This book wasn't entirely my cup of tea, but I think others will enjoy it, especially if you are just getting into horror, or you like horror, but nothing too extreme.

Harry is a single mom and working as a cleaning woman for a famous horror movie director. However, something isn't quite right in the home.

It was fairly easy to follow along with, but I felt like Harry ignored every red flag and they weren't really addressed. One of the major plot points was that she always heard banging and someone saying, "help me, help me," while she was at the home cleaning. I felt like it was odd that she just kind of ignored such a wild red flag and went about her business.

I also didn't really feel like anything happened until the very end of the book, and then everything happened all at once, so the pacing felt off to me. Overall, it wasn't entirely unenjoyable, it just wasn't my style.

Was so excited to be approved for this eARC and audio on @prhaudio.

The House that Horror Built has such a fun, unique, spooky premise - told from the point of view of a house cleaner, tasked with cleaning a famous horror director's props & memorabilia-filled home, who soon starts hearing and seeing things that can't be full explained away!
It was so interesting to learn about our main girl, Harry's backstory, while also showcasing her and her teen son's shared love of horror films! I also just love when filmmaking is tied into a book, and a horror book makes it even more fun.

However, I found this book to, ultimately, be incredibly predictable and repetitive and there was more talking about spooky stuff than there was actual spooky stuff happening.

I was really intrigued by the concept of this story--a spooky haunted house owned by an enigmatic horror director and a mother-son duo trying to parse through all of the secrets buried in the house's walls and owner--but ultimately I didn't really like this that much. I just wanted more from this story. When you sell me on weird horror director and their haunted house, I'm expecting a fair share of spooky and creepy moments. There were some--like a haunted costume--but there weren't enough. The horror-fandom moments were some of my favorite parts, I've gotta say. Also, when it came to the characters I didn't hate them, but I never felt much toward or about them.
Overall, this story was okay. It was fast-paced and not overly serious, but I do think it would have benefitted from leaning even harder into the genre--really scare me, creep me out, make me hold my breath in anticipation. I definitely think that previous fans of Henry's and people who want creepy-but-not-too-creepy will like this!

I'm a huge cinephile, so I love books about filmmakers (especially horror!) and the ghosts they carry with them. I thought the pacing was a little slow, but the scares were good. I disliked the ending, though. I saw it coming and it felt very rushed, especially since the rest of the book was basically a build-up. I wish the author had spent less time on the narrator's internal monologues and more time fleshing out the story. Overall, an enjoyable, but predictable, read.

I am a sucker for gothic haunted house horror so I was thrilled to get my hands on this book. It was a fast-paced, satisfying if shallow read, more suspense than horror.

The characters were stock but developed. I especially liked Harry and her backstory was interesting and really helped develop her character. The character of Javier changed throughout the book, and he seemed to act erratically, and I don’t know if that is because (spoiler) he’s the villain or what.

The action moved quickly, if predictably. A lot of time was spent on Harry worrying about relocating, when it was obvious that she and her son would end up in Javier’s house. There was nothing really unexpected or twisty that happened, and I was able to predict exactly where the story would go and what would happen. The ending was abrupt and didn’t feel well planned out.

This would be a good intro to horror for someone who is squeamish or isn’t really sure if they want to read horror. However, for someone who reads a lot of horror, this book will miss the mark. If it was revised to have fewer f-words, it would easily fit into the YA section, despite the main character being an adult. That’s how simplistic and formulaic the story was.

Despite these flaws, it was a quick and enjoyable if forgettable read.

I love a gothic, creepy house as a setting so that alone made me excited to read this book. Add to that Christina Henry’s talent for storytelling, and it was a no brainer! While the book delivers on the creepy vibes, the brooding mansion, and a celebration of horror movies, over all I found this book to be only okay. For me, it didn’t hold the same magic as some of Henry’s other books.

