House Of Darke

by Colin R. Parsons

Zade, Tina, Pip and Meadow are four teenagers enjoying an end-of-summer bike ride – that is until a mist descends, leaving them stranded at a picnic area in the middle of the countryside.

What can they do? The grey fog is dense and they can't see a metre in front of them.

They abandon their bikes and set off to seek help.

Finding shelter by way of the secluded country house owned by the wealthy and charming Lord Epacseon Darke, they had no idea what would happen next.

Welcome to House of Darke – enjoy your stay!

208 pages, Paperback

First published March 26, 2015

About the author

Colin R Parsons is a children's and YA fiction author. He lives in South Wales with his wife Janice. He has two sons Kristoffer and Ryan.

Colin has written many books in different genres. He loves science fiction, fantasy, supernatural and steam punk.

He loves reading as well as writing novels. If you like fast paced action with a sprinkling of danger and interesting characters, you'll love Colin's books.

His new picture book: 'Amaya's Imagination - Traffic Cone Trouble' age 5-7yrs, is available on Amazon.

Reviews

[Dinea]

3.25⭐️

[Naveen]

House of Darke was an average read for me. This was my first horror novel, so I enjoyed the experience of reading it, but I don't think it's a great book.

The atmosphere, the mysterious house, and Lord Darke kept me interested, and the story was easy enough to follow for someone who is just starting to read horror novels. However, I felt that the author left too many questions unanswered. Why was Lord Darke doing all of this? Was everything that happened inside the house real, or was it some kind of illusion? The ending expects the reader to connect the dots and come up with their own explanation, which did worked for me... But i don't everyone can understand it.

I don't mind a little mystery, but I wanted more answers after spending time with the story. Instead, I finished the book feeling confused rather than satisfied.

The writing is moderately easy to read, although some descriptions can be a little difficult for a first-time reader. Overall, it's a decent beginner horror novel, but there are many better horror books out there.

Since this was my first horror novel, I'm still glad I read it, but I wouldn't call it a memorable one.

My Rating: 3/5 ⭐⭐⭐

[jasmine]

Fast paced and action packed thriller! I loved this book as it was a real page turner- recommend to all :)

[Nayuleska]

I hated Pip at the start but by the end found him bearable. What the 4 teens go through at the crazy man's mansion/castle is hideous. The lead up to everything going wrong held elements that I see as typical for vaguely horror-ish stories (only now do I realise there were horror elements, which I'm not usually keen on but can bear in small doses). There was bad weather, mysterious fog, a stranger, and, like the title, lots of dark. And clocks. They become a major part of the plot, a part which was a mad scientist element.

Back to the characters, there were times when they split up in pairs plus other number combinations. Trust me when I say that each separation was high drama, although I sensed it should all work out in the end. It does, but not without some heartwrenching moments which tugged my heartstrings and added more to Colin's Evil Author status. The girls did rely on the boys' physical strength but they have their own hidden talents which helped them overcome the increasingly tougher challenges that the mystery guy set them. They learn valuable life lessons along the way. To think it all began with an innocent bike ride...

It's a read I had to stick with in daylight only. I say read, but this time I had the privilege of listening to as an audiobook direct from the publisher for review! They are branching out their book mediums and asked me if I'd like to listen rather than read myself. As you can see I said yes please! It meant I could work on my crochet and read review books, win-win all round! It did take me a good while to get used to the narration because I've only really had female narrators. Initially the voices used for the girls annoyed me, but I was soon lost in the terror of repeating staircases and things with cogs to mind.

Oh, one last thing. The style of the book reminded me of the Point Horror series I read when I was a teen. Most freaked me out heaps, which House of Darke did but not too much. I hope you enjoy this thrilling read, whichever format you use!

I received an audiobook copy from the publisher in exchange for an honest review on my blog Nayu's Reading Corner http://nayusreadingcorner.blogspot.co...