Jonny: Did you feel that, Gigi? It just got really cold in here. I hope there are some ghosts around! Hi, I’m Jonny, lover of all things ghoulish and garish.

Gigi: Hey Jonny!! I think I heard something! How do you feel about going inside Carrow House?

Jonny: Hmmm … you mean that dark and spooky house we’ll possibly meet our end in? Sure, sounds like fun! 😀

Blurb:

“The dead are restless here…”
Remy is a tour guide for Carrow House, a notoriously haunted building. When she’s asked to host seven guests for a week-long stay to research Carrow’s phenomena, she hopes to finally experience some of the sightings that made the house famous.

At first, it’s everything they hoped for. Then a storm moves in, cutting off their contact with the outside world, and things quickly become twisted. Doors open on their own. Seances go disastrously wrong. Red liquid seeps from behind the wallpaper. Their spirit medium wanders through the house during the night, seemingly in a trance.

Then one of the guests dies under strange circumstances, and Remy is forced to consider the possibility that the ghost of the house’s original owner, a twisted serial killer, still walks the halls.

But by then it’s too late to escape.

GoodReads

Amazon

***Brief disclosure***

Jonny is an Amazon affiliate and earns a tiny commission for purchases made through the Amazon links in this post. It’s a great way to help him keep things running on his blog if you’re already intrigued enough to make a purchase. 

Buddy Read Book Rant:

Gigi:

Jonny: Overall I enjoyed it. There were some things that didn’t wow me or I thought could’ve been better, but I had a good time. What about you?

Yeah, actually! I’ve been on a number of ghost tours and even stayed overnight at one in Atchison, KS before (The McInteer Villa!). Around Halloween time I go crazy for chills and thrills in the real world.

Gigi:I agree! I thought it was a good story, but nothing mind blowing. It was actually really slow going for me. It started off really well.

I think it’s so cool that you’ve been on a ghost tour! I really wanna check one out, but at the same time I’m kinda afraid to go in one. I believe in ghosts. 

Jonny: I couldn’t agree with you more! Was it a good story? Yes. A great one? Hmm, not quite. The pacing of the story wasn’t evenly paced to keep my attention. At the beginning like you said we follow along the tour group and that was insanely fun to me, but after that things peter off for a bit too long before anything of note occurs. Yes, the house is eerie, but there’s only so much your audience can take before they expect something to actually happen.

I feel that as long as we don’t give away direct details, then we’re being spoiler free, so go ahead! I also didn’t like the ending. It was a bit too positive for a horror story if you ask me. I’m not the biggest fan of happy endings, especially to the extent that Coates did. It kind of left a sour taste in my mouth. That or maybe I’ve been breathing too much ghosty air from the Carrow House!

Yeah, I love that stuff! I’ve been a huge believer since childhood. I like to think that in a group tour setting things are relatively safer, especially when you don’t wander off hehe. When I stayed the night at the McInteer I had 5+ friends with me, so we were a large-ish group, enough to make me not feel so uncomfortable. One of them slept in the basement! I thought they were mad. I slept in my own room, but I kept the dimmed lights on all night because there was definitely a presence in that house.

Gigi:Basement?!! That’s hardcore in a haunted house! I can’t do that..even in a non-haunted house!  I’m a big fraidy cat, yet I like to be spooked. I know..makes no sense! Hahaha.

I’m with you on that ending! I like a happily ever after, but not when it comes to horror. I did however, enjoy the ghost hunting and seance though!

Let’s talk fave, or not-so likeable characters. Who did you like the most? The least?

I hated Marjorie! She annoyed me the most. Taj was cool! I actually kinda liked Bernard. Lol.

Jonny: Yeah, totally! I think my friend was trying to overcompensate and show they were brave. Honestly, I didn’t care, but just knew I wouldn’t sleep there or in the attic. The attic felt incredibly haunted to me. I like to think of myself as someone sensitive to spirits. I don’t really see much but my feels are usually on par. Haha, I understand where you’re coming from. I don’t like to be spooked, but I do at the same time.

Right. I didn’t see why Coates felt the need to keep things that way. It would’ve been easier in my opinion to keep it darker, though I get what she was going for.

Yes, those seances were great! They felt authentic to me, and kinda made me nervous as to what was going to happen each time. Well done.

Okay, but you’re not gonna like me, haha! I actually liked Marjorie the most. I withheld that in our little checkups on each other during the read, but I thought she was the most enigmatic. She had mystery surrounding her character and her abilities, and that was what drew me to her. Yes, she had a terrible attitude and was crotchety at times, but I can relate. Half the time I don’t want to deal with people in general.

I think Taj and Bernard were my next favorites after that. They were stable and I liked their personalities. April and her friend were kinda just okay in my opinion.

Gigi: hahaha. That’s ok that you loved Majorie! I love having varying views. It’s keeps the conversation interesting! Yeah..April and Lucille were just meh to me. It didn’t matter which route Coates went with them for me.

I’m like you, where I feel certain things. I know when it’s an unwelcoming place. I’ve seen things in my lifetime, but we’ll save that conversation for another time 

I’m so glad we read this one together! If it weren’t for you, I don’t know if I would have made it to the end of the book to be honest.  But I’m glad I did! I still wanna give her other books a try and have The Whispering Dead on my eshelf.

As always, you’re an awesome buddy to read with! Are we feelin another spooky book next? Or do we wanna try fantasy? Middle grade? Let me know!!

Jonny:Oh, for sure! Varying views are the best. I’m sure in real life Marjorie would’ve gotten on my nerves but with the story she took the spotlight for a decent portion of the book. Agreed on April and Lucille. They didn’t shine very much compared to the other characters.

Wow, kindred spirits! Well, I’m glad I’m not alone in the feels. I’ve seen some strange things myself, so we’ve definitely got plenty of interesting conversations ahead of us!

Awww, well I’m glad I could inspire you to keep going with this one. It’s certainly not perfect but Coates’s stories are always fun and entertaining. Oh yes, do tell me how that goes if you read it soon!

As are you, Gigi! *digital hugs*

Hmm, well we do have some spooky MG books from the list I made for suggestions last time, but we could also switch it up. I guess the world will just have to wait with baited breath, muahaha!

Gigi:

As always, I’m looking forward to our next adventure! So let me know when you wanna buddy read again! 

Jonny: Me too! Thanks for continuing to take these little journeys with me! I’ll be in touch very soon! 🙂

That’s A Wrap!

Thanks for joining us on our buddy read and rant of The Carrow Haunt! We had a lot of fun, and hope you did too! We will definitely be doing some more buddy reads in the future, so stay tuned!

In the meantime, why not check out Gigi and Jonny’s other fun buddy reads?

Buddy Read & Rants: Sorcery of Thorns

Buddy Reads & Rants: Skyward

Buddy Reads & Rants: Renegades

Buddy Reads & Rants: Scythe

Buddy Reads & Rants: The Bone Garden

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