This book was so CREEPY. It was exactly what I was craving, and I think I read it at just the right time. The book was spooky and eerie, and Ioved learning more about Velkwood and the characters' histories. Definitely [ick this up if you are looking for something haunting.

Thank you to the publisher and to Netgalley for granting me an eArc in exchange for an honest review.

I loved this book!

Velkwoodwood is tainted, a neighborhood of ghosts. It disappeared behind a veil 20 years ago. It is only accessible by three women, who are too terrified to return.

This book is a mix of pseudo-science and paranormal. It is a journey through a traumatic past to discover what happened to the neighborhood. I loved the creepy atmosphere. I loved the writing style of the author. I loved how she showed the horror in everyday life. I highly recommend this book.

I would like to thank NetGalley and Saga Press Books for an ARC copy of the book.

BOOM! MIND BLOWN! This book is full of eerie, spooky, creepy goodness. I started reading it before bed and I was so enthralled that I didn't realise the time until I noticed light coming through my window.

Amazing read from Gwendolyn Kiste! I had never read this author before but had heard so much about her from other readers and through her wins at the Stoker Awards, so finally getting to read some of her fiction was amazing and I was not disappointed at all. An easy 4.5 star read and I look forward to reading more from her!!

Hauntingly beautiful gothic-esque horror about three childhood friends who narrowly escape a gruesome fate when their neighborhood gets turned into ghosts. No one can enter except for them and when they do, the darkness is beckoning. Twenty years later, two of our characters yearn for their loved ones left behind and the grief completely swallows their lives. When Talitha is approached by a scientist trying to do research on the paranormal phenomenon that is now known as the Velkwood Vicinity, she reluctantly agrees.

Where are my grief horror people at? Because hello, this book is for you. While this is very dark and eerie, I was hoping for more of a horror element but it leaned more towards paranormal suspense. Regardless, thoroughly enjoyable and incredibly unique. On the shorter side, which I personally liked. Highly recommend if you’re a fan of the genre.

The Haunting of Velkwood by @gwendolynkiste this book will be published March 05, 2024. This story is part ghost hunters sprinkled with some grief and mystery elements. There is a bit more going on than what it seems at the very beginning.

This is my second read of Kiste's work, and I loved this one almost as much as I loved "Reluctant Immortals." There's a haunted street that is frozen in the past, and our characters are tasked with figuring it out and saving their trapped loved ones. There's a ton of emotional ties in this one that will punch you in the chest (make sure you read the trigger warnings), but I couldn't put this one down. Highly recommend for fans of bizarre connections between people and places.

Thanks to NetGalley and Saga Press Books for an advanced copy of this ebook.

The Haunting of Velkwood is about a suburb, where this bizarre phenomenon happened and years of investigation have led to no explanations. The street was suddenly somehow separated from the rest of the world, and everyone inside was trapped, stuck at that specific point in time, neither dead or alive. Anyone who entered the suburb that were not originally from there end up dying/disappearing. The night everything changed, three young women were able to escape, and have went on to lead very different lives from one another. Roughly twenty years later, a researcher contacted the women and wanted them to go back to their suburb in exchange for compensation, since they are the only ones able to move between the two spaces seemingly without dying (and he and his colleagues wanted to study them). Eventually one of them agrees, because she wants answers for what happened to her mom and sister.

There were a lot of different themes going on within this book: dealing with grief from loss, acceptance of who you are as a person, regardless of what everyone else may think, and how to move on from trauma. The tone was very ominous and creepy, especially when the women were back in their homes. It felt claustrophobic and hopeless, very well written. This wasn't a very scary or overly violent book either, I felt like it was more of an emotional read and I was welling up with tears by the end of it. I really enjoyed this, although it wasn't quite what I expected. It honestly kind of made me think of the movie The Sixth Sense - not necessarily the plot, but just how the ghosts in that movie interacted with people and the feeling they gave throughout.

Thank you @simonandschuster @sagapressbooks for the #gifted copy of this e-arc!

This author is new to me and for sure one I am telling you to check out if you’re a horror fan. Once again I’ll say it…I am super picky when it comes to horror and I LOVED this one!

