House On The Blackstone Moor by Carole Gill: Review


Ebook By Carole Gill
Published By Vamplit Publishing 
Rating: 1 star1 star1 star1 star1 star4.89 based on 9 reviews) 

Published: Dec. 17, 2010
Category:Fiction » Literature » Horror (YA and A only)
Category:Fiction » Literature » Romance - Fantasy
Words: 80523 (approximate)Language: English

Ebook Description

This is a tale of vampirism, madness, obsession and devil worship as Rose Baines, only survivor of her family’s carnage, tells her story. Fragile, damaged by the tragedy, fate sends her to a desolate house on the haunted moors where demons dwell. The house and the moors have hideous secrets, yet there is love too; deep, abiding, eternal, but it comes with a price, her soul.

The House On Blackstone Moor breaks off the ordinary and worn path taken by books that's all about vampires and takes a fresh route so darkly different that I would advise the faint of heart never to read it at night. From the first sentence of this book, Carole Gill keeps the reader engrossed and horrified. Almost instantaneously we grow attached to Rose- who is as sweet as her name- and I found myself wishing she'd turn out alright in the end. The tension in this book, the darkness of it is almost palpable. Reading certain parts of it I felt myself shudder yet I was also delighted- I am someone who loves true horror and that is too rare these days in books. Reading this book is like reading Mary Shelley, or better yet, Edgar Allen Poe. It has that old gothic charisma to it. The concept is not fresh but the characters and settings are- there is a frightening build up of tension throughout the book, a feeling of something coming, a need to know that Rose would be all right finally. 
The author has not just talked vampires in this book. Human depravity, devil worship, greed, prejudices and love too is discussed, again showing us how this book is different from all the others in the vampire market. 
I could really share Rose's horror, Louis's sadness and felt emotions ranging from hatred to tenderness for the characters in this book. The writing is, again, remindful of Ira Levin and Daphne du Maurier in its haunting and eerie style but sometimes inconsistent in that style, although the gripping story more than makes up for it.
This is not a YA book and there is a lot of violence (of all kinds) and strong elements of horror in it- even stronger elements than Stephen King maybe- and will appeal to the scores of adult lovers of vampire literature. Carole Gill has also announced a sequel and I say, I will totally be looking forward to it! After all, no true horror and vampire fan cannot! 
Verdict: I recommend it to the not-so-squeamish ones, and those of you who think vampires have turned too nice and want them to be the scary kind they should be. Also recommend it for those who want to try gothic horror romance. Personally  I loved it, and felt myself gripped by the storyline.
Rating: 4.5 on 5 hearts 


Cover Talk:
Okay, this is a new segment I added because this is also an art blog, and I'm a lover of art and artistic book jackets. Okay, we shouldn't judge a book by its' cover and so this is a separate rating system all on its own. The story will not affect the cover rating and vice versa,


Honestly? I would have liked a better cover.  The font color is a little off for me, and the image of the people is blurred. But then the cover is sort of suitable for the darkness of the book.
Rating for cover: 3 on 5


Author's Blog:
http://demonvampirehorror.blogspot.com/

Comments

  1. AnonymousFebruary 9, 2011 at 8:57 AM

    Thank you very much for your review!
    I am delighted. Daphne DuMaurier was and remains the single most important influence for me.
    Delighted to be mentioned in that company!
    I worked on the sequel today and am enjoying it as much as I enjoyed writing The House on Blackstone Moor!
    Thanks again!

    ReplyDelete
  2. UnknownFebruary 9, 2011 at 9:01 AM

    Rebecca was always one of my favorites too, and am sincere in that mention. All the best for the sequel, and thanks for the comment! :)

    ReplyDelete

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