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Weave

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    Weave's Reading 2015

    in Past Book Logs

    Posted

    Ooh, interesting review! The 'throwing her hands in the air' thing sounds like it would definitely annoy me, and it's a shame that it had a disappointing and predictable ending. Maybe I'll hold off adding this one to my wishlist for now. :)

     

    Oh don't let me put you off (not that it would), it is a decent read, just not a great story, there was definite potential, it just seemed to be lacking. And the 'throwing the hands in the air' was very annoying! :lol:

    Weave's Reading 2015

    in Past Book Logs

    Posted · Edited by Weave

    This House is Haunted by John Boyne ~ Started: 01.01.15 ~ Finished: 04.01.15

     

    Name of Book: This House is Haunted

    Title of Book: John Boyne

    Edition: Kindle

    ASIN: B00BUB5DPK 

    Number of Pages: 301

     

    Synopsis ~

     

    1866, London. As Charles Dickens takes to a London stage on a foggy Autumn night to read from his ghost stories, Eliza Caine and her father settle into their seats. A huge admirer of the novelist, Mr Caine has insisted on attending, despite his worsening cold.  Returning home, a fever hits him and within 24 hours he is dead, leaving Eliza alone in the world.  A teacher by trade, Eliza notices an advertisement for a governess position at Gaudlin Hall in Norfolk. 

     

    Deciding that she needs to start over, she applies for and is offered the job. Arriving at Thorpe station she is almost pushed beneath a train but is saved by two villagers who, although initially friendly, become quiet and uneasy when she mentions the position she has accepted. Arriving at Gaudlin, Eliza meets the two children in her care, Isabella and Eustace. To her surprise, they appear to live there alone. There are no parents, no adults at all, and no one to represent her employer. The children, however, seem to expect her and show her to her room. From the night she arrives a series of disturbing incidents take place, each one of which threatens her life, and slowly Eliza begins to believe that this house is haunted. A solicitor in the village reveals some of the secrets of Gaudlin to her, others she must discover for herself. 

     

    The action takes us from a London classroom to a Norfolk grand estate, and from a small Spanish town to a graveyard in Great Yarmouth. Elizabeth refuses to be frightened away from her position; if she is to survive Maudlin and save the children, then she must take on the ghost herself. 

     

    'This House is Haunted' is the story of Eliza Caine, a 21 year old schoolteacher raised by her father following the sudden death of her mother. Eliza has had a somewhat sheltered childhood and depends on her father. Eliza's life changes with her father's untimely death following his attendance at a reading by Charles Dickens. 

     

    Suffering from grief, Eliza decides she needs a change from the life she has always known and applies for a position as a Governess at Gaudlin House, as soon as Eliza arrives at the train station to begin her journey to Gaudlin, she is pushed in front of a oncoming train, it's the quick thinking of the local doctor which saves Eliza.

     

    Eliza begins her stay at Gaudlin House but as she quickly discovers there is something wrong , there is a unseen presence at Gaudlin House and it seems to be targeting Eliza. 

     

    What I thought of 'This House is Haunted ~

     

    I did enjoy 'This House is Haunted' in many ways, the story was interesting, it did engage me and I did want to find out how it would end. However, I found myself not connecting to the main character/narrator Eliza Caine at all, she was likeable and I felt that she coped with what was happening to her as well as could be expected but the majority of the conversations she had seem to lead to her 'throwing her hands in the air' but in all fairness she had a good reason. 

     

    The children of the story Isabella & Eustace were stronger characters especially Isabella, who is a very confident girl who intimidates Eliza, while Eustace is confused by all the changes in his life and wants to be loved.

     

    The intensity of the story is good to read as secrets are revealed and Eliza faces the unknown. 

     

    Parts of the story reminded me of 'The Turn of the Screw' by Henry James which did not put me off as much as I thought it would, 'The Turn of the Screw' is a stronger story. 

     

    The ending was expected and slightly disappointing. 

     

    All in all, a decent ghost story.