In this spooky story we visit an entire haunted neighborhood. One that many years ago on night the entire neighborhood turned into ghosts. All except for 3 people who managed to get out. Many years later the survivors are called back to the scene to help a researcher understand scientific evidence about what happened to the people that lived in the Velkwood neighborhood. Talitha, one of the survivors, agrees to help him as she desperately needs money 💰 and thinks this is the chance to help. What could possibly go wrong?

I loved the scientific part of this book and seeing what happened as Talitha visited the neighborhood each time. The idea that the “Velkwood Vicinity” was left to sit abandoned and rot as the rest of the world moved on. I thought it was neat that as she entered the neighborhood it’s almost as if she entered a portal where time warped and energy and life was zapped! This was such a uniquely creepy idea for a book. The setting felt mysterious, hair raising, ghostly, eerie and bone chilling. I could envision Talitha “crossing over” each time and envisioned the change in energy and scenery. Almost like watching a colorful movie switch to black and white! This book is THE perfect book for creepy season! Add this one to your TBR if you’re looking for a one of a kind ghost story!

20 years after their entire street disappeared, Talitha and her fellow survivors are pulled back toward the haunting remnants of their home. Researchers for decades have been completely stumped on the infamous "Velkwood Vicinity", and now with Talitha's return, will they finally get their answers?

All I can say is just, WOW! The concept of this story alone is fantastic, such an interesting take on haunting stories. The story starts off very quickly, and while it is a bit confusing at the start for that reason, the context and background information begins to make its appearance rather quickly. I found it really neat to read a fast-paced, gothic, haunted house story - they usually tend to creep along slowly, and this was a nice change! It sucks you in from the very start.

I truly felt for Talitha. She is far from forthcoming and is incredibly guarded, but as the story progresses we find that she has a very good reason to be guarded. The interactions between her and Brett, as well as the hardships they had endured, pulled at my heartstrings. I could feel their pain about their distance and it was heart-wrenching. There were a couple of aspects of the characters and their interactions that bothered me, such as Talitha's stubbornness and inability to open up, but honestly they're necessary features to show off her character development - which is phenomenal! Also, I was so thrilled to see LGBTQ+ representation! It isn't nearly as common as I would like in the horror/gothic genre, and I absolutely loved how it was incorporated in this book.

All around, this was a fantastic story that will pull you in from the jump. The characters are easy to love, the atmosphere is incredibly unsettling and creepy, and the concept is fascinating - all around a super enjoyable read. Thank you to the wonderful Saga Press for this eARC!

This is a tale of regrets, loss, and secrets that explores these themes within a frightening and unique ghost story.

In this novel, a small subdivision of eight homes is haunted. Not just the houses but that whole area. For twenty years it's been the subject of the government, paranormal teams, and scientific research. All to no avail nor answers because nobody can enter the area. The area won't allow it.

But this area is named after the Velkwood family and our protagonist is the daughter of the namesake. When a researcher convinces her that she can "get through" the ghostly barriers to explore her former home, she reluctantly agrees. But she was there twenty years earlier when something happened to cause this haunting. Now the question is, once she goes in can she get out and, if so, at what price?

As the book progresses, we'll learn of horrible and heartbreaking secrets about this neighborhood and other characters. These secrets have changed the characters, molded them into who they are now and not in a good way.

But going inside the haunted area has it's own risks. And some secrets can be deadly.

I loved this concept of a haunted neighborhood. The atmosphere is exceptionally creepy and some of the things that happen within that area are terrifying and often heart wrenching.

And once things start to be revealed it all begins to lead to a particular gruesome event and the consequences of that event.

This is a book you won't want to put down and I highly recommend it.

I am so thankful to Saga Press, Gwendolyn Kiste, and Netgalley for granting me advanced digital access to this twisty horror before it hits shelves on March 5, 2024. I couldn't put this one down, and neither will you, dear readers.

When the people of Velkwood Street go missing 20 years ago without a trace and what's left of the neighborhood bars outsiders from coming in, plaguing them with blackouts and connectivity interference, the whole world is left baffled, making it the top occultist-favorite, late-night-special town. Three girls were able to escape, however, and now, all this time later, they're going back, with the funding of a non-profit, to find answers on why this mysterious town is still standing, but the people who lived there are now gone and ghosts.

