May 2022 Group Read with Guest Author, J.H. Moncrieff

[Kevin]

Started it last night--and I'm hooked. The mood and setting are good and the characters of Terri and her daughter Dallas are quickly engaging and lead you into the story but I agree with Char in the assessment of Ms. Vandermere. :)

[Char]

I finished it last night. I was up until 2:00 am! More later, after I turn it over in my mind some.

[Scott]

I read this last month and loved it, so much so I then I bought and read all of her other stand alone books and pre-ordered Dragonfly Summer.

[Kimberly]

Scott wrote: "I read this last month and loved it, so much so I then I bought and read all of her other stand alone books and pre-ordered Dragonfly Summer."

You just reminded me I need to order Dragonfly Summer!!

[Sally]

Hey y'all! Drowning in group and buddy reads this month but I think I'm going to start this one late this week. I can't wait!That cool cover keeps looking at me every time I open my tablet.

[Charlene (Char)🍁☕️📚]

Hi Everyone ! I bought the book and haven’t read it yet. Hopefully I’ll be able to start this weekend ! From the comments the book looks like a good read

[Kimberly]

Happy to have you here!

[Char]

Hey, there's another Char! *waving*

[J.H.]

Kevin wrote: "Started it last night--and I'm hooked. The mood and setting are good and the characters of Terri and her daughter Dallas are quickly engaging and lead you into the story but I agree with Char in th..."

Thanks so much, Kevin! I'm glad you're enjoying it. 👻

[J.H.]

Char wrote: "I finished it last night. I was up until 2:00 am! More later, after I turn it over in my mind some."

Wow, Char, you're fast! I hope you enjoyed it. 👻

[J.H.]

Scott wrote: "I read this last month and loved it, so much so I then I bought and read all of her other stand alone books and pre-ordered Dragonfly Summer."

Wow, thanks so much, Scott. The series is all about ghosts, so you might enjoy it. But you've totally made my month with this comment! 👻

[J.H.]

Sally wrote: "Hey y'all! Drowning in group and buddy reads this month but I think I'm going to start this one late this week. I can't wait!That cool cover keeps looking at me every time I open my tablet."

Thanks so much for the kind words, Sally. I'm glad you like the cover!

[J.H.]

Charlene (Char) wrote: "Hi Everyone ! I bought the book and haven’t read it yet. Hopefully I’ll be able to start this weekend ! From the comments the book looks like a good read"

Thanks so much for buying it, Charlene! I really hope you enjoy it. 👻

[J.H.]

I was thinking some of you may enjoy a virtual tour of the real house that inspired the book: https://my.matterport.com/show/?m=Snh...

Or, if you want to hear me talk about the experience and show my own photos, you can check that out here:

https://www.tiktok.com/@jh_moncrieff/...

https://www.tiktok.com/@jh_moncrieff/...

You don't need a TikTok account to view the videos.

[Sally]

Started last night. Got up to page 25 and already feeling creepy. Plus I have an 11 year old that is almost exactly like Dallas so I'm already feeling very protective of her!

[Char]

J.H. wrote: "I was thinking some of you may enjoy a virtual tour of the real house that inspired the book: https://my.matterport.com/show/?m=Snh...

Or, if you want to hear me talk about the experience and..."

That's so cool! The house is just like I imagined it would be. Your powers of description are excellent!

I ended up enjoying the hell out of this book! I don't really agree with Terri's actions at the end, (I would need no more signs to leave at that point), but even though I disagreed, the denouement was a great pay off.

[Kasia]

J.H. wrote: "I was thinking some of you may enjoy a virtual tour of the real house that inspired the book: https://my.matterport.com/show/?m=Snh...

Or, if you want to hear me talk about the experience and..."

Gah part 2 of your Tiktok was scary!! Also thank you for that virtual tour of the house, it's incredible looking.

Sorry I'm late to the party, but I'm about 20 pages in and really enjoying it :)

[J.H.]

Sally wrote: "Started last night. Got up to page 25 and already feeling creepy. Plus I have an 11 year old that is almost exactly like Dallas so I'm already feeling very protective of her!"

