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Nominee for the 2026 Goodreads Choice Awards
This House Will Feed
Win a free print copy of this book!
5 days and 02:33:24
5 copies available
U.S. only
Amidst the devastation of Ireland’s Great Famine, a young woman is salvaged from certain death when offered a mysterious position at a remote manor house haunted by a strange power and the horror of her own memories in this chillingly evocative historical novel braided with gothic horror and supernatural suspense for readers of Katherine Arden’s The Warm Hands of Ghosts and The Silence Factory by Bridget Collins.
County Clare, 1848: In the scant few years since the potato blight first cast its foul shadow over Ireland, Maggie O’Shaughnessy has lost everything—her entire family and the man she trusted with her heart. Toiling in the Ennis Workhouse for paltry rations, she can see no future either within or outside its walls—until the mysterious Lady Catherine arrives to whisk her away to an old mansion in the stark limestone landscape of the Burren.
Lady Catherine wants Maggie to impersonate her late daughter, Wilhelmina, and hoodwink solicitors into releasing Wilhelmina’s widow pension so that Lady Catherine can continue to provide for the villagers in her care. In exchange, Maggie will receive freedom from the workhouse, land of her own, and the one thing she wants more than either: a chance to fulfill the promise she made to her brother on his deathbed—to live to spite them all.
Launching herself into the daunting task, Maggie plays the role of Wilhelmina as best she can while ignoring the villagers’ tales of ghostly figures and curses. But more worrying are the whispers that come from within. Something in Lady Catherine’s house is reawakening long-buried memories in Maggie—of a foe more terrifying than hunger or greed, of a power that calls for blood and vengeance, and of her own role in a nightmare that demands the darkest sacrifice . . .
County Clare, 1848: In the scant few years since the potato blight first cast its foul shadow over Ireland, Maggie O’Shaughnessy has lost everything—her entire family and the man she trusted with her heart. Toiling in the Ennis Workhouse for paltry rations, she can see no future either within or outside its walls—until the mysterious Lady Catherine arrives to whisk her away to an old mansion in the stark limestone landscape of the Burren.
Lady Catherine wants Maggie to impersonate her late daughter, Wilhelmina, and hoodwink solicitors into releasing Wilhelmina’s widow pension so that Lady Catherine can continue to provide for the villagers in her care. In exchange, Maggie will receive freedom from the workhouse, land of her own, and the one thing she wants more than either: a chance to fulfill the promise she made to her brother on his deathbed—to live to spite them all.
Launching herself into the daunting task, Maggie plays the role of Wilhelmina as best she can while ignoring the villagers’ tales of ghostly figures and curses. But more worrying are the whispers that come from within. Something in Lady Catherine’s house is reawakening long-buried memories in Maggie—of a foe more terrifying than hunger or greed, of a power that calls for blood and vengeance, and of her own role in a nightmare that demands the darkest sacrifice . . .
368 pages, ebook
First published January 26, 2026
About the author
Maria Tureaud
4 books406 followersMaria Tureaud hails from the Wild Atlantic Way on the west coast of Ireland. A Developmental Editor of fourteen years, and acclaimed author of children's and adult fiction, you can find her drinking tea in New Jersey as she dreams of moving home to her beloved County Clare, Ireland.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 1,138 reviews
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
The Irish Potato Famine of the 1840’s was absolutely horrific, with records showing it wiped out an estimated 4.5 million people. The crop failure was exacerbated by an uncaring British government.
Young Maggie O’Shaughnessy knows all about it - she’d ended up in the Workhouse, the only one of her family to survive, her entire family died of starvation. To make matters even worse, she was also betrayed by the love of her life. The Ennis workhouse is a desperately miserable place, working hard for paltry amounts of food, and with no means of ever leaving the place except in a wooden box.
However, Maggie is saved from certain death, when she is offered a mysterious position at a remote manor house haunted by a very strange power indeed. Her mysterious saviour is Lady Catherine Browne, who transports Maggie to an old mansion in the stark limestone landscape of the Burren.
