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Phobic
(The Forbidden Doors #1)
by
Resistance is no longer an option.
My house has a secret. A secret kept behind a closed door. A secret that led my mom to commit murder.
Lately, the same secret has begun plaguing me. Voices ring out in the night. Visions appear of people dressed in sweeping ball gowns and elegant top hats, of quiet servants trapped in their love for each other, unable to be together becau ...more
My house has a secret. A secret kept behind a closed door. A secret that led my mom to commit murder.
Lately, the same secret has begun plaguing me. Voices ring out in the night. Visions appear of people dressed in sweeping ball gowns and elegant top hats, of quiet servants trapped in their love for each other, unable to be together becau ...more
Paperback, 376 pages
Published
August 28th 2014
by CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform
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Community Reviews
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Start your review of Phobic (The Forbidden Doors, #1)

Piper Crenshaw is a fifteen year old girl with zits, a boy-that’s-a-friend who she wishes were a boyfriend, and a pack of mean-girl bullies on her case. Piper is completely ordinary.
Except for the fact that her mother killed a man and hid his body in their house. And the fact that their house is haunted.
In fact, Piper’s house is almost a character in this creepy, thrill-filled contemporary horror story. It alternates between protecting and terrorizing Piper, sometimes locking her in, other time ...more
Except for the fact that her mother killed a man and hid his body in their house. And the fact that their house is haunted.
In fact, Piper’s house is almost a character in this creepy, thrill-filled contemporary horror story. It alternates between protecting and terrorizing Piper, sometimes locking her in, other time ...more

Absolutely LOVED this book!!!!!!
Haunting. Intense. Romantic. Suspenseful. Compelling. I could go on…
I enjoyed this very much. Piper is a great main character, and it's really fun being in her head. The voice is great, the concept original. The house is SO COOL, because it's a character in and of itself. Just the right amount of creep/gore factor. I didn't think I could be a fan of horror, but the author does a fabulous job of balancing all the elements so it's not one-sided. Definitely five st ...more
Haunting. Intense. Romantic. Suspenseful. Compelling. I could go on…
I enjoyed this very much. Piper is a great main character, and it's really fun being in her head. The voice is great, the concept original. The house is SO COOL, because it's a character in and of itself. Just the right amount of creep/gore factor. I didn't think I could be a fan of horror, but the author does a fabulous job of balancing all the elements so it's not one-sided. Definitely five st ...more

Review: PHOBIC by Cortney Pearson
Oh this book, this special, stunning, unstoppable, incredibly imagined, book! Can you tell how much I.loved it? I read it nonstop, truly. The characters are so.well wrought, and deal with amazingly realistic issues. Piper is a heroine of fine cattle, a girl stronger because of her turmoil.
And the horrors!!! I would categorize this as upper YA, definitely, for graphic descriptions ( and some implications). Ah, I'm ready to go read it again. ...more
Oh this book, this special, stunning, unstoppable, incredibly imagined, book! Can you tell how much I.loved it? I read it nonstop, truly. The characters are so.well wrought, and deal with amazingly realistic issues. Piper is a heroine of fine cattle, a girl stronger because of her turmoil.
And the horrors!!! I would categorize this as upper YA, definitely, for graphic descriptions ( and some implications). Ah, I'm ready to go read it again. ...more

http://reading-is-dreaming-with-open-...
Phobic was so surprisingly awesome that I can't find words for it. Whenever I find such a hidden gem that I know I only get to read because of blogging, I feel extremely happy. At these moments I forget all the time blogging takes away from my life, or the times when I was anxious over having to read a book in time. After all that's why I do this, to find books that I'd have never ever found if I didn't join to the book blogging community and of course to ...more
Phobic was so surprisingly awesome that I can't find words for it. Whenever I find such a hidden gem that I know I only get to read because of blogging, I feel extremely happy. At these moments I forget all the time blogging takes away from my life, or the times when I was anxious over having to read a book in time. After all that's why I do this, to find books that I'd have never ever found if I didn't join to the book blogging community and of course to ...more

2.5 Stars
I couldn't resist this one after seeing the creeptastic cover and reading the synopsis. I was hoping this would be the perfect read to freak me out without scaring me too much. I pretty much got what I was hoping for but..it took awhile to get there.
Even though I knew the author needed to set up not only the atmosphere and characters for this story, but give the house that Piper resided in a personality of it's own, it felt like it took forever to get there. In fact I wasn't even sure a ...more
I couldn't resist this one after seeing the creeptastic cover and reading the synopsis. I was hoping this would be the perfect read to freak me out without scaring me too much. I pretty much got what I was hoping for but..it took awhile to get there.
Even though I knew the author needed to set up not only the atmosphere and characters for this story, but give the house that Piper resided in a personality of it's own, it felt like it took forever to get there. In fact I wasn't even sure a ...more

