We Have Always Lived in the Castle in Drop Everything And Read

Mar 11, 2018 Ahtims rated it it was amazing

Shelves: ebooks, borrowed, crime-mystery-thriller, weekend-recos-themes-books

Absolutely loved reading this very odd book. And one of the weirdest characters I met since Amy of Gone girl.

this is the story of poisoning , murdering almost all the members of a joint family... And the story of survival of remaining 3 members - an invalid uncle and two sisters , one of whom is supposed to have poisoned the whole family.
The younger sister Mary Kate ( Merrycat) is a highly imaginative One, and helps her older sister to keep the house. They are persecuted by.the villagers with v ...more

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Jan 21, 2015 gudetamama rated it really liked it

Shelves: psychology, fiction, sisters

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.

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Sep 10, 2020 E.S. rated it liked it · review of another edition

Book Rating: ★★★☆☆ (3/5 stars)
Audio Book Rating: ★★★★☆ (4/5 Stars)
Total Rating: ★★★☆☆ (3.5/5 stars)

Merricat is content with her life. Sure, her sister Constance never leaves the house, and Uncle Julian seems to be getting worse every day, but she enjoys her life secluded from the rest of town. She explores the Blackwood Estate, left to her after her parents died in an unfortunate accident involving arsenic in their sugar, and keeps to a routine she finds soothing. But people talk. They blame Con Book Rating: ★★★☆☆ (3/5 stars)
Audio Book Rating: ★★★★☆ (4/5 Stars)
Total Rating: ★★★☆☆ (3.5/5 stars)

Merricat is content with her life. Sure, her sister Constance never leaves the house, and Uncle Julian seems to be getting worse every day, but she enjoys her life secluded from the rest of town. She explores the Blackwood Estate, left to her after her parents died in an unfortunate accident involving arsenic in their sugar, and keeps to a routine she finds soothing. But people talk. They blame Constance for the murder. When their cousin Charles appears one day in attempts to claim unknown riches, Merricat will stop at nothing to get him out of their house, even if it risks revealing her secrets.

In an intricately woven tale, we see the world through Merricat’s eyes. Her childlike nature, her distaste for most people, and her games infect the reader. We become sympathetic to her pleas, even if they are on the irrational side. Besides, who doesn’t want to be left alone? Who doesn’t want to protect those they care about? And who isn’t afraid of their entire world being upended? Merricat is painted as the perfect sympathetic character, but beneath it she harbors sociopath tendencies, with the inability to connect with anyone else. She likes to watch others squirm. But as the reader, you want them to squirm too.

As an audio book, Merricat’s personality shines, and that helps in the more drawn out portions of the book. While the writing was beautiful, weaving intricately through a maze of problems just like the house, I wonder if it meandered too much. After the most destructive moment, due to Merricat’s hatred of Charles, the book continued wandering through the narrative, almost as if it was uncertain how to conclude. Possibly, the story might have been stronger if it was ended sooner, or was shorter. I am not entirely certain. The thrilling nature of the narrative comes from the way it’s written, but for me at least, that was also it’s flaw.

That being said, We Have Always Lived in the Castle, will chill you to the bone. The revelation is well thought out, and while I figured it before its reveal, the seeds are planted well enough that it’s neither too obvious nor too wild a discovery.

With Halloween approaching, this thriller is definitely one to add to your TBR list.

Before you eat dessert tonight, make sure to check your sugar. ...more

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Sep 12, 2016 Jessica Burchett rated it liked it

This was a good, spooky book, but not as good and not as spooky as I was expecting it to be. I may have to go back and read it again.

There were some alleged plot holes as well as some unresolved curiosities. It was not scary scary like I expected, either. However, I did get caught up with the characters and it held me to the end, though the end came quicker than I was expecting, also.

Needless to say, my expectations from this book based on what I've read of it were much, much higher than it de ...more

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