Happy Christmas Eve, Bookworms!

I thought I was done with reads with Christmas nearing, but when I saw this book I just knew I had to try it out!

Today’s review is all about Hanging On – A Christmas Ghost Story by Iseult Murphy. 

I’m a huge fan of Murphy’s work. She is so great with creating truly unique horror works, so I was dying to dive into this one. Please note, this is not a happy cheerful Christmas story (I don’t read those), so if that’s what you’re looking for, you’ll need to look elsewhere. All right, let’s see how this read went!

Blurb

“You’re in danger.”

The red wooden box Angelina found under the tree on Christmas morning wasn’t what she wanted when she asked Mam for a phone. It looked like something for a toddler. She didn’t expect to hear a woman speak to her through the toy when she played with it, nor did she expect her warning.

“You need to get out of the house.”

Seven-year-old Angelina doesn’t know what the danger is, or when to expect it. Can she trust the woman? Will she be able to hang on, or will this Christmas be her last?

Hanging On, a Christmas ghost story.

GoodReads

Amazon

***Brief disclosure***

I am an Amazon affiliate and earn a tiny commission for purchases made through the Amazon links in this post at no cost to you. It’s a great way to help me keep things running on my blog if you’re already intrigued enough to make a purchase. 

The Review

Like I hoped, this was a wonderfully original and horrific Christmas tale.

Angelina is constantly walking on eggshells to stay on her Mam’s good side with the meager life she’s been given. She’s delightfully surprised to see that her Mam decided to celebrate Christmas this year and even got her a gift, but it’s a toy phone a toddler would use. Desperate not to face dire consequences, she pretends that she loves the terrible gift and is shocked when she hears another voice on the line telling her that she’s in great danger.

I felt so, so bad for Angelina’s life circumstance. Her Mam is abusive and two-faced, which makes it a full-time job for Angelina to avoid her wrathful mercurial ways. Angelina doesn’t have the most striking personality, but having a guardian that stifles your sense of self to this degree would drain the personality out of anyone. Mam was deplorable, so kudos to Murphy for creating a diabolical mom figure. I’m gonna have some nightmares about this one.

I loved the wooden phone and the mystery behind it. It added a nice element of fantasy to Angelina’s bleak and terrifying journey towards some sense of freedom. Each chapter I desperately hoped that she’d see her way through this nightmare, and the book was masterfully written and hard to put down.

We need more holiday horrors in the book world, and this was an absolute pleasure to read through. Highly recommend!

That’s A Wrap!

Well that’s it for this book review. I hope you enjoyed it!

Have you read this book? Are there other similar books you’ve read that you simply have to gush about? Feel free to leave a comment. I’d love to start a conversation!

Have a great day!

Join My ARC & Street Review Team | Subscribe

 Facebook | GoodReads | Bookbub | Instagram| YouTube