I received PHOBIC as an ARC through netgalley.com.
3.5 stars.
PHOBIC is a YA supernatural horror/thriller with a romantic subplot. For many readers, that's enough to tell them if they want to read it or not. But this book is more than its labels.
I do have some criticisms (for example, some repetitious descriptions seem to be there because the author doesn't trust the reader to remember character names) but, for the most part, I found PHOBIC to be a fun and tense read. I was hooked right from the b ...more
3.5 stars.
PHOBIC is a YA supernatural horror/thriller with a romantic subplot. For many readers, that's enough to tell them if they want to read it or not. But this book is more than its labels.
I do have some criticisms (for example, some repetitious descriptions seem to be there because the author doesn't trust the reader to remember character names) but, for the most part, I found PHOBIC to be a fun and tense read. I was hooked right from the b ...more

In this book, so far we have met Piper and Piper has a very strange house that protects her. Piper doesn’t get to have many friends over because her house is so weird and she is not always sure how the house will respond. The house is haunted and this is a good book about Piper and her haunted house. I really like ghost stories so this one is one of the good ones. A very good creepy and gripping book. I would read the next one. * This book was given to me by author in exchange for honest review*

Sep 08, 2014
Maxine (Booklover Catlady)
rated it
liked it
Recommends it for:
Young Adult Readers, Ghost Fans
I love a good ghostly book and even better if it involves a super creepy house dating back to the 1800's, and let's go one better because this house is ALIVE.
Yes indeed, the walls breathe and the house listens. Phobic is a young adults book that blends the drama of high school life, crushes on your male best friend with a house that does weird things and has a mind of it's own.
Fifteen-year-old Piper Crenshaw knows her house is strange. It’s never needed repairs since it was built in the 1800s, ...more
Yes indeed, the walls breathe and the house listens. Phobic is a young adults book that blends the drama of high school life, crushes on your male best friend with a house that does weird things and has a mind of it's own.
Fifteen-year-old Piper Crenshaw knows her house is strange. It’s never needed repairs since it was built in the 1800s, ...more

I found that Phobic was a very well balanced novel, not too much gushy romance and not too much gore, just enough gore to frighten you but not to sicken you. It’s rare to find a good balance like that; basically it was a PG-13 version of horror movies today, but with a real twist of an ending.
Phobic starts out with Piper, who finds herself ugly because of her zits and weird because of her haunted house. Not the creaky, just old haunted a house. The house locks her in on a whim and takes care of ...more
Phobic starts out with Piper, who finds herself ugly because of her zits and weird because of her haunted house. Not the creaky, just old haunted a house. The house locks her in on a whim and takes care of ...more

Phobic by Courtney Pearson is the first book in The Forbidden Doors series. It is a young adult paranormal horror story. Piper Crenshaw is fifteen years old, has terrible acne, father died ten months ago, and her mother is in prison for murder! Just your typical teenager—wrong! Her older brother, Joel is her guardian and Todd Dawes, who lives next door, is her best friend. They live in a beautiful old Victorian home that has been in their family for a couple of generations. When they changed tow
...more

Phobic is an enjoyable, paranormal novel for young adults. It is narrated in the first person and in the present tense, which makes for a very dynamic reading experience. First person narrators are unreliable, because they just can’t be everywhere and know everything, yet they are more authentic, because the reader knows and accepts their limited yet honest version of the story. On the other hand, the combination of their unique voice and the use of present tense, if it’s pulled off well, can be ...more

Have to put this aside. Couldn't get into it.
...more

Piper has zits and is bullied at school. Her house is haunted and full of secrets. Piper has been told not to open certain doors. Why? Piper wants to discover the secrets of the house. She doesn't know why the house never needs repair. What are the secrets? Piper starts seeing ghosts from the past and hearing voices. Will she be able to solve the mysteries of the house?
The novel is creepy and full of surprises. It is suspenseful. The novel is definitely paranormal but can also be considered. Hor ...more
The novel is creepy and full of surprises. It is suspenseful. The novel is definitely paranormal but can also be considered. Hor ...more