In return for her freedom, Lady Catherine expects Maggie to impersonate her late daughter Wilhelmina in order to secure a pension which will enable Catherine to continue to look after the villagers under her care, but this is a very scary and isolated place to be!
Author, Maria Tureaud, really has her own distinctive voice, with a distinct penchant for the supernatural. There are acute observations about life, love and loss throughout the book that make one pause and reflect upon our own humanity, and at times, lack of it.
This was an immersive and hypnotic read, with vivid characterisations, and gothic horror that are as chilling as they are insightful!
The author’s notes at the end are an essential read, and will stay with me for some time to come.
*Thank you to Netgalley and Kensington Publishing for my ARC in exchange for an honest unbiased review *
Young Maggie O’Shaughnessy knows all about it - she’d ended up in the Workhouse, the only one of her family to survive, her entire family died of starvation. To make matters even worse, she was also betrayed by the love of her life. The Ennis workhouse is a desperately miserable place, working hard for paltry amounts of food, and with no means of ever leaving the place except in a wooden box.
However, Maggie is saved from certain death, when she is offered a mysterious position at a remote manor house haunted by a very strange power indeed. Her mysterious saviour is Lady Catherine Browne, who transports Maggie to an old mansion in the stark limestone landscape of the Burren.
In return for her freedom, Lady Catherine expects Maggie to impersonate her late daughter Wilhelmina in order to secure a pension which will enable Catherine to continue to look after the villagers under her care, but this is a very scary and isolated place to be!
Author, Maria Tureaud, really has her own distinctive voice, with a distinct penchant for the supernatural. There are acute observations about life, love and loss throughout the book that make one pause and reflect upon our own humanity, and at times, lack of it.
This was an immersive and hypnotic read, with vivid characterisations, and gothic horror that are as chilling as they are insightful!
The author’s notes at the end are an essential read, and will stay with me for some time to come.
*Thank you to Netgalley and Kensington Publishing for my ARC in exchange for an honest unbiased review *
December 17, 2025
My dear friends, I present to you a historical-horror-supernatural masterpiece. 👏👏👏👏👏👏👏 Bravo to the author!
This is a tale that portrays The Great Hunger, known in America as The Irish Potato Famine. It wiped out an estimated 4.5 million people! However, I didn’t focus in history class, so I learned something new.
Maggie O’Shaughnessy is the sole survivor of her entire family. Everyone gone. Starved to death or by sickness. Until, she is presented a life changing opportunity…. pretend to be someone else in order to receive land, a home, and ultimately her freedom.
What I thought was going to be about a gothic witchery tale turned into an epic story of resilience. This House Will Feed absolutely gutted me. Ripped me open. There were times I was almost brought to tears.
Trigger warnings throughout. Genocide, cannibalism (mentioned lightly), child death, starvation, and more.
Please check out the author’s note! The book is told in 1848 Irish dialect. This was new to me with certain words and phrases. Tureaud has even included a pronunciation guide and websites as resources.
If you love gothic vibes with your horror, add this to your TBR! This book will stay with me forever and deserves nothing less than 5 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Pub Date - 1/27/26
Grateful to Kensington and the author for my gifted copy.
This is a tale that portrays The Great Hunger, known in America as The Irish Potato Famine. It wiped out an estimated 4.5 million people! However, I didn’t focus in history class, so I learned something new.
Maggie O’Shaughnessy is the sole survivor of her entire family. Everyone gone. Starved to death or by sickness. Until, she is presented a life changing opportunity…. pretend to be someone else in order to receive land, a home, and ultimately her freedom.
What I thought was going to be about a gothic witchery tale turned into an epic story of resilience. This House Will Feed absolutely gutted me. Ripped me open. There were times I was almost brought to tears.
Trigger warnings throughout. Genocide, cannibalism (mentioned lightly), child death, starvation, and more.
Please check out the author’s note! The book is told in 1848 Irish dialect. This was new to me with certain words and phrases. Tureaud has even included a pronunciation guide and websites as resources.
