Thank you to NetGalley, Hyperion Avenue, and Megan Shepherd for the advanced copy of Malice House in exchange for my honest review.

I was completely enthralled with this book for the first 65%, it was a great mix of haunted house and mystery. Unfortunately, it took a turn into a fantasy element that I did not particularly enjoy, and I found the remaining 35% of the book kind of hard to get through.

I also wasn't super satisfied with the ending, but I didn't outright dislike it.

Regardless, I won't hesitate to read another book by this author in the future.

Thanks to #Netgalley for letting me read an eArc of #MaliceHouse in return for an honest review.

So I love Megan Shepherd. She wrote a series that I absolutely adore so when I saw she had another book coming out of course I had to read it! Malice House is an intriguing story about an author and his estranged daughter who wants to illustrate. Haven returns to Malice House after her famous father has passed away to take care of his things and decide whether or not to continue living in the home he has left her. She locates a manuscript unlike any her father has ever written and suddenly the urge to illustrate takes over her. She obsessively begins drawing the illustrations for the manuscript Bedtime Stories for Monsters.
After a while of living in the house she feels as though she is losing her mind as her father did at the end. She hears things moving in the house, has an irrational fear of a crablike creature under her bed. It doesn't help the townspeople seem almost hostile towards her. She begins to think the stories about monsters may hold some truth as murders begin to happen that seem to mimick murders from her father's books and even manuscript.
Is Haven safe here in Malice House or is she being targeted for the next murder, and why does she feel a strange kinship to these creatures she is compelled to draw?

The haunted house story that is not to be missed this year. For fans that enjoyed stories like The Haunting of Hill House, will be captivated into this harrowing nightmare.

It took me a bit longer to finish this book particularly I was honestly scaring myself and could only read a few chapters at a time, even though I really wanted to keep going and know what was happening. I thoroughly enjoyed the author weaving two stories together into one. My attention was even more peaked and I really enjoy when authors do a spin like that in books. It keeps the reader guessing what is real, and what isn't.
With how the story ends, I'm interested if a second book will be written, and would like to see how it continues.

Spooky houses with mysterious and haunting histories are a huge part of why I love horror so much. It really makes me think of my life and what living in a haunted house was really like. But what happens when these things run your life and make you feel vulnerable?

Malice House is a sprawling house by the seaside that captures everyone's attention. It really is a site and causes all to stop, stare, and talk. Everyone wants a piece of it and they will stop at nothing to get their hands on it. It's owned by an award-winning author who passes away which brings his Daughter, Haven into the picture. Her being his only living heir, she sees this as the light at the end of a very dark tunnel. Her life hasn't gone to plan and is really in great need of a change. As she moves about town and through the estate, she finds something shocking hidden away. She finds a manuscript of a horror short story collection written by her father. After Haven discloses information about this manuscript to some people in town with publishing connections, everyone wants a piece of it and even the monsters come out to play. The real question... is Malice House really haunted?

This was a truly bizarre read. Things happened so fast that I wasn't sure what was going to happen next. This is exactly what I love about gothic books, the house is more unsettling than the rest of the story but here a lot of this was. Talk about hair-raising! The end was a little much. A lot happened all at once and it was hard to keep up. There were times when I felt a tad bit lost but I didn't miss a thing because it was just how this book was written. It was a really good story with lots of twists.

Malice House was a great read and one I didn't want to put down. This was full of insane characters that surprised you around every corner. You honestly never knew what extremes these characters would go to to get what they wanted. So if you love a mix of horror and fantasy with characters that should be in an institution, then this is the book for you.

Just be careful of what lurks in the night...

