Welcome to the Dark House

Dark House #1

by Laurie Faria Stolarz

What's your worst nightmare?

For Ivy Jensen, it's the eyes of a killer that haunt her nights. For Parker Bradley, it's bloodthirsty sea serpents that slither in his sleep.

And for seven essay contestants, it's their worst nightmares that win them an exclusive, behind-the-scenes look at director Justin Blake's latest, confidential project . Ivy doesn't even like scary movies, but she's ready to face her real-world fears. Parker's sympathetic words and perfect smile help keep her spirits up . . . at least for now.

Not everyone is so charming, though. Horror-film fanatic Garth Vader wants to stir up trouble. It's bad enough he has to stay in the middle of nowhere with this group-the girl who locks herself in her room, the know-it-all roommate, "Mister Sensitive", and the one who's too cheery for her own good. Someone has to make things interesting.

Except, things are already a little weird. The hostess is a serial-killer look-alike, the dream-stealing Nightmare Elf is lurking about, and the seventh member of the group is missing.



By the time Ivy and Parker realize what's really at stake, it's too late to wake up and run.

Genres: Horror, Young Adult, Mystery, Thriller, Fantasy, Fiction, YA Horror

384 pages, Paperback

First published July 22, 2014

About the author

Laurie Faria Stolarz grew up in Salem, MA, attended Merrimack College, and received an MFA in Creative Writing from Emerson College in Boston.

Laurie Faria Stolarz is an American author of young adult fiction novels, best known for her Blue is for Nightmares series. Her works, which feature teenage protagonists, blend elements found in mystery and romance novels.

Stolarz found sales success with her first novel, Blue is for Nightmares, and followed it up with three more titles in the series, White is for Magic, Silver is for Secrets, and Red is for Remembrance, as well as a companion graphic novel, Black is for Beginnings. Stolarz is also the author of the Touch series (Deadly Little Secret, Deadly Little Lies, Deadly Little Games, Deadly Little Voices, and Deadly Little Lessons), as well as Bleed and Project 17. With more than two million books sold worldwide, Stolarz's titles have been named on various awards list.

Reviews

[Giselle · Rating 3 out of 5]

Welcome to the Dark House is a pretty great horror story, especially for horror-movie loving readers. However it reads just like a horror movie as well - you barely get to know the cast, and when one dies/disappears you're not going to care all that much.

Ultimately told in multiple viewpoints, we're first introduced to Ivy, who I consider to be the main character in this story. She's the only character that we get to know with any amount of depth. We learn of her tragic past and how it haunts her, and her motivation to join Justin Blake’s latest project. Soon enough, we're joining others inside this Dark House and meeting our other POVs - I never counted, but there must have been 5 or 6. Obviously they're not so memorable, not helped, I'm sure, by how identical their voices were. It also didn't help that my eARC was badly formatted and didn't say which POV we had switched to - though I was told the finished copy would, so you might have a better experience with remembering who's who than I.

That's not to say I didn't like any of the characters. They're all fairly interesting with an array of personalities and dealing with problems of their own. We see themes from suicide to body image issues to PTSD; it makes for an intriguing cast of people. There's a bit of romance that blooms between some of them to lighten up the overall darkness of the plot. Though some of it's a bit silly: getting angry because the girl you met 2 seconds ago and flirted with is now on the couch with another guy. Ooookay! The intro to the characters and the whole Justin Blake premise takes about half of the book. Once the tone of the story is set and you're made to feel uneasy about this ordeal that feels way suspicious, this is when the real horror begins.

The horror aspect was my favourite part of the book. It has great scare tactics and an awesome eerie vibe throughout. The suspense is well-paced, with just enough dread and anxiety to keep you on the edge of your seat. There are things you do have to ignore, however. The fact that there seems to be a ton of people running this thing makes it a bit unrealistic - one person could not possibly have been all those "dream" characters. And I find it hard to believe so many people would be involved in such a sick and twisted killing spree without being caught. Unless it was meant to be paranormal in nature. The whole Harris ordeal hinted at that too, though I read that as being her subconscious telling her this wasn't right. You also have to forgive how oblivious they all are to what exactly is happening. Especially Ivy who admits things are definitely off, but still goes through her dream sequence. WHY!!

The ending is what disappointed me the most. We're left with a slew of questions and not many answers. I didn't expect to - or want - everything to be tied up with a bow, but we don't even know what the heck happened to Taylor for instance. Why did she leave? Is she missing too? Why didn't she get them help (she was on the phone so she obviously knew something).

If you're looking for a quick scare that's a whole lot of fun if you don't think about it too hard, then I would recommend this one. It's got great horror-movie qualities to it, but in my opinion, what works on screen doesn't always work in a book without adding more substance and solidifying characters.

--
An advance copy was provided by the publisher for review.

For more of my reviews, visit my blog at Xpresso Reads

[Dear Faye · Rating 1 out of 5]

A group of teens join a contest thinking the prize (a weekend to somewhere secluuuuuded!) is something that would give them the scare of their lives. They all win and then get stuck in a creepy house and subsequently, in a creepy "abandoned" amusement park. Little do they know, not everything is what it seems...

...

"Now wait just a minute, haven't I seen this premise before?" If that's what you're thinking right now, it's very likely that you're right. A shit-ton of times, really. We get movies like it EVERY. FUCKING. YEAR. Take a look at Saw, Final Destination, among many others. Like what I always say, "same shit, different day." Mindless, B-rated movies, with fake blood and ear-breaking screams, complete with laughable choreography that send me in stitches rather than cowering under my blanket.

Unfortunately, Welcome to the Dark House follows the same formula as these movies from A-Z. No character development whatsoever, lame deaths, tons of loopholes, and the horror very little bordering to nonexistent. After experiencing horror the likes of Nick Cutter, I had wished there were more to this than the usual we get from the films we regrettably keep getting (damn you, Hollywood!), but yeah, we get the same old and nothing new added to the plate.

Not unless you dig the mindless stuff, because then, be my guest.

But I am not kidding about the problems I encountered with this book. If I could summarize this, the first half consists of 50% filler "getting-to-know-the-six-characters" that have supposedly quirky personalities, but we don't really get to know-know them in the end because all we got were very superficial details. The cast, my friends:

1.) A guy who has a piercing in his tongue who takes pride in being the neighbordhood's number one jackass
2.) A sweet guy who loves taking videos wherever he goes "who is so handsome with his blue eyes"
3.) An average joe
4.) A preppy girl who is deemed fake but is "so cute"
5.) A quiet and mumbling Gothic girl "who could be a model, I mean, look at those angular cheeks!"
6.) And, the special snowflake who is so "unbelievably cute".