Harry Adams is a single mother struggling to support herself and her son Gabe paycheck to paycheck. When the pandemic hits (and yes, this is unfortunately another pandemic book), she takes an unconventional job working as a housekeeper for Javier Castillo. Javier is a renowned horror movie director who has turned reclusive. His home is filled with costumes and props from horror movies, adding to the creepy vibe of the book.

Javier also has some questionable things in his past, particularly surrounding his son Michael who went missing long before and had some other rumors surrounding him at the time. When Javier meets Harry’s son Gabe, the two bond. Gabe has always been obsessed with horror movies and he’s excited to be in the home of such a famous director. Javier also seems to adore Gabe, but the situation makes Harry uncomfortable and she feels like she needs to keep a little bit of distance.

In part this is because Javier is distinctly odd. He can be cold at times, but overly interested other times. He keeps plenty of secrets and his house is full of strange and often creepy objects. Sometimes Harry even can sense that something even more sinister is lurking in the walls.

Via Harry, Henry makes a lot of commentary on the discrepancies between the wealthy and the poor. Harry and Gabe may be forced out of their apartment, which she can already barely afford. It may mean an even longer commute, but she’s hoping not to pull Gabe out of his school. Harry is a good mother and the reader can see that. Javier’s lifestyle is out of touch for most people, something that is glaringly apparent in contrast to how Harry and Gabe live.

I found this book to be slow and somewhat tedious. Even though I felt sympathy for Harry, I didn’t connect with her at all. Javier may seem cold but Harry often does as well. All three of the central characters felt underdeveloped, particularly for how small of a cast there is in this novel and how much backstory we get on both Harry and Javier.

After a slow plodding novel without much action, the ending moves at warp speed and then abruptly ends. It’s certainly a shocking ending, but I didn’t think it had the impact intended. I felt confused like there should be another chapter or epilogue after. Past the 90% mark is too late for the book to gain traction, in my opinion.

I didn’t stop reading it and I think horror fans may enjoy the nods and references to the genre, particularly in the first half. The setting is well-developed but the characters were underdeveloped. I liked this novel but it wasn’t a favorite for me.

Thank you to Berkley Publishing and Penguin Random House for my copy. Opinions are my own.

This book was more paranormal mystery than horror, so don’t let the title scare you off if you’re not a horror reader. I love the main characters Harry and her son, Gabe. The pacing of the story kept me turning the pages, and the twists took me by surprise. This was a fun read! Christina Henry is a favorite author and I will continue to read anything she writes.

Thank you for the opportunity to read this wonderful story in advance!

Excellent atmosphere with the ghostly, creepy house full of horror movie memorabilia. I really enjoyed the bits of the story that focused on Harry's background and could have used a bit more of that. It succeeds in being creepy, but this isn't the first book from the author I'd recommend.

3.5 stars

I liked this one but didn't love it. The premise was great - a haunted house owned by a horror film director, and a young mother and her teenage son become tangled up in the home and owner's secrets. I wanted more scary moments - sure, the possessed costume was freaky, but I was never terrified or more than creeped out. I thought Harry was an excellent MC and I loved her backstory. Her fandom of horror films was fun to follow, and I like that she broke away from her uber-religious family. The mother-son relationship between Harry and Gabe was sweet! However, Javier was just strange and creepy in a weird old man way. The book did edge toward more suspenseful towards the end, but the storyline felt a bit clunky. Overall, a quick and entertaining read!

Thank you to Berkley and Netgalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review!

Harry is a single mother. All she wants is to make sure her son is well taken care of. When she starts working as a house cleaner for Javier Castillo, who is a famous horror movie director, she starts to realize very quickly that something is seriously wrong inside the house.

This book was just meh to me. Now don’t get me wrong, I enjoyed it! But I don’t know, I guess I was just wanting more? It felt like the ending was rushed and I figured it out about halfway through the book. It had some great supernatural elements that I loved and the haunted house/props setting was perfect.

Even though this wasn’t my favorite Henry book, I still love her writing and I cannot wait to see what she comes out with next!

