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The Haunting of Velkwood
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.
Duration: 8 hours.
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.
Duration: 8 hours.
8 pages, Audible Audio
First published March 5, 2024
226 people are currently reading
24119 people want to read
About the author
Gwendolyn Kiste
126 books852 followersGwendolyn Kiste is the three-time Bram Stoker Award-winning author of The Rust Maidens, Reluctant Immortals, Boneset & Feathers, and Pretty Marys All in a Row, among others. Her short fiction and nonfiction have appeared in outlets including Lit Hub, Nightmare, Best American Science Fiction and Fantasy, Vastarien, Tor Nightfire, Titan Books, and The Dark. She's a Lambda Literary Award winner, and her fiction has also received the This Is Horror award for Novel of the Year as well as nominations for the Premios Kelvin and Ignotus awards.
Originally from Ohio, she now resides on an abandoned horse farm outside of Pittsburgh with her husband, their excitable calico cat, and not nearly enough ghosts. Find her online at gwendolynkiste.com
Originally from Ohio, she now resides on an abandoned horse farm outside of Pittsburgh with her husband, their excitable calico cat, and not nearly enough ghosts. Find her online at gwendolynkiste.com
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 1,576 reviews
January 11, 2025
sapphic and tragic, healing and weird.
April 15, 2025
What a haunting and gothic read! Full of paranormal psychological suspense with a dash of horror, the other worldly echos from a town trapped in time made my hair stand on end. Dark and eerie, you’ll start wondering how possible it is for remnants of people once living to still roam the earth.
The story is intriguing. It’s a slow unraveling of events that happened decades ago revealing the gritty details of one night that’s seemed to have trapped the characters in its memory.
Talitha is haunted as she desperately wants to forget anything ever happened there at all. We follow Talitha and her friends as adults, reliving old memories, connecting her to the past and all the wrongs that were never made right. This story gives you a tangle of back and forth emotions, leaving you wondering how this is all going to play out.
This story kept me entwined all the way to the very end and made my heart beat a little quicker here an there. My only negative and reason for deducting a full star, is that the writing could be more polished at times. It’s mostly an effortless read but every once in awhile there is a small hiccup that is a little distracting. I would still recommend this read if you like the genres I mentioned above.
Many thanks to the publisher Saga Press / Simon & Schuster for the Arc. This is my honest review in exchange.
The story is intriguing. It’s a slow unraveling of events that happened decades ago revealing the gritty details of one night that’s seemed to have trapped the characters in its memory.
Talitha is haunted as she desperately wants to forget anything ever happened there at all. We follow Talitha and her friends as adults, reliving old memories, connecting her to the past and all the wrongs that were never made right. This story gives you a tangle of back and forth emotions, leaving you wondering how this is all going to play out.
This story kept me entwined all the way to the very end and made my heart beat a little quicker here an there. My only negative and reason for deducting a full star, is that the writing could be more polished at times. It’s mostly an effortless read but every once in awhile there is a small hiccup that is a little distracting. I would still recommend this read if you like the genres I mentioned above.
Many thanks to the publisher Saga Press / Simon & Schuster for the Arc. This is my honest review in exchange.
April 12, 2024
Who says you can never go home again??????
Eerie, dark, chilling, bizarre, captivating, and hard to put down! This book was equal parts interesting, creepy, and ghostly. I loved the uniqueness of this book. While reading, I thought this book would have made a great Twilight Zone episode. Three friends survived the night that everyone else on their street turned into ghosts. How cool and enticing does that sound? That caught my attention right there!
Talitha Velkwood has been haunted by her past. She was one of the three friends who walked away while her mother and eight-year-old sister couldn’t do so. When she is approached twenty years after that night that she and her friends Brett, and Grace walked away; by a researcher, Tabitha decides that it is finally time to get answers.
I enjoyed the eerie feel of this book. I kept wondering what the outside world must have thought when this street disappeared so to speak. I loved how this book oozed atmosphere. Velkwood had so many elements that I enjoy: mystery, horror (this is horrific not gory or bloody), friendship, longing, a love story, family dynamics, and the feeling of being trapped. Tabitha is an interesting character who is haunted by the past, haunted by a promise she made, haunted by her feelings, and haunted by the street itself. One thing that I wanted more of was the character of Enid who I found to be intriguing.