Guess who survives? Nevermind, I think you figured it out already. It's not that hard.

To be honest, I don't mind predictable and cliché horror as long as there is character development. Sadly, this book has so many points-of-views and everyone has to be given a chapter CONSTANTLY that it leaves no room at all to build an emotional connection with the reader. I can forgive it if it's a movie (since many are simply for entertainment anyway), but it's a book. It is possible to provide horror while at the same time make the reader so emotionally-involved that they actually fear for the well-being of the characters. Alas, you won't find it here.

And really, making every other character think "this girl is so cute!" or "this guy is so handsome!" on a frequent basis? Having two people who just MET want to be with each other forever and ever within the first twenty-four fucking hours? Thinking this dude is "so sweet" and not thinking CRAP CRAP CRAP when he asks if you have a boyfriend when you just barely know nothing of each other? Maybe I'm being nitpicky with that last bit, but still... (you should've seen the dude looking at her curves and her waist and hips and thinking how distracted she was making him... ugh ugh ugh ugh) You could not find any more cardboard cutouts made even more stereotypical and exaggerated than this cast of "fine" characters.



So when the second part did come, I was excited. I was like, "Whoopee! I'll finally be seeing the real horror now! I can't wait to shit my pants in terror!" only to see that it was the same old stuff as many books before it. Even worse? The "horror" was very far and few between. Like each character goes into a place to meet their nightmare, and since there are six characters, there are only six "scary" chapters all in all. And then that's it. THAT'S BASICALLY IT. And I'm like:



We don't even feel anything for them when their respective chapters end. It's all over too soon and we're all just waiting for the next one to bite the dust in the same abrupt and lame fashion. Anything else is just "filler" with them talking and not really showing anything substantial about themselves. The horror scenes were even so laughably silly that it really reminded me of those lame scare flicks that we watch just to laugh.

Not to mention, the loophole...

There's an addition girl to the cast, but apparently, before we get to know her she runs away from the Dark House. We later learn this of course (the idiots thought she was just walking somewhere), but we never really get to know HOW THE FUCK DID SHE KNOW IT WASN'T WHAT IT SEEMED? Like the book didn't even explain why she decided to run away. All we get is her phoning them TO RUN AWAY and that IT WAS DANGEROUS, and the book ends without explanining a single word of how she came to that conclusion. UGH.

And seriously, the police are called to the amusement part at the end, and nobody bothers to look at the email they received or the letter the kids got? Can't those be traced? I just don't get it.

Yeah. Whatever. I'm washing my hands here on out.

[Jen Ryland (jenrylandreviews & yaallday)]

Garth Vader? That just made me giggle..

Actual review: This book gave me pretty much what I was expecting: a fast-paced, campy, mildly scary story of a bunch of kids trapped in a replica of a movie horror house. There are seven kids trapped in the house, six of whom (!) are POV characters, and all of of whom are a particular type. The multitude of people to keep straight had me a bit confused at times and also prevented much character development, but the story moved along at a brisk pace and the scares were fun but not too much -- like a trip to a neighborhood haunted house.

The other thing that came as a surprise was the cliffhanger ending. I'm thinking that this must be the first book in a series or duology, so just don't go in expecting all the creeps to be unmasked at the end, Scooby Doo style. I'd recommend this book for fans of light, entertaining YA horror.

[Melanie (TBR and Beyond) · Rating 2 out of 5]

I wasn't expecting anything fantasic out of this book but I was expecting a mindless good time. Sadly, this book was not even that.

I'm not really hard on YA horror novels but I do expect them to be enjoyable, but I don't pick apart the writing as hard as I might normally in a different category. That is mostly because I rate within the genre and do not compare other genres and YA horor is a not a strong point for the Young Adult category so I don't have a lot of FANTASTIC books to compare things to. Hopefully that will change eventually. This book certainly isn't going to be one of the books to raise the bar though.

I thought the idea was really fun, it was nothing original but it doesn't have to be. If executed well this could've been a blast. A bunch of kids win a contest and have to a themed house with an amusement park and face their nightmares, sounds like a blast. SIGN ME UP! However, we end up with seven kids that are all cliche in the worst ways. We switch between perspectives constantly and none of them have a strong enough voice to have any clue who you are reading now, so you frequently have to check at the start of the chapter to remind yourself who this person is.

I finished this book a couple of hours ago and I forget half their names already. I have a feeling most people will. The nightmares aren't even remotely scary, there is no real tension build up. A couple of the nightmares had potential to be great but all we got is quick, boring deaths and long drawn-out dialogue with teens with many hormones. Ah yes, the insta-love factor. I wouldn't have minded it really if it was more in the backround but the forced, awkward romances were more central than the nightmares at the end. We also end up with no answers and it's not because it was a mind-fuck of a book or to keep it mysterious (believe me I wish that was the reason). It's because the ending was lazy as hell and the author chose not to tell us why any of these contestants were chosen and what the hell is even going on.

I sadly purchased the second book from Bookoulet before reading this one - luckily I only spent a couple of dollars. I'm going to try the second book, just to see if the writing gets stronger or the story goes anywhere but I have a feeling it will likely get DNFed. I would've rated it one star but the concept was cool and there were a few moments that were alright.

[Rayne · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5 stars

I had with this book the exact same problem I had with the only other book I've read by Stolarz, Project 17, coincidentally another horror novel about a group of teens stuck somewhere creepy. The ideas behind the novel are really good. Clichéd under horror standards, but interesting and full of potential nonetheless. The problem is that Stolarz doesn't know how to work them, and even worse, she relies on insufferably annoying, shallow and cartoonish characters to tell her tale.

I took a lot of issues with the "scary" factors of the novel. Not only did I never actually get scared, not even remotely creeped out, but I also failed to see how a Goth Christmas Elf is supposed to be the ultimate horror movie symbol. Seriously, think Elf in the Shelf in Goth clothing, give him a couple of super cheesy lines about telling him your nightmares and regretting it later along with a bag, and that's it, that's our symbol of terror. Each of the supposed horror movie characters were so preposterous and cliched, the whole thing often bordered on ridiculous. But I was more than willing to let that go and try to enjoy the novel, cheesy as it was, except that the characters made it impossible.

