A bit more Seanan McGuire than Mira Grant, but otherwise exactly as advertised. Teen lovecraftian haunted house horror, perfect for a fun afternoon. ( )

Weird and creepy but it didnt particularly grab me. ( )

IN THE SHADOW OF SPINDRIFT HOUSE by Mira Grant (the pseudonym of Seanan McGuire) is a story that may not be that frightening, but it sure is interesting. The cover itself made me think this must be a Lovecraftian story and I was right - there is something wrong with Spindrift House. Something very, very wrong. And, that's what Harlowe Upton-Jones and her friends about to find out.

READ THE REST OF THE REVIEW OVER AT FRESH FICTION! ( )

Spindrift House has had a great deal of time to decide what it wants to be, and what it wants to be is unforgiving.

The Scooby gang does Lovecraftian horror sounds like the kind of thing that really ought to be a lot of fun, doesn't it? (I mean, I dislike Lovecraftian horror, but a Scooby Doo take on it should have been great.) Unfortunately, the Lovecraftian horror that this story chooses to take on is mostly [b:The Shadow over Innsmouth|13175692|The Shadow over Innsmouth|H.P. Lovecraft|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1323356703l/13175692._SX50_.jpg|26213512], which is a story that honestly only works for me because I don't care about the narrator. I liked these kids, and that pretty much ruined the whole mood for me. I did get icy chills at that second scene on the widow's walk, which will now live with me forever, but that can't make up for the amount of nope I feel about the whole story. So your mileage may vary. If you like this genre more than I do, maybe this story will work for you. ( )

Series Info/Source: This is a stand alone novella that I borrowed from the library.

Story (3/5): Harlowe has a violent and mysterious past but after her parents’ deaths she went to live with her grandparents. There she formed friendships with some neighborhood kids and eventually they formed a detective agency. As they are all poised to move on to more adult lives and pastimes, Harlowe gets an offer they can’t refuse. If they can figure who owns the deed to Spindrift House they will be granted a prize of millions of dollars...the only catch is that once they enter the house they aren’t allowed to leave it.

I really liked most of this story but it does take quite a while to set up the story and get into Sprindrift House. Once Harlowe and crew were in Spindrift House, things just weren’t as creepy as I expected. I was not a fan of the end of the story which just seemed….so abrupt.

Characters (4/5): The characters are well done and all have quirky personalities and issues. Their relationships to each other are anything but normal. I liked the uniqueness of these characters even though I struggled to engage with any of them.

Setting (3/5): The set up for the setting of Spindrift House was amazing. I loved the desolate coastal setting and the creepy history of the house. However, once we were in the house I just found it kind of lacking. There wasn’t enough description for me to really picture the house well and the story wasn’t as creepily atmospheric as I was hoping for.

Writing Style (4/5): The writing style bounces around in this book. The prelude and Harlowe’s dreams are very literature-like, discussing the philosophy of life as a curve versus the straight lines humanity places on it. These were beautifully written but had to be very deliberately read. The parts of the story with Harlowe and her friends were much more typical fictional story-telling sort of style. The pacing was a bit off and it took a long time to set up the story; I felt like a lot less of this took place in Spindrift House than I was expecting. I also felt like things were tied up really quickly which didn’t match the pace of the rest of the story.

My Summary (3.5/5): Overall I was really looking forward to reading this and it was a bit of a let down for me. The pacing was kind of off and it just wasn’t as creepy and atmospheric as I was hoping for. It wasn’t a bad story, but it didn’t really tread any new ground. It does explore themes of madness and the Deep and at times has a very cthulhu tone to it, but it felt a bit forced. It was short so I didn’t mind reading it, but I didn’t love it either. ( )