I received this book for free from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
The Women in the Walls by Amy Lukavics
Genres: Horror, Paranormal (YA)
Pages: 304
Goodreads
Lucy Acosta's mother died when she was three. Growing up in a Victorian mansion in the middle of the woods with her cold, distant father, she explored the dark hallways of the estate with her cousin, Margaret. They're inseparable—a family.
When her aunt Penelope, the only mother she's ever known, tragically disappears while walking in the woods surrounding their estate, Lucy finds herself devastated and alone. Margaret has been spending a lot of time in the attic. She claims she can hear her dead mother's voice whispering from the walls. Emotionally shut out by her father, Lucy watches helplessly as her cousin's sanity slowly unravels. But when she begins hearing voices herself, Lucy finds herself confronting an ancient and deadly legacy that has marked the women in her family for generations.
Maybe it was just me but I found the story to be really predictable. Side note about me: I grew up watching horror films. My mom loves them so I’ve seen almost every big budget and b movie horror film made, so it takes a lot to surprise me. So, while reading this, just a few pages in I pretty much already figured it out.
With that said, there were some side scares that got me. It was a bit creepy to be reading this alone in my house at night. I did want a bit more out of the ending, especially the “investigation” but overall it was a decent story.
Something about this story is that I don’t think the characters really matter — and that could be a good or bad thing. Sure, the characters have personality and their own issues, but I never felt connected to them. Lucy was a very difficult character to relate to. I had one more major issue with her character but it’s a pretty big spoiler, so you’ve been warned >> View Spoiler »
However, to me, the story is more about the mystery of the house and less about the actual people in the house. I liked the added depth with the relationship between the house and the people living there, but it could have been any old Joe Shmoe and the story would have been the same.
Lukavics definitely scared me a few times. Even though I already knew the overall plot pretty early on, she threw in a few moments throughout that brought on some scares. With that said, the writing at times was also a little confusing. It wasn’t clear what decade this was taking place in because the house and their lifestyle seemed very Victorian, but then there was mention of cars (which actually doesn’t narrow it down too much). So, I still don’t know what decade this book takes place in.
The pacing was on and off. At times it moved quickly, other times it slowed down a bit. However, this is a short book and it’s not very noticeable.
Overall, it was an okay book. It scared me a few times, but I didn’t find the story to be incredibly attention-grabbing or the characters to be of much significance. With that said, it could be just me because I’ve watched way too many horror films and this resembled a few that I’ve already seen. If you’re looking for a quick read with a few scares for this coming Halloween season, I do recommend this one, though.
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| Overall: | 3 / 5 |
13 Comments
I love the horror genre, but am picky about the books I read because a lot fall into the typical horror tropes (girl walks into dark attic, boy finds cellar with ladder leading down dark space and goes down it, etc etc), and those drive me CRAZY. They’re just so predictable and unbelievable. I like horror books where the characters are smart and it still scares the sh** out of me 😀
Ali @ the bandar blog
lololol this one has a “dark attic” in it hahahhahah (sorry, that was really funny to me) — I don’t really read horror, this was my first one. Do you have any recs for better ones?
I know it’s a classic, but Dracula is freaking awesome and scary. I recently read The Bird Box and thought it was uniquely creepy, because the author never gives too much detail about what the “monsters” are, so that mystery keeps things scary. I feel like horror always succeeds when more is left to the reader/viewer’s imagination!
haha I can’t believe I’ve never read Dracula xD Whoops. Thanks for the recommendations!
Horror is definitely my favorite genre (in books and movies) and I really enjoy Amy Lukavics books. If you haven’t already, I really suggest her first, Daughters Unto Devils. I preferred it to Women in the Walls and the pacing is just superb!
I’ve heard that her first one is better so I think I will be checking that one out 🙂 Thank you!
A predictable story line can really ruin a book. I don’t usually read horror, but looks like I’ll be skipping this one! Good review – I love your section headers by the way! So cute!
It can, it didn’t ruin this one completely for me, though. There were a few scary moments and surprises thrown in. If you don’t really like horror, this one probably isn’t the one to start with though lol — and thank you! 🙂
I’ve been really interested in this one because I love horror. I’m normally good at predicting things too, but it doesn’t normally worry me /too/ much because I’m such a sucker for all types of horror. Even the most cheesiest, haha. Great review, Molly 🙂
Yeah, I love horror films but I can usually guess things pretty early on. So this one being predictable wasn’t SUCH a big deal, if that makes sense? haha
Haha yes, I get you! I’ll definitely be interested to see what I think!
I’m so picky when it comes to horror books! I’d like to sleep at night! Lol. But I think I’d actually be interested in this one and know more about the mystery of the house. Lovely review!
Genesis @ Latte Nights Reviews
This one isn’t terrible, and it’s not SUPER scary. It’s also pretty short. So maybe give it a try! 🙂