Talitha Velkwood is the star of the neighborhood. She leaves behind her next-to-nothing rental home and deadbeat jobs to search for her baby sister, who was left behind in their childhood home the night everyone vanished. Every time she ventures into the town, she's faced with mind-bending side effects and a time hangover like no other.

The people of Velkwood Street can't see her, but she can see them, leaving her pining for explanations and further guidance from the non-profit's scientists and her fellow friends, Brett and Grace. So it's a call to them to get them on-site to help solve the mystery before it's too late for those who travel in between worlds because, oh yeah, the side effects are life-threatening.

Twist after twist, you'll be playing detective trying to figure out what's going on. I promise this one doesn't disappoint.

Talitha Velkwood hasn’t been home in 20 years. That’s easy to avoid when your home, your neighbors’ homes, and your street are gone. Even easier if you’re one of three people who didn’t disappear along with it. But going home is exactly what Talitha is going to do. Arriving March 5th from Saga Press, Gwendolyn Kiste’s newest release is an expansive take on one of horror’s most classic subgenres. The Haunting of Velkwood is not a haunted house—it’s a haunted street.

The Velkwood Vicinity is a supernatural phenomena. One day, it was a normal street. The next, it was a ghost. When I read a haunted house story, I’m always looking for the house to be its own character. Sure, I’m interested in the ghosts, too. Who isn’t? But when the setting is done right, the house comes alive. By having the entire street, houses and all, become a ghost, Kiste checked that box for me immediately. And then some.

The questions I asked myself while reading took on new shapes. It wasn’t just, “What happened here?” It was, “What happened here that could cause all of this?” It has to be big, right? That’s the thing about a haunting—it’s personal. But not in Velkwood. In Velkwood, it’s streetwide. And while I asked, “Why?” I also had to ask, “How?” How does something like this happen? What are the implications of something like this? You can’t hide it; it’s not an urban legend. You can’t walk that street. People didn’t leave.

I wasn’t the only one asking these questions. Talitha, along with her fellow survivors and former friends Brett and Grace, became minor celebrities. How did they get out? Do they know what happened? Will they go back? It’s that last question that starts this book. Those three are the only ones able to enter the Velkwood Vicinity. Grace has actually been back. But she won’t go, now. And neither will Brett. So when a researcher, flush with grant money, knocks on Talitha’s door—she’s the last chance. And she says yes.

One of the coolest choices Kiste made is that the Velkwood Vicinity isn’t just a haunted place. It’s a haunted time. What that researcher is asking Talitha to do is re-enter her past. That’s a step beyond simply facing it. The time aspect creates an emotional tide beneath the mystery. We aren’t simply finding out what happened twenty years ago; we’re living it. That looking back, the nostalgic lens is quickly becoming one of my favorites in horror. When done well, it can pack a gut-wrenching punch. It’s done well, here.

And of course, it’s not just the place that’s from the past. Brett and Grace are, too. Talitha and Brett’s relationship in particular is one of the strongest threads in Velkwood. Losing the closeness you once had with someone is a particular kind of pain. The person isn’t what is gone, just the way you used to exist together. It’s complicated. It’s messy. It hurts. I won’t assume every reader has experienced this. But I don’t think the poignancy will be lost if you’ve been lucky enough to avoid it. And these two aside—all three girls lost their families. That’s another level of complicated entirely. And with that, so much more grief.

I really loved this book. The voice and tone was, in my opinion, perfect. If it wasn’t an advanced reader’s copy, I could have filled this review with quotes. This was my first read from Gwendolyn Kiste, so I’m not sure if she is always this quotable, but I definitely intend to find out. Most importantly, this fit what I’m wanting out of horror these days. Horror, to me, is about more than the scares. It’s the whole range of human emotion, especially the harder ones. The Haunting of Velkwood hits that ghostly nail on its ghostly head.

The Haunting of Velkwood is available March 5, 2024.

Photo courtesy of Saga Press.

I literally read this straight through in less than 24 hours. Actually I think I read it in one night.

The perfect combination of spooky, lyrical, and family-secrets-y.

"The Haunting of Velkwood" by Gwendolyn Kiste invites readers into a spine-chilling suburban mystery. T

Talitha Velkwood, haunted by a tragic past that claimed her old neighborhood, including her mother and sister Sophie, is lured back into the eerie Velkwood neighborhood. The creepy atmosphere grips you as Talitha, alongside her estranged friend Brett, faces the unsettling mystery of that fateful night. The narrative skillfully intertwines the present and past, unraveling the secrets of a neighborhood that held them captive. I thought it was hard to put down, and while I wish there had been a bit more, it was a solid 4 stars for me.

