8 Souls, by author Rachel Rust, tells the story of 17-year old Francesca (Chessie) Carpenter. Chessie has had recurring dreams about a little white farmhouse. Quaint? Not quite. The house is the site of the unsolved murders of Villisca, Iowa, where eight people were slaughtered in 1912. 6 of those who were murdered belonged to the Moore family, while 2 other were the Stillinger sisters who unfortunately, picked the wrong night to have a sleep over.

For the record, this is an actual picture of said house.

With her parents on the verge of divorce, Chessie is stuck spending the summer with her grandparents in Villisca—right across the street from the axe murder house. She’s soon hearing voices calling out for help and begins unraveling a link between herself and the town’s bloody history. Things quickly happen that sends Chessie seeking the help of some boys in the town, Mateo and David. And when she falls for David, she learns he is harboring a big secret. Could David hold the answers to the truth of Villisca's gruesome past?

Let it be known that I liked this book more than I expected. I also did some research of my own, and apparently this really did happen in 1912 when a family was murdered along with 2 young girls who just happened to be visiting. In 2016, there was a movie released called The Axe Murders of Villisca that featured three ghost hunters who found more than they expected. For the sake of this book, the author doesn't really dive that deeply into the horror realm as the movie did.

The murders are still considered to be unsolved cold cases. The house holds answers as to who is responsible for the murderers, but this story dives deeper into the connection between Cassie's family, an apparent witness to the crime who ends up being reincarnated over and over again until he can redeem himself by saving 8 people, and perhaps answers to who was really behind the killings. I am satisfied with the way this book ends. I was happy to see Chessie stand on her own without relying on her apparently unhappy family, her grandparents, or even David.

I really enjoyed this book. Realistic storyline with supernatural twists. A bit predictable at times, but still managed to keep you on your toes. Cute romance elements I feel like parents would be comfortable with their teens reading.

Very creepy! Would love to read more from this author in the future and thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with the ARC!

This book was SO creepy!

There were times that I had to turn on all the lights in the house just so that I could continue reading (I can inly read a t night 😂). My only complaint is that it ended too soon, I could have read another 200 pages easily.

Geez, I wasn’t expecting this book to take the turn it did, totally caught me off guard.

Chessie has had scary dreams for years and I mean scary! And she is sent to spend some time with her grandparents. Wellllll... ye olde grandparents live across the street from a house where a family was murdered! Hooray! Not!

Chessie starts having freaking worse nightmares and daymares <— yeah, that sucks too. Things happen and she gets the help of some boys in the town, Mateo and David. And then the cray begins! And there is a little love interest which goes with the majority of spook stories. Lol.

Anyhoo, we find out the reason Chessie is dreaming about these kids and hearing and seeing creepy stuff! Like I said, I never saw it coming. I thought it was a great ending!!

*Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for a digital copy of this book!

Happy Reading!

Mel

I loved this creepy ghost story and enjoyed the plot twist even more!! I won’t say too much to give anything away, but I’m impressed!! 5 stars!
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

I loved the characters, the setting, suspense and creep factor. Thank you for the ARC, Netgalley!!

#Netgalley
#RachelRust
#YAHorror
#Ghosts

I could not put this book down! From the small town setting to the spooky goings on, I was totally hooked. It is hard not to fall in love with Chessie as she battles what Villisca has to throw at her. The book follows Chessie, a young 17 year old girl, who is sent to stay with her Grandparents. You follow her journey through battling her inner demons to fighting outer ones too! The book keeps you locked in through each twist and turn until you find it impossible to live without Chessie in your life. A great read!

8 SOULS is a creepy thriller-esque fantasy that follows Francesca (Chessie), a seventeen-year-old girl whose parents are about to get divorced. In the process, her parents have decided that it would be best if she spent the summer with her grandparents in the middle of nowhere in Iowa. A city girl at heart, Chessie is not happy about going to such a small town. There are also her concerns about the house across the street.

