Happy Pub Day to The Haunting of Velkwood, so kindly sent to my by @sagapressbooks! #giftef This was a quick read and a unique ghost story for fans of not so scary horror. Deeply feminist, and about women confronting their demons, this had a lot to say.

This was a solid 3 star read for me. I enjoyed it but also wished there had been a little bit more plot development, to really flesh out the ghost story. There were so many interesting things about all the characters but I wanted more. It’s not scary, more spooky, and I think what the author was trying to accomplish was accomplished.

I went into this expecting a weird story of an anomaly-street and got a heartwrenching, too-close-to-home depiction of young queer love in an disapproving time and place and a case study of how childhood trauma can wildly differ in its effect on people. The complexity of the characters made them feel incredibly real and the ending left me bawling. Please, please, please write more stories about adult queer folks in love!!!!

The Haunting of Velkwood is creepy and immediately pulls you in. The mystery and horror aspects are well-developed and intriguing. The premise of a whole neighborhood disappearing is unique. There were some things that were left unexplained but I overall I enjoyed the writing, the strong characters and the unique premise, 3.5 rounded up to 4 stars.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC.

I am trying to find a way to express my love for this book without swearing. It is everything! It is the most "I can't put this down" book I've read all year. I could not predict a single thing. It is a book about love and sisterhood and crimes and everything else.
Our poor protagonist suffered from some severe trauma and then went to college and the next day her neighborhood disappeared. I love a good "coming home to solve a mystery" novel but this is so much more. I do not want to ruin anything so I won't share anymore details but absolutely read this. Do not reconsider. Read it right now.
I want to discuss this with people.
I may never recover from this book.

This is a weird horror that almost reminded me of Area X by Jeff Vandermeer. It's a story of women facing their ghosts and childhood trauma and I completed this within one sitting. It's gripping, it's intriguing. I had a good time, but there were moments too that I feel pulled me out and made the story drag a bit.

Looking for a unique ghost story that will creep you out? Then The Haunting of Velkwood by Gwendolyn Kiste is the book for you. Twenty years ago an entire neighborhood disappeared behind an impenetrable wall and all of the residents turned into ghosts, except for three women who were leaving town. Now, Talitha, one of those women is asked to go back to her old neighborhood and help find out more about what happened.

What I liked: I typically don’t like media that shows some supernatural entity taking over and changing people (think the move Annihilation), but this book brought just enough creepiness and heart that I really enjoyed. The first two thirds of this book were absolutely unputdownable and the action starts right away. I liked Talitha’s conflict within herself about if she should and now she should help the ghostly residents of her former home. This book was fast paced and had just enough mystery that you keep guessing what happened. The author’s writing shined especially during the creepy moments when Talitha goes into the neighborhood.

To keep in mind: while I loved a majority of this book, the last third felt like it dragged on and I ended with more questions than answers. I don’t know if I just missed it, but I did not feel I got a clear answer on what exactly happened to cause the neighborhood to turn into a ghost town. I was also confused by Enid and her exact importance to the story. This is a short book, and I understand that we have limited time to learn everything, but that last third could have been changed to include less about Sophie and more about the other curiosities.

Rating: 3.5 ⭐️ Overall, book was enjoyable. I found the writing easy to follow and was especially creepy when required. The author had an interesting cast of characters that I wished we could have learned more about. Th beginning of this book was fast-paced with a story I could not put down, but the ending felt like it dragged without the answers I was looking for.

Thank you to NetGalley, S&S/Saga Press, and Gwendolyn Kiste for the opportunity to review this book prior to its release.

Eh, I was underwhelmed by this one. The premise is cool though— a street and all of its inhabitants disappear one night and the only people who can make it through the wall of haze are the 3 teens who got away.

I found the pacing to be off immediately. There wasn’t enough time for me to get to know the characters before we were in the action and I could have used more backstory about the street and surrounding town up front. For something like this I think excerpts from newspaper articles could
Have worked.

I also didn’t like the relationship between Talitha and Brett. It didn’t feel natural, or I guess I don’t know why they fell in love. It felt more like a plot device and less like a real relationship.

