be from the premise. It was slow paced not grip me until over half way through when the pace picked up. Far fetched in parts. Not terrible but not great.. Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the chance to review it.

3.5 stars

In January 2019 Gothic sculptor Alice Hadley’s father Adam is killed in a hit and run accident. A grieving Alice, having suffered a lifetime of bizarre recurring nightmares featuring a gothic island house receives a photograph of the house from her dream in the post. This is followed by an invitation to stay at the house which is now a boutique hotel. Alice has a myriad questions about the house itself, about why she dreams about it and about what secrets her father may have concealed. She decides to accept the invitation and her boyfriend Leon goes with her for moral support as she hopes to unlock her memories and ‘put them to bed’. The story is told in dual timelines from 2019 and from 1976 onwards.

At the start of the book and for a considerable chunk of it there is a good Gothic vibe to the storytelling. Alice lives in Whitby which I daresay is a bit of a cliche in ghostly novels but the place, her sculptures and Halloween are used well to reinforce the creepiness. There’s plenty of tension and prickles of unease and it’s easy to read and entertaining. There’s a good mix of characters from the obnoxious to the likeable. The 1970’s/80’s timelines adds to the growing sense of the macabre with shades of the ghoulish, several images really do make me shiver and give me the heebie-jeebies. There’s a good atmosphere conveyed with the Suffolk island, it’s a great setting with an air of foreboding and menace, it feels claustrophobic and unnerving. The tension ramps up as a number of odd events occur and there’s a growing sense of impending danger, so far, so good. It starts to change though as you swoop from the Gothic and step into the 1930’s world of Agatha Christie. Talk about shades of ‘And then there were none’. I don’t mind the switch, it feels appropriate and matches the scenario created.

However, let’s deal with the ending and the twists. They’re bonkers!! Seriously madly bonkers!! It requires the donning of hefty disbelief suspenders! It’s sort of enjoyable in its lunacy I’ll grant you but be prepared to accept a ton weight of the far fetched!!!

Overall, it is entertaining, it’s an easy take to the beach read, it’s fun, it’s a bit mad at the end. In some ways I wish the author had stuck to the Gothic as these sections work well and are the parts that I like the most.

With thanks to NetGalley and especially to HQ for the much appreciated arc in return for an honest review.

Ps. References are made to the Berlin Wall falling when Verity is in Poland in 1988 and the first part of 89. The wall doesn’t fall until 9/11/1989!! Poland is still under Soviet control.

This book was brilliant, plenty to keep you entertained. I found it seriously creepy but compelling, Amanda is a brilliant author who has a certain way with her words that give you the chills when reading this book. I was gripped the whole way through with the fantastic twists that Amanda has pulled out. It is a very good story line that pulls you in, you feel as though you don't know as a reader what the outcome will be? and that makes it ever so dramatic. I would recommend this read and I cannot wait to read more of Amanda's books in the future. This one was just so good.

I received an advanced reader’s copy in exchange for an honest review

The plot sounded so interesting but the mystery was flat and took so long to develop I had long since stopped caring. Not even an entertaining guilty pleasure