C.J. WeissBesprekingen

A haunted house tale with a lot of family drama and a twist. This one just wasn't for me.

Unique, clever, compelling and spooky.

Marie wanted to break up with Garrett a week earlier due to a family retreat tradition, but Garrett proves his love for Marie by proposing. Marie says no, so Garrett suggests he join her for four months and see if he can live alongside her family. Garrett discovers he's bitten off more than he can chew as he discovers the difficulty of surviving the Breach. The lengthy story follows both the haunting of the house and the psychological hauntings of Marie's family members seen predominantly from Garrett's point of view. There are not a lot of visual descriptions since the story follows Garrett's thoughts and investigation of the Renault family as he uncovers tension among parents and children.


I received a free copy and am leaving a review voluntarily.
Thank you to Hidden Gems Books and author.

Absolutely phenomenal writing. It grabs hold of you quite quickly and I found myself having trouble putting it down, reading whenever and wherever I had just a spare moment. You learn of this new world as the main character does but rapidly find out that no one really can say for certain what is the truth and what or who can no longer be trusted. Things that felt certain are cast in doubt and trust becomes scarce. This book will make you feel claustrophobic, and will keep you guessing until the very end. Secrets Gnaw at the Flesh is a perfect blend of paranormal, mystery, horror, romance and drama. C.J. Weiss is an incredibly talented storyteller and I cannot wait to see what he has in store for us next.

I received this book as an ARC in exchange for a fair and honest review.

I wanted to love Secrets That Gnaw At The Flesh by C J Weiss. The fantastic title drew me in and I love the eerie cover, but…

The story drew me in, a haunted house novel with a twist. We do have ghosts AND demons and that is different from the norm. We have plenty of characters, human, demon and ghostly. At times I found myself confused, trying to figure out who was who.

I was curious why Garrett would have to put his life on hold for a few months every so many years, if he chose to be a part of her life permanently. He’s going to Harvard and I don’t know how that would work. Would he give up his career?

Wheeling and dealing with a demon caught my attention. Would the demon hold up his end of the bargain, or was he luring them in, only to betray them?

Secrets That Gnaw At The Flesh by C J Weiss did have its Oh No moments, but, at times the pace was too slow to keep my attention and I found my mind wandering. It did pick up once the Breach approaches.

Of course, by the title, secrets will be exposed and I always enjoy that. 🙂 Possession. Ghosts. Demons. Lured me in and I couldn’t stop until I knew the end, but it didn’t work for me and I find it hard to recommend. But, don’t let that stop you from checking it out for yourself. Just because it didn’t work for me doesn’t mean it won’t work for you.

See more at http://www.fundinmental.com

This was the perfect mix of tense horror with comedic relief. The characters are varied and complex, and I liked that it revolved around Garrett, an outsider, so we get to learn more about the Renaults and the house at the same pace as he does. There were moments that absolutely sent chills down my spine, just to make me giggle at one of Claude's quips a few pages later. It created a nice balance, without the book getting too heavy, even when things got dark. I thoroughly enjoyed this, and if you want to amp up the spookiness while reading, wait for a dark and stormy night.

An interesting take on the haunted house novel! This book has quite a cast of characters and one very haunted setting. I thought it was enjoyable to see this world of a family who is very prepared for hauntings through the eyes of a newcomer to the situation - his curiosity and confusion mirrored my own as a reader. Imagining the mansion and all its various rooms all battened down to weather the breach was quite fun! I think the book would have benefited from letting us really get to know everyone a bit better (I had to keep reminding myself who was who and how they were all related) and letting us explore the different types of ghosts a bit deeper - I want to know more about this family and their world and how/why things are the way they are! The story was over all very enjoyable and had some great surprises along the way.½

Marie wanted to break up with Garrett a week earlier due to a family retreat tradition, but Garrett proves his love for Marie by proposing. Marie says no, so Garrett suggests he join her for four months and see if he can live alongside her family. Garrett discovers he's bitten off more than he can chew as he discovers the difficulty of surviving the Breach. The lengthy story follows both the haunting of the house and the psychological hauntings of Marie's family members seen predominantly from Garrett's point of view. There are not a lot of visual descriptions since the story follows Garrett's thoughts and investigation of the Renault family as he uncovers tension among parents and children.


I received a free copy and am leaving a review voluntarily.
Thank you to Hidden Gems Books and author.