TW: This book does explore issues such as trauma, guilt, and the effects of abuse/sexual abuse, to name a few.
Captivating, chilling, eerie and dark.
*This was a buddy read with Kim ~ It’s All About the Thrill. Please read her review as well to get her thoughts on the book!
Read more of my reviews at www.openbookposts.com
Eerie, dark, chilling, bizarre, captivating, and hard to put down! This book was equal parts interesting, creepy, and ghostly. I loved the uniqueness of this book. While reading, I thought this book would have made a great Twilight Zone episode. Three friends survived the night that everyone else on their street turned into ghosts. How cool and enticing does that sound? That caught my attention right there!
Talitha Velkwood has been haunted by her past. She was one of the three friends who walked away while her mother and eight-year-old sister couldn’t do so. When she is approached twenty years after that night that she and her friends Brett, and Grace walked away; by a researcher, Tabitha decides that it is finally time to get answers.
I enjoyed the eerie feel of this book. I kept wondering what the outside world must have thought when this street disappeared so to speak. I loved how this book oozed atmosphere. Velkwood had so many elements that I enjoy: mystery, horror (this is horrific not gory or bloody), friendship, longing, a love story, family dynamics, and the feeling of being trapped. Tabitha is an interesting character who is haunted by the past, haunted by a promise she made, haunted by her feelings, and haunted by the street itself. One thing that I wanted more of was the character of Enid who I found to be intriguing.
TW: This book does explore issues such as trauma, guilt, and the effects of abuse/sexual abuse, to name a few.
Captivating, chilling, eerie and dark.
*This was a buddy read with Kim ~ It’s All About the Thrill. Please read her review as well to get her thoughts on the book!
Read more of my reviews at www.openbookposts.com
July 20, 2025
This book was super frustrating and just kinda boring. There was a lot of back and forth from the main character. Like just when it seems like she made up her mind, the next page she would go back on it. Also a lot of the descriptions of things were super vague so it was hard to be invested when I didn’t really have a good idea of what was going on.
March 7, 2024
This book was mostly a miss for me. The writing was well done, but that was pretty much the only thing that I liked. I didn't think the characters were very interesting. They weren't very well developed, especially the side characters. But even the MC didn't feel like a fully fleshed out person and I couldn't connect to her at all. I also wasn't a big fan of the plot. There isn't really an explanation at the end about what's happening. It's kind of like "Oh, we did this magic thingy somehow and we don't know why but let's just get together and another magical thing will happen again!" I wanted more from the story than just bumbling around, hoping something happens. I also didn't like how the main conflict between the MC and another character is lack of communication. If these two characters acted their age and simply talked to each other half the conflict of the book would have disappeared. And that's not the kind of story I want to read. I want something more interesting than "I'm scared to tell her how I feel."
I don't think this is a bad book, but I wish the author had developed the story a little bit more and had a more interesting plot.
Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an arc in exchange for my honest opinion.
I don't think this is a bad book, but I wish the author had developed the story a little bit more and had a more interesting plot.
Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an arc in exchange for my honest opinion.
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December 3, 2023I have a lot to say about this one! And, this was my first time being purposeful about tabbing & annotating my experience. I really enjoyed it and we’ll see how it improves my review experience :)
April 18, 2024
This had an interesting idea but was rather poorly executed and ultimately forgettable. Honestly, this feels like a rough draft that had some interesting ideas but needed quite a bit more work. It feels very thin, and not just because its less than 250 pages.
For one, this is barely a horror. The horror elements are minimal and kind of disappointing. I'm still not sure I even understand them, really. At first it seemed like the neighborhood was trapped in a cycle of repeating their last day, but then that didn't seem to be the case, or only sort of the case. It couldn't seem to decide what it wanted to do.
In the beginning it felt like it was mysterious and creepy because Talitha kept alluding to the things they had done, or the things that happened that night, but it ended up being a let down. It didn't really work because it's in the first person so it mostly just meant Talitha thinking abstractly about things without actually thinking about them, which was strange. It would have been better in third person, without being in her head. But then even when we get to these reveals, they ended up being kind of lackluster. They feel really big and grandiose and mysterious in the beginning but they're presented in such a boring, off-hand way that it felt really anticlimactic.
