Member Reviews

** spoiler alert ** Written beautifully
Everything came together and kept the story interesting
This is more of a mystery story to me

Family, mindset, France, mystery, horror, well

Was this review helpful?

This one instantly drew me in and I was hooked from start to finish! Loved the story, definitely recommend!

Was this review helpful?

Cecily suddenly is notified that she has a great grandmother that is living in Paris and is very ill. Cecily is to be next in line to inherit the LeClercq fortune and also the curse that follows the LeClercq name. Just as Cecily arrives in Paris, she learns her great grandmother has committed suicide by hanging herself from an Endangered Evergreen Oak tree that is growing on the LeClercq estate, exactly where her great great grandmother had hung herself. While exploring her new home, Cecily discovers a Endangered Evergreen Oak sapling growing in a pot in her great grandmother’s greenhouse with her great grandmother’s necklace hidden in its branch’s. As Cecily sets out to explore the hidden message left behind by her great grandmother, she finds herself being stalked by the Wraith, the LeClercq curse. Cecily soon learns that if your a LeClercq, you must sacrifice yourself or others close to you will die.

Was this review helpful?

Wow. What an interesting, haunting story. I have had a hard time focusing lately but was engrossed by this story and refused to give up. Now I wanna research some things it talks about that I won't mention as it could lead to spoilers. Great book, slow but in a detailed interesting way, if that makes sense. A bit gory but not overly so. Enjoyed it. Will definitely read more by this author.

Was this review helpful?

Wraith is a light horror, modern gothic ghost story. Initially I was very into this book. I loved the plot and the characters. I liked the family curse and said family's questionable past. This book had so much going for it but it just didn't follow through. In the end I had a lot of unanswered questions and was confused about certain aspects. I really wanted to love but it fell flat and left hanging.

Thank you to Netgalley for the opportunity.

Was this review helpful?

Thank you Netgalley and Mark Wheaton for this advance reader copy in exchange for my honest review.

I have mixed feelings about this book. It was good. It had an excellent story line and I connected well with the protagonist, Cecily. She felt authentic and realistic. I loved the plotline of a centuries old curse, but I feel like this book left a lot unanswered. I'm still not fully certain what brought the wraith into existence. I'm also somewhat confused about the lawyer Eglantine and what her role was in any of it. I did enjoy the ending, but I was somewhat confused about why it ended the way it did. I also wanted more horror. This could have been a very scary book, but I needed more. There were some really creepy scenes with the wraith, but as a horror junkie, I wanted more scares.

Don't get me wrong, I did like the book. It was a great story with fantastic characters. I will be looking for more books from Mark Wheaton. I think he has a good future in horror novels. This was a strong 3.75 stars. I would definitely recommend it for readers who enjoy supernatural fiction.

Was this review helpful?

Well, this one started off good and had my expectations high. However it was just way too long. I almost DNF and I rarely do that.
There were the creepy elements and the theme of disfunctional family secrets coming back around. But the entire “wraith” thing was a bit much sometimes.
I didn’t dislike the book but I didn’t love it either. Im very on the fence. Maybe if it was about a 100 or so pages shorter I would have a higher rating of it.

Was this review helpful?

Wraith is a fast-paced horror novel with plenty of scares, thrills, and twists. Cecile, the main character, discovers horrible things about her family’s past that drive her to greater and greater feats of heroism.
This book really gave me the chills, something I want from a solid horror movie. The monster was good, but Cecile’s underground explorations are what made me squirm. Wraith struck a good balance between frightening and intense to almost homey. The characters were all lovely and well drawn.
I highly recommend this book to those who enjoy a good scare, but who shy away from severe gore. It would be a great introduction to the genre.

Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC.

Was this review helpful?

2.5*

*Thanks to Netgalley for providing me with the ebook*

I'm not sure how to feel about this book. I felt bored with most parts of the book and I found some of the things being repetitive: like the wraith would attack her. And I'm little confused about the curse especially about the way how it ended. Did the curse actually end? The pacing of the book felt awkward and clunky.

I really wish we had spent more time at the castle instead of running around the streets of Paris. I feel like we would've gotten more answers in the castle and I couldn't connect with Cecily; I just didn't liked her as a person and she seemed boring.