Never in my life had I encountered a cast of more painfully cartoonish characters, and Project 17 put up a good fight for it first. They are so unbelievably shallow and exaggerated. These characters wouldn't know depth if they fell down a hole to the center of the Earth. Each and every single one of them was an outrageous and very irritating stereotype that bordered on offensive and never, in the entire length of the novel, breaks away from their intended box. And they all sound alike. Having 7 first person POVs is bad enough, but not being able to tell them apart from each other unless they reveal some quirk a couple of pages into their narration is worse. I will give the author this: she certainly worked hard at making their personalities varied and different from each other, as well as their backstories, ambitions and fears. I particularly enjoyed the psychological implication this type of fear had for a few of them, which I found very interesting and was saddened to see was merely brushed over.

The first 50 pages or so of the novel were actually really good. I was immediately sucked into the story and I was very interested in what would happen next. But as soon as the characters met and started to interact with each other, my excitement faded into the negative numbers. Their interactions were exaggerated, and while not exactly forced, they were unbelievably irritating and make up about 2/3 of the novel, which means that, during that whole time, nothing happened except for this ridiculous bunch of silly teenagers doing ridiculous things and saying stupid things and getting intimately interested in each other within hours of having met.

I thought things would pick up once they go to the amusement park, and I was momentarily please to see that it did. The great majority of the challenges were admittedly freaky and even suspenseful, and that's when my interest in the novel grew exponentially. But by then it was too late; I was already annoyed out of my mind by these kids and I wanted it to end. So, even though I debated 3 stars by the end of the novel, the first 2/3 of the novel had been far too irritating for anything above 2 stars.

This books is undeniably cheesy, but I'd be lying if I said it was not entertaining in some way. I was certainly hooked since the beginning, and in spite of my irritation, I desperately wanted to know what would happen next, and the ending of the novel was certainly entertaining enough to make me interested in the sequel, though I doubt it will happen for me. Stolarz writes perfectly entertaining and safe horror novels, but they lack the complexity and depth I tend to enjoy in the horror I prefer.

[Jo · Rating 4 out of 5]

The following review was written in the mistaken belief that this was a stand-alone novel. I have been informed that there will be a sequel so I will amend my review from 3 stars to 4. Here goes how the review would have went if I had known there was a sequel... I liked everything about this novel except for that cliff hanger ending. I am beyond ready for the next book to explain all the creepiness away. The writing was suspenseful and eerie. I have always been afraid of carnivals since I was little, and this didn't really help much. I loved Ivy's character. I thought she was well drawn and believable. I think it takes more guts to overcome a big fear than it does to tackle a smaller fear. And Ivy has guts! I am eager for the next one (now that I know there is more coming). Thanks to the author for correcting me!



I have no idea why it ended the way it did. I understand the book was being mysterious and creepy, but there has to be some sort of payoff at the end, and for me this one didn't have it. It was a great build up with interesting characters. I wanted to learn more backstory for each one. Although I'm not sure why Taylor was even included so maybe not her story so much. I would like to know what happened to her. I just couldn't get past the ending to give it more than three stars. The rest of the book was tautly written. The suspense was amazing, and the mystery well constructed. I really liked most of the book so I feel bad for basing my decision on the last few pages, but I was looking for a grand revelation and some closure that I didn't get.

[Mlpmom (Book Reviewer)]

Not sure how I feel about this one, it was strange to say the very least. Full review to come!

[SoWrongItsRANDI {Bell, Book & Candle} · Rating 3 out of 5]

Bell, Book & Candle | Welcome to the Dark House Review




I've been waiting to get my hands on this book for what seems like forever. Just a FYI, my nickname since childhood was Goosebumps, hence the appeal of this story for me. Originally I thought this was a stand alone novel, but it actually has a sequel, much to my amazement.

While I was reading, this I was camping out in the woods at night. Suffice it to say I was getting a little creeped out every time I heard a twig snap, which only added to the horror ambiance of this book. There was a decent amount of suspense, albeit towards the middle of the book. The first half was okay; some parts were interesting, others were kind of a drag. I appreciated the fusion of R.L Stine meets the Real World in the beginning; but the characters were exactly like I would have seen in the latter and not in a good way.

Cliché, cliché, cliché. Basically the description of each character. You have: the scary, timid girl #1; cute, weird girl who hurts herself #2; random girl who leaves early #3; sweet, artistic guy #1; and the love triangle between: cute rocker guy #2; pretty, insensitive tease of a girl #4; and gothic jerk guy #3. All of these characters were your average, cookie cutter, watered down characters in the YA genre. I didn't like any of them and only tuned into the book to see who would die first. Shockingly it wasn't the black person LOL.

While we're on the topic of clichés, the only one not in this book is the aforementioned "black person always dies first" and the "black person is scared and runs away from danger". The "scary, bad guy" of the story is an evil Christmas elf. Really? REALLY? Why is it that the "big scary dude" is always in some ridiculous outfit?: i.e. Chucky, Scream, Leprechaun. It really doesn't get more ridiculously cliché than an elf. Then you have the token love story that manages to be in almost every scary movie. I'll let you guess as to who it is.

Anyways, back to the characters. Their decisions had me shaking my head. Especially Natalie, who should have listened to her brother; I bet she feels really stupid now. I did like that Frankie called out Shayla on her "fakeness", it was one of the best scenes in my opinion. Shayla was the most irritating, after Garth of course (I was glad he got the axe... no pun intended).

If I were those kids, I would have never told my worst nightmare, or at the very least pulled a double all-nighter so the Nightmare Elf wouldn't have wormed its way into my nightmares. On a serious note, I thought that it was going to be all make believe at the very end like Inception; it's all in your head. The ending was even better than that.

[nidah05 (SleepDreamWrite) · Rating 5 out of 5]

4 stars. No, hold up, you know what? I'm giving this a 5. I was going to read this along with the other two books I'm also reading. But I ignored this and found myself reading this more.

And before I knew it, I was halfway then near the end and then at the last page. What is up with that? Hmm, maybe it has to do with reading these at night? Its official, I'll read anything by this author. And I think I have.