     

    Rating: 3/5

    Weave's Reading 2015

    in Past Book Logs

    Posted

    Happy reading in 2015, Paula. :) I like John Boyne and would like to read all of his books one day. I looked forward to reading your reviews throughout the year. :)

     

    Thanks Kylie, I hope you have a great reading year too :)

    Weave's Reading 2015

    in Past Book Logs

    Posted

    I hope you're enjoying this, Paula. I saw you were reading it on Goodreads and I loved the cover ( :blush: ) so I had a look and it sounds good, but a little too spooky for me!

     

    Also, nothing to do with books (or maybe it is - I don't know what/who it is?!) but I love your avatar - it's very cute. :)

     

    ETA: I actually popped by to wish you a good year of reading in 2015 but forgot! :lol:

     

    Happy New Year you too Janet :) 'This House is Haunted' is ok, it's not very scary but it has its moments. :)  My avatar is of 'Totoro', there is also a book about him, so yeah its to do with books. :)

    Weave's Reading 2015

    in Past Book Logs

    Posted

    Well, I :006: to you, said I was glad to see you and wished you Happy New Year, but now I don't know where it went so...

     

    :006: Good to see you around and Happy 2015!  :giggle2:

     

    Thanks Anna, Happy New Year to you too and have a great reading year :) Its nice to see you :)

    Weave's Reading 2015

    in Past Book Logs

    Posted

    It was probably accidentally double posted, I've deleted the other one which didn't have any extra comments.

     

    I wish you a good reading year in 2015 :)!

     

    Thanks Athena for sorting my double post, sorry about that :blush2: Happy New year to you too :)

    Weave's Reading 2015

    in Past Book Logs

    Posted · Edited by Weave

    Hi Everyone and welcome to my reading log for 2015.  :readingtwo: 

     

    January ~

     

    1.  This House is Haunted by John Boyne ~ Started: 01.01.15 ~ Finished: 04.01.15

    2.  Stone Mattress: Nine Tales by Margaret Atwood ~ Started: 05.01.15 ~ Finished: 10.01.15

    3.  The Secret Library by Haruki Murakami ~ Started: 10.01.15 ~ Finished: 11.01.15

    4.  The First Days (As the World Dies~Book 1) by Rhiannon Frater ~ Started: 11.01.15 ~ Finished: 13.01.15

    5.  Fighting to Survive (As the World Dies~Book 2) by Rhiannon Frater ~ Started: 13.01.15 ~ 15.01.15

    6.  Siege (As the World Dies~Book 3) by Rhiannon Frater ~ Started: 15.01.15 ~ Finished: 18.01.15

    7.  Where the Train Turns by Pasi limari Jaaskelainen ~ Started: 18.01.15 ~ 19.01.15

    8.  The Future Collection by  Beth Revis ~ Started: 19.01.15 ~ Finished: 22.01.15

    9.  The Asylum by John Harwood ~ Started: 22.01.15 ~ Finished: 26.01.15

    10.  Deadly Night: Katie & Jenni's Untold Tale: A Short Tale From the As The World dies Universe by Rhiannon Frater ~ Started: 26.01.15 ~ Finished: 26.01.15

    11.  Bird Box by Josh Malerman ~ Started: 26.01.15 ~ Finished: 30.01.15

    12.  Don't Look Now and Other Stories by Daphne Du Maurier ~ Started: 30.01.15 ~ Finished: 02.02.15

     

    February ~

     

    13.  NOS4R2 by Joe Hill ~ Started: 02.02.15 ~ Finished: 08.02.15

    14.  The Supernatural Enhancements by Edgar Cantero ~ Started: 08.02.15 ~ Finished: 21.02.15

    15.  Flowers For Algernon by Daniel Keyes ~ Started: 08.02.15 ~ Finished: 16.02.15

    16.  The Pianist by Wladyslaw Szpilman ~ Started: 21.02.15 ~ Finished: 24.02.15

    17.  The Ninth Life of Louis Drax by Liz Jensen ~ Started: 24.02.15 ~ Finished: 27.02.15

    18.  The 10PM Question by Kate De Goldi ~ Started:  27.02.15 ~ Finished: 03.03.15

     

