The first chapter of this book convinced me I was going to be making it rain stars in this review. Yet, here we are 👀

Question: Did I have a stroke?

Listen. This author can write, and there are some truly unforgettable parts. Maybe I blame the editor. Someone has to take responsibility for this mess - and I say that lovingly because this book could’ve been great.

I honestly don’t even know where to start or what to say? Maybe Sol is an OK character - meaning tolerable, but everyone else is just awful. There a lot of drawn out parts of exposition that I dont think added anything to the story. Then, there’s the ending that makes me question if I had a stroke 😩

I thought this book was OK to read. But it wasn't my favourite horror book as the pacing and plot of the story was slightly all over the place and it was difficult to keep up with reading especially into the second part of the novel.

I think the initial part one was good it was setting up the rest of the novel but I was wanting more from it and i don't think it really delivered on that.

This requires a certain type of reader to enjoy.

Jon is a father and husband but not good at either one. He's having an affair and neglecting to spend time with his sick daughter, Marie. He's on a work trip to a church that was damaged by unknown people. While there he is offered deal to heal his daughter if only he is willing to do one thing.

I enjoyed the first part of this book. Once the second part starts, there is so much going on that it's hard to keep track of it all. Not my favorite horror novel but I'm sure some people will enjoy it.

The only character I really liked was Sol. The rest were one dimensional. There wasn't enough about them to get to know them.

Book : Spirits of the Dead
Author : Keith Gilman
Pub Date : 03 Oct 2023

Thank you NetGalley, Severn House, & the author for the opportunity to read and review this book.

This book was a bit difficult for me to get into but once it picked up it was fast paced page turning from there. I really wish I could have related to at least one character in the book. The wife, the daughter, the MC Johnathan, Angela etc. I felt as though I wanted to know MORE and get MORE about the characters.

We follow Johnathan who death and darkness constantly follows. Granted—part of me was happy about that considering his life choices. While Jonathan is on a project with a Catholic Church he is propositioned asking what he would give to save a life (his sick daughter). A life for a life it is.

We watch Jonathan be taken over slowly through the book by darkness. This absolutely will keep you reading to the end. I love a good dark gothic horror thrilling book and this didn’t disappoint me in that aspect.

A thank you to Netgalley and Severn House for access to an early copy for review.

This was a very disappointing read for me. The plot seems all over the place, for one so many things happening that don’t really feel connected, no tension and no sense of purpose. And two in the end I felt super lost in what I was supposed to understand had happened.

And everyone in this book is super unlikeable I couldn’t really root for anyone. And normally I am all for morally grey characters but these people just suck. Also was way to much description of things and details that didn’t really add much, or certain people’s backgrounds that I couldn’t care about.

If I wasn’t reading this for a review I probably wouldn’t have finished it. Though I get the atmosphere that the author was going for, to me it fell very short of it.

Jonathan Levande has a pall cast over him, death seems to follow him wherever he goes. Now his daughter has been beset by a mystery illness that doctors say will end in death. A restoration architect, Jon has taken on a job at Saint Cecelia Cathedral where he encounters the malevolent Rector who offers him a bargain. A life in exchange for a life. Willing to do anything to save his daughter’s life, Jon agrees and finds himself cast into the very pits of hell. A sinister gothic to keep readers up at night