So this book looked promising. Then later as I was reading the Touch series, I looked back and found that this one is going to have a sequel. After reading this, I can tell you that I'm looking forward to that. And that cover, love it!

As to the characters, I felt more drawn to Ivy where to be honest is the MC. Even though there's more than one character in this. The other I was drawn toward was Natalie and obviously Parker. But Garth, Frankie and Shayla are also interesting as well.

What can I say that I haven't said about Ms. Stolarz books. Good writing, check, build up on the suspense and tension, check. Leaving us with a creepy end that will maybe lead up to the next book that of course leads to questions that will hopefully be in the sequel, absolutely check.

Let's be honest here, who would go into a house, with a sign, written in red crayon called Dark House and see the Nightmare Elf, I mean really.

Although I was surprised at one point, thinking it was going to take place in one location, only to find it takes place in another for the rest of the book. Then again, it does make sense, what with the cover so...good job and looking forward to your next book.

[Quill&Queer · Rating 3 out of 5]

The story hooked me within the first page. Ivy is clearly the final girl, with the most interesting history - her parents were murdered six years ago and she's still grieving, having nightmares every night. I love unique stories, which is why the plot of this book intrigued me so much - seven teenagers facing their fears at a creepy funfair.

There's a lot of different back stories here from body dysmorphia to post traumatic stress disorder and even with each character having their own history and chapters, I found myself struggling to remember who was who. Later when they started disappearing I didn't really feel any pangs of sadness, or hope for them reappearing.

For a horror story, it really takes it's time to set the story up, but when we get to funfair and the teens star facing their fears, the story suddenly speeds up, potentially killing off the teenagers one by one rapidly. This story left me with more questions than answers, and really felt like it was just set up for book two.

[J.D. · Rating 2 out of 5]

Summary

7 contestants win a competition to spend the weekend at a B&B, meet their favorite horror movie director and see a sneak peek of his newest film.
Their weekend vacation takes a dark turn when the contestants begin to go missing. Facing their worst nightmares is their only chance to escape and survive.

Personal opinion

I found this book to be a bit bland and a little dull for my liking. I was disappointed because it had so much potential with contestants being invited to spend the weekend at a haunted house.
The characters each had their own unique interests and nightmares, but I found myself not really caring much when one of the group disappeared.
The ending also could've included a better cliffhanger to pave the way for the second book.
Overall, I didn't enjoy this as much as I hoped and will probably not bother with the second book.

[Lauren Stoolfire · Rating 2 out of 5]

I was expecting something much different from what I got. At least something that was going to be really creepy, but Welcome to the Dark House never quite lived up to that. Usually multiple POVs work for me, but that wasn't the case here either because I had a hard time differentiating between character voices. Overall, there was a lot of potential here but the story could have done with some reworking to make it all come together.

[Gray Cox · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a dark, confusing twisted ride (pun totally intended)! I'm very conflicted about it, the ending was kind of everywhere and Shayla was just too much.

[Yvonne · Rating 4 out of 5]

How do I even begin? I read Welcome to the Dark House for my Horror Reading Challenge, hosted by Tracy @ Cornerfolds, and was surprised how quickly I finished it! I really do love horror, even though I sometimes get freaked out super easily. Although that depends on the scenery and general storyline, so when I saw this book on Goodreads, I just knew I have to read it! The title intrigued me, the cover looks freaking awesome too - an amusement park! That can either be super scary or total bullshit - and the synopsis sounded pretty cool as well.

What happens during their time at the Dark House is told from 6 different perspectives - Ivy, our main protagonist, Parker, Natalie, Shayla, Garth and Frankie. Now this might sound confusing but really, it isn't! Okay, maybe at first because you don't know who's who and I even had to double check who's POV I'm currently reading but once you're into it, it will be easier.

After submitting an essay about their worst nightmare, those 6 (actually 7) teens were invited to a behind-the-scenes look at director Justin Blake's newest project. The house they stayed in and everything else surrounding it had to do with his horror movies, after all it was a "trip to get scared". But suddenly things go wrong, their overseer - which looked like a serial killer from one of the movies - went missing, where's the seventh contestant winner and why is no one else around? Is it all part of the "show" or not?

I have to say that I really liked the characters - most of them - but Ivy was my favorite. I could connect with her easily and even think that I would've reacted the same way she has. She's not really into horror, gets scared a lot and hasn't even seen Justin Blake's movies - why would she sign up for this horror trip? To face her own fears that haunt her till she's six. And that she had to do.

Over the course of the book, every character had to face his darkest fear - the one they wrote about in their essays - and that was so interesting to read! The amusement part was one hell of a creepy thing and I know I wouldn't have moved one bit. I would've stayed at the same spot the entire time and would've done NOTHING. Seriously, WHY would you be excited to face your nightmares and be at an amusement part, in the middle of the woods, at NIGHT with no one else around? I totally get Ivy, I really do.

The Dark House itself wasn't that creepy and the first 50% of the book weren't really scary either. It was mostly to get to know the people and the surroundings, which was a bit sad because there could've happened so much more! What annoyed me were some of the other characters - they didn't even know each other for that long (like a few hours maybe?) but there was already drama about the girls, a romance and other stuff that's really not important. The romance between Parker and Ivy seemed a little too ... rushed? I mean, it didn't bother me too much but in my opinion it was unnecessary and too insta-love-ish.

Overall I enjoyed it a lot! I wouldn't have minded it to be a little more scarier (especially in the first half) but when they were at the amusement park things got better. The characters were all likeable (or not), the scenery was great and the ending made me SUPER excited for the second book! I'm serious, to end a book like this is just cruel. So unfair! I want to read the next one immediately because I need answers! GIVE IT TO ME NOW! I definitely recommend it!

www.aworldbetweenfoldedpages.blogspot.com
______________________________
September 25th:
It's almost 2:30am and I'm done. I don't wanna sleep but instead read the second book IMMEDIATELY. GIVE IT TO ME NOOOOW!

I had a few issues with this but overall it was really, really good! Could've been a bit scarier and longer (especially when they were in the park) but I'm so excited for part 2 - the ending was cruuuel but amazing and made me so, so curious!

