Atmospheric and gothic. In the afterword the author states that she was inspired by the short story The Great God Pan by Arthur Machen, and having read that short story, I did see the resemblance but only after I had read the afterword.

Overall, I enjoyed this book. There was a bit of a romance that I wasn't crazy about, but it didn't impact how much I liked the rest of it. ( )

This was an intense, intriguing suspense, YA mystery/thriller gothic story. It kept me on the edge of my seat and turning the pages until the end. I didn't want to stop reading until I knew the answers and what was happening. The twist in this was major and unexpected. This was a very unusual twist and point of view compared to most stories I've read. It's something that I keep wondering about now and trying to wrap my head around it.
It was a great read for the fall, with the haunted house vibes and the mystery. The atmosphere and setting are perfect, and I loved how the house was alive and like a character in the story.
I've never read anything by Kate Alice Marshall before, but am interested to check out more by her now. This has a lot of mystery and twists and turns in it that make for a great story. Also, I would say there should be a content/trigger warning for a few things like blood/blood magic, lobotomy, murder, child death/sacrifice, abuse, misogyny, experimentation, and such.
Thanks so much to NetGalley and Penguin Group Penguin Young Readers Group/Viking Books for Young Readers for letting me read and review this fascinating suspenseful and haunting mystery. All thoughts and opinions are my own. ( )

In the beginning there was a lie, and the story went from there, with teen Helen Vaughn returning with her mother and stepfather to creepy Harrow House. It's the family estate she and mom fled when she was very young, and this is her first time back. They have returned to attend her grandfather's funeral, but when they arrive, she discovers he left the house and a ton of money to her. The catch is that she must live in Harrow House for one calendar year without leaving.
Her first inclination is to flee, but strange events start happening almost immediately, and her instincts tell her to accept the challenge and see if she can get to the bottom of whatever makes the house and her relatives so strange. The uncovering includes, several dead girls, an attraction to Bryony, the self-proclaimed Harrow Witch, a coded diary one of her cousins helps her decipher, buried bones, and a whopper of a surprise at the end, one I certainly never saw coming. This book grabs and doesn't let go until the very end. Perfect fare for horror lovers of all ages. ( )