I thoroughly enjoyed this book. I thought it was well paced, entertaining and I couldn't put it down!

I loved the authors writing style.

Thank you to the publisher for this advanced reader copy.

I will recommend this book to my students. It is not excessively graphic, and the relationship between Cameron and Hugo is portrayed in a way that is appropriate for children their age. The author gradually uncovers the mansion's mystery without relying on unnecessary drama.

This book had a great plot with intriguing characters. I’ll definitely be looking out for more from this author.

3.5 ⭐

The book is advertised as YA horror and romance and it definitely delivered on the premise.

The narration is very YA, almost directly to the reader. The teens actually act like teens. The friend group was also amazing and I love that we got some demiromantic (though not labelled) representation.

The house gets creepier and creepier, and the stakes at the end – oh wow. It's not super new or original but fun nonetheless.

The romance starts with immediate attraction, which I didn't love (especially Cameron fantasizing about cuddling before he's even talked to Hugo), but then gets better and cuter with every chapter. I don't know if we needed the intimate scene with that much detail though, especially in a YA book.

I'd love to see the situation with Cameron's dad expanded and explored more but I know it was not the main premise of the book.

Overall a really enjoyable read.

4 stars

I had a lot of fun with this one. The story is gripping, the haunting is chilling, the characters feel real and relatable, and the writing is very well done. The balance between the creepiness and characters is great. I really enjoyed the relationship development between Cameron and Hugo, and the unsung hero of this story is the supportive friend group in the middle of everything. The plot was super interesting, and the author kept the intrigue going until the climax of the story, and it kept me hooked. For a YA horror, this was relatively tame but still had plenty of creepy vibes. All in all, this was a fun read.

I was underwhelmed by this book, however, the ending I found very distasteful. It turned the book from a meh to a solid no.

The book suffers from tonal whiplash and not knowing who its audience is. Some chapters are teenage cutesy romance and others are ghost haunting mystery.

The characters are 16 though read a lot younger which is why it was super jarring when they had sex and it didn't even fade to black.

I would have assumed this was aimed at the younger end of YA because the characters read more like 13/14 and the writing was quite simplistic.

Everything was wrapped up too quickly at the end and it felt cheap.

I really enjoyed this book. It’s sweet and has that supernatural element to it. I enjoyed the characters and the development they got. I especially loved seeing Cameron go from feeling small to being confident. I also loved how Hugo was written, showcasing doubts and fears of coming out in a Hispanic household.

Honestly, even though with these things, I loved the book and the fact that we had a Mexican queer main protagonist! Also…makes me wonder if I need to get a haunted house to find my significant other.

Thank you NetGalley and its Publishers for the opportunity to read and review this wonderful book.

Paul Michael Winters delivers a chilling and emotionally charged tale in The Haunting Between Us. This paranormal thriller masterfully blends suspense with a deep exploration of grief and redemption. The story follows a protagonist grappling with loss while encountering supernatural forces that blur the line between reality and the unknown. Winters’ evocative prose and atmospheric storytelling create a sense of unease that keeps readers hooked. Perfect for fans of ghostly mysteries with a heartfelt twist.

This book starts off reasonably strong and kept me hooked throughout. I love a good creepy ghost story and I also like a queer story, this had both and I'm so glad I read it.

The amount of creepy and spooky works well for YA I think, if it was an adult read I'd want more but there was enough to give me the odd little chill and want to see what was happening. The plot twists worked pretty well for me and the fact that I could sort of guess one or two but maybe not all of them made this a lot of fun.

Cameron lives across from an infamous haunted house and Hugo is the cute boy who just moved in. Cameron and Hugo are fun characters, some may find them a little too sweet but teenagers and first love is generally all in so it made sense. The fact they both have flaws and insecurities made them more relatable than just two pretty, gay teenage boys. The whole friendship group was written with various queer identities in it and the relationship with the two boys families was great as I feel that's how it would be in real life. Things aren't always perfect.

There's actually a lot to this book, a lot of characters that are relevant to the storytelling but you meet them along the way as they unravel the mystery of Crimson House.

I would definitely read more by this author and this is one to read if you don't want to be super scared but just get a few chills.

The Haunting Between Us is a fluffy Queer Romance with genuine scares. When Cameron sees a cute boy moving into the haunted house next to him, he can't believe his luck. For Hugo, this is the umpteenth house he and his dad have moved into during their house-flipping adventure, he has all but given up on building a friendship group, let alone a relationship. As Cameron and Hugo get closer, they find they are entwined in the haunted house much deeper than they ever could have imagined.

This had such a great storyarc, offering something new to the YA horror genre. The dialogue was slightly titled in some parts, but I look forward to seeing what this author does in the future!