[Tracy · Rating 5 out of 5]

As the person hosting the Horror Reading Challenge this year, it should come as no surprise that I am a horror junkie. I love horror movies and horror books. Unfortunately, I have been let down by quite a few horrors this year. I had seen Welcome to the Dark House around a lot in the last several months, but I wasn't totally sold on the synopsis and the carnival on the cover made me wary. Carnival horror stories are so hit or miss... But when I saw this at the library the other day, I snatched it up and took it home... and devoured it in a day.


---Characters---
The story is told from several points of view. There are eight "winners" of the essay contest and seven of them have a voice in alternating chapters. This way of storytelling can be really distracting in my experience, but I feel like this one worked really well.

Ivy is the "main" character, despite the six others who have their own chapters. She is not a true horror fan, instead deciding to go on the trip she's won as a way to deal with her own fears. I enjoyed Ivy, for the most part. She's dealt with things that I don't see a lot of in YA fiction, at least not described to this extent, which makes her a very sympathetic character. She's terrified while the other winners are ecstatic, and it's good to see a more universal reaction to the events that unfold in the book.

Parker is the love interest, although the romance is very back burner here. I'm just so glad there was no love triangle! Like Ivy, he also has to deal with fears (everyone does, that's the point of the book!) and they confide in each other as they navigate the Dark House and everything it encompasses.

Each of the other characters has their own backstory and problems. The fact that each one has to face their darkest fears over the course of the book makes them super interesting! I really liked every character in the book, even though some were written in a way that could potentially make them totally unlikable. There is another brief romantic side story, but romance is in no way the key focus of this book.


---Setting---
The Dark House and everything surrounding it is totally 100% creepy. Discovering the house for the first time with each of the characters seriously gave me chills. Their exploration of different places inside and outside and discoveries of new and frightening details was amazingly written! There were elements that were staged by those who sponsored the contest and those that they were never totally sure about...

Then there was the amusement park itself! Ohmygod! I am so excited that there's a part two of this book coming out because I can't wait for more of this park! PLEASE LET THE PARK BE IN BOOK TWO! Each character had their own ride in which they were to face their darkest fear and each one was just completely insane.


---Plot---
Well, I read this book in two sittings, so I have to say the plot was amazing. Fast-paced and amazing! Every single chapter ended in a way that made me keep reading, which could be good or bad depending on what other plans you have.

Laurie Faria Stolarz has come up with a story that is totally unique and terrifying! It's rare that a book seriously scares me and through the process of the contest, going to the Dark House, and finally ending up in the amusement park, I was genuinely freaked out! I'm even more surprised that it came from a Young Adult novel!


---In Closing---
Please, please, read this book if you're a fan of horror! While this is a YA book, it's not riddled with annoying teenage drama that usually drives me crazy in YA contemporary fiction. It focuses on the characters' fears and their creepy surroundings and it totally works! I feel comfortable in saying that this is the best horror I've read this year!

[Amy · Rating 5 out of 5]

“In a thousand words or less, describe your worst nightmare… and let your nightmares be gone.”
That’s all it took for 7 contest winners to win the chance of a lifetime- an all exclusive, paid weekend; featuring a behind- the-scenes look at the horror sensation and director, Justin Blake of the Nightmare Elf, and his latest film. Promising to give them a weekend they won’t forget.

For Ivy Jensen, nothing sounds better than the chance to rid her life of the nightmare that haunts her every night, the one with the bird-like eyes of the serial killer that murdered her parents. Ivy finally decides to enter the contest, even though she hates horror movies, for the chance to escape the vision. Along with nightmare contest winners: Parker, Garth, Taylor, Frankie, Shayla, and Natalie, each holding onto their own dark secrets, looking for the promise to change their lives by meeting their icon. With their extreme obsessions, comes extreme personalities, causing the drama of the Dark House to unfold as soon as they all arrive.

When the contestants are picked up in a hearse and brought to the Dark House, each of their weekends starts off as a fun, horror-themed adventure, in a look-a-like set to the movies, complete with Midge, the serial killing chambermaid from the movie Hotel 9. With details like this, the Justin Blake fanatics live up to the promise of amazement. What all starts as fun and games, quickly turns into a deadly game of cat and mouse, when one contestant disappears shortly after she arrives, blood lines the back of her closet reading, “Get out before it’s too late.”

Their weekend turns from fun to deadly, when they are driven to an abandoned carnival in the middle of the woods. A Carnival, complete with the rides: “Train of Terror,” “Forest of Fright,” “Graveyard Dig” and a merry-go-round that plays an out-of-tune melody. Where their nightmares are the ticket in, and surviving their nightmares are the way out. A place specially designed to release the teens’ nightmares into reality, leaving the group with the sickening feeling that they were never meant to survive in the first place.

Laurie Faria Stolarz, takes you on a thrilling and terrifying ride with the introduction to her new series, Welcome to the Dark House, a tale meant to haunt you into the thrilling depths of fear itself. With a nod toward the classics, Laurie Stolarz keeps the thrilling tempo with murdering clowns, serial killers, and a deadly house of mirrors, producing images that tap into that carnal fear of living out your worst nightmares.


you can find more of my reviews and giveaways in my newspaper column For the Love of Books-Dixon's Independent Voice, or the online newspaper: http://dixon.patch.com/blogs/for-the-... / and my horror book reviews in the magazine Dark Discoveries.

[AH · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was an OK read for me but I can see the appeal for young adult readers who may want to read something other than R.L. Stine. Welcome to the Dark House reminded me a little of those Scream or Freddie Kruger movies with the bulk of the book taking place in an old abandoned amusement park - creepy!

Seven teens have won a contest where they get to meet their favorite horror movie producer of the Nightmare Elf series. They've each submitted their scariest nightmare and - you guessed it - the only way out of the amusement park is to face that nightmare.

The book was amusing, however it suffered from some really horrible ebook formatting which caused me to get frustrated with the text at times. (Publishers - some ereaders hate graphics and special fonts and they just show a lot of blank space).

I also found that there were too many points of view in the book (6?) and since my ebook formatting was off, it was really difficult to tell which character was talking. Actually, it seemed to me that the bulk of the character development was given to Ivy and the other characters were a little flat.

Welcome to the Dark House was an amusing little foray into the horror genre.

Thankyou to NetGalley and Hyperion Books for a review copy of this book.

[Jennifer · Rating 5 out of 5]

review to come

[Heather (The Sassy Book Geek) · Rating 3 out of 5]

Originally Posted On The Sassy Book Geek

“Welcome To The Dark House” is a good horror book, unfortunately it wasn’t something that completely blew me away but it was definitely very fun and entertaining.

