Very well written YA gothic horror which kept engrossed throughout.

The writing style is effortless and flows beautifully. The description of the house and hauntings are atmospheric and creepy without being OTT.
The characters are pretty flushed out, yes there is a hint of the stereotypical bad relationship between the new step-parent and the kid, but it serves a large purpose and pushes the storyline. The 16 year old FMC is likeable and a typical teen, depicted through attitude and language, without it being condescending to the target audience.

Overall an enjoyable read that I would recommend

Thankyou to NetGalley, BooksGoSocial and Parliament press for the ARC for review

Thank you to Netgalley, the author and Parliament House Press, for providing me with an arc of this book in exchange for an honest, unbiased review.

Rachel's world gets turned upside down when her mother and Geoff, her mother's boyfriend, announce a sudden move to Geoff's house. He and the main character do not get along, and the sinister house does not help. Especially when it seems like the house itself wants Rachel gone.

The premise of this book got me hooked. I love family drama and haunted houses, and the combination was right up my alley. The book was fast-paced, really easy to read and digest, perfect for teens who want a light, slightly creepy read. The horror aspects were very light, and the mystery was very well maintained throughout the story. It kept me invested throughout the whole book.

I feel the need, however, to criticise two things: the repetiveness of Rachel's "night problems" in the first half of the book and the pace of the relationship. I do understand the need for both of them, as they were part of the plot construction, but, personally, I was slightly bothered.

Overall, the book was very fun and enjoyable! 4 stars from me!

This book, honestly, took a turn that I was not expected, but was easy enough to put together once the pieces fell into place. But with an intro excerpt from the story of Bluebeard, I thought I knew exactly what I was getting into, and I was pleasantly surprised that that wasn’t the case, when all was said and done.

As thankful as I am that I decided to push through the lull this book experienced at about a quarter in, I wish that The Keeper of the Key got to its point quicker. If it had, this certainly had the potential to be an out of the park 5-star read. But because it didn’t, I feel that the overall ambiance and impact of the book suffered as a result.

What most interested me about this book in particular was the allure of a gothic fiction novel that rested as the unique intersection of gothic and young adult. Gothic fiction having a reputation for being willing to go places that would certainly not be suitable in your average young adult novel, I was curious to see how those themes would playout for a reading population that typically wasn’t the target.

The overall composition of the book was very easy to follow and digest. The writing teetering between typical fiction prose and something otherworldly, which further contributed to the experiences that Wilson was no doubt seeking to elicit throughout the journey into Morgan House and its surrounding township. The issue is that the blurred line between showing and telling became a tad obvious in points of the story where things were often explained outright rather than built up to and experienced wholly by the reader. In this way, a lot of the reactions felt manufactured rather than organic when they arose.

Similarly, it also contributed to a phenomenon where you likely could have skipped several pages in between each one read and still completely understand the story and what happened to our protagonist, Rachel, as she sought to uncover what it was being hidden with Morgan House’s walls.

Rachel, herself, is also a bit insufferable in the way she goes about things, but this can largely be chalked up to her being sixteen years old, which further emphasizes her naivete to a world she thinks she understand, as well as her petulance when things aren’t exactly how she herself thinks they need to be. There were several moments where I, myself, had to remind myself that Rachel was only sixteen, as there were several instances where it read to me like she was intended to be written as an adult with fully formed experiences.

The several horror scenes that did occur were interesting, until they became repetitive. In truth, these scenes when analyzed together gave away the twist of the book long before it was actually revealed and thus made the reveal a bit lackluster, even if some elements of it were interesting.

Beyond Rachel herself, the rest of the characters are fully fleshed out and thus feel wholly secondary to the protagonist and the house that sits and represents the edifice of her ire and curiosity both.

Overall, I wouldn’t say that The Keeper of the Key was a bad book, per se, but it was lacking something that I had gone into it thinking would be there. I enjoyed what was given to me, though not quite as much as I would have liked. For this reason, I’m rating it 4 stars.