I received an Kindle ARC copy of this book through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
"Death isn't the end. It's only a doorway."
This was such a fun book to read. I was so excited when I got approved to read this through NetGalley because books like this are right up my alley. I love horror novels, but I especially love YA horror. I enjoyed this book more than I disliked it, but because I did receive this book at no cost to me in exchange for an honest review, I'm going to do just that. ...more
"Death isn't the end. It's only a doorway."
This was such a fun book to read. I was so excited when I got approved to read this through NetGalley because books like this are right up my alley. I love horror novels, but I especially love YA horror. I enjoyed this book more than I disliked it, but because I did receive this book at no cost to me in exchange for an honest review, I'm going to do just that. ...more

This was an interesting story. I like how the house was personified and made into a character all of its own. I had a bit of trouble getting into the story. It was a bit slow to start. The story was a bit weird but it was still good. Definitely not something I would normally read but enjoyable.

Not bad
It isn't my favorite book but I'm not the right age for it either. To me there was a bit much about school and being picked on but again I'm not a teen. The end was pretty good. ...more
It isn't my favorite book but I'm not the right age for it either. To me there was a bit much about school and being picked on but again I'm not a teen. The end was pretty good. ...more

Phobic
I liked this book. It was slow starting but then it was good. Would read more of Cortney Pearson's books. ...more
I liked this book. It was slow starting but then it was good. Would read more of Cortney Pearson's books. ...more

Disclaimer- I was sent this by the author for review, but as always, thoughts and opinions are my own!
*3.5 stars*
I thought this was an entertaining and creepy read! I went in expecting that, and that’s what I got from it, so I think this book did what it was trying to accomplish. This isn’t a book that I’m going to remember years from now or anything, but it’s something different than what I usually read, since I don’t read a lot of YA “horror” books.
Plot- The plot for me is what drove this stor ...more
*3.5 stars*
I thought this was an entertaining and creepy read! I went in expecting that, and that’s what I got from it, so I think this book did what it was trying to accomplish. This isn’t a book that I’m going to remember years from now or anything, but it’s something different than what I usually read, since I don’t read a lot of YA “horror” books.
Plot- The plot for me is what drove this stor ...more

I was given an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.
DISCLAIMER: If you have been following my reviews, I think I already said this somewhere along the way... I started reading books with the horror / mystery / suspense genre. I'm a fan of Stepehen King, R.L. Stine, Christopher Pike etc. so I hope you'd all understand that I had sky high expectations for this book.
First off, things that I liked about this book:
PHOBIC is a good take on the "haunted house" theory. I always love a good ...more
DISCLAIMER: If you have been following my reviews, I think I already said this somewhere along the way... I started reading books with the horror / mystery / suspense genre. I'm a fan of Stepehen King, R.L. Stine, Christopher Pike etc. so I hope you'd all understand that I had sky high expectations for this book.
First off, things that I liked about this book:
PHOBIC is a good take on the "haunted house" theory. I always love a good ...more

So, Phobic. I’ll start with the good. I was initially sucked into the novel because of the house in which Piper, the protagonist, lives. It deserves to be considered a character in the novel and was very well done. There’s a good progression of what the house can do, beginning with creaks and groans and the spare disembodied voice, and progressing to attacks on people, and, finally, a creepy symbiotic connection to Piper. The external plot having to do with the house and its history and the curs
...more

Received from NetGalley for honest review.
This book sounded so good. And I really wanted to like it. Really. It started out well enough. A girl in her haunted house. And I did like all the parts about the house, the weird things it did, and it's twisted history. I also liked that our protag had zits! Acne, to be more precise. A heroine who's not flawless and doesn't know it--how refreshing. And the love interest, Todd, was adorable. Loved him. The other characters were all pretty one-dimensional ...more
This book sounded so good. And I really wanted to like it. Really. It started out well enough. A girl in her haunted house. And I did like all the parts about the house, the weird things it did, and it's twisted history. I also liked that our protag had zits! Acne, to be more precise. A heroine who's not flawless and doesn't know it--how refreshing. And the love interest, Todd, was adorable. Loved him. The other characters were all pretty one-dimensional ...more

i've given pearson's novel 4 stars in the same way i'd give a less-than-full endorsement to a lottery ticket that i knew was a winner but i hadn't yet cashed in.
pearson's mastery of the metaphor is simply divine. while reading Phobic i highlighted so many perfect examples that i can't include them all here. however, i want potential readers to grasp fully the extensive breadth of pearson's imagination, so consider these four:
"His lips leave echoes on mine."
"Chills tiptoe from the bottom of my sp ...more
pearson's mastery of the metaphor is simply divine. while reading Phobic i highlighted so many perfect examples that i can't include them all here. however, i want potential readers to grasp fully the extensive breadth of pearson's imagination, so consider these four:
"His lips leave echoes on mine."
"Chills tiptoe from the bottom of my sp ...more