The Plot

This book is PERFECT for any horror movie lovers because it’s basically a slasher movie in book form, seriously, it reads exactly like a horror film. Which has it’s downsides as well as upsides. The downside being that this makes the book feel a little corny at times and a bit underdeveloped, like most horror movies, and the upside being that it makes reading the book ten times more fun if you already love the horror genre.

The first half of the book is spent orienting ourselves with the characters pretty much, they all enter a contest to meet famous horror director Justin Blake and are then dropped off in the middle of nowhere, in a forest, in an old house. How could anything go wrong with all of that in a horror book, am I right? So for the most part we get to know everyone and nothing insanely scary happens, creepy sure but not scary.

However, the second half of the books gets a lot better. There’s more action, scares, and a lot less talk. Although I would say it still wasn’t that scary for me, it was more suspenseful than anything which is definitely alright. All of the characters proceed to be locked within a Justin Blake themed, abandoned amusement park and each character has their own ride that is related to their “nightmare” or worst fear. Those scenes were probably the best ones in the entire book, the suspense there is what kept me really reading.

One thing that kind of drove me crazy throughout my reading though? The 6 different POVs. In my mind the only time that many view points is OK is in fantasy books. I do understand why it was told this way since it is a horror book we need to be able to see everyone slowly getting picked off but I think there was too much time spent on us trying to relate to these characters when they were just B horror movie stereotypes.

I also didn’t really like the ending at all because it left me with more questions than answers and it just wasn’t very satisfying. I understand that all of the questions will be answered in the sequel but really why leave us hanging with such a shaky ending? It wasn’t even a cliffhanger it was just sort of confusing.

One random thing I loved about this book: it’s set in Minnesota. I live right next door in North Dakota so it’s always fun to find books with settings near me!

The Characters

As far as the characters I’m kind of in the middle, while I did sort of like them and they did get quite a bit of depth I still found them a little lacking. We spend the entire first half of the book switching through six different POVs in order to get to know these characters and yet I don’t feel like we ever REALLY know them. Sure we get where they come from and how they act but we don’t get a ton of insight into their characters which doesn’t make a lot of sense to me since we literally get into each character’s head space.

Ivy, is the main character and yet we spend about as much time in her POV as the other characters so to me she never really felt like the main character. I probably would have enjoyed it more if it was told just from her point of view. Ivy’s nightmare and story are the creepiest and most terrifying of all BUT no spoilers! I also very much enjoyed the fact that Ivy suffers from anxiety and I say this because I too suffer from bouts of anxiety and I loved the fact that this was portrayed in a YA novel, not to mention it made her ten times more relateable for me.

As I briefly mentioned earlier the other characters are all classic horror movie stereotypes: the goth girl, the virginal sweetheart, the average one, the handsome guy, the rebellious guy, and the special snowflake. They may not embody these perfectly but you get the picture right? To me these kinds of characterizations had their upsides and downsides, while it’s kind of fun to have cheesy horror movie characters it also makes them feel unrelatable. I mean come on, is anyone really this cliched?

As for the romance…… no. Too insta-lovey for my taste and very unrealistic, not to mention it lacked all kinds of chemistry. Alas though what kind of horror movie book would be complete without a cheesy love interest?

In Conclusion

What I Liked:

-Anxiety being portrayed with a YA character
- The pacing and suspense were fairly good throughout but better in the 2nd half
- How similar it was to a classic slasher horror movie
-The Minnesota setting

What I Didn’t Like:

-Too many POVs
-The scare factor wasn’t big enough for me
-The romance was corny
-A lot of the characters were a little too cliched

Overall I liked this book and there were things that bothered me so a 3 star rating is perfect, right in the middle which is exactly how I feel about “Welcome To The Dark House”. I’ll definitely be checking out the sequel though!

Recommend?

If you’re looking for a good YA horror book then definitely check this one out, what may not work for me may work for you after all!

This is a decent book but realistic things don’t scare me as much as the unknown. So if murderers scare you more than ghosts this may be the book for you! This is also a great Halloween read for those of you looking for creepy books to add to your TBR.

[Evie · Rating 4 out of 5]

If you like horror flicks with twisty plot lines and characters that are there just so they can get killed off, you will really like Welcome to the Dark House. Think something along the lines of I Know What You Did Last Summer, Scream, Saw and House on the Haunted Hill all mashed up together. The book isn't as gore as Saw, obviously (though it does have its fair share of dead bodies), and there are no revenge-seeking ghosts either, but the plot construction and the somewhat stereotypical character cast feels very familiar. Not that it's a bad thing. Not at all. I had plenty of fun reading Welcome to the Dark House and would definitely recommend it to thrill-seeking readers who enjoy darkly entertaining horror stories.

A group of seven teenagers gets invited by a famous horror movie director to an exclusive behind-the-scene look at his upcoming project. The event is top-secret and it takes place in a shut-down amusement park, completely out of nowhere. One contestant is missing, the host couldn't be creepier, and by the time they realize what's at stake, it is way too late for them to get out.

The leading theme of this book is facing one's worst nightmares. To enter the contest, the kids had to write about their biggest fears and most blood-chilling nightmares. The most horrific ones won. The lead character, Ivy Jensen, shared the story of her parents getting brutally murdered while she was sleeping in the same house. The murderer came after her next, but was scared off by the police seconds before he could finish what he started. He escaped though, and was never caught. And he's been haunting Ivy's dreams ever since. She entered the contest not because she wanted to meet the horror movie legend, but because she was hoping that if she shares her biggest nightmares with someone, she will be able to finally move on and live a normal life.

This book definitely has a feel of a B-class horror flick and it's constructed as such. It's not a character-driven story, therefore, don't expect the characters to be overly complex or even too sympathetic (like I said, the majority of them serve one purpose and one purpose only - to get murdered in a creative and thrilling way). It's a pretty intense, creepy and entertaining story, but it's not a psychological drama or a very thought-provoking thriller. It's just a really fun and easy read, with plenty of chills and thrills and some really cool plot twists. The kind of story that messes with your head a bit, making you confused, suspicious of everyone and trying to decide if what's happening is real, or just a wicked prank. If you're like me and you like your horror flicks clever and bloody, and cliched in a purposeful kind of way that feels awesome, not awkward - well, you will probably have a great time with this book. It's a well-written, unputdownable, fast-paced and really atmospheric book.