Thanks so much to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC.

Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC. This is so not my usual genre but I've been trying to branch out and become a more well-rounded reader. I really enjoyed this book. It was horror but a splash of sci-fi. An unexplainable occurrence happens and a small town disappears along with everyone in it. I liked the way that the author uses the story to deal with tough issues like abuse, I thought that it was well done.

"From Bram Stoker Award-winning author Gwendolyn Kiste comes a chilling novel about three childhood friends who miraculously survive the night everyone in their suburban hometown turned into ghosts - perfect for fans of Yellowjackets.

The Velkwood Vicinity was the topic of occult theorists, tabloid one-hour documentaries, and even some pseudo-scientific investigations as the block of homes disappeared behind a near-impenetrable veil that only three survivors could enter - and only one has in the past twenty years, until now.

Talitha Velkwood has avoided anything to do with the tragedy that took her mother and eight-year-old sister, drifting from one job to another, never settling anywhere or with anyone, feeling as trapped by her past as if she was still there in the small town she so desperately wanted to escape from. When a new researcher tracks her down and offers to pay her to come back to enter the vicinity, Talitha claims she's just doing it for the money.

Of all the crackpot theories over the years, no one has discovered what happened the night Talitha, her estranged, former best friend Brett, and Grace, escaped their homes twenty years ago. Will she finally get the answers she's been looking for all these years, or is this just another dead end?

Award-winning author Gwendolyn Kiste has created a suburban ghost story about a small town that trapped three young women who must confront the past if they're going to have a future."

Yeah, so really it's own unique thing and not Yellowjackets at all...

Literary horror that reads like a speculative episode of twilight zone AND ghost hunters? Sign me up! This book tells the story of a town that seemingly fell off the face of the earth. And as if that wasn’t enough, throw in the haunted family trope. Now, I use the word trope but I don’t mean it in a bad way. This was an interesting blend. This also read like an extension of twin peaks if that makes sense…..

Content Warnings: Child Abuse (Psychological, Physical); Homophobia

I’m split on this novel. I thought the premise around Velkwood, with an entire neighborhood/street vanishing at the same time (save for 3 girls who managed to escape) was intriguing. The imagery used around the missing houses and people was also pretty good, psychologically creepy without being overly disturbing. I also felt the primary relationship between Talitha and Brett, two of the three survivors, was well written throughout the novel. You got their early history, why they couldn’t initially have an open, stable relationship, and that more than anything I wanted to see resolved (and it was).

However, I thought Talitha, the first-person narrator, was pretty boring. I didn’t think that initially, but as I spent more time with her, she just felt too back-and-forth about everything. I recognize on some level that’s the point. She’s not as stuck as one of the three girls, and far more stuck than another. She’s the one who is the most malleable and has the most reason for returning to Velkwood. I just found myself more drawn to the ancillary characters of Grace, Brett, and Enid. I wish they had been the focus of the story, in the end.

Likewise, the plot began to drag the longer the book went on. It was extremely tense after Talitha’s first visit to Velkwood, but became increasingly stretched out and thin. This may have been intentional, given the novel’s focus on themes of stagnation and decay, but it also meant it was hard to stay invested as the story went on.

The Haunting of Velkwood was a very interesting read. I wasn't really sure what to expect going in and it was definitely strange. A lot of time loop weirdness mixed with ghosts. Talitha, Brett, and Grace are all haunted by the past in different ways but this haunting is something everyone can see. Their childhood neighborhood has become a ghost and no one can enter it except for them. What I liked about it was the creepy atmosphere, the themes of coming to terms with past trauma and accepting who you are, and of course that it's sapphic. I liked that they faced their darkest moments and rather than hiding behind "we had no choice" or pretending it never happened they accepted who they were and what they did. What I didn't like was that it felt kind of slow. There wasn't a lot of urgency even in the climax. Nothing was really explained about how or why this happened. And I was hoping it would be scarier. Overall I think the main characters were well written and complex with realistic flaws, and if you want a spooky, atmospheric mystery then this would be perfect for you.