What a whirlwind this book was! A credit to Thorne. I was on the edge of my seat as soon as the paranormal action began and couldn't put the story down. There were some elements of the story which I found slightly confusing, which is why I've put this read as a 4 star rather than 5, but I will definitely be looking into more of Jennifer Thorne's work!

A really interesting concept. This is not my usual type of book but something just appealed and i felt like I needed a change. The dysfunctional family theme throughout was so well executed. Exceptional character development and imagery.

This was so creepy! In that ‘don’t look in the mirror because you just know there’s something behind you’ kind of way that really gets under your skin! At the same time as the main story is building, the family holiday made me want to peel my own skin off! Urgh what an awful bunch of nasty creatures they all were! If I was the main character I would have left fairly soon after arriving and not looked back! A really clever combination of toxic relationships and things that go bump in the night that had me on edge the whole way through!

Diavola is a horror novel about a chaotic family holiday in Tuscany turning into a nightmare, as the black sheep of the family finds herself with more than she bargained for. Anna starts off her family vacation by lying about getting there early to have time for herself, and that's only the start. She's stuck in a villa with her twin brother and his opinionated new boyfriend, her always in control older sister and her family, and her parents, who don't understand Anna's life choices and just want this holiday they've paid for to go perfectly. Her sister plans every day down to the minute, but strange noises and weird warnings from the locals not to open the door to the tower lead to haunting confusion, and it seems everyone just wants to blame Anna for not having a good time. Only, it might not all be Anna's fault.

From the start of the book, you're drawn in to the messy family side of things: this is a well-off family with minor gripes about each other and two young children to look after in the Italian heat. Anna's position as the black sheep slowly becomes apparent, but at the same time, the villa becomes unnerving, and the horror element gradually builds up. The narrative takes a turn partway through that I wasn't expecting, and I liked that the book wasn't quite as I assumed from the start, even though it might've be scarier if it was entirely set at the villa. The parts when things start to go wrong at the villa were genuinely creepy, but the horror turns into a less scary haunting as the book goes on, though still a gripping narrative.

I liked how this book combines the well-off yet dysfunctional American family drama, almost satire at times, with the 'locals warn you against it' horror, and the narrative's ending has one of those classic horror epilogues in which the main character has gone in a new direction, which I also enjoyed. The creepiness of the book wasn't sustained throughout, but early on I liked the unknown dread, and I do wish that some of the darker elements were more drawn out or less ambiguous. Overall, Diavola is a fun horror novel that feels fresh and is infused with the horror not only of a haunted villa, but of a terrible family holiday.

I didn't think I would enjoy this as I'm not normally into dysfunctional families but I was pleasantly surprised! Thorne creates a really creepy atmosphere which made me feel on edge the entire time. I really liked Anna as a protagonist.

Diavola by Jennifer Thorne was one of my most anticipated reads so far this year and I'm very happy to say I was not disappointed. A unique story, chock full of family drama this story would be horrifying enough without the addition of a malevolent holiday home. Eerie and atmospheric, the horror elements of this story were well done and suitably anxiety inducing. The depictions of the Italian countryside and the museums and art galleries were so well done that I felt as if I were there with our main character Anna. I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book and while I found the toxic family dynamics and Black-sheep scapegoating of Anna to be incredibly frustrating, this only added to the sense of unease I felt while reading this. This is a darkly comedic story and it is almost impossible not to admire Anna's resilience and strength in the face of adversaries of both the human and supernatural kind. Initially I had rated this as a 4 star because of the ending and the lack of resolution about one particular aspect, but after mulling it over further, I decided that actually the fact that it wasn't fully resolved was far more fitting and so I changed it to 5stars.
I am looking forward to reading more from this author.

Thanks to the author, Titan Books and Netgalley for the opportunity to read this fantastic book in exchange for an honest review.