The whole book felt very Night Vale/Alice Isn’t Dead, and I loved that aspect of it. I just think the actual story telling portion could have been better.

And there are a few other dumb things that stuck out to me that made me:
—the stepdad is named Samuel and the kids favorite toy is named Sam. One of those names needs to change.
— the two brothers are never referred to by name until the very end. Either give them names earlier on or just continue to refer to them as “Grace’s brothers”
— I’ve never seen the word “sallow” used so many times in one book
— I constantly read Brett’s name and thought she was a guy. And then I couldn’t remember who this guy was.

The Haunting of Velkwood is a speculative horror novel about a neighborhood that suddenly disappeared behind a veil that no on can pass through. Well, almost no one...
Only three people from the neighborhood survived the disappearance. Three women who were college students at the time, on their way back to school. Now 40, Talitha agrees to aid researchers by trying to go back for the first time, hoping to somehow save her then 8 year old sister. But the truth of what happened that night is rearing its head.

*Special thanks to NetGalley and Saga Press for this e-arc.*

Talitha, Brett, and Grace are the only three survivors of the Velkwood disappearance. Not only did everyone in the neighborhood disappear, but the street is now a shimmery dome of maybe magic that no one can cross … except for the three survivors. And now, 20 years later, Talitha may have to go back in, but what entities and secrets will come out?

This is a great haunting story! The spook factor is all the way up and the descriptions made me cringe (good thing). The story unfolds to be so much more than a haunted neighborhood. I liked Talitha and the girls and even Jack the researcher. I wanted a little bit closer though. I felt like Talitha was at arms length from the reader. Which helped with the creepiness factor, but was hard to connect to as a reader. I recommend this to fellow horror readers for a different tale on a haunted house!

Thank you to NetGalley and Saga Press for the advanced digital copy! All opinions are mine. Out March 5!

An interesting twist on a haunted house story. Here it's a neighborhood that's been ghosted - the houses, people, everything. And only three women who used to live there can get past the barrier and enter the street to find out what's going on and whether it can be fixed. It's an engrossing plot that keeps you wondering just what's going on and there are some surprises along the way. Not all questions are answered in the end, but there's a satisfying resolution.

Talitha experiences survivor’s guilt because after she goes to college, the block where her family lived becomes a liminal space and all the occupants become ghosts. Twenty years later, she’s living a life haunted by the past. A researcher gives her the opportunity to return and seek the beloved sister she left behind. But to do so, she risks stirring up old secrets and coming face to face with the person she’s always loved.

I am in awe with how Kiste crafts perfectly structured stories with stunningly beautiful prose. Stores that haunt the reader as much as the characters. Stories that explore community, friendship, and love while poking at wounds created by abuse, misogyny, and self blame. Wounds made deeper by those who observe and fail to intervene.

The weird story world is a beautiful blend of familiar and novel, and full of witchy and uncanny elements. I always know I’m in good hands when I read a work by Kiste as she consistently delivers a protagonist I care about and relate to and a satisfying, wonderfully written story that can be enjoyed on multiple levels.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Thanks to Saga Press, an imprint of Simon & Schuster, LLC, for providing an Advance Reader Copy via NetGalley.

I’m just going to get right to the point - I loved this book!! ❤️ This is a story of grief, loss, regret, words left unsaid, broken promises, secrets, friendships, love, family, and ghosts. 👻

My favorite quote: “Why do we chase after the very people who chase us away?” 😢

Highly recommend this one!! 🙌 I need to read everything else by Gwendolyn Kiste now!!! ❤️

Thank you to NetGalley and Saga Press for the eARC in exchange for my honest review! ❤️

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for allowing me to read this ARC of “The Haunting of Velkwood”. I definitely enjoyed this story. It also was definitely far from what I expected. I think this was a unique concept of a story. Also bonus points for intertwines of a sapphic love story. The message is so beautiful; the past really does always stay with you, there’s no letting go completely. I also was very satisfied with the ending which I feel is a rarity in books for me.

I read this over a couple of days. It pulled me in from the start.

The Haunting of Velkwood by Gwendolyn Kiste was not a haunted house story, but more of a haunted sub division. And not haunted in the traditional sense. Were the inhabitants left behind the ghosts, or the people who made it out?