I'll give this points for being sapphic and about two women who were kept apart because of homophobia and came back together. But I also wish their romance had been a bit more fleshed out. I didn't really feel it, and even halfway through the book was wondering if Grace and Enid were the sapphic element, only to find out it was Talitha and Brett. More could have been done to establish their feelings for each other earlier.
In addition to that, basically any character who wasn't Talitha or Brett felt extremely flat. Jack was just there to be a ghost researcher and cute. He was perhaps the most "fleshed out" character after Brett. Sophie existed entirely to be the baby sister Talitha wanted to rescue. It took her twenty years to decide she wanted to rescue said sister, but whatever. Grace did absolutely nothing. You could have removed Grace and the story wouldn't have changed. Enid existed just to be the weird magical element, I guess, and honestly I think that weakened the story because I was more interested in what the hell was going on with her than anything else.
I can't help but use my editor brain and think of how with a few tweaks this story could have been way more interesting.
I just think there was so much potential and it could have been really interesting. I love the version of it I made in my head. But the actual story itself? Pretty boring. It couldn't decide what it wanted to be. Ultimately disappointing and forgettable. Also what kind of name is Talitha? Or Enid? Or Brett for a girl. Some of these name choices were just so weird.
For one, this is barely a horror. The horror elements are minimal and kind of disappointing. I'm still not sure I even understand them, really. At first it seemed like the neighborhood was trapped in a cycle of repeating their last day, but then that didn't seem to be the case, or only sort of the case. It couldn't seem to decide what it wanted to do.
In the beginning it felt like it was mysterious and creepy because Talitha kept alluding to the things they had done, or the things that happened that night, but it ended up being a let down. It didn't really work because it's in the first person so it mostly just meant Talitha thinking abstractly about things without actually thinking about them, which was strange. It would have been better in third person, without being in her head. But then even when we get to these reveals, they ended up being kind of lackluster. They feel really big and grandiose and mysterious in the beginning but they're presented in such a boring, off-hand way that it felt really anticlimactic.
I'll give this points for being sapphic and about two women who were kept apart because of homophobia and came back together. But I also wish their romance had been a bit more fleshed out. I didn't really feel it, and even halfway through the book was wondering if Grace and Enid were the sapphic element, only to find out it was Talitha and Brett. More could have been done to establish their feelings for each other earlier.
In addition to that, basically any character who wasn't Talitha or Brett felt extremely flat. Jack was just there to be a ghost researcher and cute. He was perhaps the most "fleshed out" character after Brett. Sophie existed entirely to be the baby sister Talitha wanted to rescue. It took her twenty years to decide she wanted to rescue said sister, but whatever. Grace did absolutely nothing. You could have removed Grace and the story wouldn't have changed. Enid existed just to be the weird magical element, I guess, and honestly I think that weakened the story because I was more interested in what the hell was going on with her than anything else.
I can't help but use my editor brain and think of how with a few tweaks this story could have been way more interesting.
I just think there was so much potential and it could have been really interesting. I love the version of it I made in my head. But the actual story itself? Pretty boring. It couldn't decide what it wanted to be. Ultimately disappointing and forgettable. Also what kind of name is Talitha? Or Enid? Or Brett for a girl. Some of these name choices were just so weird.
February 13, 2024
This was SO GOOD and SO CREEPY! I'm going to be thinking about it for awhile. The Haunting of Velkwood is a speculative horror novel about a neighborhood that suddenly disappeared behind a veil that no on can pass through. Well, almost no one...
Only three people from the neighborhood survived the disappearance. Three women who were college students at the time, on their way back to school. Now 40, Talitha agrees to aid researchers by trying to go back for the first time, hoping to somehow save her then 8 year old sister. But the truth of what happened that night is rearing its head.
I don't want to say too much about this because of spoilers, but the creepy atmosphere in the neighborhood and the way the author has you biting your nails is immaculate. This is a lot about secrets from the past and the way we carry our trauma into adulthood. It also centers an intimate friendship between young women discovering their sexuality.
