Young Gothic has been my most anticipated ARC of 2024 so far and it did not disappoint. I do have a couple of pain points with it, but no book is completely perfect. Let’s get the negatives out of the way first.

My biggest issue was the different narratives. Hal and Eve’s narratives were great but I didn’t enjoy the stereotypes of Ren and Griffin’s. The latter did fit their characters well but I don’t think they needed to be as over the top as they were, you could even go as far to say Griffin’s was a racial stereotype. Griffin uses the term “popo” at one point it felt really forced and unnatural, especially in a book by a white author.

My other issue was the overuse of character descriptions. Eve was constantly described as having “cat eyes” and Hal’s “sardonic tone” was mentioned in almost every chapter. It definitely painted a vivid picture of what they looked and acted like, which is great, but reading the same descriptions over and over gets a little old.

I have to kick off the positives by mentioning how gorgeous this cover is. I’ll admit it’s what drew me to the book initially. The character designs are stunning and when you get further into the book, you start to understand why they are depicted the way they are.

The tense atmosphere was incredible in the beginning. There’s nothing creepier than a gothic mansion, especially one that is staffed by people who can’t talk. It really makes you wonder what secrets they’re being forced to keep. The creepiness only intensified when you found out that the teens were being left in the mansion on their own every night.

The plot was super interesting and I liked all of the questions it posed. It’s not the most complex mystery in the world, but it does leave you with a lot of questions. Especially as more and more information gets revealed. The latter half of the book was completely wild in the best way possible.

I liked that Young Gothic was split into parts based on ‘the rules of horror’ - this was very clever. It gave the book an ‘expect the unexpected’ vibe and allowed it to be tropey without being too cheesy.

Overall, I would definitely recommend checking out Young Gothic if you’re looking for an intense YA thriller. Unfortunately, I can’t comment too much on the story without giving away the twist, but trust me, it’s an interesting one.

Truly gothic in all senses of the word, indeed quite consciously and deliberately plays to all the genre tropes The four main characters develop their relationships in a gradual, interesting way although the inevitable paring off is a little obvious. Plot unfolds at a steady, alluring pace and although it feels a bit samey at times the promise of more intriguing twists keeping the pages turning. The whole is very visual, certainly could be Netflix original series or pilot film with all the requisite late-night horror and scares! The final reveal at the end will probably split the readership in true Marmite fashion - I personally found it a disappointing, unconvincing direction with a rushed feel to it. But having said that I will probably pick up the sequel when it comes out...

When Eve, Hal, Griffin and Ren apply for a place in the Young Gothic summer programme, in the home of the great gothic authors, they are all glad to be offered a place for their own reasons

All four are different and have their own issues - and stories - but when things start getting mysterious and strange at the house, they will need to get to know each other better to find out what is going on and why

Part murder mystery, part gothic horror, chock full of horror film and literature references, this was one that really drew me in wanting to know where it was going

Out 04 July and thank you to NetGalley and Hachette for the review copy. All opinions my own and also maybe have a wee check of TW for this one, was pitched as YA but as YA sometimes does, it deals with dark themes

After swallowing the entire S.T.A.G.S series whole last series I screamed with delight to be approved on netgalley for @mabennettauthor's newest book Young Gothic.

As a Gothic Horror nerd this was a DELIGHT! I adored the way she blended classic gothic horror stories with the setting that birthed Frankenstein and The Vampire, whilst playing with horror archetypes and rules whilst subverting them at the same time. Whilst the English teacher in me saw several of the big reveals coming (I have spent far too much time teaching and loving Gothic Horror not to) it didn't negate the incredible ride and the 4 brilliant unique characters as I tore through it and as to the sequel hook (one of the ten rules of horror films) GIVE ME ALL THE GRATUITOUS SEQUELS. I can't wait to see how she spins this series out.
Get this pre-ordered IMMEDIATELY

Young Gothic is M.A Bennetts latest book. I have read the S.T.A.G.S series & enjoyed it so I was quite excited for this. I was right to be! The characters are intriguing. The plot really draws you in & keeps you hooked on reading it to find out just what exactly is going on!
Now the plot on the blurb actually happens quite late into the story but at no point did the rest feel slow. In fact it built up the atmosphere & developed the characters beautifully.
I enjoyed the structure of this book. I found it really helped you get a feel for each character. I loved the fact its split into parts that Hal explains are the 'rules' of horror.

This has confirmed for me that M.A. Bennett is is must read author for me & I cannot wait to read another.

I am slightly confused about my experience with this book. Not in a negative way, but rather because of the knowledge that YA audiences are a better audience for this than me.

I have been reading about vampires, Frankenstein and Villa Diodati - the competition between the authors.
I liked the style and the setting, as well as the themes.
The plot was not %100 for me, and I am not a big fan of big twists.

But, it was highly enjoyable and engaging.

Thank you to M.A. Bennett, Hachette Children's Group, and NetGalley for a galley of this in exchange for an honest review.

Young Gothic was an intoxicating read. Filled with magic, mystery, and Gothic charm, the book draws you in, wrapping you in a spider web of intrigue.

I liked all of the characters, and Bennett is expert at crafting unique voices, shifting between slang terms, and gendered outlook with fluid ease. Eve, Ren, Griff, and Hal were each unique in their owns ways, and the story was framed just differently enough through each of their eyes to add to the intrigue of the narrative, without becoming confusing or repetitive.

There was a meta edge to this which I also really enjoyed, I like fiction that is self-conscious of the rules, and consciously tries to defy them. The narrative zigged and zagged, but could never truly escape its generic conventions, and I love how aware of that the MCs were. The self-conscious intertextuality of this was also fascinating, and the tying together of a variety of Gothic classics with a new narrative thread, was a really unique way of situating this in tradition, whilst also bucking convention.

I do think this might have been a little ambitious in places, I think there were some elements that I thought might develop more, and the didn't, and the ending felt a little hasty - I am not sure I was totally convinced by it! That being said, this is YA Gothic fantasy, so suspension of disbelief is definitely required. Another thing I found a little odd [SPOILER] was the focus on fertility, which might be returned to in a later books, if this does get a sequel, and isn't necessarily irrelevant... as a theme, though, I am not sure enough time was given to it. I think rather than strike a significant chord, I worry it feels perilously close to being, dare I say, uncomfortable in its handling. This is a really sensitive issue for a number of reasons, and whilst within the narrative the impacted characters are kind of coming to terms with things, and feel uncertain about how it is going to play into their life more widely, I think there was some voicing of unpleasant thoughts that wasn't really assuaged.

Overall though, I thought this was good! It is maybe closer to a 3.5 stars if I'm honest, but a very enjoyable read!

I was so in two minds about this because I think the concept is amazing and the mystery was really fun, with bucketloads of Gothic horror and intrigue. However, I didn’t love the actual reveal and I’m not sure I’ll continue the series.

I have always loved gothic literature, so this book's synopsis was an immediate yes for me. However, nothing could have prepared me for how much I would eventually obsess over this manuscript. Characters i didn't initially like, I found myself rooting for, and those I'd loved, I wanted dead more than anything. Whilst I found myself successfully making some connections to the Young Gothics and their corresponding texts, thje ending completely blew me away and there was no end left untied. I will absolutely be handselling this when it's released, and I'm already getting the bookshop hyped up about it.