The Secrets of Hartwood Hall by Katie Lumsden

Published: February 28, 2023Publisher: DuttonAuthor: WebsiteInfo: Goodreads

It's 1852 and Margaret Lennox, a young widow, attempts to escape the shadows of her past by taking a position as governess to an only child, Louis, at an isolated country house in the west of England.But Margaret soon starts to feel that something isn't quite right. There are strange figures in the dark, tensions between servants, and an abandoned east wing. Even stranger is the local gossip surrounding Mrs. Eversham, Louis's widowed mother, who is deeply distrusted in the village.Lonely and unsure whom to trust, Margaret finds distraction in a forbidden relationship with the gardener, Paul. But as Margaret's history threatens to catch up with her, it isn't long before she learns the truth behind the secrets of Hartwood Hall. (goodreads.com)

THE SECRETS OF HARTWOOD HALL is an incredibly atmospheric book that sets the tone from page one. A widow with a questionable past and a maybe suspicious death of her husband. A creepy old house with figures lurking in the shadows. Conspiring servants that promise to make life difficult. It's a lot for one person to handle, yet I think Margaret handles it quite well, all things considered. I'm not sure if I would have let Susan get away with the things she did, but social conventions and hierarchy in the household are things I don't have the best grasp on with this particular setting.I loved the underlying thrum of creepiness Lumsden created with the setting. That even despite a sunny day, there's almost something sinister and looming about Hartwood Hall, the people living in it, or the townspeople looking at it with fear. She mounted that well throughout the book, creating an ambiance of distrust with the reader, making them question whether Margaret is a reliable narrator or not. And as a reader, you honestly don't know until the very end of the book where everything comes to a head.A part of me wants to say that Paul wasn't that necessary of a character, and that whole plotline wasn't very needed. At the same time, the emotional growth Margaret got out of it was integral to her character arc, and I'm not sure how else that specific growth could have been done. Granted, there wasn't much buildup to that pivotal moment when she has that awakening. It seemed sudden and not out of nowhere, but they weren't thoughts in Margaret's head until Paul forced them in there, which makes it seem kind of out of nowhere where that plotline went. At the same time, it's completely relatable, because I've found myself in certain relationships where one person thought waaaaaaayyyy beyond what I did and his ideals weren't in alignment with mine. It just wasn't a conversation we thought to have until that final moment. So with that in mind, it is a rather realistic moment.LOL glad I could talk myself in a circle there!I enjoyed what I was reading in THE SECRETS OF HARTWOOD HALL. The story had me hooked, and I wanted to know how everything was going to come to a head. Are there really ghosts in the manor, or is it something else? Something far more sinister? That absolutely kept me going. But also the evolution of Margaret. And the honest emotions of her, especially in regard to Susan. I liked how she wrestled with those. It lent realism to her situation and her emotional growth.I don't want to say much else because it may spoil things, but I liked the ending. It wrapped up in a very satisfying way that had me on board with every character in the story. It's a good book, and I think it would do well as a read on an overcast, rainy day or a fall evening when the wind is blowing and the leaves are rustling. Get that extra-sensory mood in there as well.4I received a copy of this book from the publisher through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Hercule Poirot's Christmas by Agatha Christie

Published: December 19, 1938Publisher: HarperCollins PublishersAuthor: WebsiteInfo: Goodreads

The wealthy Simeon Lee has demanded that all four of his sons — one faithful, one prodigal, one impecunious, one sensitive — and their wives return home for Christmas. But a heartwarming family holiday is not exactly what he has in mind. He bedevils each of his sons with barbed insults and finally announces that he is cutting off their allowances and changing his will. Poirot is called in the aftermath of Simeon Lee's announcement. (goodreads.com)

Technically, my first Agatha Christie story was Death on the Nile and it was the movie (the most recent iteration of it). But HERCULE POIROT'S CHRISTMAS is the first I've read, and I can totally see how these books have transcended time and are so popular with people nearly seventy years on. The writing style is definitely antiquated, but it's accessible. Poirot's monologuing at the end I could have done without, but it was still tolerable. Christie's ability to manage omnibus casts is enviable, and I think she does third person omniscient really well. The book didn't feel head-hoppy to me at all, which is rare for third omni for me.As far as Christmas is concerned, I think the holiday was present enough that I knew it was Christmas the whole time and it was still relevant to the plot (the whole reason for getting the cast of characters together was for Christmas, after all). There were the occasional mentions of snow and cold and decorations. Definitely not as sugary sweet as the Christmas Tree Farm Mystery books, for instance, but still present enough to make it feel like a Christmas story (or at the very least, a story set at Christmas).There's just enough information about each character to make them unique to each other, and to have them stand out on the page. The only characters that really blended for me, at least initially, were the Lee wives and two of the sons. They just took a little more character-setting within the story for me to be able to sort them in my head.While I am not good at guessing who dun it to begin with, I definitely didn't see the killer coming, and I loved the twist at the end. Sneaky, sneaky! I thoroughly enjoyed this book. I was a little afraid I wasn't, mainly because I have multiple Christie novels in my TBR pile, but now I'm glad I do. I look forward to reading more. She's not my favorite, but I enjoy the stories she spins.4

Nonviolent Communication: A Language of Life by Marshall B Rosenberg

Published: January 1, 1999Publisher: PuddleDancer PressAuthor: WebsiteInfo: Goodreads

How to communicate with people without being judgemental or threatening. (goodreads.com)