I RECEIVED THIS BOOK FOR FREE FROM NETGALLEY FOR REVIEW IN RETURN FOR AN HONEST OPINION. IN NO WAY DID GETTING THIS BOOK FOR FREE CHANGE MY THOUGHTS AND OPINIONS OF THIS BOOK.
The book Phobic is about this girl named Piper. She lives in this house that her mother killed someone in, and stuffed them into this cell in their floorboards. That’s not the only secret that is hiding within the walls of this household. There’s something going on with the house and Piper needs to find out what. Soon she ...more
The book Phobic is about this girl named Piper. She lives in this house that her mother killed someone in, and stuffed them into this cell in their floorboards. That’s not the only secret that is hiding within the walls of this household. There’s something going on with the house and Piper needs to find out what. Soon she ...more

Fifteen-year-old Piper Crenshaw knows her house is anything but ordinary. The walls groan, doors slam on their own accord, and once, her room turned upside down. With a dead father and a mother in prison, Piper’s life has been torn apart by events that happened years earlier. Teased and tormented by the popular kids at school, Piper clings to her best friend Todd and her talent at playing the clarinet. But when things start to get incredibly creepy at her house, and Piper starts seeing the dead
...more

“When I was six years old, I found the man my mother murdered stuffed under a trap door in our kitchen. The smell gave him away.” Pearson immediately captivates readers with these first two lines in her debut YA horror novel, PHOBIC.
The main character, Piper Crenshaw, has a lot of secrets—secrets she keeps from her best friend, Todd, her brother, Joel, and even from the reader. Nearly the entire novel is written from Piper’s point-of-view, so the reader only knows as much as Piper reveals thr ...more
The main character, Piper Crenshaw, has a lot of secrets—secrets she keeps from her best friend, Todd, her brother, Joel, and even from the reader. Nearly the entire novel is written from Piper’s point-of-view, so the reader only knows as much as Piper reveals thr ...more

Book Review originally published here: http://www.iheartreading.net/reviews/...
Let’s start with the good. In Phobic, fifteen-year-old Piper Crenshaw lives in the strangest house imaginable. It was the place where her mother committed murder, the house repairs itself, sometimes rooms change of their own accords, and the lights flicker whenever Piper says something. When she opens up a forbidden door, that’s when trouble really starts.
The plot about the house, the history of the house, and the con ...more
Let’s start with the good. In Phobic, fifteen-year-old Piper Crenshaw lives in the strangest house imaginable. It was the place where her mother committed murder, the house repairs itself, sometimes rooms change of their own accords, and the lights flicker whenever Piper says something. When she opens up a forbidden door, that’s when trouble really starts.
The plot about the house, the history of the house, and the con ...more

SLIGHT SPOILERS
When I first read the summary for this book, I thought it was going to be really intriguing, and that looked great.
Honestly, this book could have been a LOT better. Yeah, the creep house starts right from the word go (which, in this case, was GOOD), and (YESSSSS!) there was already a characer set up for me to hate.
However, both Piper and Todd (the two mains) got on my nerves. Oops. Piper was just too whingey and angstey about EVERYTHING, and the whole "Romantic Subplot" that she h ...more
When I first read the summary for this book, I thought it was going to be really intriguing, and that looked great.
Honestly, this book could have been a LOT better. Yeah, the creep house starts right from the word go (which, in this case, was GOOD), and (YESSSSS!) there was already a characer set up for me to hate.
However, both Piper and Todd (the two mains) got on my nerves. Oops. Piper was just too whingey and angstey about EVERYTHING, and the whole "Romantic Subplot" that she h ...more
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Cortney Pearson is the USA Today bestselling author of the Stolen Tears series. She writes fantasy worlds brimming with adventure, loyalty, and romance, from wizards, to ghosts, to pirates. She is the mom of four cuties, loves classical music, chocolate, slow-burn kissing scenes, and sparkles. Not necessarily in that order.
Don't miss a thing regarding Cortney's books. Sign up for her newsletter! ...more
Don't miss a thing regarding Cortney's books. Sign up for her newsletter! ...more
Other books in the series
The Forbidden Doors
(2 books)
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