Was this review helpful?

Thank you Netgalley and Mark Wheaton for the ARC of this book.

Wow this was such a spooky read. From the very first chapter it hooked me in with the creepiest vibes

It was a little on the longer side for me however I thought that the author did well in their storyline.

The ending was not my favourite but this is very much an enjoyable and spooky read!

Was this review helpful?

Whoa! What a ride. It was very fast-paced. The writing style kept me hooked and I didn't find myself losing any interest. I enjoyed getting to know each of the characters and how real the story felt. The author did a great job painting the setting, so it was easy for me to visualize the scene played out before me. I recommend giving this one a chance!

Was this review helpful?

Wraith was a wild ride from start to finish. I love stories with dark family secrets, and boy did this have that. It kept me hooked until the very end, and wishing for more once it was over.

Was this review helpful?

This is my first DNF (did not finish) book. I read to the 70% mark and then stopped reading because the same scene of the “wraith” attacking Cecily, the main character, was repeated too many times. This book should’ve ended in 320 pages instead of 500+ pages. I was not invested in any of the characters. There was no creepy nor scary atmospheric tones to the book. The writing style was too repetitive as was the plot. The was no intrigue nor logic to this story, and it was not entertaining. I did not enjoy this book.

Was this review helpful?

A weird and creepy read but the ending left me feeling disapointed. I don't mind a open ending, but i missed a bit of closure. It felt like nothing much changed for the MC. Nevertheless a entertaining read if you are looking for something spooky.

Was this review helpful?

A nail-biting journey through family secrets, family culture and folklore. I really enjoyed this book - it kept me engaged and wanting to know what would happen next.

Was this review helpful?

Very scary read! This book is definitely one of the scariest I’ve read so far. Paranormal things can really get to me, and the wraith from this book is terrifyingly vivid.

I found some similarities from this wraith to the witch in Hex by Heuvelt, Both are scary looking women seeking to avenge something that happened to them, and are seemingly attached to a group by a curse. I find the idea of them just being around horrifying.

It was very fast paced; maybe even a little too fast paced for me at times. I would have liked to see the relationships between characters developed a little more to heighten the stakes.

Overall, I really enjoyed this book! I will be thinking about this book for a while.

Copy received from NetGalley

Was this review helpful?

Great premise, great horror elements, great story and characters and setting. There were a few little inconsistencies or unrealities (e.g. two characters riding on bikes having a full-on conversation and checking their phones...seems a bit impossible) and I wanted more from the ending. BUT this was a really good read and I highly recommend it to horror readers!

Was this review helpful?

This is the first time I read this author and I can say that it wouldn’t be my last.

“You are never alone!”

This was an absolutely cleverly written book albeit a bit terrifying!!!

Cecily is our protagonist and she avoids people. She can’t stand to be around them. Why? You ask. Well, you have to read to find out!!

A French gentleman comes to her and tells her that her great grandmother has requested to see her. Cecily makes her first trip to France and everything unravels as she comes to understand the family curse.

A riveting and cleverly crafted novel. I enjoyed this so much. The author is a great storyteller, I was hooked and kept turning the pages to know more.

Thank you NetGalley for the e-ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Was this review helpful?

After witnessing the death of her mother at a young age, Cecily LeClercq grows up hiding herself away in the remote Carolina wetlands. When a stranger arrives from Paris saying a distant, elderly relative is desperate to see her before she dies, Cecily travels to an old chateau deep in the French woods. There she learns of an ancient curse that has consumed generations of her ancestors, personified by a vicious, ghostly wraith who emerges from the forest when the death of a LeClercq is near...

This is a brilliant read.
Wonderful well written plot and story line that had me engaged from the start.
Love the well fleshed out characters and found them believable.
Great suspense and found myself second guessing every thought I had continuously.
Can't wait to read what the author brings out next.
Recommend reading.

I was provided an ARC from NetGalley and the publisher. This is my own hone\st voluntary review

Was this review helpful?

A spooky story about a ghost that kills generations of people for some reason that only she is aware of. A lot of chase scenes that got a bit too tedious though.

Was this review helpful?