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Jonny

Hey Everyone, this is Jonny, purveyor of all things paranormal. Let’s get our spook on!

Iseult

Hello, I’m Iseult, successfully haunting my house for the past six years.

This buddy read and rant is for The Haunting of Trinity House by Travis Liebert.

Blurb:

He’s always been haunted by his past…

…but now he’s being hunted by it.

Magnus Conrad swore he’d never return to Trinity House. There was too much pain in that building. Too many memories…
But when an old friend comes to Magnus for help, he’s forced to break his promise and return once more. Soon he finds himself battling a vengeful supernatural entity – one who brings back painful memories of Magnus’ childhood.

Will he finally uncover the secrets of his tragic past? Or will he only stumble deeper into a maze of dark forces and wicked plans?

As Magnus fights against the nightmares of his youth, he begins to suspect something else at play. There’s more to Trinity House than meets the eye. An older evil lurks behind the scenes…watching…waiting.

Can Magnus overcome the horrors of Trinity House, or will he succumb to the starved and twisted thing that lurks within its walls?

Get it now.

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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:

Jonny

Hey Iseult. Thanks so much for giving this book a chance with me. How did you like it? I know I talked Liebert up, so I was really shocked that I ended up not loving this one.

Iseult

This was my first time reading Liebert’s writing, and I was expecting good things. I’m afraid this book didn’t gel for me, but I did enjoy the flashbacks to when Trinity House was a foster home. What did you think of those scenes?

Jonny

Sorry this one didn’t quite work for you either. His shorter works are definitely different from this book. I did enjoy the flashbacks to Trinity House’s foster home days. If I remember correctly, the writing was a bit simpler in those parts because Magnus was a child then and that really improved the flow, even if only temporarily.

For me, what I particularly enjoyed was Magnus’s friend Sophie and her interaction with another character named Casey. I liked the flirtation there and the riddle was really great too. I definitely hope Liebert capitalizes on them in his next book in this series.

Iseult

That’s a good point about the flashbacks. I liked Sophie and Casey’s interactions too. I thought the characters sparked really well off each other, and Casey’s story was interesting and unexpected. They didn’t fit well into the book for me, though. The tone of their scenes was much more upbeat and fun, but I’d have been happy if the whole book had been more like that.

I’m afraid Magnus didn’t work for me as a character. We were told he was haunted by the death of his parents and spent his life searching for proof of life after death, but I wasn’t convinced by how he spoke and acted.

Jonny

Totally! Their back and forth really worked for me, and up until that point that kind of chemistry was something we were lacking. So I agree, the tone of the book could’ve been a bit more upbeat throughout despite the grim circumstances.

Yeah, I’m feeling you on Magnus too. Sometimes he got too far inside his own head and it could drag scenes out too much for my liking. He did rely on Sophie to an extent, but only rarely. I think maybe if he and Sophie had a stronger connection and she was involved more from the beginning it could’ve helped lighten things up. Or, maybe that girl from the beginning could’ve ended up being something more to him and helped detract from his doom and gloom mentality. I wanted to feel a connection to him, but there just wasn’t enough for me to cling to.

Iseult

I agree, Sophie was a great character and if there had been a better connection between her and Magnus, I might have bought into his character more. They were supposed to be best friends, but I didn’t buy their banter or flirting.

Was it just me or did the ghosts resorting to physical fighting bug you too? I like my ghosts to be more spirit like, but these guys seemed to do a lot of rib stomping.

Jonny

Right. Magnus’s definition of a best friend didn’t quite work for me. Personally, a best friend is someone you see often and share everything with. I get that he’s been through a lot, but he seemed very distant to her to qualify as a best friend. I did get the sense that they had shared plenty over time, but we needed to see that deeper connection and it didn’t quite go there.

Haha, you beat me to the punch! Yeah, it didn’t make things better in my opinion. I did like how they could be intangible, yet tangible at the same time and how they were tied to certain things, but the fighting part was a little lackluster. At least a floaty fight or maybe some ghost-style of magic would’ve been cool. Also, I was a bit confused when a certain spirit met their end and was having an intensely physical reaction when it was something magical/spiritual. I don’t know, maybe it’s just me.

Iseult

I agree, I didn’t see the bond between Sophie and Magnus despite being told it existed.

Yes! I was extremely disappointed how that spirit met its end. It didn’t seem interesting or make sense that the reaction would be so mortal. I much prefer floaty fights and ghost magic.

I was very put off by how Magnus behaved at the end of the book. I don’t expect characters to behave well or get everything right, but this book seemed to be full of characters who did terrible things without even questioning their behavior or having a tiny twinge of conscience that there might be a better way to do something.

Jonny

Phew, glad I wasn’t the only one not feeling that spirit’s end. It just needed more fantasy to it.

Yeah, I wasn’t vibing with the end of the book either. The characters have to have more of a conscience so that you root for them, and with Magnus it wasn’t there. To be honest, I did end up skimming a bit here and there in the second half of the novel. I just couldn’t quite connect to the story, so I won’t be continuing this series. I do still recommend Liebert’s shorter stories though. They’re so much more fast paced and punchy.

Iseult

Yes, exactly, I agree. I’m afraid I won’t be continuing with Magnus’s adventures either. I couldn’t connect with the character and the hook at the end didn’t intrigue me.

I must check out the author’s short stories though. I love doing a buddy read with you, so thank you for suggesting this book. It was fun reading and ranting with you, as always.

Jonny

Oh, for sure! I love his short story anthologies enough to have them on my bookshelves at home, so I can totally back those up.

No problem at all. I think it’s your turn to pick out our next book once we’re ready for another buddy read, and I can’t wait to see what you come up with! Thanks again for doing this with me. 🙂

Iseult

That’s high praise indeed!

I’ll send you a suggestion and we can read it whenever you are ready. I love our buddy reads.

That’s A Wrap!

Thanks for joining us on our buddy read and rant of The Haunting of Trinity House! 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 Iseult and Jonny’s other fun buddy reads?

Buddy Read & Rant: Dark Waters

Buddy Read & Rant: The Ten Thousand Doors of January

Buddy Read & Rant: Until Summer Comes Around

Buddy Read & Rant: The Upheaval

Buddy Read & Rant: Thornhill

Buddy Read & Rant: Shutter

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