Across from her grandparents is an old, abandoned house where eight people were killed brutally about a hundred years before. Chessie has been seeing it every night in her dreams ever since she can remember. She knows this isn’t normal, but she doesn’t know why she sees it. As she is staying with her grandparents, more and more supernatural things seem to be building up. Chessie isn’t sure who she can trust or how to get help as she tries to figure out her connection with the house.

Things evolve in ways I did not expect, and the ending was definitely a surprise. I do not want to say too much to avoid spoiling it, because this book is definitely a pulse-pounding page-turner. However, the reason I am not giving it more stars is not for the excellent writing (because this adds to the suspense very well) but for the plot holes, mainly in terms of timelines and clear connections. A lot of things are waved away by ‘just knowing,’ and this felt like an easy way to dispel the concerns. The timeline for events does not seem quite clear and full explanations of why things happened the way they did (in terms of the paranormal elements) are never really clarified. I would have liked a bit more backstory and explanations to go with things.

In terms of the romance, it felt very insta-love, and I did not fully buy it. With everything going on, it felt superfluous/was not needed to fill this otherwise creepy and engaging story. I would have liked to keep it as just a thriller type book with a more solid plot. Regardless, it was highly addicting as a read, so I would recommend for people who like mysteries and thriller-like supernatural plots. The first half of the book does creepy insanely well.

Please note that I received an ARC from the publisher through netgalley. All opinions are my own.

I really loved this book. Chessie is a 17 yo almost senior in high school. For her entire life she has dreamed of a big white farm house where 8 people were murdered by an ax-weilding maniac in 1912. The house is located across the street from her grandparents house in a small town in Iowa. Chessie lives in Minnesota with her parents but has spent some time over the summers at her grandparents so she knows the house well but doesn't understand why she has had these dreams her entire life. This summer, her parents have sent her to spend the entire summer in Iowa because they are getting divorced. She starts experiencing stronger dreams and more supernatural experiences like daydreams and voices coming from her closet along with smells and sounds as well that are really freaking her out. Chessie is otherwise a totally normal teenager--funny, smart, interested in boys, looking for something more to do than practice her clarinet and garden with her grandmother, and also wanting to stop the dreams and weird supernatural occurrences that are bordering on scary. She meets David who turns out more to be much more than just the cute boy working at the hardware store and learns about the secrets not only he is keeping but how David is tied to her family in an unbelievable way. I really loved Chessie, her personality and her thoughts, and how her relationship with David developed throughout the book and especially then ending. I found the entire story intriguing. It is well-written and so interesting, so much that I could not put it down and finished it in one sitting. Definitely worth reading and I will be looking for more from this author! Thanks SO much to NG for the ARC!!!

This is the first book I read from this genre and I really enjoyed it more than I expected! When I saw that there'd be romance, I was worried that it would the whole plot. But I'm glad it was more of a subplot and most of the focus was on the mystery.

I loved the pacing of the story and the writing style. I felt like the author knew that she was being repetitive sometimes and tried to minimize it.

The first half of the book focused on the paranormal mystery and I enjoyed it a lot while the second half was more about the solution.

For the characters, they didn't feel superficial or fake or trying too hard. Chessie and David were likeable and cute together. I was glad David was cute rather than spraying everyone with his testosterone(which I got tired of).
Also, there was an obvious character development.



//Spoilers//

Now what I'm dissatisfied with this book is how vague the explanation of how David's situation started and it's end. I felt like it should have had more in-depth information about the whole thing.

The other thing is the confrontation with "Tommy" at the building. He had many opportunities to make things harder for Chessie and David while they saved the children but he just leaves after burning the place down. I was feeling suspenseful over nothing, thinking he's gonna come back and stab them or something but nope, nothing happens.

Overall I enjoyed the book a lot and it helped me get out of my reading slump. I'm not sure if people who read books of the same genre would enjoy it as much as I did since it had some cliche moments.