I'll stop myself from saying anymore, but if this is your vibe you should absolutely pick it up! It's going to stick with with me for a long time and I want to read more from this author. I received a copy of this book for review from the publisher, all opinions are my own.
Only three people from the neighborhood survived the disappearance. Three women who were college students at the time, on their way back to school. Now 40, Talitha agrees to aid researchers by trying to go back for the first time, hoping to somehow save her then 8 year old sister. But the truth of what happened that night is rearing its head.
I don't want to say too much about this because of spoilers, but the creepy atmosphere in the neighborhood and the way the author has you biting your nails is immaculate. This is a lot about secrets from the past and the way we carry our trauma into adulthood. It also centers an intimate friendship between young women discovering their sexuality.
I'll stop myself from saying anymore, but if this is your vibe you should absolutely pick it up! It's going to stick with with me for a long time and I want to read more from this author. I received a copy of this book for review from the publisher, all opinions are my own.
September 13, 2025
Definitely one of the more unique and original ghost story/haunted house psycho-dramas that I have read in a while, Gwendolyn Kiste's novel "The Haunting of Velkwood" turns a haunting into a literal and figurative manifestation of a traumatic past in several young girl's lives.
Something happened twenty-some years ago on Velkwood Street, a small nondescript suburban cul-de-sac of eight houses. What that something was has yet to be explained by law enforcement, paranormal experts, and scientists who have tried studying what has been dubbed "the Velkwood Vicinity". The tiny street phases in and out of existence, as if trapped in a weird time-and-space record skip, the dozen or so residents forever trapped like bugs in amber. Nobody can get out and nobody can get in.
The only ones who made it out were three girlfriends---Talitha, Bret, and Grace---who all happened to be away at college when it happened. Each of them have dealt with the experience in their own different way, but they all agree: none of them want anything to do with that street.
When a group of researchers ask Talitha to be a part of a kind of reconnaisance mission, Talitha, at first, rejects the offer. But her younger sister, Sophie, was one of the lost souls stuck on the other side, and if the mission could potentially free those on the other side, including her sister, Talitha feels that she has an obligation to at least try.
Going back home, however, may be more difficult than she thought. The ghosts of the past aren't always that obvious, and they definitely aren't always friendly.
Both frightening and heart-warming, "The Haunting of Velkwood" reiterates the ages-old saying "You can never go home again", but adds the caveat: "Unless the unresolved parts of one's past compel you to go home."
P.S. I "read" this as an audiobook, narrated quite spookily by Jennifer Pickens.
Something happened twenty-some years ago on Velkwood Street, a small nondescript suburban cul-de-sac of eight houses. What that something was has yet to be explained by law enforcement, paranormal experts, and scientists who have tried studying what has been dubbed "the Velkwood Vicinity". The tiny street phases in and out of existence, as if trapped in a weird time-and-space record skip, the dozen or so residents forever trapped like bugs in amber. Nobody can get out and nobody can get in.
The only ones who made it out were three girlfriends---Talitha, Bret, and Grace---who all happened to be away at college when it happened. Each of them have dealt with the experience in their own different way, but they all agree: none of them want anything to do with that street.
When a group of researchers ask Talitha to be a part of a kind of reconnaisance mission, Talitha, at first, rejects the offer. But her younger sister, Sophie, was one of the lost souls stuck on the other side, and if the mission could potentially free those on the other side, including her sister, Talitha feels that she has an obligation to at least try.
Going back home, however, may be more difficult than she thought. The ghosts of the past aren't always that obvious, and they definitely aren't always friendly.
Both frightening and heart-warming, "The Haunting of Velkwood" reiterates the ages-old saying "You can never go home again", but adds the caveat: "Unless the unresolved parts of one's past compel you to go home."
P.S. I "read" this as an audiobook, narrated quite spookily by Jennifer Pickens.
