I loved the premise for this book and basically read it in one sitting. It didn't fully live up to my expectations, but it was definitely interesting and had some solid twists and emotional gut-punches toward the end. Also, it's super queer in the end, which was great.

The Haunting of Velkwood is compelling from the first page, and does not let go until the very end. The concept of this novel is so clever, yet so simple. Instead of a haunted house, we have a haunted block of homes, which no one can enter, except the three survivors. Our protagonist, Talitha, is one of these survivors.

Twenty years after the incident, Talitha is invited by a researcher to return to the tragic scene, which has been the subject of much media attention. Down on her luck and unmoored, Talitha accepts the offer, and hopes for a resolution to the mystery that has haunted her for most of her adult life.. And when she enters the spectral street, things get very bizarre indeed.

I have read so many ghost stories and novels; some derivative, some terrifying. But The Haunting of Velkwood is utterly original, and incredibly exciting. It felt like every chapter ended with a revelation that made me physically gasp and urge me continue reading (FYI - I started this book on a Friday night and was finished by Sunday).

Kiste is a fantastic writer; her short story The Man in the Ambry is one of my favorite ghost stories. While I enjoyed her previous novels, The Rust Maidens, and Reluctant Immortals, for me, The Haunting of Velkwood truly captures the horror and the intrigue of the aforementioned ghost story.

I can’t recommend this book highly enough. Beautifully written, perfectly paced, and heartbreaking and terrifying in equal measure.

Echoing some of the same themes as her Bram Stoker award winning novel The Rust Maidens, Gwendolyn Kiste's The Haunting of Velkwood explores the ennui and unfulfilled dreams of suburbia. While The Rust Maidens explored the rusting and failing of the factories abandoned during the 1980's, Velkwood is described as a bland suburban place: "too far to be anything but a nothing town.". The Velkwood Vicinity has been explored by occultists, conspiracy theorists, documentarians but no one save the three young women who escaped can enter what once was a suburban block of homes but is now surrounded by an impenetrable, ghostly veil . Estranged from her former best friends, Brett and Grace who also successfully fled, Talitha Velkwood works a series of part-time jobs, trying to escape her past and avoiding anything related to the mystery that took her sister and mother from her. When a researcher offers her a substantial sum to go back, she says she's doing it for the money. No one knows what happened the night that her neighborhood disappeared or what happened to the people still trapped there. Will Talitha be able to find out?

The push and pull of the past and the allure of the idea of going home is as much of a trap as the veil that surrounds Velkwood. Kiste seems to ask if Velkwood hadn't disappeared, would Talitha had been able to escape at all? Readers will be drawn into Velkwood as the characters are, with the sense of dread and fear building throughout the book. The way Kiste is able to craft groups of female friends and explore those relationships will also appeal to readers who might not immediate seek out horror. Fans of The Rust Maidens will find much to love here as will fans of other novels that explore the suburban malaise like The Southern Book Club's Guide to Slaying Vampires by Grady Hendrix, Good Neighbors by Sarah Langan, and Suburban Monsters by Christopher Hawkins.

Well, this one really dragged me in. I keep picking up these books thinking "this will be spooky" and then being hit in the head with beautiful tragic stories of love and loss and dedication. The Haunting of Velkwood has all of this and more.

Kiste masterful weaves a narrative of a street out of time and I found it to be inventive and unique. I love how she tackles sexual orientation and prejudice in a way that seems wholly natural.

My only want was to get to know more about Jack. He's interesting and I felt like he had more of a story to tell.

This was a perfect late October read.

More gothic than the horror I was expecting, but overall it was a fun quick October read! Plot definitely needed fleshed out a bit more, but the characters were well developed! If you like gothic ghosts you’ll like this!

I found this character-driven story to be truly fascinating. It had depth and maturity, but was also a page-turner despite the rather slow pace. I like this author and will keep coming back to their works. Recommended.

3.5 stars

This is an intense and deep slow burn. It’s very character driven, with very real and flawed characters. Everything unfolds at a nice pace that keeps you wondering what’s really going on. A perfect novel if you enjoy a slow burn, however if you’re looking for something fast paced this may not be for you.

The Haunting of Velkwood has a unique story in that the “ghosts” may be dead……or maybe not?

This is definitely a character-driven novel, where the characters take center stage over the setting or plot. I really liked the two main protagonists, and thought they were well rounded and relatable. I had a bit of a problem with the plot.A few things are left unexplained, and I would have liked more background on one of the minor characters.

Thank you for allowing me to read this ARC! Receiving this book as an ARC did not influence my opinion in any way.