Gave Southern Reach vibes at the beginning. Researching this anomaly of a subdivision shrouded in mystery and mist. Only women can breach the barrier and go inside.

A unique take on the haunted trope. Loved it!

This book follows three friends who are dealing with loss. When their neighborhood and families all disappear and become ghosts, they are left with only each other for support and endless media spotlight. When Talitha is offered an opportunity to go back and look for her younger sister, she seizes the opportunity. As things slowly begin to unfold, we find out that not only the people are stuck in Velkwood, but so is the truth of what happened there. A short quick read that I could not put down.

The Haunting of Velkwood is a stunningly beautiful and truly eerie novel not only about confronting the ghosts of your past (quite literally, in this case), but also about the isolation and empty promises of America’s suburban neighborhoods and the manner in which such a way of living encourages neighbors to pay no attention to what happens behind other’s closed doors lest your closed door be the one that comes under scrutiny.

I haven’t enjoyed a horror novel this much in months, and I truly think it’s because I really got to sink my analytical claws into it. In university I studied human geography and urban planning, and one of my great areas of interest was the dangers and perils of suburban living to the human psyche and familial relationships (especially between parent and child). The Haunting of Velkwood really allowed me to stretch the parts of my brain that are absolutely fascinated with how dangerous it is for humans to live in isolated and homogenous groups like the titular one in this book.

People fear what they don’t understand, and that is true of Velkwood Street both before the main narrative of this book and during the main events. What happened? Why? Who was involved? Who’s still in there? Are they alive? Dead? Something else? Can it be fixed? What will happen if they just let it be? Should they poke the bear?

The story and Kiste’s lovely writing are as haunting as the shadows in the depths of the main character’s eyes. A evocative and sad tale of how you can never truly go home again, especially if home was never truly safe to begin with.

I was provided a copy of this title by NetGalley and the author. All thoughts, opinions, views, and ideas expressed herein are mine and mine alone. Thank you.

File Under: 5 Star Review/Ghost Fiction/Gothic Fiction/Horror/LGBTQ Fiction/Paranormal Horror/Sapphic Romance

I will never stop screaming about The Rust Maidens, so I was thrilled when Haunting of Velkwood dropped in my inbox.

Talitha agrees to return to Velkwood--her childhood home that remains suspended somewhere between vanished and forbidden--in hopes of saving her younger sister, but going back costs more than she anticipated.

This book. I finished it in a single sitting.

Kiste's writing is so good. SO. GOOD. Talitha's character is engaging, conflicted, and left me emotionally raw. The supporting characters were no less developed or nuanced and added so much to the tension of her journey that I couldn't put this down. A surefire hit for readers who loved Malerman's A House at the Bottom of a Lake or Wendig's The Book of Accidents.

A razor-sharp examination of our relationships with the past and its effects on the future, The Haunting of Velkwood is a poignant, compelling, unique read that grabs you from page one and never loosens its hold.

Huge thanks to Saga Press and NetGalley for providing an eARC in exchange for honest review consideration.

The Haunting of Velkwood is the perfect gothic blend of suspense and the supernatural. This is by far the most unique book I’ve read this year. It’s perfectly chilling, very well written and the characters were so lovable.
I loved every page and would highly recommend it to all of my fellow paranormal lovers!

A unique take on a ghost story. Talitha returns home to confront the ghosts from her past…actual ghosts. A phenomenon that occurred 20 years prior caused her neighborhood and inhabitants to fade away to ghost like apparitions. I enjoyed this one - it was creepy and gave me Silent Hill vibes. It would have been nice for the actual story and side characters to be flushed out a bit more. I felt at times the novel just skimmed the surface of things. Thank you to NetGalley for a chance to read and review this book!

I tend to shy away from books that make me think too much and analyze meanings for a deeper understanding. This book was certainly thought provoking, but I really enjoyed that about it. My confusion left me feeling uneasy and like I couldn’t get a handle on what was going on, which in some ways mirrored Talitha’s experience throughout the book. This wasn’t your typical haunting, but it was extremely creepy nonetheless!