Howdy ghouls, girls, and gents,

I hope your month is wrapping up nicely and you’ve had some time to connect safely with family and friends. I’ve attended a couple of small events for Halloween early, and though things were a bit different with social distancing I’ve had a lot of fun.

Speaking of October, guess what time it is? Spooky book review time!

This time I read Craven Manor by Darcy Coates.

This book has been on my TBR for quite a long time, and I lucked out that my library had a physical copy I could borrow.

Not knowing what to expect, I just jumped in. So how did I feel about it? Let’s get right into that review!

Blurb:

Daniel is desperate for a fresh start. So when a mysterious figure slides a note under his door offering the position of groundskeeper at an ancient estate, he leaps at the chance, even though it seems too good to be true. Alarm bells start ringing when he arrives at Craven Manor. The abandoned mansion’s front door hangs open, and leaves and cobwebs coat the marble foyer. It’s clear no one has lived here in a long time…but he has nowhere else to go.

Against his better judgment, he moves into the groundskeeper’s cottage tucked away behind the old family crypt. But when a candle flickers to life in the abandoned tower window, Daniel realizes he isn’t alone after all. Craven Manor is hiding a terrible secret…

One that threatens to bury him with it.

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The Review:

I give this book four hair-raising stars.

I was pleasantly surprised at how much I enjoyed this book.

Our main character is Daniel, a young man who has fallen on hard times and can’t seem to escape them. After being forced to move in with his selfish cousin Kyle he receives an odd letter offering him employment as a groundskeeper at Craven Manor. Desperate, Daniel journeys to the old manor and begins working, but there is a strange darkness within the manor. A darkness that may just be the end of him.

Nearly everything worked pretty well for me during this read.

I enjoyed the characters. Daniel, Kyle, and Bran were fleshed out pretty well for the most part. Having lived a life without any kind of luxury, Daniel is the typical white knight in the story and is a kind and gentle man. This also means he’s very gullible and susceptible to Kyle, who is extremely selfish and never accepts any kind of responsibility. Bran was mysterious, and I enjoyed getting to know him throughout the events of the novel.

I will say that I think Daniel was a bit too gullible and naïve. After several times of getting burned by those traits, he still continues to try to see the good in the situation. While that’s admirable, there’s only so many times you can realistically get burned without taking a different approach or getting a bit wiser. Saying any more would give things away, so I’ll just leave it at that.

The plot was a lot of fun. Can someone hire me to be a groundskeeper at an old scary manor? I’d take it in a heartbeat! I was hooked from page one. I not only wanted to know what happened with Daniel’s well being, but I had to know more about that manor and it’s drab surroundings. Though I wouldn’t say there’s a ton of horror, it was very thrilling and spooky, and that kept me happy.

I also enjoyed the writing very much. It flowed well, and each scene was descriptive. I could see each setting in my mind, and it really took me there.

Overall, this is a solid spooky read that’s perfect for this time of year. Definitely worth a read!

That’s a Wrap!

Thanks for stopping by, and happy reading!

Have you read this book before? What did you think? Do you have a book recommendation similar to this one? Feel free to share in the comments!

If you’d like to see other reviews of mine, feel free to check out the book review section of my blog or my GoodReads. You can also follow my GoodReads reviews here. There are some great binge-worthy books on there!

Have a great day!

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