Thank you so much to Berkley for the e-arc! Release date is May 14th.

Harry, an avid horror movie buff, has become a house cleaner for Mr. Castillo, an infamous horror movie director whose son and wife disappeared years ago. Harry tries to keep her curiosity to herself, ignoring the strange voices and creepy costumes she sometimes encounters while cleaning Mr. Castillo’s mansion full of tributes to his films. But when her son, Gabe, becomes involved, Harry realizes she may have to dig a lot deeper.

This is a slow moving book, which means the suspense and thrills and horror are slow to build. When they get going, this is a creepy book for sure. Harry and Gabe are really compelling characters, especially given the situations they find themselves in. While this isn’t my favorite horror book ever, I did enjoy it, especially the twist at the end. If you enjoy suspenseful horror, I would recommend this book.

Short synopsis: Harry gets a job cleaning the house of a famous horror movie director. The house is filled with trinkets from previous movies, that she’s responsible for dusting, when she hears a knocking on the wall of the forbidden room.

My thoughts: I love a good Haunted House book, and this one really worked for me. I loved the flashbacks into the earlier lives of both Harry and Javier, and seeing what brought them to where they are today.

Harry was such a GREAT mother! I loved how she worked so hard to try and make a good life for Gabe, and he was such a good kid full of respect for his mom.

I guessed part of the main twist in the book, but the ride was such a fun one to be on! I did most of the book on audio and the narrator “killed” it! She helped create such a great atmosphere to really bring the story (and monsters) to life!

Read if you love:
- Horror movies
- Memorabilia and trinkets
- Hollywood and the actor scene
- Paranormal aspects
- Great moms

This book wasn't for me. It started out strong I was intrigued by Harry and her job as a cleaning woman in a big creepy house. The rest of the book just dragged on with nothing happening. I struggled picking up the book, and then everything happened in the very last two chapters. Everything wrapped up nicely in the end but the pacing of the book ws way too slow for me.

I received a gifted eARC and audiobook of THE HOUSE THAT HORROR BUILT by Christina Henry for an honest review. Thank you to @BerkleyPub and @PRHAudio!

THE HOUSE THAT HORROR BUILT follows Harry, a single mother struggling to make ends meet. Both she and her son are big horror movie fans, so when she gets the opportunity to work cleaning house for the famous horror director Javier Castillo, it seems like an opportunity she can't pass up. Javier's past is a bit murky after family tragedy took him out of the spotlight. He's also a bit eccentric, but Harry can work with it to ensure she can pay her bills.

What starts as a somewhat regular cleaning job starts to get creepy when she starts hearing noises and seeing things move that shouldn't. There's one costume in particular which has always seemed a bit off to her. As Javier gets more wrapped up in Harry's and her son's lives and more things go awry, Harry must seek to uncover the secrets of the house built by horror.

I have enjoyed Christina Henry's books in the past and the premise of this was so interesting. I think I went in with perhaps too high of an expectation. It was overall a fun book and I think the author had a lot of interesting concepts going on. I do think that going in expecting just a fun time and not super creepiness will help a lot with this one! I felt like I was reading about creepy moments more than feeling the creepiness myself. The gothic nature of the house was interesting and I think that the reveals about Javier's past were well laid out.

Thanks to NetGalley & Berkley Pub for the arc!

When I dove into this one, I was expecting it to read like a horror movie. I mean the house of a reclusive horror film director filled with mementos from all his movies? Something awful and frightening is bound to happen. Even though it wasn’t as horror-filled as I wanted it to be, it wasn’t a bad read. I feel like this book could be a good one to read if you are slowly getting into the horror genre.

The plot was easy to follow and the characters were easy to hate or love. The beginning and end were good, but the middle seemed to drag on for me. There were paranormal aspects to the story, but to me it was so repetitive having almost the same scenario happen over and over. I was hoping for more horror props to cause problems.

Thank you, NetGalley and Berkley Pub, for my free book for review.