I do, however, recommend this book for individuals who like a darker plot in their young adult fiction, for those that enjoy gothic fiction and gothic horror but would prefer to digest something a little more tame, and for individuals who enjoy a love story with a twist.

I also would like to thank NetGalley, Parliament House Press and Nicole Wilson for providing me a copy of this book in exchange for a fair and honest review.

*thank you to netgalley, the author and the Parliament House Press for the ARC <3*

Please note: SPOILERS START AND END WITH [ ]

3.5/4 stars

Oh my god the ending...

*deep breath*

Okay, let’s get started.

In The Keeper of the Key we see things from Rachel’s pov, a 16 year old who has to shift out of her town and go live with her mom’s new boyfriend in a big creepy house in another state. However, it’s not just any house. Rachel hears, sees and feels paranormal activities that won’t leave her alone.

I'll start out by saying I haven't read many gothic or horror books. This was my first book in the gothic/horror genre and according to me it is the perfect gothic read if you want to get started with and explore this genre.

if im being honest, in the start it was very boring. I had to get myself to actually start reading and not just procrastinate about it. It hadn’t got interesting until 40% of the book. I was tempted to DNF this more than once, and I probably would’ve if it hadn’t been a short read.

Coming on to the characters. Rachel was quite annoying after some time. In her defence, I could relate to her more than once and was able to understand where those thoughts came from but at some point they just got to repetitive and I feel that she should could have just tried to understand other’s opinions instead of behaving the way she did. Adding on to this, I don’t feel like we had much character development (for any character) throughout the book, however that is understandable as I don’t expect them to be in a short book as this.

I was really into the story when Nick came into the picture. Many gothic/horror readers don’t like this part but as I usually read romance or fantasy this really helped me continue the story without DNFing it. However Nick was a HUGE red flag RED CARPET and Rachel was just too naive and lovesick to see that. [ I HATED the way he always just wanted to go to Morgan House or any place where they would be without any people as their “alone time”. (hide spoiler)]. And this book shouldn't exactly be marketed as YA due to the sexual activity in between the characters.

One thing I really did not understand was that, Rachel was furious at her Mom for moving in with a guy she barely knows, according to her, but on the other hand she was sharing every single thing from what is happening with her family (geoff, mom, gram, etc) to the paranormal activities in her house without know ANYTHING to Nick. The irony.

Moving ahead, OH MY GOD! I WAS IN UTTER SHOCK AFTER BEING 70% IN THE BOOK.

[ GEOFF DIES GETS MURDERED!? OMG, THAT WAS UNEXPECTED. (hide spoiler)]

this really intrigued me more into the book and i just couldn't stop reading. And that fact that we got another plot twist just after this? [ Rachel's father was cheating on Rachel's mom! (hide spoiler)] that was just *boom*.

At some point I thought the book was getting repetitive, however that was necessary for the ending to build up so ig that's fine. The writing was a bit lacking in description, I couldn't imagine the setting much at all. I am still a bit clueless on how Morgan House should look from the inside and to some extent the outside as well.

Overall, I enjoyed this book, it was a great introduction for me to the horror and gothic genre. I would recommend this to you if you want to get started with this genre. Otherwise, it was an okay read.
<3

Thank you so much to Parliament House Press, NetGalley, and Nicole Willson for this ARC. I really enjoyed this novel—if you love a good haunted house book with semi-annoying characters, then I would recommend.

So at first I thought I would hate this book b/c the mom and boyfriend totally brought out the angry teen in me. They were so obnoxious in how they didn’t seem to listen to how Rachel felt and were more concerned with their own happiness and creating a life together. I would get so frustrated on her behalf b/c no one cared about how she felt about all the changes that were happening and whether or not she was happy.

As the story progressed, it got more interesting. Grandma was definitely cool and the new boyfriend seemed okay, but I wasn’t 100% sure about him. And mom seemed to be making more of an effort to listen to Rachel, which I appreciated. The story didn’t evolve the way I expected and I liked that. I was surprised by what was really down in the basement and why she seemed to be haunted by something dark and sinister. Overall, a solid paranormal Ya book that I think a lot of teens will enjoy.
I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

This would make a fun spooky movie.

