Pitched as a "Gothic Ghost Story," "Come When I Call You" is in turns creepy and oddly slow. It started really strong, but I felt like the author couldn't quite find balance between creating the right atmosphere and telling the story. There was also a lot of traipsing around the boarding school grounds. It is a fine book--definitely give it a read if you like ghost stories.

*1.5*

Thank you to NetGalley and Deep Dark Press for gifting me a free copy in exchange for an honest review.

Oh boy... where do I begin with this one? I am a very generous reviewer and tend to like a vast majority of what I read, but this one was just so hard to get through for a couple of reasons. But before I get into that, let me give you a simple rundown of the story:

Sixteen-year-old Anna attends a posh boarding school she views as an escape from her life and family -- including her 13-year-old cousin Lucia, a strange, mystical girl with the unnerving gift of seeing the dead, one that Anna shares and would like to forget about. Over winter break, Anna decides to stay at her boarding school to avoid her family, a plan that backfires when Lucia shows up outside of her dorm, begging for help. We then follow them over the course of the next two days as they navigate the blisteringly-cold winter and the ghosts that come with it.

While the description bills this book as a modern Gothic akin to The Little Stranger or The Haunting of Hill House (neither of which I have read) I have a really hard time believing this. The story is punctuated with 4 bona fide ~ghost~ scenes and the rest is a mind-numbingly boring account of Anna, Lucia, and company roaming the boarding school's deserted grounds doing... nothing?

They go to the dining hall a bunch of times. They inexplicably hike out to a lake for no apparent reason. They wander around buildings looking for each other while Anna in a painful, meandering, first-person perspective tells us about how she doesn't fit in and feels alone and is in love with her guy friend and blah blah blah. I was expecting a lot more action, but by the time I hit the 60% completion mark hardly anything had happened at all -- this is my first issue with the book.

My second issue is the writing style. As a self-proclaimed writer myself, I am a firm believer that an author's style can make or break a piece of work, either sabotaging what could have been a perfectly good plot and characters, or compensating for a lack of plot. One of my favorite books ever, Duplex by Kathryn Davis, falls into the latter category. It was hard to make sense of it at times, but the writing was so lush and spectacular it didn't matter. In the case of this book, oh boy, did the writing really knock it down a notch or two or three.

When I mentioned that the narrative voice was meandering, that was an understatement -- more than once one sentence would have so many asides and sub-clauses that it was the length of a hefty paragraph. And there were So. Many. Similes. Almost every other sentence had one, and they ranged from humorously-ridiculous to outright distasteful. For example:

"...her muted misery more upsetting than anything else, unnatural and tinged with danger, like watching a known killer cradle a baby, his dirty fingernails against a plump cheek."

"Though she was clearly aware that I was there, she didn't waste another glance on me... like an autistic twelve-year-old who has acknowledged you, then... entirely blocks you out."

"The vacant platform reminded me of... a concentration camp, all those threatening stoves, the empty bunk up to the ceiling, and you the only person walking through the square where all those prisoners stood in aching rows, waiting to die."

Those are real quotes, and notice my liberal use of ellipses to cut out all of the other meandering bits of each overdrawn metaphor.

Another issue is that this whole story just seemed really unrealistic, especially since the characters were only 13 and 16 years old. If your 13-year-old daughter disappeared, wouldn't you call the police? Also, although most of the children had gone home for the holidays, there was still some staff on campus -- why did they never see the children running around, breaking into buildings, getting hurt, etc.? There was also an abundance of drugs, alcohol, and cigarettes mentioned which may be prevalent in boarding schools (I didn't go to one) but seemed to be way too available to our 16-year-old characters. Plus, there were a ton of points in the plot where the narrator just blacks out for one reason or another, allowing her to lose track of the other characters, which just seems like an easy way to direct a poorly-planned plot. ANYWAYS... I digress.

This story had the perfect potential to be truly, incredibly creepy -- with an introspective narrator, a mysterious cousin with a sixth sense, and a snowstorm trapping them inside of an empty boarding school in the depths of winter. I love a good campus novel and a good ghost story, which is why I was so excited to read this book. Unfortunately, the story came nowhere near meeting my expectations because of a lack of depth to the plot and the overly-verbose writing that made this book so hard to get through. I think the next book(s) in this series would benefit from some generous editing and a tightening of the plot.

I did think the climactic scene at the end was thrilling, but wrapped up too quickly and cleanly. There were also a few really great bits of prose that I appreciated. The author definitely has a ton of potential and I'm looking forward to seeing her improve in her future works.