Haven Marbury has not come to Lundie Bay or Malice House to visit her father. No, Amory Marbury is dead, her larger-than-life famous father is gone. All he left her was this house, filled with mementos from his long career. She will need to clean it out before she can contemplate whether to live here or sell the house.
Haven doesn't have many options you see. She fled a bad marriage with little more than the clothes on her back. Her bank account is almost nonexistent and when she discovers an unpublished manuscript in the attic, she thinks it might be her ticket to a large payday. She is an illustrator though, and her idea is to draw the monsters that her father wrote about in Bedtime Stories for Monsters. Her decision will take her to a very dark place, one where if her monsters don't kill her, the townspeople will.
I loved this story. A book within a book and the dark history of one man and one town. I am not going to say much more because of spoilers but I found it strangely addictive, hard to put down, and I honestly had no idea where it was headed.

Not everything is as it seems at Malice House...I went into this read with a different idea of what it was going to be. I kept reading it for the same reason. It definitely had me double guessing and surprised and a little horrified. It got 4 stars right off that bat for that. Now that I write this a couple days after finishing and thinking back on the book I keep running into plot inconsistencies and "huh, wait a minute that doesn't make sense" moments from remembering the read. I stand by the 4 stars because it will make a great book to recommend to those looking for Halloween reads but now that I am realizing how many different genres were crammed into one book with little transition or explanation it seems a 3 might be better.

Side note: I have really enjoyed all the other books by Megan Shepherd. Maybe she just writes YA better.

"Malice House" is the first adult book by YA author Megan Shepherd, and a lot of the YA writing style is apparent in this novel. I say not as a complaint, exactly, but just as an honest description of how she presents characters and their thoughts - I'm not familiar with her other work but I'd read three chapters and wondered, and discovered that yup - Shepherd got her start with YA.

Onto "Malice House". A creepy, creepingly slow mishmash of "Misery" and the time-honored "spooky house" trope, "Malice House" doesn't reinvent the wheel, but it's fun with plenty of twists. I wouldn't say that I was shocked by any of said twists - they're fairly well-telegraphed - but fans of unreliable narrators and more-than-meets-the-eye investigations will enjoy this. I particularly liked the "horror novel within the horror novel" aspect: it was well-done and creepy. Haven as a MC is a bit frustrating, as despite the fact she's a horror fan she makes a LOT of dumb decisions midway through the book that make you wonder if she's absorbed any lessons whatsoever from her horror diet.

I''d classify this as a hybrid-horror/thriller. Hardcore horror fans will find this easy to get through, but thriller fans may find it gorier/creepier than they're used to. On the whole, this book is too long. It's under 400 pages, but it's not tight, with a lot of unnecessary scene-setting bogging down the first 30-40% of the book. Fans of slow-paced novels will be fine, but if you're in the market of a quick-and-scary... look elsewhere.

3.5. Fun, gets the job done, a little slow.

I don't know where to start with this book: it's a blend of horror, thriller, mystery, fantasy - and it's just brilliant! I'll try to be delicate in my review so as not to give spoilers, because this book's secrets are best discovered as you read. And there are PLENTY of secrets to be had.

When Pulitzer Prize winning-author Armory Marbury dies, his daughter Haven heads to his seaside mansion to clean it out and hopefully put it on the market after a disastrous ending to her relationship. Finding the atmosphere of the house haunted by her father's ramblings about monsters, which she attributes to his end-of-life dementia, Haven begins the clean out when she finds an undiscovered manuscript of her father, possibly worth thousands, if not millions. But how far will some people go to get their hands on the manuscript? And why is Haven starting to feel like the monsters her father talked about in his final months may not have been mere delusions after all?

So yeah, this book is incredibly atmospheric and interesting. I couldn't put it down once I started it, as it not only had this great premise, but it was able to really deliver on its promise with some great writing. I was enthralled from the beginning and was just glued until the last page. Haven was a great character, and there were also some really interesting secondary characters that were well drawn out, both good and bad - dun dun dun!

I did not see the twists in this book coming. There were some intense moments and jaw-droppers in there, which were quite unique. The ending was good - a little open ended, but with enough closure to satisfy. It leaves a little wonder, a little chill up your spine thinking about it, which is par for the course for this book, I think.

I'm really excited to see what this author comes up with next! I'll definitely be looking out for it!

