A twisty, psychological paranormal, HAUNTING OF VELKWOOD had me on the edge of my seat. Kiste writes tension masterfully, intertwining confronting past traumas by allowing them to take the form of ghosts. I love books where the absence of something is a character in itself.

Thank you to Saga Press and NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I've been a fan of Kiste's work since And Her Smile Will Untether the Universe, and her newest novel continues her conjuration of places and events of the here-not-here. The Haunting of Velkwood takes us into the suburban fantastic as Talitha is forced to confront the literal ghosts of her past. Twenty years ago, Talitha's neighborhood disappeared over night - trapping her mother, sister and neighbors inside - with only her and two friends (Grace and Brett) on the outside. Now, when offered the chance to go back by a researcher, she takes it. What lies on the other side of the boundary is weird, wonderful, and wistful.

Talitha and the other characters are brought to life with careful attention to how this major event shaped them. She's wandered for years, never really finding happiness or settling, and the broken promise to her younger sister weighs heavily. Brett, on the other hand, has succeeded and has no desire to go back. This push and pull of crossing the suburban boundary, the costs it has, and what is learned each time we crossover builds a nice tension. The novel is full of longing for a would've, could've, should've and what ifs. It's that teenage desire to leave everything behind but the adult realization that what you leave may be truly gone. Talitha's inner conflict with her desires and the guilt she's grown with felt terribly realistic and her choice between past and present/future was engaging. To the end, I didn't know which choice she was going to make.

The setting is fantastic with vivid descriptions. The friendship and relationships were well done, especially between Talitha and her mother. The novel acknowledges the inherent nostalgia and dreams built in what becomes a suburban hellscape, and asks, "Where did we go wrong?" The answers, naturally, are complicated.

I recommend this novel for fans of Kiste's work, anyone who left a small town and never looked back, and adults who were forced to be someone they weren't (and may still be hiding in the shadows). A beautiful, haunting accomplishment for Kiste.

A full-length review was posted on my blog on March 5, 2024.

You know that feeling you get when you are sure that there is something behind you? Something just out of your peripherial vision that if you could just turn fast enough it would leave you unhinged? #TheHauntingofVelkwood by #GwendolynKiste is that feeling creeping up on you. I adore this book so much. It sucks you in from the very beginning with a story of 3 girls that manged to escape destruction in their neighborhood. They become something akin to celebrities being the only ones that didn't vanish along with the neighborhood they came from. Although people from their old town still whisper about what could have caused a whole street to disappear taking the people with it.

Nothing can get through the barrior that protects Velkwood, well almost nothing. The girls that escaped can find their way back in but only at a certain point and time moves differently there. They find themselves caught up in Velkwood once again when one of them returns and brings something back with them. The ghosts of their childhood are calling to them. Velkwood is calling to them, its time to end what began all those years ago.


Thank you so much to #Netgalley for the chance to read the eArc of #TheHauntingofVelkwood by #GwendolynKiste in return for a fair and honest review.

Thank you Saga Press for the review copy of The Haunting of Velkwood. I admit this one had me at yellowjackets vibes...

A solid example of speculative writing, paranormal mystery and suspense, a gothic take on ghosts and feeling/being haunted, and at the heart also a family drama, a kind of reverse coming of age as main characters try to process a night that left them lost and alone except for each other during their college years. The story is original, the plot is creepy and unsettling, and the voices and story resonated with me and held me attention. There is a lot to appreciate in this complex book and a lot of appreciation for a story that stands out for being unlike others I have read and a plot that is creative and works. My one note is at times some pacing/writing issues that held me a little back from fully loving the book but still a lot of promise for future books from Kiste and a great read for thriller fans who want something new, off the beaten path.

Okay so oh my LANTA the ✨emotions✨ with this one that I did not expect. For anyone who loves September House just as much as I did this book is for you. It’s very similar vibes on addressing trauma and how you realize people in real life as well as situations can be just as scary as ghosts and hauntings. Instead of a house, it takes place in an entire neighborhood, and instead of being a mom and her daughter, it ends up being a trio of girlfriends, with the focus being primarily on Talitha.

First when I started reading it, I wasn’t sure if I was going to like how much the relationship between Talitha and Brett was a part of it. It seemed rather unnecessary at first. I didn’t really understand how it tied into the story, but as the story moved on, it became clear how it was very much actually one of the focal points of the book and a very necessary included narrative.