April 3, 2025
An elegy for what may have been, this novel is ethereal and looking for home. The writing is an intimate, lost, unreliable first-person, which really draws the reader in. The style isn’t poetic, exactly, but the prose is infused with a type of longing that feels nostalgic for lost opportunities and the broken futures that result. The concept, of a neighborhood being haunted instead of a house, is a smart one and it works really well for the things that this story is interested in exploring. Even though it has this edge of desperation that feels like being stretched thin that doesn’t translate to languid pacing. Instead, the pacing is tight and quick, never letting you sit in any one mystery for too long, never outstaying any welcome.
This pacing is really effective because the mysteries of the story are a little thin. I don’t mean that as a critique, for me it was a strength. Right in the beginning there are allusions to events that happened in their childhood and most of them you can guess pretty easily, but this isn’t a mystery box to be solved. Kiste slowly confirms your suspicions as the pieces fit together, and it works so well because she lets you know what is coming and yet you’re still invested, still want to see how these pieces you can guess about all fit together. Additionally, the explanations for some of the supernatural elements are somewhat hand-wavey, but it works for this story. You get given enough information to know what triggered certain things and what needs to happen to react to them, and it never felt lacking because of not having some complicated supernatural rulebook. The pathos of the story and the wonderful pacing show that not being bogged down in unnecessary explanation is one way to keep your emotions fraught and skin tingling as you move, as silent as a shadow, into those places you haven’t found a way to leave behind.
I wouldn’t have minded if the main character was a little more fleshed, as well as some of the main ancillary characters. There is enough there for them to feel genuine, to feel original and lived in, enough to connect with, but I wouldn’t have minded a little more. At the same time, all these characters are missing parts of themselves. They are scarred by their pasts, bits and pieces of themselves held back and never relinquished, left to haunt a ghost street. From a bird’s eye perspective it makes sense, this type of half-life, the unfocused edges, which pervade our characters. So, thematically it works but I wouldn’t have minded if there was a little more, especially in the beginning, because the inner work and emotional revolution that our characters are striving for feels like it would be more impactful if I had more to grab on to right from the top. The world building, however, does step up and fill in some of the gaps, and that might be the point, these characters are so defined by their world, by the world they can’t let go of and that won’t let go of them. Descriptive and dreamlike, with reality sometimes as stretchy as taffy, Kiste does a good job of creating a sense of space, both physical and emotional. You immediately know where you are, the atmosphere always pregnant with what is unsaid but so loud at the same time, constant tension and hunger painting a really clear picture of what this world is and what it means to exist there.
Ghosts are incomplete, and so it makes sense that our characters are too, whether living or not. This story wants to know what home really is, and what does it mean for your whole past to be a haunting. What happens when some people are abandoned in plain sight, whether due to negligence or regret or willful ignorance or something more nefarious? Sometimes the only way you can go home again is to vanquish your inner ghosts and realize that your home and your past are not always the same thing.
This pacing is really effective because the mysteries of the story are a little thin. I don’t mean that as a critique, for me it was a strength. Right in the beginning there are allusions to events that happened in their childhood and most of them you can guess pretty easily, but this isn’t a mystery box to be solved. Kiste slowly confirms your suspicions as the pieces fit together, and it works so well because she lets you know what is coming and yet you’re still invested, still want to see how these pieces you can guess about all fit together. Additionally, the explanations for some of the supernatural elements are somewhat hand-wavey, but it works for this story. You get given enough information to know what triggered certain things and what needs to happen to react to them, and it never felt lacking because of not having some complicated supernatural rulebook. The pathos of the story and the wonderful pacing show that not being bogged down in unnecessary explanation is one way to keep your emotions fraught and skin tingling as you move, as silent as a shadow, into those places you haven’t found a way to leave behind.
I wouldn’t have minded if the main character was a little more fleshed, as well as some of the main ancillary characters. There is enough there for them to feel genuine, to feel original and lived in, enough to connect with, but I wouldn’t have minded a little more. At the same time, all these characters are missing parts of themselves. They are scarred by their pasts, bits and pieces of themselves held back and never relinquished, left to haunt a ghost street. From a bird’s eye perspective it makes sense, this type of half-life, the unfocused edges, which pervade our characters. So, thematically it works but I wouldn’t have minded if there was a little more, especially in the beginning, because the inner work and emotional revolution that our characters are striving for feels like it would be more impactful if I had more to grab on to right from the top. The world building, however, does step up and fill in some of the gaps, and that might be the point, these characters are so defined by their world, by the world they can’t let go of and that won’t let go of them. Descriptive and dreamlike, with reality sometimes as stretchy as taffy, Kiste does a good job of creating a sense of space, both physical and emotional. You immediately know where you are, the atmosphere always pregnant with what is unsaid but so loud at the same time, constant tension and hunger painting a really clear picture of what this world is and what it means to exist there.
