The best way to approach this book is by knowing as little as possible going into it. That’s what I did and it was an amazing experience! Just the premise of a giant house suddenly appearing in the middle of nowhere had me hooked, and I couldn't wait to find out what was inside. The book is somewhat of a slow burner, as it takes about half of it to actually get the characters inside the house. But that's not to say the first half is bad (and there are plenty of creepy scenes and events mixed in). I actually appreciate the time it takes to establish our four main characters and build their personalities and relationships to one another. This groundwork enabled me to care much more for them in the second half of the book where things truly get horrifying. I think Scarlet is definitely my favorite of the four. Her spunky attitude is quite charming.

By the time the characters finally enter the house I was bursting with anticipation. I also realized that there were 250 pages left, so I was quite curious to know what all else was going to happen. And therein lies my main fault with the book. While the inside of the house is incredibly imaginative (and author Delaney does a great job of describing a wide variety of rooms in a way that I could easily picture in my mind), the characters spend a little too long exploring and the book begins to drag. But it definitely kicks back up the pace and it has a final act that blew my mind multiple times! Lots of crazy twists and turns!

This book hit a lot of personal likes of mine: from a focus on character building, to themes of family, friendship, and grief (a la Haunting of Hill House) to an irresistible mystery that needs solving, to terrifying images of monsters and dark chaos. I love that there’s such a cool mix of horrors (ghosts, ghouls, creepy crawlers, monsters, eldrich terrors, etc). Also healthy doses of Silent Hill, Lovecraft, King, and more. At over 500 pages it drags just a bit in some spots, but overall I was definitely down for this epic tale! (4.5 stars, rounded up to 5 for Goodreads) ( )

What a gorgeous cover. A total work of art. Kudos to whoever designed it. The House That Fell From The Sky was a bizarre and imaginative story that weaves a bit of horror and fantasy together, but it is not the haunted house story I had hoped for. There are lots of flashbacks that for me, did not always work in the book's favor. While sometimes a flashback can fill in details or provide character insights in a faster paced tale it felt to me that this story should have been told in a more direct way since there was plenty of time.
A bit long for my taste, it was a slow start before our main characters actually got into the house. The book was about half over before our 4 friends got inside the house even though it "fell" almost right away. This immediately set up a great spooky atmosphere since even people who got too near the house were affected by it but at over 500 pages It felt to me that the 4 main characters could have gotten in sooner. For me this was just an OK read but I am sure others may enjoy it more than I did.

3 out of 5 stars

I received a complimentary copy for review. ( )