The neighborhood, which seemed almost be its own actual character in the story, that seemed very alive and all consuming, was also an interesting point that I didn’t expect at first. But it plays on that Gothic trope (which is also one of my favorite tropes) of the house, or in this case neighborhood, being alive. The time jumps between being inside the neighborhood and outside the neighborhood was another nice little add in. Because when you hear characters talk about being inside the neighborhood, you have to wonder how long they were actually there and vice versa.

Whereas September House seem to explore the intimacies and secrets you may hide from your family members, or even yourself, as well as the positives and negatives of those types of relationships, This focuses more on what secrets and biases of the time can affect specific friendships and your relationships with your family members as a result of those friendships.

I rated this four stars a couple reasons. Firstly, because in the first maybe 25-30% was kinda a slog to get through and not the most exciting. Honestly, like I said before, I wasn’t expecting to enjoy this as much as I did. However, once it picks up around the second time she goes back into the neighborhood is when you just want to keep reading through the end to find out what happens.

Also, I wish that the character of Grace was a little bit more flushed out because you got these really, really strong characterizations of Talitha and Brett, but it doesn’t seem that you know you get to learn as much about Grace as the other two, despite them all being supposed to be these three girls in a close friendship. You know that Grace as an adult was very, very focused on the past, and as a teen was very into her boyfriend, quiet and I felt like that was kind of it.
Meanwhile, with Brett and Talitha, it felt a lot more in-depth where you got to understand the intricacies of their emotions and their personalities and why they were the way they were. Then it seemed like Grace was kind of along for the ride. I would’ve at least liked to know a little bit more about Grace’s, backstory and personality, why she was the way she was and why she was so focused on the past. We never really find that out .

I also would’ve liked to know more about Talitha‘s toxic family dynamic because again, you get to figure out like how in depth and how toxic/not great the family relationship was in Brett’s family and all the things that were going on but I feel like you don’t get to know quite as much about that as with Talitha and her family. You get a glimpse of it towards the end, but otherwise you don’t really get quite as an in-depth description.

Overall, I think I really enjoyed this book way more than I thought I would like I think I literally read the second half of it in two different nights because I had to find out what happened and what the specifics of why they left were. In fact, it almost made me cry as many times as September House did towards the end because I did not expect any of that as an ending. WHO WAS CUTTING ONIONS IN THE CLUB WITH THAT ENDING 😭😭😭

Twenty years ago, Talitha's mother and sister disappeared when a block in her town, named after the family, Velkwood becomes mostly invisible to all except 3 friends that lived there.. After leaving the area, Talitha is approached by a paranormal researcher wants to explore the street, she agrees and decides to return. One three people can return and she is one of them.
Very good story that is able to make you cry with sorrow for the missing and the girls who are still alive. I enjoyed the read and will be looking for more from Ms. Kiste.

Talitha(name of little girl revived in a Christian gospel) has a hopeless life with little ambition. After her suburban neighborhood block disappeared, along with her beloved little sister and mom, she has failed to move past the tragedy. When a paranormal researcher, Jake, offers the opportunity to explore Velkwood, as the media dubbed the ghostly block, Talitha decides to return. She is soon reunited with her childhood friends. Soon, the secrets of their past are revealed. A poignant, creepy page-turner.

Twenty years ago, Talitha's neighborhood turned into a ghost and took every remaining person on the street into ghostliness with it. Known as the Velkwood Vicinity, only Talitha and her two former friends can return. But they don't. Despite their denials, they've kept the secret of what happened the night the neighborhood went into limbo and why they believe it happened...but now it's time to go back.

Dark, sad, bittersweet, and hopeful in the end, it's a meditation on the way the open secrets we keep can twist and mutate our humanity. It's about protection, communication, and ultimately about letting of the past so that you can have a present. Talitha is so sad but so easy to feel for, even when you disagree with what she does, it's hard not to understand why she made the choices that she did.

Despite the darkness, this made me cry more than once. It's absolutely wrenching to watch the horror on the inside effect the outside, and to see what it takes to wash away the dark and allow everyone to move on.

Some topics are kind of danced around or not explicit, and I appreciated that Kiste did not make those things the center of the story even if they are important to everything that happens. It truly stays a story about Talitha, and the relationships she had before and after the events that created Velkwood.

This was my first Gwendolyn Kiste and I think I will be looking up other books by her as her writing style was compelling and soft in a way I can't explain. Not my usual read but I very much enjoyed it.

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! ❤️