The ending was pretty great in my opinion. It is a bit of a cliffhanger that you'd see in classic horror stories and it makes you go "awww shit, there will be more!". Marilyn Manson's "Sweet Dreams" song would be the perfect soundtrack to the final scenes for sure. I really can't wait to read the second book in the series and find out what happens next!

--
Review originally posted on

[Aeicha · Rating 3 out of 5]

I love me a campy, scream-fest B horror movie, and that’ exactly what Laurie Faria Stolarz’s Welcome to the Dark House feels like, right down to the cliche, yet fun scare tactics; predictable, yet entertaining plot; and rigidly characterized, yet amusing cast.

Everyone has nightmares, some people are just more haunted by there’s than others. Seven essay contest winners are given the opportunity of a lifetime and win a trip to an exclusive, behind the scenes look at the new horror movie from famous Justin Blake. The seven strangers find themselves in a luxurious replica of the Dark House from one of Blake’s movies, but the thrills and frights suddenly feel too real. One of the seven is missing, one is talking to herself, three are caught up in a love triangle, and Ivy and Parker are enjoying getting to know each other...but when literally faced with their nightmares, things turn awesomely, creepily deadly!

Cinematic in scope, Welcome to the Dark House combines many horror movie elements, in both predictable and new ways, creating a genuinely fun and spooky reading experience. Yet, like many of those movies, Welcome to the Dark House suffers from a character overload, cheesy dialogue, and slow pacing.

What Welcome to the Dark House and Stolarz get right is the creepy, spine-tingling atmosphere. From the whole Justin Blake horror movie world the author has created, to the isolated Dark House and amusement park, this is an atmosphere and world that will keep readers fully engaged and on the edge of their seats. Blake’s Nightmare Elf and Hotel 9 movies and characters are creeptastic and over-the-top in the best ways possible. The frights and thrills are plentiful, at least in the last half of the book. The first half is pretty slow as it is spent getting to know the characters and introducing us and them to the Dark House.

The story unfolds from six different perspectives (Ivy, Parker, Natalie, Frankie, Shayla, and Garth), but Ivy is the main character and focused on the most. We get a detailed glimpse into Ivy’s past, nightmare, and general personality, but the other characters not so much. All six essay winner’s each clearly have their role and trope to play (perky, hot girl; bad/tough boy, freak, All-American guy, goth chick, innocent/virginal girl) and are rigidly characterized as such, with little complexity (which may have been totally intentional!). But, that doesn’t mean these characters aren’t amusing and entertaining, because they are!

Once the characters find themselves in the amusement park and must face their nightmares, the real thrills and chills start! Stolarz offers an awesome mix of gory, heart-pounding, outrageous, psychological scare-tactics and frights. This part of the book is a lot fun, even if some of it is predictable and cheesy. However, I was disappointed by the rushed ending and the many questions left unanswered.

My Final Thoughts: Far from perfect, but entertaining nonetheless, Welcome To The Dark House is a fun story to escape into for a few hours. Campy horror fans, who don’t take their horror too seriously, will get a kick out of this book!

[Laura (Booksforbreakfast) · Rating 4 out of 5]

I want to start by saying I love Laurie Faria Stolarz - her Touch series is one of my favorites. When I found out about this book, I had to read it. Despite me not loving some things about Parker and Ivy, I was able to finish it in two sittings.

I thought the writing was awesome, and I was captivated from start to finish. This idea was awesome. There is someone out there taking your fears and your most vulnerable thoughts and bringing them into reality, them forcing you to live them, it’s all very twisted.

I enjoyed the characters very much, particularly Natalie, and I can only wish that Stolarz could write a book just about her story and I’d be happy. I think she has a strong message to tell and many people would relate to her. I can say that all of the characters had depth, and I wanted to know more about them instantly.

I did however, have some beef with the book. First of all, the instalove between Parker and Ivy REALLY turned me off, especially with Ivy’s character and what happened to her. I feel like she’d have little to no trust in people, men especially, and it didn’t seem natural. The relationship felt a little too forced for me, and I feel like she broke out of character often throughout the novel. In face, she was my least favorite of the characters.

The other thing is I wish it was a little creepier/scary. I’m not changing the rating because I am a huge horror buff and pretty tough to please. This is also YA so I know they can’t get too scary but I was hoping for a little more action in those scenes.

Overall, I still really enjoyed the book and I’m glad it’s turning into a series, I can’t wait to read the next one!

[Trisha · Rating 4 out of 5]

"Welcome to the Dark House. Where you've come to stay and we hope you'll play."

This book was so wonderfully creepy and left me definitely desperate to get book 2!

I was so lucky. I had the perfect setting for this book. I had this over a 2 night camping trip and got to read it in the middle of the night in the middle of the woods all alone with just the suspense and crazy creepy book for company.

the perfect setting.

I am also a huge fan of horror movies. I love bloody gore, the scary jump "boo!" of suspense and the creepy "OH MY GOD DON'T OPEN THAT DOOR!" of anticipation. Horror and fear is a genre all it's own, and this was just a deliciously fun book to read. The cover alone makes me smile. The title of it makes me giggle, because doesn't it just sound like it's going to be a good scary book!?! that's because it is!

I loved getting know each character. Garth, Parker, Natalie, Taylor, Shayla and Ivy. Each chapter held a new perspective and I thought each character had a distinct and unique voice. I loved hearing their secret fears, their history with horror films and their own personal demons.

The epic conclusion was really a HUGE cliffhanger. I can hardly wait for book 2!! I'll definitely be reading more of this author!

[May · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'd been waiting for this book forever and got an advanced copy. I loved it! So scary and suspenseful. OMG that scene underground!!! But just as enthralling were the characters, each with their own agendas and histories. I think I loved Natalie and Garth's stories best. It's one thing to scare the reader but another thing entirely to make the reader feel for the characters and make them all distinct. I can't recommend more.

[Alexander Horsey · Rating 5 out of 5]

Absolutely amazing! Had me on the edge of my seat throughout the whole thing. I'm gonna be talking more about the awesomeness of this book in a book talk on my channel athousandyearsofBOOKS!... Sorry, shameless self promotion.