Book: Malice House
Author: Megan Shepherd

“I never meant to find the manuscript, but maybe it meant to find me.”

What do the following things have in common: a deceased horror writer, a book club called The Ink Drinkers, a house with a foreboding name that maybe has a demon in the walls, and a secret manuscript titled Bedtime Stories for Monsters? THIS BOOK, that’s what!

When our story begins, we’ve returned with Haven to Malice House, the former home of her deceased father. In life, her father was a popular horror writer. In death, he’s left behind a terrifying secret manuscript about monsters, and Haven is left wondering if her father had lost his mind or if things really do go bump in the night around Malice House.

Buckle up, readers, this is one hell of a rollercoaster ride. You won’t even have a minute to acclimate yourself to the atmosphere. Seriously, the first page will grab you and catapult through a dizzying descent into madness. Take a few deep breaths and prepare for high speeds, loop-the-loops, and sudden drops. The tension!! It’ll leaving walking sideways for a week!!

There’s something here for everyone. It’s eerie, for sure, but it’s also a tale full of gothic goodness and a story packed to the brim with suspense and questionable characters, with an extra dash of family drama for flavor. It’s a little bit of everything, and it works!! All of it works!!

Do yourselves a favor and grab it! ASAP!!

Malice House was the gothic, dark, horror with magical realism story that I didn't know I needed in my life. It invokes comparison to classic Grimm's fairy tales, foreboding and terrifying. I desperately hope there will be at least one follow up novel.

A solid thriller that will be great for October reading when it comes out. I did find some inconsistencies that were distracting, but the story was enjoyable.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the advance copy to read and review. All opinions are my own.

I enjoyed this book. I can not wait for more by this author! Thanks to publisher for allowing me the opportunity to read this book!

Thanks to Netgalley and Hyperion Avenue for giving me the eARC for review.

I loved the concept of this book, and was so excited to have the chance to read it. I enjoyed the book within a book writing style. It had genuinely scary moments at times and shocking twists. The book is a slow start put picks up pace quickly. It shows just how powerful stories can be. Definitely recommend.

Perfect young adult horror for the summer time. Megan Sheppard has mastered the genre for younger readers. Her ability to write creepy that is engaging and verging on the groosteque is unmatched. Teens will devour this deliciously devious tale.

Malice House was so much fun to read! I enjoyed reading it!
Thank you Megan and Hyperion Avenue for the advance proof!

Malice House by Megan Sheperd ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ /5
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When escaping a horrible marriage, Haven has only one place left to turn- the home of her once estranged, eccentric author father. Now that he has passed, Malice House is hers to hide in and have a fresh start. Local rumors that the house is haunted seem to have sturdy ground as Haven begins to experience very unusual bumps in the night. When she finds an unpublished manuscript from her famous father, she has to decide whether to publish it through her father’s friends or on her own with her illustrations, all the while the mysteries of Malice House are becoming more sinister and possibly more real?
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O I just loved this! Monsters, magic, haunted houses, creepy vigilantes, family dramas.

Let me begin by saying Megan’s Shepherd’s Malice House had A LOT going on... While I loved the idea of monsters from an unknown manuscript being brought to life, I felt the story as a whole was just a bit too convoluted. It contained too many insignificant characters that you only got to catch a glimpse of for a brief second, before they just vanished for the rest of the story.

Malice House is about the main character, Haven, moving into her now deceased father’s house to take care of his estate. In doing so, she begins to uncover her father’s secrets, including a mysterious unpublished manuscript in her father’s attic. She decides to illustrate her father’s insidious ideas, and in doing so, unknowingly gives them a physical form in the real world. A curse that her father has known about for quite some time. But it’s not the only secret her father has to hide. Haven uncovers several of her father’s other secrets, too. One that will later turn her world upside down.