Ghosts are incomplete, and so it makes sense that our characters are too, whether living or not. This story wants to know what home really is, and what does it mean for your whole past to be a haunting. What happens when some people are abandoned in plain sight, whether due to negligence or regret or willful ignorance or something more nefarious? Sometimes the only way you can go home again is to vanquish your inner ghosts and realize that your home and your past are not always the same thing.
July 30, 2024
this feels like paranormal Black Mirror meets Coraline lol. It got cyclic after a while, but I loved the writing & the eerie feeling at the end of almost every chapter.
December 31, 2024
Review will follow shortly.
March 17, 2024
I attempted multiple times to write a somewhat coherent review of what I liked with maybe some plot depiction. But I just can't.
Every sentence seems not enough, belittling the book.
It is a very tender exploration on haunting - how people conjure one or become one. It is very compassionate and hopeful, yet still horrific, creepy and eerie.
It kind of reminds me of the subverted monster from "Just like Home" by S. Gailey.
Additionally, the writing is very poetic. I am thankful that I'm reading it now and not during my teen years, as there would be a huuuge temptation to tattoo a bunch of quotes from this book all over myself lol.
Every sentence seems not enough, belittling the book.
It is a very tender exploration on haunting - how people conjure one or become one. It is very compassionate and hopeful, yet still horrific, creepy and eerie.
It kind of reminds me of the subverted monster from "Just like Home" by S. Gailey.
Additionally, the writing is very poetic. I am thankful that I'm reading it now and not during my teen years, as there would be a huuuge temptation to tattoo a bunch of quotes from this book all over myself lol.
April 3, 2024
3.5 Stars, rounded up.
This was not a horror novel, like I thought it would be. Instead it was a very sad love story, with some horror elements, of course. There was more to it than that, but for the most part that's how it read to me. I enjoyed it but wouldn't recommend it for anyone looking for an actual horror novel that will keep you up at night!
This was not a horror novel, like I thought it would be. Instead it was a very sad love story, with some horror elements, of course. There was more to it than that, but for the most part that's how it read to me. I enjoyed it but wouldn't recommend it for anyone looking for an actual horror novel that will keep you up at night!
May 13, 2024
Wildly inventive!
dnf
December 30, 2024dnf @ 42%
not feeling her… might come back later idk but i’m not trying to ruin my 4 star streak
not feeling her… might come back later idk but i’m not trying to ruin my 4 star streak
April 11, 2024
Review to come.
April 20, 2024
3.5⭐ This author has a way of writing her female characters that I love. Definitely got attached to them. But I wanted more story from one of the 4 friends. The book was good,but I wanted more. I remember feeling the same way about Rust Maidens which was another 3 ⭐
April 19, 2024
3.5 stars
January 11, 2024
STAR review in the Dec. 1, 2023 issue of Booklist and on the blog: https://raforall.blogspot.com/2023/12...
Three Words: Suburban Malaise, Riveting, Character Driven story
So much more soon but for now, if you loved The Rust Maidens, this is better but similar.
Should easily have another LAMBDA literary award nomination for bisexual fiction again with this one, she won last year for Reluctant Immortals and this is a better novel (which is saying a lot)
The strength of women when they work together-- a theme in all her books.
Compelling, riveting, great characters, suburban ennui, very original supernatural situation/monster, thought provoking, heartbreakingly beautiful.
A mixture of The Ghost That Ate Us by Kraus and Hailey Piper- Queen of Teeth-- and Lucy Snyder--Sister, Maiden, Monster-- for the female driven original Cosmic goodness.
Also for fans of Severance by Ling Ma-- so many of the same issues with family and background but a must larger catastrophe and Blake Crouch.