Aw, I totally get that. But yay for feeling creepy! Happy Friday the 13th.

[J.H.]

Char wrote: "J.H. wrote: "I was thinking some of you may enjoy a virtual tour of the real house that inspired the book: https://my.matterport.com/show/?m=Snh...

Or, if you want to hear me talk about the e..."

Thanks so much, Char! I'm glad you enjoyed the book and the tour. I know a few disagreed with Terri. I think she just felt really trapped, and desperate to find a way to support both of them. x

[J.H.]

Kasia wrote: "J.H. wrote: "I was thinking some of you may enjoy a virtual tour of the real house that inspired the book: https://my.matterport.com/show/?m=Snh...

Or, if you want to hear me talk about the e..."

Thanks so much, Kasia! Glad you liked it. And you're not late at all! We're only 13 days in. :)

[Kasia]

J.H. wrote: "Thanks so much, Kasia! Glad you liked it. And you're not late at all! We're only 13 days in. :)"

I love that your story starts right away, with so many haunted house books it feels like I'm moving all over again, every single time I read one, the 220 pages of descriptions of the process and the layout before anything happens kills me lol.

[Sally]

I'm around page 150. I must say this is a great book to be reading on Friday the 13th. Very spooky. I adore Dallas, she's a brave kid! And kind of an asshole sometimes, which totally tracks. She is reminding me so much of my daughter.

[Kimberly]

Sally wrote: "I'm around page 150. I must say this is a great book to be reading on Friday the 13th. Very spooky. I adore Dallas, she's a brave kid! And kind of an asshole sometimes, which totally tracks. She is..."

She reminds me of my boys at that age! LOL!

[Kasia]

Ha that's funny my kid was born on Friday the 13th and he turns 1.5 years old today lol, spoooky!!

[Charlene (Char)🍁☕️📚]

I started reading this book on Wednesday! So far so good !

[J.H.]

Kasia wrote: "J.H. wrote: "Thanks so much, Kasia! Glad you liked it. And you're not late at all! We're only 13 days in. :)"

I love that your story starts right away, with so many haunted house books it feels li..."

Yeah, that's SO not my style. I always tell my students, "Leave out anything boring!"

[J.H.]

Sally wrote: "I'm around page 150. I must say this is a great book to be reading on Friday the 13th. Very spooky. I adore Dallas, she's a brave kid! And kind of an asshole sometimes, which totally tracks. She is..."

That's so awesome to hear, Sally! I'm glad she's speaking to you. Happy Friday the 13th!

[J.H.]

Charlene (Char) wrote: "I started reading this book on Wednesday! So far so good !"

Thanks so much, Char! x

[J.H.]

Kasia wrote: "Ha that's funny my kid was born on Friday the 13th and he turns 1.5 years old today lol, spoooky!!"

Happy birthday to your son! Very lucky day to be born.

[J.H.]

Kimberly wrote: "Sally wrote: "I'm around page 150. I must say this is a great book to be reading on Friday the 13th. Very spooky. I adore Dallas, she's a brave kid! And kind of an asshole sometimes, which totally ..."

In a good way, or a bad way? ;)

[J.H.]

Kevin wrote: "Started it last night--and I'm hooked. The mood and setting are good and the characters of Terri and her daughter Dallas are quickly engaging and lead you into the story but I agree with Char in th..."

Kevin, thanks so much for your AWESOME review! It means so much to me, and really helps. Much appreciated. x

[Kasia]

J.H. wrote: "Kimberly wrote: "Sally wrote: "I'm around page 150. I must say this is a great book to be reading on Friday the 13th. Very spooky. I adore Dallas, she's a brave kid! And kind of an asshole sometime..."

Aww thank you!! Yeah he also shares his birthday with one of my best friends, just not the year haha. He certainly feels like Friday the 13 multiple times a day lol.

[Sally]

Just finished, man this book was a rollercoaster! Super creepy and fun! Thank you so much for joining us J.H.! I'll be checking out more of your books for sure!

[J.H.]

Sally wrote: "Just finished, man this book was a rollercoaster! Super creepy and fun! Thank you so much for joining us J.H.! I'll be checking out more of your books for sure!"