[♔ VEE ♔ · Rating 4 out of 5]

So awesome to have another book by Laurie Faria Stolarz

[Jessica (a GREAT read) · Rating 5 out of 5]

Laurie Faria Stolarz’s Welcome to the Dark House was just the kind of creeptacular read I was looking for! I read her Blue is for Nightmares series once upon a time ago and was quick to fall in love with that and have had her other books on my TBR pile for ages! Well, this October I was determined to read one of her books and chose this duology and it was the best decision ever!

The book is told through six different points of view of six teenagers who won a contest from a famous movie producer, Justin Blake, who makes scary movies. They were to write an essay about their worst nightmares and the winners would get to a weekend getaway that would allow them to get a sneak peek at his next movie.

Ivy Jensen was never much of a horror movie fan, but six years ago her parents were murdered in their house with her right across the hall. She saw the killer, he spoke to her, and then the police showed up and he vanished. She’s been having the same nightmare over and over all these years. She only entered his contest in hopes that by writing about her nightmare, she’d be releasing it and never have to think about it again.

When the teens show up to the B&B that was formatted especially for them and Justin’s movies things are a little off. One of them happens to go for a walk and never returns. Then the housekeeper just vanishes hours later and soon they find a cryptic message in the back of the closet of the missing girl. But the teens, Natalie, Shayla, Garth, Parker, and Frankie all think it’s a part of the “game.” Ivy is the only one who’s a bit more fearful about the going-ons of the house.

Soon the group finds themselves trapped in a horror amusement park where they are all forced to face their fears. If they don’t, then they will be stuck inside the park forever.

This book, this book was super creepy and bizarre and I LOVED it! A lot of weird things were happening and it just made you totally discombobulated. You never knew what was real or fake. Who is the mysterious person that brought them all together? Their enemy is never clear because there are so many fabrications of the moviemaker’s monster villains all throughout the park. Everyone is convinced that it’s just a game.

The book gets told from all six of the teenagers, we’re able to see what happens to each of them and experience those things as they happen. We don’t know what happened to the seventh “lucky winner” as she never really makes an appearance on the scene. Our main characters though are Ivy and Parker, as the description leads you to believe. Garth is more of the ultimate horror fanboy of Justin and is really into the whole game or whatever it is that’s happening. But the description kind of led me to believe he’d be more of a key player when he wasn’t all that much of one.

Time with each of these characters is divided most equally for the most part. And even after that whopper of an ending, I am not totally convinced of what I read. I’m left questioning everything and I believe that was Laurie’s intent! Needless to say that I am extremely happy that I waited to read this one when the series was completed!

There was just the tiniest bit of romance between Ivy and Parker. It felt a little unnecessary too given the situation. I mean they’re falling for each other after a day! I know that’s typical in most YA books and even some adult books, but it kind of had me rolling my eyes. But it does sound like something to expect from a horror movie involving guys and girls.

While things end pretty cliffhangery I feel like it’s kind of fitting. I’m not a horror movie buff myself, but I feel like I’ve heard that some of those movies ended in a way that left you thinking it wasn’t over despite the end credits rolling. Given that these movies had multiple sequels that pretty much makes me feel like it a perfect way to end this one!

Welcome to the Dark House is the perfect horror read for Halloween or any time of year really! It’s not a gore-fest, but it’s definitely an eerie read that will keep you on your toes and guessing everything that might happen or already happened! It’s a book that will have you second guessing your bookish instincts and I positively loved it! Cannot wait to start the sequel!!


Overall Rating 5/5 stars

[D · Rating 3 out of 5]

WELCOME TO THE DARK HOUSE has a lot of creepy pieces to it that when put together create a pretty scary scenario. A bunch of fans of this movie producer end up getting selected to attend this creeptastic event (although no one seems to question that they’re all the same age, but the only age restrictions on the contest they entered were that you had to be at least 18 to enter) and right from day one someone’s missing. Then a hostess goes missing. Creepy writings find their way onto people’s walls. Everyone’s dealing with some sort of issue (again, a connection no one got wise to) that causes their nightmares. Then they get brought to the amusement park in the middle of the woods and one by one they literally get consumed by their nightmares.

I actually really liked all of the characters, even Garth, who was rather repugnant at times. They were all very real and very vivid and worked well within the story. What dampened the whole story for me was the ending. The overarching story comes to a conclusion, but a lot’s left to explore (judging by the first in a series title this book has) and the biggest overarching story is left unresolved and right at the peak of all the crap that gets thrown at all these people, we get a fade to black. The story fastforwards a number of months and then it’s over, yadda yadda yadda-ing past a lot of aftermath that apparently wasn’t important?

And I don’t know, but for some reason this amusement park didn’t come off as creepy. It had all the elements of a creepy amusement park (in the middle of the woods, stalking killer elves, rides that made people die), but it was lacking character. The story focuses more on the characters themselves, which I think worked while they were still at the house (which was “safe”), but once they got to the amusement park the world didn’t expand. I didn’t feel it. And I always want to feel creepy amusement parks. But aside from the gate locking from the outside, there was no real creep factor here. I wish Stolarz spent more time building up the ambiance in these scenes.

Overall it’s not a bad story, but it’s not one I’m going to be chasing after to read the second book. I really don’t have much of a desire to. WELCOME TO THE DARK HOUSE held my attention enough, but it was also a short book that I was able to rocket through without much effort. The ending is what really killed it for me. It’s like it was cut out completely, which left me pretty deflated and just overall unimpressed.

2.5

[Alicia · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.5/5
Holy crap this book was good! This thriller messed with my head so much, and I could not put it down. I had to get answers, and it was such a quick read. It moved at a fast but good pace, and I was completely immersed in the story.
The characters were really good, and I felt like they were all distinct but that they each had small things that connected them. I liked Ivy and Parker, and the relationship they developed. I also liked Frankie, and I thought Natalie was really interesting.
The plot was super intriguing, and the execution was really well done. I thought the author did a wonderful job of making it creepy and strange, but not always outright horrifying. The last half of the book definitely got more twisted and terrifying, and I need more answers. I will definitely be picking up the sequel!

[Randee · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was an interesting horror story. It moved along at a rapid pace and I won't say I was bored. However, I think it could have been a much better story if there had been more character development. There is no lack of action. Something is always happening so action fans should find this more than satisfactory. I probably will read the next in the series, so I think it has more positives than negatives.