But really this is like Rust Maidens all grown up. I realize there is a "grown-up" dual story line in Rust Maidens, but this is like Rusty Maidens older sister.
Three Words: Suburban Malaise, Riveting, Character Driven story
So much more soon but for now, if you loved The Rust Maidens, this is better but similar.
Should easily have another LAMBDA literary award nomination for bisexual fiction again with this one, she won last year for Reluctant Immortals and this is a better novel (which is saying a lot)
The strength of women when they work together-- a theme in all her books.
Compelling, riveting, great characters, suburban ennui, very original supernatural situation/monster, thought provoking, heartbreakingly beautiful.
A mixture of The Ghost That Ate Us by Kraus and Hailey Piper- Queen of Teeth-- and Lucy Snyder--Sister, Maiden, Monster-- for the female driven original Cosmic goodness.
Also for fans of Severance by Ling Ma-- so many of the same issues with family and background but a must larger catastrophe and Blake Crouch.
But really this is like Rust Maidens all grown up. I realize there is a "grown-up" dual story line in Rust Maidens, but this is like Rusty Maidens older sister.
July 5, 2024
Nagged on and on and on about grief yet the character is so 2 dimensional I can’t even feel bad for her and her loss. Also you’re 40 years old grow the fuck up and talk to people.
November 1, 2025
Different take on ghosts 👻, had fu in reading but won't re-visit again.
Would make a good movie 🎬 the way everything is described.
Would make a good movie 🎬 the way everything is described.
August 22, 2024
4⭐️s
Can one truly ever go home? And what does home really mean? Is there always a lingering thought about whether the space I’m occupying is really where I’m supposed to be? Is home always an elusive daydream or is ever-present and inescapable? These are just some of the questions explored in this remarkable tale, distinctive in its style and content, and lasting in its impact
Why You Should Or Shouldn’t Read It
You should. It’s different than any info I’ve read, and I’ve read a lot. This won’t escape my memory anytime soon
Themes
Where does someone truly belong? Is it where you came from or where you’re going?
One Thing I’ll walk away with
A reminder to myself that constantly looking back is akin to never moving forward
Can one truly ever go home? And what does home really mean? Is there always a lingering thought about whether the space I’m occupying is really where I’m supposed to be? Is home always an elusive daydream or is ever-present and inescapable? These are just some of the questions explored in this remarkable tale, distinctive in its style and content, and lasting in its impact
Why You Should Or Shouldn’t Read It
You should. It’s different than any info I’ve read, and I’ve read a lot. This won’t escape my memory anytime soon
Themes
Where does someone truly belong? Is it where you came from or where you’re going?
One Thing I’ll walk away with
A reminder to myself that constantly looking back is akin to never moving forward
December 30, 2023
This was a beautifully written book, a perfect blend of suspense, paranormal and horror made it one of the most original ghost stories I've read, I loved the refreshing take of the haunted house trope, whats better than one haunted house? A block full of em, weaved throughout the haunting prose is an underlying theme of facing the past you might not necessarily want too in order to move forward, I thought the whole premise of the story worked perfectly for this, the descriptions really encapsulated the whole melancholy mood and sense of sorrow the story had, the book felt draped in sepia tones, a completely absorbing emotional tale that kept me engaged throughout, Kistes writing is almost lyrical, it dances across the page and you can't help but get swept along, highly recommend to fans of suburban gothics who are looking for something a bit different, Thankyou to the wonderful sagapress for the eARC
July 9, 2024
4.5✨️
I really enjoyed this one. Very atmospheric, eerie, and spooky, whilst also have a slow burn, quite sad, sapphic relationship as well. Different than I expected but still really enjoyed it regardless.
I really enjoyed this one. Very atmospheric, eerie, and spooky, whilst also have a slow burn, quite sad, sapphic relationship as well. Different than I expected but still really enjoyed it regardless.
February 5, 2024
I loved this! It was so original and hit so many different areas. There was horror, there was family drama, there was sci-fi.