Aw, thank you so much, Sally! I'm so happy (and relieved) you enjoyed it!

[J.H.]

Kasia wrote: "J.H. wrote: "Kimberly wrote: "Sally wrote: "I'm around page 150. I must say this is a great book to be reading on Friday the 13th. Very spooky. I adore Dallas, she's a brave kid! And kind of an ass..."

That's too funny! I hope he had a good birthday.

[Kasia]

J.H. wrote: "That's too funny! I hope he had a good birthday."

It was his half birthday but his actual birth was Friday the 13th haha, he turns 2 on 11/13/22 :) But thank you, you're so nice!! <3

I have about 80 pages left and can't stop reading, I've had a rough week and didn't read more than a page here and there of other books even tho they are good, but this has me glued to the story.

[Kimberly]

You get to the point where you just CAN'T stop until you know everything!

[Kasia]

Just finished a minute ago, my brain feels like it was in a blender, love it!!

[Kimberly]

Finished my re-re-read!

[Kasia]

Kimberly wrote: "Finished my re-re-read!"

Nice :) that ending tho, so unusual and fricken awesome.

[Kimberly]

Kasia wrote: "Kimberly wrote: "Finished my re-re-read!"

Nice :) that ending tho, so unusual and fricken awesome."

It just blew me away! (view spoiler)[I did NOT see some of those twists coming! (hide spoiler)]

[J.H.]

Kasia wrote: "J.H. wrote: "That's too funny! I hope he had a good birthday."

It was his half birthday but his actual birth was Friday the 13th haha, he turns 2 on 11/13/22 :) But thank you, you're so nice!! <3
..."

Aw, thanks so much for the kind words. But I'm sorry you had a rough week! I hope things are better now.

[J.H.]

Kimberly wrote: "Kasia wrote: "Kimberly wrote: "Finished my re-re-read!"

Nice :) that ending tho, so unusual and fricken awesome."

It just blew me away! [spoilers removed]"

Thanks, as always, for the kind words! You're the best. x

[J.H.]

I really appreciate the positive reviews from the group! They help a lot--thank you, thank you, thank you!

[Sally]

You're welcome, and they are well deserved! So glad to have joined in on this one.

[Kasia]

J.H. I had some crazy nightmares involving ghosts after finishing your book, I don't think I'm allowed to read this kind of stuff late at night anymore. So 5 stars for that, but in my dream the only way for me to wake up in real life was for me to go to sleep in in the scary dream after yelling at the ghost to go away. But I woke up about 4-5 times through the night while having my nightmare and was pulled right back into it.

Thanks a lot :P also thank you, I love your work, you're incredible.

[J.H.]

Sally wrote: "You're welcome, and they are well deserved! So glad to have joined in on this one."

Thanks so much, Sally! I'm glad you did too. x

[J.H.]

Kasia wrote: "J.H. I had some crazy nightmares involving ghosts after finishing your book, I don't think I'm allowed to read this kind of stuff late at night anymore. So 5 stars for that, but in my dream the onl..."

Wow, Kasia! I'm sorry; that sounds awful! It's odd, because I've been asked twice this week if I ever get nightmares from my books (I don't, but maybe that has something to do with being chronically sleep-deprived).

Thanks so much for being so awesome and saying such nice things, but I am sorry about the nightmares!

[Char]

I want to take a moment and say thank you for joining HA for this! We appreciate your taking the time, and I hope that it was beneficial for you as well. :)

[Hayley]

I know I am late to the party but I just finished the book last night and loved it! And thank you for posting the online tour of the house! It's incredible and exactly how I pictured - and the "Prepare to meet Thy God" cross-stitch was too! I had a hard time putting it down once I started. Such an engrossing read.

I am curious what people think, and J.H. you totally don't have to give an answer, (view spoiler)[Was Henrietta somehow siphoning power from Niles or something to stay/appear healthier/younger? Or is her connection to the house such that the "sacrifices" she made to it in the form of the other caretakers part of it? Just curious since her youthful appearance and simultaneous longevity was commented on so often. (hide spoiler)]

Thank you again for joining us, J.H.! I loved the book and will definitely be checking out more!