Thank you so much for the book.
I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

When I saw a book about the murder house in Villisca, Iowa, I knew I had to request it.  If you don't already know, I am a bit obsessed with murder mysteries and paranormal.  I've actually looked at doing an overnight at the house, but I'm not sure I can stay there.  A bit more about the house later.



This was a really neat book and I enjoyed a lot of it.  Chessie has to go stay with her grandparents in the summer because her parents are getting divorced.  Her dad's parents live in a very small town in Iowa called Villisca.  The only reason why people have heard of it was because of an unsolved mass murder in a house there.  Chessie has been having dreams of that house since she was very young.  The dreams change, but it's always that house and she doesn't know why.  But her grandparents do live across the street.



After moving in, she starts hearing giggling sounds in her room that sound like children.  Her closet door opens and closes by itself.  And then there is the gray mist that comes in.  After that, she picks up a number of a local ghost team.  It ends up only being two best friends, David and Mateo.  Chessie is attracted to David and feels like she knows him.  But Mateo is the expert on ghosts.  They all start spending time together and they stay in her room to see what is happening.



During this time, young girls are also disappearing from town.  The first one was found dead in the river.  Right before that happened, Chessie had a dream about her.  And she hadn't seen a photo of her before then.  She thinks that these children have to be related to the house since she's now dreaming of both.  



The rest are twists and history that I don't want to ruin for anyone.  So I decided to add a section to my review about the real house.



I gave this book 4 stars.  Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for my copy for review.



Warnings for murders and kidnapping of children, divorce, an alcoholic parents, and general messed up families.  

More on my blog.

What a fun read! Overall, I enjoyed the story. It was a really quick, fluffy, read (I started and finished it in a day), and it had a really interesting concept. I liked Chessie, David, and Mateo and the descriptions were so vivid that it was like I was right there with Chessie. I’d be interested in reading more from this author!

Chessie finds herself living with her grandparents for the Summer because she needed to get away from her parents fighting. She finds herself living across from the house in her dreams and nightmares since she was young. She meets David and Mateo and they help her try and find out what is going on with her room and in the town. This was a story with twists, murder, suspense and so many moments of shock. Thank you for allowing me to read this book NetGalley.

I want to thank Netgalley for providing me an Arc of this book in exchange for my honest review.

I really enjoyed this book.
It was a little bit slow starting off but it made up for it near the end of the book.
It was a really suspenseful read and I felt like I was constantly on my toes.
The writing was amazing and the plot was so intriguing.
I gave it 3 stars.

Definitely an original, entertaining and mysterious story. I liked the character development and atmosphere but I always struggle with first person point of view. I was surprised at who ended up being the killer. The way the pieces of the mystery fell together and the ending were satisfyling. A unique, quick and easy read.

This was an okay read.

I think this would either be a good summer read, or a good early fall/pre-Halloween read.

I don’t pick up many YA/Mystery/Thrillers, but it seems to have some cliché tendencies to it. This is the first book I’ve read that features the paranormal. I didn’t hate it, it definitely made for an interesting story, so I’ll probably pick up more paranormal type stories in the future. It also some fantastical elements in it, as well.

We follow the POV of Chessie, who is forced to spend her summer in Villisca, Iowa with her grandparents instead of being with her friends in Minneapolis (I believe it’s the summer before she goes to college?). Something we learn right away from Chessie, is that she’s been dreaming about a specific house ever since she can remember. She’s not sure why, until she arrives at her grandparent’s house. Her dream house is across the street; and the place where eight people were senselessly murdered in 1912. With the help of her two new friends, David and Mateo, they set out to find answers as to why Chessie is having dreams about this house and what her connection is to the deceased family.

I was impressed with the characters in this story. They were given full, fleshed-out backgrounds that really allowed for the reader to feel more connected to them and invested in their conflicts. The character flaws were okay; although I can’t really think of Chessie’s character flaw. Maybe she didn’t have one? I’m not sure.