Come When I Call You
Author: Shayna Krishnasamy
Genre: YA Horror
Rating: ⭐️ ⭐️ / 5
Reviewed: Maya

This book seemed to go forever for me. I’m not too sure what the storyline was, because it just didn’t really have one? I felt like the book was never ending and there were too many details and not enough development. The premise didn’t grab a hold of me, but I wanted to read more horrors, so I decided to give it a go anyway. The book is very gothic, and is set in a Victorian-style boarding school, so I think there was a lot of room for more of a creepy atmosphere, but it just lacked this. I had no connection at all with the characters and I really struggled to stay awake when I was reading this because (have I mentioned?) this book is very slow. Actually, the last three chapters in this book went so quickly, except by then, I was over the book so I wasn’t able to really enjoy the plot twists. The reason I gave this book two stars was because the writing was so elegant (can you describe writing like that?) and so detailed. The author is obviously talented, however I found that there was too much focus on the details and not enough on the movement of the storyline. I would recommend this to people who really value the details in books and don’t really mind a slow pacing.

I wanted to like this title a lot more than I actually did in reality. Anna is simply a pathetic character. She's jealous of her friend, has no real self-worth, and just seems to be anything other than what she is. It is, frankly, miserable to spend time with her. I would also state that the events of the novel feel jumbled and confusing, though perhaps that is by design. Either way, I took a chance on the genre, with comparisons to Shirley Jackson, but I think I'll just read her instead.

This has such a creepy premise - a ghost story set in a boarding school over the winter holidays - that I was pretty sure I would enjoy it. I did, although I found it really frustrating at times. The beginning of the book was strong, and I was anticipating a 5 star read, but then it seemed to lose its way a little bit. I didn't really buy into the friendship between Anna and Penelope, and things got a bit confusing when Lucia turned up. I still don't think I fully get what actually happened! I did enjoy the last few pages, and the hint of menace. Reminded me a bit of a weaker We Have Always Lived in the Castle.

Anna is the good girl, the one who always abides to the rules. However, sometimes she is not - and those occasions always seem to allign with the presence of her cousin Julia, and the presence of ghosts.

With a group read we have been discussing the unreliable narrator, and that spooked through my head while reading this book. As Anna tells us: "Julia cannot lie to me, but she has no problems lying to everyone else'. It is unclear what in this book is a lie, and what actually is the truth. I caught myself wondering, is Julia Anna's cousin, or is she a part of Anna herself? Julia, the little cousin who is connected with some traumatic events ... and her and Anna's ghosts, who could be hauntings of their own emotions, a way to cope with things that otherwise would be way too much to handle for kids or teenage girls. The choppy writing style during some (especially later) parts only makes the uneasy feelings grow. What happened here?

I love books that make me wondering and questioning everything. It leaves a huge lot to the imagination of the reader. Some will love that - I am with that group - and some won't.

"Anticipating was so many times sweeter than experiencing."

Unfortunately this quote could have prefaced the book instead of being said by Anna about halfway through. This book really fell short for me.

I think this book had a lot of potential, and I think that the main idea of the story was interesting. For me the book started very strong. The prologue was intriguing, and made me really excited to read the rest of the story. I loved the setting of an old boarding school set in the middle of winter break. I think this is the perfect setting for a spooky and paranormal story. There were some things that I really liked about the main character Anna. I appreciated that she was strong, independent, and stoic.

Unfortunately in this case the bad outweighed the good. It felt like something was missing from the story, and that things needed expanded upon. I didn't connect with any of the characters, and didn't really care what happened to any of them. While I think there was meant to be a scary/twisty vibe, that also fell short for me. This book is marketed as general fiction as well as young adult, but it is definitely young adult.

I tried really hard to get through this one but I couldn’t do it. I found myself bored through most of it and it was a struggle to get through. I had to abandon this one at the 2/3 mark. I wasn’t attached to the story or the characters and it just didn’t hit the creepy mark for me. Sorry.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for allowing me access.

Come When I Call You by Shayna Krishnasamy, is being promoted as a ghost story for people that love The Haunting of Hill House and The Little Stanger, two books I adore. Throw in the fact that it is set in a remote boarding school on winter break and I was all in!

It is the story of Anna and her younger cousin Lucia. Both share a gift that Anna has managed to almost ignore and Lucia has fully embraced- the ability to see the dead. However, when Lucia shows up at the boarding school desperate and begging for help, Anna is forced to confront her their shared sight. and the past and present collide.

This book is both a gothic ghost story and a coming of age novel. I loved the premise. I’m a sucker for a boarding school setting and add to that the fact that they are trapped by a snowstorm during the winter break and you have all the makings of a great spooky read. Atmosphere is where this novel excels. It has it in spades and what kept me reading. Where it fails is in character and plot development. Neither Anna nor Lucia feel like complete characters. The plot could have been fleshed out a little more as well. When I requested an ARC of this book I was under the impression that it was an adult novel. Now I’m not so sure because it reads more like a young adult book. I loved the ideas in it I just wish they would have been developed more fully.