As the novel unfolds gradually, I became acquainted with the protagonist, Harry. I gained insight into her formative years and the origins of her passion for the horror genre through her avid consumption of Fangoria magazines and Stephen King novels. This fervent interest created significant discord within her conservative Christian family, ultimately prompting her to flee her home at the age of seventeen. Delving into her life as a single parent, I witnessed a stark contrast to her upbringing, as she and her son formed a deep bond over their mutual love for horror.

Furthermore, the enigmatic house, Bright Horses, with its rich history and a room brimming with horror props cherished by the director, cast an eerie atmosphere over the story. The gradual emergence of disquieting sounds from a locked room served to tickle my curiosity, adding to the palpable sense of foreboding.

The unexpected demise of a guest and the subsequent upheaval in Harry and Gabe's living situation propelled the narrative forward. As the plot unfolded, revelations of possession and insights into the director's troubled past came to light, although the lack of shock value in these developments was notable. The explanation behind the unsettling occurrences in the locked room was attributed to the director's mental state, a trope that felt somewhat overused and predictable.

The ending provided a semblance of closure and justice. While the book had moments of unease, the overall predictability detracted from its impact, despite its moments of eeriness.

This book was definitely a palate cleanser kind of book. While, I wish there was more spookiness throughout… overall, it was easy to get through and entertaining.

If you want to have…
👻 Spooky Vibes
👭Multiple POVs
🕰️Dual timelines

This one may be for you!

I enjoyed this spooky unsettling read! If you love gothic mansion that's possibly haunted thrillers, you will eat this one up. I like the paranormal aspect and how quickly the main characters accepted it because it was the house of a famous horror movie screenwriter/director. I liked how the character study of Harry, a single mom who is barely holding it together financially. It shows why she made the choices she did and really made me think about how different circumstances impact the trajectory of your life. This was a great read with a really surprising and crazy ending. I'd highly recommend this book!

Thank you to NetGalley and Berkley for my copy of this ARC which releases on 5/14/24.

Thank you so much Berkley Pub for the advance copy of this book!

This book will be out on May 14th, 2024.

I was drawn to this book as it had the Hollywood adjacent theme as our main character Harry works for recluse horror movie director Javier Castillo. This book is told from dual timelines and dual POVs with the present being told only from Harry's POV.

It is hard to describe what all was happening in this book without giving things away but the premise of the book focuses on Harry who cleans the house of Javier and started noticing that things weren't always what they seem. She starts to notice a costumes/props moving and hearing noises. And then after a death of an actress at the house, her fear and suspicions of the home began to accelerate.

The book just builds and builds until it all unfolds in the last couple of chapters. I won't say I was surprised by all the revelations but I also did not see some of it coming. But then the book just ended. I would love to have seen what ended up happening with Harry and Gabe.

I love the relationship between Harry and Gabe. She is all he has and I just love how Gabe really admires his mom.

I paired my reading with the audio and I thought the narrator Lisa Flanagan did such a great job as Harry and all the characters. She especially nailed down Harry's son Gabriel and his tween voice.

If you are looking to give horror a try, I think this would be a good intro to the genre. This wasn’t gory and just a little creepy.

This was my second book by this author, the first was Near the Bone which I absolutely loved. This book starts off very strong giving us as the reader a good sense of who Harry is and giving us reason to root for her. A single mother working hard to provide a good life for her son. As the story progresses, I was on the edge of my seat waiting for something to happen. However, once things started to occur it was short lived. I felt every time there was a major plot point, it was quickly over and we were back in Harry’s head rather than experiencing the fear/intensity of the moment. I found this book to be far more character driven than plot driven, which I don’t mind if the plot is also entertaining, but unfortunately it wasn’t because it was too much telling and not enough showing.

What I did like was the characters. I thought they had real life in them and I was rooting for Harry throughout.

This book unfortunately wasn’t for me, but I have faith that this author has other great books.