At the beginning I was so confused on who to believe or what was going on. I'm so glad that everything came forth so it was easier to understand. It was a good story. I liked the characters and the story plot.

This was my first Darcy Coates book. I was so interested because the cover is beautiful!! But the story seemed to be lacking! It was hard to get into because the first half was so slow. I even put it down to finish another book. I’m surprised I didn’t DNF it! But once you got past some of the slow parts it really picked up. I thought this was going to be something completely different but it wasn’t the worst ending to a story. The world was beautifully written but I wish there was more character development! I will have a full review for this book and it’s sequel on my YouTube channel- kwellsbooks!

A touch of magical, supernatural and ghosts involved. Not genres I usually read but this one was a good story. Sophie marries Mr. Argenton in straightened circumstances. Her father is faced with bankruptcy and Mr. Argenton has offered his help and also his offer of marriage to his daughter. The gentleman is an absolute stranger to Sophie who has led a sheltered life. On arriving at his home, many things strike Sophie as very unusual. His aunt Rose, with her dire warnings not to get too close to her husband, the girl Elise, the butler and even her husband himself who absents himself with no prior warnings leaving Sophie to fend for herself in this very strange house.

The house Northwood is one of the primary features of this story and its very gothic, very atmospheric manner overshadows the entire story and the characters themselves become secondary to the house.

The story was fast paced and I liked the fact that Sophie despite never having envisioned a life like this, quickly adapted and was determined to protect her husband (even though she knew very little about him).

Darcy coates is a brain genius when in speaking for this genre. Like some of his previous works, i enjoy the darkness in every book he wrote and how catchy its ending is. Always a great read with Darcy's books.

The first half of this was bit great, but I think the last half redeemed it. I’m choosing the ignore the epilogue though because I don’t think this would work well as a series.

Much thanks to #NetGalley, and the publisher for am advance review copy if House of Shadows by Darcy Coates.

I really enjoyed reading this book and I am definitely looking forward to reading more by the author.

Basically, the book is about Sophie, who is thrust into a marriage with Mr. Argenton after her wealthy father basically loses everything in a business deal gone sour. In order go keep her family from becoming destitute, Mr. Argenton offers to restore their wealth in exchange for Sophie's hand in marriage. Sophie accepts the offer because sure cannot bear go we her family suffer. What she doesn't know it's that by accepting the proposal she will basically be trapped inside her husbands estate for the rest of his life.

What I liked about the book was the mystery surrounding the Northwoods Estate. I also really enjoyed how Sophie's relationship with Mr. Argenton progresses. Also the family dynamics were very interesting, especially the "evil" Aunt Rose.

What frustrated me to no end was the fact that Sophie continually allowed the aunt to bully her without ever even mentioning it to her husband.

I would recommend this book to readers who enjoy a good, clean romance immersed in the supernatural. I will definitely be watching this author from now on.

Spooky read. Perfect for October!! When Sophie learns of her family’s financial ruin and learns that by marrying Joseph she can help to recover their losses she agrees to the marriage. Will she find love or even like? Then, Joseph’s house at Northwood is very odd and his family doesn’t like her much, if at all, and so her marriage seems doomed. But maybe it’s not just her marriage that is doomed. This was a eerily fun read and had me impatient to see what would happen next. Can’t wait to read the sequel to see how this scary tale ends!

Thank you NetGalley, Darcy Coates and Poisoned Pen Press for this edition and hearing my honest review. Looking forward to reading more with you
#partner

When I saw the cover to House of Shadows, I was immediately attracted to it and looked exactly like something I'd enjoy though I'd admit the story to a little on the simplistic side. Sophie ends up marrying Mr. Argentine. He shows up randomly in her life in the city and decides he want to marry her. Proposes marriage in exchange for her family's fortune. She says yes and he takes her to live at the family estate at Northwood Manor though something is very wrong and basically the whole book is it dealing with exactly what is wrong.

On the plus side of the simplicity, most was laid out for you. Everything made sense. I was just looking for a little more explanation when it came to the reality of what this thing that is haunting the Argentine family. Where exactly did it come from? I got a good sense of how it became intertwined with the family. I don't want to talk too much about that in particular because I don't want to give anything away but I can tell you there is a creature behind it but while the resolution to the problem made sense and was explained, I just needed a little more background information.

Also, a lot of hair stroking.... every single simple the characters are together, he strokes her hair and Sophies weakness to it is infuriating.