Thank you to Netgalley for providing me with an ARC in exchange for an honest and fair review.

trigger warning
<spoiler> losing a parent, trauma, mental illness, being drugged </spoiler>

On the last day of school, as most people leave the boarding school and on the day one of their numbers died, Lucia visits, the strange cousin. Unannounced, in clothes not suitable for the weather, and begging for help to get rid of the ghost of her mother.

The first half is very slice-of-life, and then, suddenly, it isn't anymore.
I liked the vibes, and the characters felt very three dimensional.

What I didn't like is that the queer relationship is never shown, we're told about it. And the ending is kind of ambiguos where it could be multiple things. I guess I like it when it's very clear how it went, if it was really a haunting.

I recieved a copy of this book in exchange for a honest review.

I…did not enjoy this book. 2.5/5

Perhaps the writing style is just not for me, but, it was what got us started on the wrong foot. The number of similes and metaphors used was mind-numbing. The way the narrator would pop in, in these long stories written in parenthesis, mentioning something that was only mildly related was frustrating.

My issues with the story were that in an attempt to be atmospheric, we got either too little background or too much detail. This made me want to skim the story, but I couldn't because so often an important detail was buried under unimportant information. These characters are all primarily supposed to be 16, with Lucia being 13. None of them felt like they were in their early to mid-teens, and this read like they were all in college. There would be the occasional mention of something that would remind me they were supposed to be teens, and that threw me a bit.

The actual spookier sides of this story were actually very good! There was just so little of them that it took away from those moments. I found the main character honestly unbearable, which is unfortunate, as she is the one narrating it. I really wanted to like this book especially due to the comparisons it was given…but this just was not it for me.

The prologue of this book was an absolutely chill-worthy prologue I’ve ever read. It was so terrifying that I kept unwittingly putting off reading the book. Beyond the prologue the narrative did not seem to equal the prologue. It just did not interest me at all and before long I was putting it off due to that issue. It just was not my favorite read. The author started off well, and shows promise. Just need more of the scare and less of the protagonist passive aggressively complaining about her annoying family.

This is an attempt of making "The Secret History" into YA. Thumbs down.

The atmosphere - a victorian boarding school is always a good setting but i didn't really care about what happened or any of these people.

I wish this book could have lived up to the location.

This book is written in beautiful, evocative prose but at times, the words eclipse the story. While I enjoyed exploring the protagonist's thoughts, memories, and perceptions, the plot can be difficult to follow, and the book closes on a confusing note.

I wanted to like this one, but alas.... it was only a disappointment. Despite that this is a ghost story set at a boarding school, I expected some creepy atmosphere and thrills galore. Alas, there were strange metaphors and occasionally offensive imagery - the remark that a vacant train platform was like "a concentration camp, all those threatening stoves, the empty bunks up to the ceiling, and you the only person walking through the square where all those prisoners had stood in aching rows, waiting to die" was INCREDIBLY inappropriate, and indicative of many more issues with this book as a whole. Ultimately, I was very disappointed in this book, and I found myself wanting much more than what I was given.

I was initially drawn to this book by the comparison to The Haunting of Hill House. This book has similar build to the horror of the situation at hand. I appreciate the way the author makes you doubt the reality of the situation and if you can trust the main character to recognize what it going on. I very much agree with the comparison and enjoyed the old school horror tone of the book.

I also really enjoyed the contemporary setting. The boarding school does have some restrictions that combined with the small town placement of the campus give the story a timeless feel. The characters feel the most modern and this helps them feel easier to relate to the reader. This also helps bring the creepiness of the situation more to life. Overall the book made my skin crawl and I thoroughly enjoyed it.

DNF-While I appreciated receiving a free galley of this from Netgalley, I could only make it 40% through this one before I had to put it down. While it started out interesting enough, it took a weird turn and almost halfway through the story something should have been happening, but it was going nowhere.

As much as I liked this book at the beginning, I found myself being bored about 1/3rd of the way through. I finished it, but was skimming rather than reading. Just wasn't the book for me.

Come When I Call You has an intriguing premise which it delivers on. It's the first in a series and holds your attention and intrigues you enough that you want to read more in the series. Some of the characters fell a little flat but hopefully, they will be fleshed out more in subsequent books.

Come When I Call You is a short read following the story of Anna and the events that occur following the sudden appearance of her cousin, Lucia.

The book started off interesting, but the writing style was not for me, I found myself getting bored and the book felt dull. The main character was a bland character who we do not know much about, she has no personality and is a pushover. The side characters are more interesting than her.

The book is short but still nothing much happens in terms of the plot, which was confusing at times. I read on in hopes that the ending/reveal would be interesting but it was not.

2/5