3.5/5

This one honestly gave me huge Supernatural and Ghost Hunters vibes, which I really enjoyed because damn I loved these shows ("there's no Jane here..." IYKYK). It was stressful but with such sweet characters to compensate for all the anxiety, haha!

Not gonna lie, horror isn't something I'm used to reading, basically because I'm A MESS. I honestly get jump scared by my cat on a daily basis, so to say I don't need more to get myself frighted is an understatement. I couldn’t read this one at night, so to me this mean the atmosphere was well done. It was like resolving a true-crime story with a huge historical aspect to it, but you would also get lots of action as scary things were happening all the time. That side of the story was surprisingly easy for me to enjoy, and I was looking forward to learning more about the history behind the house.

I did enjoy the coming-of-age side of the story, with the cute and awkward characters. It delved into very important subjects as it did show the characters' insecurities, how they were dealing with bullying, navigating the challenges of losing someone and of coming out. I feel like this will resonate with lots of readers for sure. I was happy to see Cameron had such great friends to support him, and his relationship with Hugo was the cutest. Also, particularly loved Hugo's dad, so precious. And I loved how different our MCs were while still being a perfect fit for each other. It was a pleasure to see their relationship evolve and see them bring comfort and confidence to each other. I however, never know how to feel about sex scenes in YA books… Not that this was shocking, but I feel like, while the way this was broached was sweet and fitting of the age, it is still YA and therefor always feel a bit out of place to me.

The way this was all written made it an easy-to-read story and appealing to young adult readers, but it did however make it a bit hard for me to stay completely engaged. While I did love all the characters and their big found family vibe, I did sometimes feel like it was all missing something deeper to make me fully connect. And while the pacing of everything was great, it was a bit weird at times to navigate between the haunted aspects of this story and then back to a more YA first relationship type of vibe. Because of the back and forth between the two, it did sometimes put me out of the read a tiny bit.

Overall, I did enjoy my read and the story kept me intrigued from start to finish. I liked seeing the friendship between those wonderful characters, and that ending left me screaming!

Thanks to the author and ColoredPagesBookTours for my ARC. All opinions are my own.

THE HAUNTING BETWEEN us felt like reading/watching and old favorite but one you could absolutely never get tired of.

Heartstoppers meets Goosebumps in this dual first-person POV YA horror rom com about a gay teen and his house flipper father who moves into a haunted house in a small coastal town. The boy next door and him have an instalove first childhood romance as they investigate the dead family of the White Lady ghost who is making Hugo's new life dangerous.

I read a fair amount of YA and I usually like this genre because it touches on universal themes that are relatable to adults like me who still remember our teenage traumas and joys. I think this was very much a case of me being not the right audience for this book; this was very much geared toward queer teens and often read more like middle grade fiction to me.

I tried to adjust my expectations understanding this but I think this didn't work for me because the romance didn't work for me and it was such a large part of the book. The haunted house was just a backdrop to the YA romcom elements. The romance was so awkward, instalove and overly earnest, which is entirely appropriate for hormonal teenage boys, but I just wasn't invested in it.

I think the strongest parts of this book were Cameron's friend group and how they accepted each other and loved to go on ghost hunts for Abby's YouTube channel, and how it touched on deeper themes like bullying and body image issues. And it had many funny and cute moments.

Teenagers or middle schoolers may love this and it was an easy, fun read that I read in a day because I had to know the secrets behind the haunted house, but ultimately it was just not for me. I do love that pretty cover and it has a great title, though.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the advance review copy. I am leaving this review voluntarily.

Did someone say Heartstopper meets The Haunting Of Hill House? MY TWO FAVORITE SHOWS!?!?!?!

I am so happy I found PM Winters on bookstagram & requested this book!
I feel like sometimes I overdo it on the books that are heavy a romance only plot. So this was a very refreshing read for me. Winters did a lovely job balancing an adorable young adult romance with the haunted house storyline. I crave queer YA stories & suspenseful movies, so this felt like the best of both my worlds coming together. I almost feel like this book was specifically written for me. Cameron & Hugo have quickly become 2 of my all time favorite characters!

This is the first PM Winters book I have read & I will be coming back for more!!!

Read if you’re looking for…
* LGBTQ+ Characters
* Haunted Houses
* Fast pacing
* Something spooky but not terrifying
* Teenage angst
* Coming of age
* Ghost hunting friends
👻🏠🏳️‍🌈👨‍❤️‍💋‍👨

A major thank you to the publisher, the author, & to NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Loved reading this thrilling YA LGBTQIAP+ book. I was drawn right into the familiarity of the story's bones and enjoyed the twists and turns along the way.

I had a great time with this book! Spooky and queer and a lot of feelings. I look forward to adding it to our collection as soon as it comes out.