Thank you to NetGalley for the review copy of House of Shadows!
I was so excited when I saw that Darcy Coates had another book on NetGalley as I am a huge fan of some of her other works. I wasn’t quite sure what to expect when I went into this one, but I dove right in. This story was packed with eerie moments that will leave the reader with chills. If you are looking for a good ghost story romance, then this book would be a great choice.
Plot rundown:
We are introduced to Sophie in the beginning of the story, and we soon find out she is being essentially forced to marry Joseph Argenton. My feelings about Joseph change quite drastically from the beginning to the end of the story. Once Sophie marries Joseph and arrives at Northwood, things quickly go south as it becomes quite clear that the spirits do not want her there. Sophie wants to do anything to escape, but now that her feelings for Joseph have progressed, she can’t fathom leaving him behind. Will Sophie make it out of Northwood alive?
My thoughts:
When the story began, I wasn’t sure where we would be headed. I read the description for this story months back and had forgotten much of the premise behind the story. I went into this rather blind, and I’m very glad that I did. First and foremost, my favorite thing about this book was the ghost aspect. I love a good chilling ghost story, and this one truly gave me terrifying images. Darcy Coates is a fabulous writer, and I was able to paint a perfect picture of the scenes in my head. With Sophie being trapped out at Northwood, I could feel Sophie’s fear and anxiety in the house and that added a lot to the story. The romance between Sophie and Joseph felt a bit rushed, and almost like instalove. It took me a moment to understand how Sophie had gone from feeling apprehensive about this man to being in love with him, but it’s fiction so I rolled with it. After I set aside that confusion I was feeling, I really fell in love with their connection. Joseph Argenton was such a mysterious character, and it helped the story to move at a rather fast pace because of that. I think Darcy Coates did an incredible job with this book, and I will be sure to pick up book number two!

Really enjoyed this read! Didn’t know what to expect and was delayed in reading it (thank you and sorry Netgalley!)

Mystery and a little sprinkle of romance can never go astray. This is the perfect read to get you out of a slump or into reading mysteries.

Reading this book made you feel like you were in Sophie’s shoes and could feel each thing she felt. I will absolutely be checking out any future books by this author.

One of the best suspenseful horror stories I have read in such a long time! A dark, secretive, mysterious stranger and a young naive woman whose family is in dire financial difficulties. A large, dark, frightening mansion occupied by ghosts, monstrous demons, the dead and the insane. House of Shadows by Darcy Coates reminded me of the horror stories that I grew up reading! I enjoyed it tremendously! Darcy Coates is fast becoming one of my favorite authors! I do not want to stop reading her books. I get so caught up in them!

Review for 'House Of Secrets' by Darcy Coates

Read and reviewed via NetGalley for Poisoned Pen Press

This is the third book that I have read by this author. The first I read is called 'Hunted' and the second was 'The house of shadows', both of which I enjoyed. I am looking forward to reading more. This book is the second in the 2 volumes 'Ghosts and shadows' series.

I decided to read this book immediately after finishing reading the first book in this 2 part series 'House of Shadows' which I enjoyed and ended in a cliffhanger.

This novel consists of 32 chapters relatively short in length so perfect for 'just one more chapter', like that ever happens for me, more like 3 or 4 more!!

This book is fast paced and gripped my attention from the beginning and kept me sucked into the plot all the way until the explosive and action packed ending.

The second book begins with Sophie having nightmares about The Grimlock that we 'met' in the first book. It continues from there and even though it is the second part in the series I believe it could be read as a standalone. However, to get the best picture I would probably read the first book before.

Not sure what I think of Joseph in this book. I can understand why he was so stand offish in the first one but after what they went through and other events it annoys me really that he is still like this. It is like he has multiple personalities when it comes to Sophie. I wrote this earlier on in the book but understand now why this was done.

I really enjoyed the gothic romance and all things gothic, macabre and almost labyrinth feel about this creepy, disturbing horror. Although it wasn't as morbid as the first book there was still plenty to keep a horror fan happy.

The book is very well written throughout with fantastically gory descriptions which builds the picture up easily for readers.

The plot kept me on the edge of my seat and turning the pages. It is filled with horror, suspense and tension and is perfect for fans of any of these types of books.

The characters were all strong and quite well developed. There were enough of them needed to build the storyline and not too many as to lead to confusion. Whereas Sophie seemed to be getting a stronger personality in the first book it seems that she 'reset' herself at the beginning of this one until she started to grow again. I enjoyed reading more about Garrett in this book as there wasn't that much of him in the first one to be able to make an opinion on him.