The dialogue was good. There were parts when Chessie and David were having a Eureka moment where it was frustrating to get through because the communication wasn’t clear between the characters, and a lot of repetition ensued. Maybe that was intentional to create a “build-up”, or tension, in the story but it ended up being frustrating for me. Also, towards the end it shifted from okay to cheesy/corny dialogue. Mainly when Chessie was confronting Mateo about being so evil. I feel like that could’ve been done differently. It was like Chessie was accusing Mateo of being so evil and horrible and asking him why he did those things. And he’s just ravishing in her accusations as if they were compliments, and explaining why as if they were completely logical things. It left me with a “okay, so what?” reaction. Rather than a “wow, he’s so evil. I can’t believe this” reaction.

I feel like the whole “secret” that Chessie kept from David about her parents was really overplayed. Maybe I just personally didn’t think of it as such a big deal, but it was a little overdramatic the way she was obviously bothered by it, and whenever David asked what was wrong, she’d just say “oh, it’s nothing. But hey, I see ghosts and dead people.” She didn’t have an issue sharing about her weird house dreams and hearing spirits talk to her, but all of a sudden sharing about her parents getting a divorce was way too much. Maybe that was the horror part after all?

I liked the “twist” at the end. Though I feel like I kind of guessed it halfway through the book. I feel like the last 80% of the story was really rushed and wasn’t well thought out or portrayed. For example, when Mateo set the building on fire, why didn’t he also slash David’s tires so they couldn’t get away? I feel like that was an amateurish mistake. Plus, it could’ve given the author a good reason to use Samantha as the get away car. Rather than her just randomly, and conveniently, showing up to hotwire the truck.

Another thing I would’ve liked more details about was David “atoning”. We were never really explained what he had to do. Did he just sit at the house all night thinking about his mistakes? Did the spirits torture him? They made it seem like it was this huge deal and super spooky, but it wasn’t explained and left the reader like, “okay? That’s cool, but why?”

Something I liked was the connection between Chessie and David. It was an interesting concept, and I appreciated how the romance was a subplot to the story. It let the reader get more invested and attached to the characters.

Overall, I enjoyed the story. It was a really quick, fluffy, read (I started and finished it in a day), and it had a really interesting concept. Though I wish some things were better explained, I still appreciated the idea and thought put behind the work. I’d be interested in reading more from this author.


Thank you to Entangled Publishing for the Advanced Reader Copy in exchange for my honest review.

8 souls by Rachel Rust.
All her life, seventeen-year-old Chessie has had recurring dreams about a little white farmhouse. Quaint? Not quite. The house is the site of the unsolved murders of Villisca, Iowa, where eight people were slaughtered in 1912. With her parents on the verge of divorce, Chessie is stuck spending the summer with her grandparents in Villisca—right across the street from the axe murder house.

She’s soon hearing voices calling out for help and begins unraveling a link between herself and the town’s bloody history. And when she falls for a cute boy harboring a big secret, the pieces fall into place as she at last discovers the truth of Villisca's gruesome past…

This was a very enjoyable read. I was curious at what was going on. I wanted to find out what it was. I liked Chessie and David and Mateo. The way the blood and bodies and smell are written its like I'm there with Chessie. I loved the ending to. Perfect. 5*.

The story would be good if I could get past Chessie's annoying descriptions of Iowa. Being an Iowan and living two hours away from Villisca, I was excited to read this book. It's rare to find a book that takes place in Iowa, let alone a paranormal book. The way Ms. Rust wrote the book felt like she didn't do all that much research about the murders, the house itself, or the location. Everything felt very stereotypical and forced. Like she was trying to make something work that just wasn't. The book has many faults that could have been fixed with a little more research. It was annoying to continue to read about her complaining half way through the book about her parents and being stuck in a town she doesn't like. Like seriously you're stuck move on and try to enjoy your summer. The complaining about the ghosts that I understood.

I loved 8 souls by Rachel Rust this book had everything you could ask for. Mystery, Suspense, Horror and romance. The only warning for this one is don't read at night because it will freak you out. Great Book for all genders.