Thank you so much to Maelstrom Press for the ARC of this spooky gem in exchange for an honest review!

Deemed “Heartstopper meets Haunting of Hill House,” The Haunting Between Us follows two boys – Cameron and Hugo – who are connected by the paranormal and teenage hormones. Cameron has always avoided the haunted house across the street, but when Hugo and his dad move into it, he suddenly has more interest. Cameron’s bestie, Abby, is particularly keen on the mystery of the White Lady, the ghost rumored to roam the halls. As the three team up, there will not only be unexpected frights, but unexpected sparks.

The Haunting Between Us perfectly captures the feeling of being young, whether it be the fear of the unexplained, the grappling with insecurity of body or identity, the importance of friendship, and the big potential of new love. This is the kind of story teenage me would’ve eaten up: A queer love story and something a little spooky to garnish?! These types of stories make me happy because while I didn’t have them, new generations do. There’s nothing more isolating or lonely than feeling the overwhelming complexities of youth without any clue if others feel the same way, or ask the same questions. In the end, the haunting between Cameron and Hugo isn’t what divides them, but what they have in common. Which, in turn, makes it one of the greatest questions to answer.

Fantastic read.
Setting a gay YA story in an old haunted house is my kind of book.
Loads of twists and turns to make you keep reading this book.

This is a hauntingly beautiful story that needs to be on your shelves, I’ve never devoured a book so fast!

I was fortunate enough to get an ARC of The Haunting Between Us by Paul Michael Winters. This was one of the last books I read in 2024 and couldn’t have ended it on a better note. A haunted house story with queer characters?! Yes please!! The premise involves Hugo and his father rebuilding homes, and at this location in particular, something seems off. Cameron who lives across the street from said home, spots Hugo one night and forms a crush on him. Cameron also has history with the house and as the two boys grow closer, their friends become intrigued with the house, and it too has something awakened. I really enjoyed all the characters in this book, and while yes some were not meant to be liked I think it’s important to show real things lgbt people deal with when it comes to other people’s reactions.

On that note, the approach to body issues was handled delicately and made me want to give Cameron a hug. As a Latino, I also love seeing that representation as well. The writing was pretty good with both the romance aspect as well as the haunting. Their slow burn of a romance was cute especially considering some bumps in the road, I couldn’t help but root for them. The haunting aspect was very creepy at times, the setting and ambiance were described so well. I could totally see the ghost and that face gave me the creeps! There are plenty of laughs, awes and scares in this book, I recommend adding this to your collection!

Thanks so much to @coloredpagesbt @pmwintersauthor for providing me with this gifted copy!

If you're in the mood for something spooky but not terrifying, then this is the book for you. I like a bit of spookyness in my books, but I'm not a fan of overly terrifying ones, so I'm glad The Haunting Between Us turned out to be just what I liked.

This book definitely keeps you on your toes when it comes to the mysterious Crimson House, also known as Hugo's new home. It's haunted for sure, and I have chills just by thinking someone lives there with a not so nice ghost. I would have freaked out way before Hugo did.
Our other MC is Cameron, who lives across the street from Crimson House, and he also has a history with the haunted house. He's also a sweet guy who develops crushes way too easily. Like he falls just a little bit for his new neighbour when he sees him for the first time. It's just simply sweet.
Their story does not start the easiest, but the hauntings in the old house quickly bring them close.

The book is YA, which means we get a healthy dose of teenage angst, high school bullies, and the healing power of school theatre. We also have a wonderful friendship group complete with a paranormal investigator (Abby), a psychic (Chloe), her girlfriend (Maya), a sweet social non-binary friend (Taylor), and the token straight friend (Matty). I absolutely love them as a bunch.

The story definitely focuses on the Crimson House and hauntings that go on within it, but it's nicely rounded out with a bit of teenage romance and friendships that I very much appreciate. Yes, there are some spooky, slightly scary things going on, but I don't feel like the book actively tries to scare me.
The mystery of the house is the key to the whole story, and in my opinion, it wasn't that hard to solve. The book did include quite a few twists, but I saw them coming a mile away. Which is not bad. It just maybe means the author has some improvement when it comes to plot.
I appreciate that the history of the house and its inhabitants is so involved in the mystery. It added a much needed second layer to all that was going on.

As for the romance, it is very ordinary. The attraction between Hugo and Cameron is clear from the beginning, but once they get together, it's way too fast. Their relationship goes from zero to 100 in a matter of days, which is something I generally don't like in romances.
I did love their bond, though. It's nice to see young men being vulnerable and open with each other instead of repressing their problems.

Overall, I think this is a very enjoyable book. It's spooky, it's mysterious but it's also fun.
I listened to the audiobook, too, and it's great, and I loved the narrator.