I would love to see this being made into a full length movie with the both books being brought together, especially with the fact that it is set in older times, brings some uniqueness to it, that as well as the whole storyline.

I would recommend this book to fans of horror, Darcy Coates and suspense.

246 pages

Free on kindle unlimited or £2.99 to purchase. I think this is a very good price for this book.

Rated 4/5 (I enjoyed it ) on Goodreads, Instagram, Amazon UK and Amazon US and on over 30 Facebook pages plus my blog on Facebook.

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3.5 stars.

This was an interesting and super fast read that felt something like a pulp novel and fits perfectly in the genre of gothic romance. The characters are reminiscent of a 19th century novel and the atmosphere made it feel something akin to Daphne du Maurier's Rebecca in some ways.

For me, this balanced somewhere between a serious horror and a satire, as things were often over the top. There were also a lot of classic horror tropes rolled into the narrative, which I think made it even more enjoyable. However, this neared a 4 star read for me, but didn't quite make it there just because it did feel a little too cliche in some ways.

The ending was good, but does end on a bit of a cliffhanger. This was a bit frustrating. However, I had a good time reading the book and felt it kept my attention incredibly well, so I will be seeking out the sequel.

If you like thrilling books and books that will make you wonder this is the book for you. The plot was intriguing. Writing made me want to know more. Pick this book and read it because it will take you for a dangerous ride. Darcy Coates did it again!

I'm not sure how I felt about this one. It was fairly wasy to read and I did enjoy it, just not as much as I thought I would

Love Darcy Coates but I feel she rushed this one. Characters were undeveloped so I felt disconnected from them.

Had to DNF. Out of my comfort zone in genres. Someone who likes this type of thing might like it but it wasn’t for me. I thought it was going to be one thing based on the description, but it didn’t end up being what I thought. Disappointing because it sounded like it could have been awesome.

I have read a few books by Darcy Coates now and I think this is one of my new favourite authors.

It is a fun, short gothic horror that got me sucked into the story right away.

I do highly recommend

I was very glad to get my hands on this book as I’ve seen the name Darcy Coates many times. All of her books look like ones I’d like and I was not disappointed.

The story: young Sophie promises her hand in marriage to the mysterious Mr. Argenton and is whisked away to his family home miles away from civilization. Her new husband himself is dark and brooding and the ancestral manor, Northwood, is a hulking monstrosity. Within its walls live the quiet Uncle Garrett, the fiendish Aunt Rose, and the haunted cousin Elise.

But that’s not all that lives there.

Sophie quickly finds herself subjected to horror upon horror. Something stalks the woods. The walls drip blood. There’s a mysterious red door at the end of a long hallway and whatever is behind it whispers to her. Aunt Rose is psychotic and Elise is nearly catatonic.

In spite of the circumstances, Sophie finds herself falling in love with her new husband and determined to help him face down whatever evil lives within the confines of Northwood.

When I first started this book I assumed it would be about ghosts. Then, after meeting the Argenton family: tall, pale, dark hair, brooding, I thought maybe it was about vampires. Further into the tale I considered werewolves. What the horror ended up being I can’t tell you (spoilers) but I can assure you it’s worth reading the book to find out.

This story is a prime example of a classic Gothic romance. Innocent young woman, handsome brooding husband, spooky house, family secrets, ancient evil. Check, check, and check. I happen to have been raised on Gothics so this story made my dark little heart happy. Highly recommend.

Oh, and did I mention there’s a sequel, ‘House of Secrets’? I’m going to get my hands on that one as soon as possible.

This review was posted to NetGalley, Goodreads, Amazon, Instagram, and my personal blog.

Gothic suspense at its finest. I am a huge fan of gothic mysteries. This one checks all the boxes for me - the scary aspect is more suspense than terror, the romance is sweet with no graphic details, and the mystery is of the supernatural variety.
I really enjoyed this read. The beginning is so fast and so unusual, it sounds like the beginning of a cautionary fairy tale. Then the fairy tale quickly turns dark and strange, and our heroine finds herself stuck (literally!) in the middle of a mystery that won't unravel...
Sophie's character is the perfect gothic heroine - she is sweet, innocent and trusting, but once pushed too far, she finds her determination, and gears up for battle.
I loved Northwood - every gothic horror story needs a sprawling creepy house with strange goings-on. The details in the story created the perfect picture of the ornate maze of a mansion.
The story is perfectly paced, the mystery intriguing and the ending chilling. I'm delighted to see it appears to be first in a series!
This was my first book by Ms. Coates, but I will certainly read more!