That blurb is short and to the point. That's for sure!My husband recommended this book to me after a friend of his recommended it to him. It's more of a way to help us recognize how we've been spoken to and how we may speak to others that could be counterproductive for the relationship. Whatever relationship that happens to be.I definitely recognized some language in there that I received growing up, namely around whether what someone asks you is a request or a demand based on how they respond. That's a big one for me. I think a lot of millennials with Boomer parents grew up in households where are feelings on something were immaterial. We did as we were told, didn't ask questions, and didn't not do something. If we didn't, we could be met with actual violence, screaming, or some variation of guilt or manipulation. This helped me see where all of this was really coming from and helped me recognize it in myself where I wasn't aware that I was even doing it.I also liked how the book broke down certain sentiments like "I just want you to listen to me" as ultimately being unhelpful because of how vague it really is. It's the book form of taking those three fingers pointing back at you (while one is pointing out) and looking at what you really want out of the situation. it's the ability to suss out exactly what you're feeling and what you want the other people to do to meet your needs that aren't currently being met. Everyone wants to be heard. What, specifically, do you want other people to hear that will help you?I know I'm going to have to read the book again because I don't usually retain a lot on the initial read. But I got a lot out of NONVIOLENT COMMUNICATION as I was reading it. A lot of what it was teaching hit home and allowed me to evaluate what I'm saying in order to better communicate my own needs and help understand the needs of people around me. I'm usually not one for self-help books, but this is a good one.4

A House Unsettled by Trynne Delaney

Published: October 11, 2022Publisher: Annick PressAuthor: WebsiteInfo: Goodreads

With her dad’s incarceration, escalating fights with her mom, and an overbearing stepdad she’s not sure she can trust, Asha is desperate for the fresh start promised by a move to the country. Her great aunt Aggie’s crumbling, pest-ridden house isn’t exactly what she had in mind, but the immediate connection she makes with her new neighbor Cole seems like a good sign. Soon, though, Asha’s optimism is shadowed by strange and disturbing occurrences within the old house’s walls: footsteps stalking the halls; a persistent chill; cold hands around her neck in the middle of the night . . .Fearing for her loved ones’ safety—and her own—Asha seeks out the source of these terrifying incidents and uncovers secrets from the past that connect her and Cole’s families and reach into the present. But as tensions with her mom and stepdad rise and Cole withdraws, Asha is left alone to try and break the cycle of violence that holds them all in its haunting grip. (goodreads.com)

I thought A HOUSE UNSETTLED was a good story that excellently put a lot of things into perspective. Asha's situation as a mixed race kid with only her white mom around, moving her back to her ancestral home that's ancestral in a rich white sort of way and a conscripted Black sort of way, is a situation I can't possibly understand. But I thought it was worked into the story beautifully. How the ghosts centered around this primary theme, plus added patriarchy and obligatory heterosexuality and binary gender conformity, all added depth to the story that made it something more than a ghost story.The focus was less on the haunting of the house and more on how history haunts a person, so I didn't find much of it particularly scary. But it definitely gave me WHITE SMOKE vibes from time to time. Where WHITE SMOKE was much more of a horror story supported by racial issues, A HOUSE UNSETTLED is more of a racial issues book supported by a horror story. The horror is secondary, but it works for the book.I thought Asha was a wonderful character and while I thought she was irrational at times, I got why. Not only because of basic teenager stuff, but Delaney did a great job of building the pressure on top of Asha in a slow but steady way. By the end of the book, she was on the verge of breaking and I honestly couldn't see how it all was going to pan out. But I think everything worked out the way it should have, if not in the happiest of ways.While not my favorite horror story, I can appreciate the breadth of storytelling here, and it really is a great, intricate story. Immensely impactful and at times chilling, I couldn't stop reading it.4I received a copy of this book from the publisher through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Krazyland by Mar Romasco-Moore

Published: September 13, 2022Publisher: Delacorte PressAuthor: WebsiteInfo: Goodreads

Nathan used to be terrified of Krazyland when he was a young kid.Now that he's 12, the spooky-themed arcade games aren't that bad. He even enjoys stomping on plastic spiders and battling a creepy doll with big plastic eyes. But things become scarier again when kids start to go missing from the entertainment park...There's another world exists beneath Kraztown's ball pit. A world where the entertainment park's games come to life. And if he isn't careful, Nathan is going to be the next one sucked under! (goodreads.com)

KRAZYLAND was a fun, silly middle grade horror book that I quite enjoyed. I got a little turned around when the doubles came into play, but it evened out pretty quickly and I settled back into the madness.To say that, as a kid, I never imagined the ball pit being a gateway to somewhere else would be me lying. I love that it's being done here, and in a 'Are Your Afraid of the Dark' sort of way that turns reality into something warped and creepy and literally ready to eat you. I loved the spiders that tried to stop Nathan (mirrored on a game in Krazyland where you basically do Whac-A-Mole with spiders and use your feet instead of a mallet) in their little colored sneakers. Big Bertha was kind of terrifying, and I liked how Nathan pointed out how messed up it was that Bertha is treated as a villain simply because she's bigger. I support that message in there.I think this book could have been even darker, but that's my own demented horror brain going places that it probably shouldn't go for a middle grade novel. 😁 The fake people that could be pulled into the real world added a somewhat sinister edge to everything, even though they really weren't used that way. I picked up on it, anyway.The book isn't particularly earth-shattering or groundbreaking, but it doesn't need to be. It's fun and creepy and will make you look at ball pits differently. And I can say, as an insurance underwriter, an activity center like this that DOESN'T regularly clean their ball pits is horrifying enough. I was really amused by the bizarro world that Nathan ended up in (multiple times), especially with the man-eating chicken wing sharks and evil mozzarella sticks.There's not a ton of character development, at least from Nathan. Mercy has a bigger arc than he does. And I don't quite understand her "allergies." I think it would have been fine if she just had narcolepsy, but it kept going back to being allergic to the world. While I am empathize with the sentiment, here it just played out kind of odd and unnecessary. Despite that, KRAZYLAND is fun and promises a good time.4I received a copy of this book from the publisher through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.