Quick Synopsis: Talitha used to live on a "haunted street" called Velkwood. Her and her four friends left before the street just up and vanished. Of course, this is now brought up and being reinvestigated via documentaries etc.. Great blurb, right? Yes!!! Nope not giving any more away
What I liked: this touched upon every genre possible, and I could not put this down. It held my attention from page 1. This is a very short book and while i feel it filled those pages, I wanted more on the history of the street and Enid. That would have been awesome to delve into those two areas.
Thank you to Netgalley and the Publisher for my advanced copy in exchange for an honest review
Quick Synopsis: Talitha used to live on a "haunted street" called Velkwood. Her and her four friends left before the street just up and vanished. Of course, this is now brought up and being reinvestigated via documentaries etc.. Great blurb, right? Yes!!! Nope not giving any more away
What I liked: this touched upon every genre possible, and I could not put this down. It held my attention from page 1. This is a very short book and while i feel it filled those pages, I wanted more on the history of the street and Enid. That would have been awesome to delve into those two areas.
Thank you to Netgalley and the Publisher for my advanced copy in exchange for an honest review
May 20, 2024
liked:
-the premise of not just a person or a house being haunted but a whole street, a whole neighborhood.
-eerie, melancholic atmosphere
-cover
-talitha’s love for her sister
didn’t like:
-boring characters that i couldn’t connect with
-there is a fourth girl in this story who doesn’t get nearly as much page time as the story needs
-readers spend too much time in talitha’s head listening to ramblings of mundanity rather than the story being built out
-by the time i got to the end, to the big sha-bang, to the whole reason this street is even haunted, i didn’t care because readers don’t learn enough about what happened in the past. maybe past and present timelines would have been helpful here?
overall, 2-2.5/5. it was a miss for me 🤷🏻♀️
-the premise of not just a person or a house being haunted but a whole street, a whole neighborhood.
-eerie, melancholic atmosphere
-cover
-talitha’s love for her sister
didn’t like:
-boring characters that i couldn’t connect with
-there is a fourth girl in this story who doesn’t get nearly as much page time as the story needs
-readers spend too much time in talitha’s head listening to ramblings of mundanity rather than the story being built out
-by the time i got to the end, to the big sha-bang, to the whole reason this street is even haunted, i didn’t care because readers don’t learn enough about what happened in the past. maybe past and present timelines would have been helpful here?
overall, 2-2.5/5. it was a miss for me 🤷🏻♀️
April 29, 2025
Huge thanks to @sagapressbooks #sagasayscrew for the free book.
A suburban ghost story about three trapped young women who must confront the past if they are going to have a future.
Talitha Velkwood lost her eight-year-old sister and mother in a tragedy. They have been dead for twenty years along with the rest of the neighborhood.
A man, Jack, approaches Talitha about going back to the neighborhood with the offer of money on the table. When she accepts, what will she find?
There were some creepy elements here, but unfortunately, this wasn’t really a horror story. It was minimally creepy. It really focused on grief and how Talitha yearned for her baby sister, and the relationship between her best friend then turned into love. I also had unanswered questions. A huge one that was never answered. I hate to say it, but it was a disappointment for me.
3.5 ⭐️⭐️⭐️
A suburban ghost story about three trapped young women who must confront the past if they are going to have a future.
Talitha Velkwood lost her eight-year-old sister and mother in a tragedy. They have been dead for twenty years along with the rest of the neighborhood.
A man, Jack, approaches Talitha about going back to the neighborhood with the offer of money on the table. When she accepts, what will she find?
There were some creepy elements here, but unfortunately, this wasn’t really a horror story. It was minimally creepy. It really focused on grief and how Talitha yearned for her baby sister, and the relationship between her best friend then turned into love. I also had unanswered questions. A huge one that was never answered. I hate to say it, but it was a disappointment for me.
3.5 ⭐️⭐️⭐️
May 22, 2024
4.75/5stars
I LOVE SAPPHIC HORROR GIRLS !!!
this book was so beautifully written, so atmospheric, and so beautifully tragic. it's horror, a slow, burning romance, but also a story of family, friendship, and loyalty and gosh i LOVED it
I LOVE SAPPHIC HORROR GIRLS !!!
this book was so beautifully written, so atmospheric, and so beautifully tragic. it's horror, a slow, burning romance, but also a story of family, friendship, and loyalty and gosh i LOVED it
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