I received this book for free from Publisher in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
The Women in the Walls by Amy LukavicsPublished by Harlequin on October 1st 2016
Genres: Young Adult Fiction, Horror, Family, Girls & Women, Social Themes
Pages: 304
Format: ARC
Source: Publisher
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Lucy Acosta's mother died when she was three. Growing up in a Victorian mansion in the middle of the woods with her cold, distant father, she explored the dark hallways of the estate with her cousin, Margaret. They're inseparable—a family.
When her aunt Penelope, the only mother she's ever known, tragically disappears while walking in the woods surrounding their estate, Lucy finds herself devastated and alone. Margaret has been spending a lot of time in the attic. She claims she can hear her dead mother's voice whispering from the walls. Emotionally shut out by her father, Lucy watches helplessly as her cousin's sanity slowly unravels. But when she begins hearing voices herself, Lucy finds herself confronting an ancient and deadly legacy that has marked the women in her family for generations.
The Women In The Walls by Amy Lukavics came to my house unsolicited. However, I do tend to like horror novels. So, I decided to give it a go. Also, there’s the fact that it is under 250 pages which really had this big appeal to me. As you all know from reading my blog, I am into reading the shorter books on my shelves because I unhaul and declutter my shelves faster by reading them. Alas, I thought that The Women In The Walls by Amy Lukavics was not a bad, scary read but it did have a tendency to drag on and on.
This book is basically about a teenage girl named Lucy Acosta who lives in a scary mansion with her dad, aunt Penelope and cousin Margaret. One day, Lucy’s aunt walks out into the woods behind the house and doesn’t come back. Margaret ends up changing a lot. She went from being Lucy’s best friend to hearing voices and acting really combative. She also claims that Penelope wasn’t the wonderful mother that Lucy thinks she is. So, with the disappearance of Penelope, a new cook comes to the mansion with her teenage daughter and they help to plan events for this country club that Lucy’s dad is a part of. Eventually, there are some more shady dealings and Lucy discovers the sinister things that are in the walls of the Acosta family mansion.
Lucy is sort of the straight man character. While everything seems to be going to ruin around her, she seems to have her head on right. Her dad is super distant and won’t give her any information. Her aunt is gone. Lucy’s cousin is losing it. So, Lucy is the normal one. However, she has some secrets of her own. First, I want to warn that this book may be triggering to some people. She does engage in self harm and cutting. It’s mentioned several times in the book. Second, Lucy does have some quite brave moments despite all the bizarre going ons around her. I actually kind of expect her to seem more traumatized.
So, The Women In The Walls by Amy Lukavics is a bit of a slow paced read. I expected to get through it in a day and that was absolutely not the case. However, it is an okay addition to the YA horror genre. You will like this book if horror is kind of your thing. I do think that it took way too long to get to the deal with people dying and the country club, etc. Other people will probably see it as tension building though.
Other reviews of The Women In The Walls by Amy Lukavics:
- That’s What She Read – “creepy and gory and filled with wonderful horror goodness“
- Delicate Eternity – “it wasn’t a creepy book overall“
- The Sassy Geek – “a very solid read though“
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Great review! I definitely agree with you on the slow pacing, I was also expecting to tear through this book but it took a long time to get to anything significant! Still a pretty decent YA horror book though! Thanks for linking my review by the way, I’m flattered! 🙂