A fast paced YA haunted house story, The Keeper of the Key sits at a very balanced spot between classic and subversive, not really bringing in ideas out of the ordinary but developing them in an original, satisfying way.

A very subjective issue I had with a part of the plot:
Throughout the novel, we’re in a bad situation and want to get out of there. The issue is that, instead of a real thing stopping the characters from leaving, we have them just decided to keep going. Are the decisions understandable? Maybe. But in this very specific plot, there were multiple moments where we were give out and no one took them (MC’s mother tells her that if she doesn’t want to, they don’t have to move; tells her she will call off the engagement if MC wants her to, etc.).‘’I’ll do this to keep my mom happy’’ is not enough when we’re dealing with a shady guy and very obviously shit house. It stressed me out in a non-thrilling, but annoying way. I would have much rather have external circumstances that prevented the characters from leaving, be them supernatural or not, instead of reading the ‘’oh well, guess I’ll have to pretend I’m okay with this’’ monologue time and time again.

However, it ''redeems'' itself as the events of the 70% go on.

The characters are not the most developed but I don't expect them to be in a less-than-300 page book; they're good enough, and the teenager we follow is both a... well, dumb teen, and the ill-mannered voice of reason I like to have as a main character.

I honestly didn't really enjoy this book. It was mediocre at best. Willson needs to develop their writing skills before trying to crank out another novel. I did enjoy the world-building that this book had, but I wouldn't read it again. I would recommend this book to someone I didn't like, just so I could cause them the same frustration, that i felt when reading this.

The Keeper of the Key is such a good story. I rated this story 4 stars because I couldn't put it down for a second the whole time. I truly recommend everyone to read this book as fast as they can.

Unfortunately, this book didn't really do it for me.
I was hooked in the first 50% but then I started to get bored, the plot felt dragged out and the horror scenes (the part I was most interested in) felt repetitive and predictable. I saw the twist and the ending come since the very beginning so that took out the scary and mystery part. I tried to excuse the protagonist because she is young but after a while she was simply too naive and dumb and completely ignoring what was obvious. I really liked the premise but the execution wasn't it in my opinion.

You may enjoy this if you’re into gothic horrors with a young adult feel.

Rachel never wanted to move to St. Mary, Virginia, let alone into a run down house with her mom’s odd boyfriend who seems to this the house needs rules more than she does. Strange visions, dark shadows and violent warnings are in store, will she listen to the forces urging her in the night or will she be lost.

The book had a good eerie and gothic feel to it, and was easy to follow, and fit well with the young adult genre. While the story itself is interesting, I found Rachel to be too juvenile for my taste but that younger readers may relate more with her choices and way of thinking.

A big thank you to NetGalley, Nicole Wilson and BooksGoSocial for allowing me to have an ARC for this book in exchange for an honest review.

Really, really enjoyed this one. The setting was great - sad small town with secrets, secluded, old and creepy house. I also liked our main character, 16-year old Rachel. Sure, her relationship with Nick is super superficial and insta-love. But I didn't mind this at all, when normally I hate romances like this. In this case it seems very believable, since Rachel is only 16 years old, sad and angry, moving to a new town where she knows no one.
Now the horror...haunted house, gothic vibes, unexplainable nightmares and sleepwalking, her mom's creepy new boyfriend and a basement with a dark secret. It really creeped me out but I also could not stop reading, this was a one sitting book for me and I had a lot of fun. Definitely recommend!

This book was a great time if I'm honest. I love a good haunted house story and this delivered on every aspect of the horror genre I love. The twists and turns caught me off guard and kept me on my toes and even though I guessed a few plot points the ending took me by surprise. I think any person who has a parent getting into a new relationship will see themselves in Rachel and I just had a great time overall with her character.

