This is a creepy novella which finds its pacing in the second half but holds your attention all the way through.

A husband and wife go to spend a weekend at a certain bed and breakfast which they fell in love with a year prior. They've been having a horrible year since that visit and they're drifting apart with a shared trauma. They hope to rekindle their relationship at this bed and breakfast.

But it's different now. The new owner is kinda creepy and weird although she seems nice and accommodating enough. Then a series of strange things occur and the couple find themselves stuck there, with the owner becoming more and more entangled with their lives.

The first half deals with the husband and wife and how they're each dealing with what's happened over the previous year. It's a good way to establish the characters and give readers a sense of the issues they're going through. But the second half is where the terror sets in as the owner begins to take over the wife, her obsession with mushrooms, some terrifying doll heads, and an overall sense of dread.

The ending is abrupt and ambiguous at best. It's one which can be interpreted in a number of ways and doesn't offer much in the way of answers. But that's not necessarily a bad thing. It leaves you thinking about it after you're done reading. Some people might be put off by it but I thought it left things with a mysterious flair.

I recommend this novella but it won't be for everyone.

Bed and Breakfast follows a couple returning to a once beloved Bed and Breakfast hoping for an escape from reality, but what they find there is beyond their worst imaginations.

On jumping into this story I was immediately unsettled and wondering what was to come. The author took no time in getting straight into the action which I adore in a story this short. The atmosphere was tense between the characters from the get go and stuck throughout, making this such a fast paced story that I couldn't bare to put down. This book incorporates horror elements I eat up every time, such as the constant sense of dread with no real explanation, nature elements and helplessness. I do feel like the story would have benefited from a less abrupt ending and a little more of a conclusion to make the pay off a little less lacklustre. That said, I had a really fun time with this story and recommend this to anyone looking for a quick scare.

The less you know the better with a novella like this but in case you need them, here are the standout themes that could be triggers:
Content Warnings (minor vague spoilers): lots of talk of babies, miscarriages and infertility (no graphic scenes of any), lots of food talk, descriptions of eating, vomit, physical assault (non sexual).

Many thanks to NetGalley and the author for the advanced review copy of this book.

2.5 stars
What started as a compelling read quickly turned into a slightly predictable mess. I thought the premise of this was interesting, I love a good creepy horror set in the middle of no where. However, I quickly became bored with the characters, Emma especially. The plot was slow at first then lightning fast towards the end and I finished this book feeling both confused and underwhelmed unfortunately.