Going back to what I was saying in the first paragraph, I felt the monsters played very miniscule parts in this tale, when I felt they could have all shared the lead – Or could have just been omitted from the story completely because they had such small parts. It was also mildly disappointed how the manuscript tied them all together, but they did not coexist well amongst each other in the real world. But I think the biggest complaint I had about Malice House was that we didn’t find out what happened to all of the creatures in the end.

Overall, this story is still an enjoyable read. The ideas are there, the book’s plot still hits pretty hard, and the fire sequence was my favorite part. While I wouldn’t give this one a 5-star review, unfortunately, I still think it’s a book that has a lot of potential.

Special thanks to Net Galley, Hyperion Avenue, and the book's author Megan Shepherd for this eARC in exchange for my honest review.

A unique story that wasn't typically predictable *at least to me!) Having excerpts from a story within the story was a bonus.
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Artist Haven Marbury returns to her [once an award winning author] fathers home in a small seaside town. Upon rummaging through her fathers things, she comes across "Bedtime Stories for Monsters" a hand written story that is unlike her fathers usual books. Literally a starving artist, Haven has the great idea to illustrate this long forgotten manuscript. Hoping to bring in enough money to start over after a divorce. Haven never believed her fathers warnings that his home was haunted, after all he had dementia (which could explain the plates of toast under the bed) Haven takes the manuscript to her fathers literary group of friends, the ink drinkers, who seem too eager to help. She also meets a few others ..... a barista who offers to help her sell off some of her fathers literary possessions, an attractive neighbor, a detective who tries to advise Haven to leave town for a while, and the mysterious creature grom under the bed. After numerous break ins at her fathers home, deaths of those associated with Haven ..... she starts to believe this could all be connected to the found manuscript, discovering a few family secrets along the way, even the ones that were meant to stay buried.

Name of Book: Malice House
Author: Megan Shepherd
Publisher: Hyperion Avenue
Genre: Horror, Gothic, Mystery
Pub Date: October 4, 2022
My Rating: 2.5 rounded up

Book within a book!

When Haven Marbury is cleaning out her father's seaside house after his death she finds a secret manuscript entitled ‘𝘉𝘦𝘥𝘵𝘪𝘮𝘦 𝘚𝘵𝘰𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘴 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘔𝘰𝘯𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘴”.
Haven’s father Armory always said the house (Malice House) was haunted, Have was sure it was his dementia. However, since she is an artist she decides this manuscript might be a good book to illustrate and perhaps a posthumous release of her famous father’s writing might launch her career.

When Have started illustrating the manuscript, strange things seem to be happening... she begins to see and hears scuttling under her bed. One night and is bitten on the ankle by a monstrous creature, it appears her illustrations are coming to life.
Could Malice House really be haunted or is the manuscript messing with her mind?

Hmm I am a big psychological thriller fan and am okay with dark and creepy and sometimes really like a gothic story. ( I was totally drawn to this creepy cover!) However, some of the descriptions in this story were a tad much for me. Not what I was expecting. I hung in there – not a fav.

Want to thank NetGalley and Hyperion Ave for this early eGalley.
Publishing Release Date scheduled for October 4, 2022

What a creepy, creepy tale! Haven Marbury, is a struggling illustrator and recovering from a failed marriage. Following her father's deaeth has come to his house to clean it out and determine it's worth. Her father was a famous, an author of dark and ghoulish stories - some so good that he was awarded a Pulitzer. However, very little of his fortune is left due to mismanagement and Haven is doing her best to clean out the house and find a way to stay afloat. In the attic she finds an interesting and unusual manuscript of short tales that compels her to illustrate them. She is hoping an illustrated companion book may be just what she needs to start again. But there is something very wrong in the Marbury Mansion and the people in town seem well aware of it. Was Haven's father suffering from dementia or was there something much more sinister at work?

This premise is VERY UNIQUE and highly recommended to all horror lovers. It was creepy and grotesque and may just keep you up all night. If you like a good (great!) horror story, like an unusual plot and maybe just want to stay up all night reading - Malice House is for you!
#HyperionAvenue #MaliceHouse #MeganShepherd #Netgalley #Netgalleyreads