The Keeper of the Key is a YA Horror novel with a haunted house. And lots of secrets. Rachel is uprooted when her mother and mom's boyfriend, Geoff, decide they need to move into together. Problem is, that means moving an hour away to Geoff's huge, old mansion that is anything but homey. Morgan House is a creepy house on it own, but Geoff also has a lot of rules, and keeps the basement locked.

As soon as they move in, weird things start happening.

The book was really pretty good, and I thought at first it was a younger YA novel, as Rachel sometimes comes off as younger than she was perhaps intended. When mentions of sex come up (nothing terrible, but there is some on page stuff), it doesn't quite fit her character. Her relationship with Nick is the one thing I had some issue believing, especially considering her opinions and attitudes about what's going on with other relationships around her. Honestly, I think it might have made the whole story even stronger somehow if Rachel hadn't reciprocated Nick's feelings.

I don't want to give away the ending, because I must admit that I thought I had the villain figured out from the beginning. Once the first guess was wrong, my second was right. Just not in the way I thought.

There were a few things I wish had been explained better, but overall it was a fun read and I enjoyed it. If you are a YA horror fan, give it a try!

Many thanks to the author, publisher, and Net Galley for allowing me to read the book.

Nicole Willson's The Keeper of the Key is a decent choice for young readers looking for a spooky story. The book follows Rachel, a teen who moves into a creepy old house and starts seeing strange things. The beginning is really scary and makes you want to keep reading. The house is described so well you can almost feel the creepiness.

However, the middle part of the book gets a little boring. Some parts feel like they go on and on. Also, there's a love story between Rachel and a boy named Nick, but it's not very interesting and takes away from the scary stuff. It would have been better if the book focused more on the ghosts and scary things.

The ending is better than the middle part. It's exciting and has some surprises. Even though the book has some problems, it's still okay to read. It's not the scariest book ever, but it's good for people who are just starting to like scary stories.

Overall, The Keeper of the Key is a quick and easy read. It's fun to read, but it could have been better if it was scarier and had a stronger story.

Thanks to NetGalley, the publisher, and the author for the book.

Thank you to netgalley and the publisher for this e-ARC!
2 star
DNF @ 25%

I'll start out by saying I haven't read many gothic/gothic horror books, so I could be wrong in my assessment of things, but this book just didn't work for me. I never got a sense of atmosphere, and part of me feels like that has to do with the writing. It was more surface level and telly than I think worked to create a creepy atmosphere despite creepy things happening. I also wasn't a huge fan of how over the top the boyfriend had to be to make Rachel justified in her hatred. Also, she's mad that her mom is moving too fast by moving in, but apparently they've been together for a year? And after complaining about this instantly falls into intense like for a dude she's just met? I dunno. The dynamic just didn't work well for me, and it made the characters feel less real (even if teenagers definitely have double standards, but it was combined with the bounce off between her and the mom's bf).

There were some interesting threads set up. The Morgan House definitely has history around it, and there's some suspicious vibes coming from the mom's gf. I think if the writing was just a bit more atmospheric and showy, I'd have enjoyed finishing this book and discovering all the secrets.

Loved this book. I usually do not read horror book but this book had me wanting to continuing to read .For me, I live in Maryland so enjoyed seeing towns/cities I recognized. Morgan House, it not a house I would want to stay by myself. The twists and events in the book had me captured and I just wanted to know what goes going on.

Thank you to Netgalley and to Parlament House Press for providing me with an ARC copy of The Keeper of the Key.

I loved the cover art of this book which is what drew my attention to the book.

This book is in my opinion targeted to the younger side of YA.

I felt that the book was a bit predictable for me. I enjoyed reading the book and it was a quick read for me, but I doubt it is something I would re-read.

Thank you NetGalley and publisher for this arc!

WOW! What a great book! This book had me on the edge of my seat the entire time. Great writing style! My first by this author but will not be my last!

This book was not for me in a way that is clearly not the books fault: I'm not the target audience for this. It reads like the younger end of the YA age bracket and felt quite juvenile to me as a 3o year old woman. However, it is a good and quick read for any teen interested in darker themes in their reading. Will stock in our bookshop.