    March ~

     

    19.  Station Eleven by Emily St.John Mandel ~ Started:  03.03.15 ~ Finished: 12.03.15

    20.  The Death House by Sarah Pinborough ~ Started: 12.03.15 ~ Finished: 17.03.15

    21.  The Robber Bride by Margaret Atwood ~ Started: 18.03.15 ~ Finished: 05.04.15

     

    April ~ 

     

    22.  Birdy by William Wharton ~ Started: 05.04.15 ~ Finished: 13.04.15

    23.  Swamplandia by Karen Russell ~ Started: 13.04.15 ~ Finished: 29.04.15 

     

    May ~ 

     

    24.  Pretty Monsters by Kelly Link ~ Started: 29.04.15 ~ Finished: 10.05.15

    25.  Cat and Jemima by Jane Green ~ Started: 10.05.15 ~ Finished: 10.05.15

    26.  The Dead Lands by Benjamin Percy ~ Started: 10.05.15 ~ Finished: 21.05.15

    27.  Lies in the Dust: A Tale of Remorse from the Salem Witch Trials by Jakob Crane (Author) and Timothy Decker (Art) ~ Started: 21.05.15 ~ Finished: 21.05.15

    28.  Paranormal Intruder by Caroline Mitchell ~ Started: 21.05.15 ~ Finished: 22.05.15

    29.  The Color Purple by Alice Walker ~ Started: 22.05.15 ~ Finished: 24.05.15

    30.  Me and Earl and the Dying Girl by Jesse Andrews ~ Started: 24.05.15 ~ Finished: 27.05.15

    31.  Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell by Susanna Clarke (re~read) ~ Started: 28.05.15 ~ Finished: 17.06.15

     

    June ~ 

     

    32.  The Giant's House by Elizabeth McCracken ~ Started: 19.06.15 ~ Finished: 24.06.15

    33.  The Dog Stars by Peter Heller ~ Started: 24.06.15 ~ Finished: 30.06.15

    34.  The Only Ones by Carola Dibbell ~ Started: 30.06.15 ~ Finished: 21.07.15

     

    July ~

     

    35.  What Lies Within by James Morris ~ Started: 01.07.15 ~ Finished: 02.07.15

    36.  Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda by Becky Albertalli ~ Started: 03.07.15 ~ Finished: 07.07.15

    37.  Love Letters to the Dead by Ava Dellaria ~ Started: 07.07.15 ~ Finished: 19.07.15

    38.  Cooking with Bones by Jess Richards ~ Started: 19.07.15 ~ Finished: 27.07.15

     

    August ~

     

    39.  Geek Love by Katherine Dunn ~ Started: 28.07.15 ~ Finished: 10.08.15

    40.  The Buried Giant by Kazuo Ishiguro ~ Started: 10.08.15 ~ Finished: 22.08.15

     

    September ~ 

     

    41.  The Diviners (Book 1 in the Diviners series) by Libba Bray ~ Started: 22.08.15 ~ Finished: 01.09.15

    42.  1Q84 (Books 1~3) by Haruki Murakami ~ Started: 22.08.15 ~ Finished: 14.10.15

    43.  Lair of Dreams (Book 2 in the Diviners series) by Libba Bray ~ 01.09.15 ~ Finished: 14.09.15

    44.  The Sleeper and the Spindle by Neil Gaiman, Illustrated by Chris RIddell ~ Started: 14.09.15 ~ 14.09.15

    45.  The Martian by Andy Weir ~ Started: 14.09.15 ~ Finished: 27.09.15

     

    October ~

     

    46.  Library of Souls: The Third Novel of Miss Peregrine's Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs ~ Started: 14.10.15 ~ Finished: 

    47.  The Storied Life of A.J. Fikry by Gabrielle Zevin ~ Started: 14.10.15 ~ 19.10.15

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