If you love gothic vibes with your horror, add this to your TBR! This book will stay with me forever and deserves nothing less than 5 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Pub Date - 1/27/26
Grateful to Kensington and the author for my gifted copy.
November 19, 2025
T'is a chill-your-bones telling beneath the jagged depths of this one.
Horror comes from the minds of creative writers. Horror also comes from the reality of life in which people have shuttered their eyes against the most abominable sights and events. It happened then. It is happening now.
Maria Tureaud invites you into the execrable years of the Great Famine in Ireland in the mid to late 1840's. History seems to blot out the truth at times and it still suffocates it now. The Irish depended on the potato for easy crops and a sustainable harvest for its people. When a horrendous blight occurred, the potato crop was almost wiped out....but not quite. The salvageable amounts were sent to England....never to feed the lowly Irish. British landlords burned down their Irish dwellings so that they wouldn't have to pay a poor tax leaving the Irish homeless with nowhere to go. The Irish took to the roads and starved to death in the millions. Others left to America out of necessity cutting the population even more.
The cruelty was unimaginable. Queen Victoria gave a paltry 2,000 pounds to those who were starving in the entire country and refused a crown prince from Saudi Arabia from contributing. Read the Author's Notes for even more historical information. Tureaud also includes excerpts from newspapers of the time and tense quotes as well heading each chapter. It was outright genocide. (Believe me, I see this with my own roots from both Ireland and England.)
And into this brew, Tureaud casts the long, spiny fingers of horror. We'll meet Maggie O'Shaughnessy laboring in the Ennis Workhouse after losing her entire family. She vowed to her dying brother, Michael, that she would continue to live for the rest of them. Lady Catherine arrives and selects Maggie to accompany her back to her Browne Mansion in the far reaches of County Clare. She wishes for Maggie to impersonate her dead daughter so the attorneys will abide by her husband's Will. Maggie agrees only to be mindboggled by what is about to transpire....oh, you will as well. Yowzers.
Maria Tureaud presents a novel that winds its way far beneath the surface. She marries little known historical facts with the hammer head of reality. You can't help to walk the treacherous roads with these starving people and view the mass graves. It brings it close....as it should be. This House Will Feed is fictional, but if you glance through those broken windows, you'll see stunning jolts of real life and what actually transpired during those times. A painful reminder that humans are capable of dastardly deeds....and yet, there are still so many whose hearts still beat with compassion and empathy. Bravo, Maria Tureaud, just bravo.
I received a copy of this book through NetGalley for an honest review. My thanks to Kensington Books and to the talented Maria Tureaud for the opportunity.
Horror comes from the minds of creative writers. Horror also comes from the reality of life in which people have shuttered their eyes against the most abominable sights and events. It happened then. It is happening now.
Maria Tureaud invites you into the execrable years of the Great Famine in Ireland in the mid to late 1840's. History seems to blot out the truth at times and it still suffocates it now. The Irish depended on the potato for easy crops and a sustainable harvest for its people. When a horrendous blight occurred, the potato crop was almost wiped out....but not quite. The salvageable amounts were sent to England....never to feed the lowly Irish. British landlords burned down their Irish dwellings so that they wouldn't have to pay a poor tax leaving the Irish homeless with nowhere to go. The Irish took to the roads and starved to death in the millions. Others left to America out of necessity cutting the population even more.
The cruelty was unimaginable. Queen Victoria gave a paltry 2,000 pounds to those who were starving in the entire country and refused a crown prince from Saudi Arabia from contributing. Read the Author's Notes for even more historical information. Tureaud also includes excerpts from newspapers of the time and tense quotes as well heading each chapter. It was outright genocide. (Believe me, I see this with my own roots from both Ireland and England.)
And into this brew, Tureaud casts the long, spiny fingers of horror. We'll meet Maggie O'Shaughnessy laboring in the Ennis Workhouse after losing her entire family. She vowed to her dying brother, Michael, that she would continue to live for the rest of them. Lady Catherine arrives and selects Maggie to accompany her back to her Browne Mansion in the far reaches of County Clare. She wishes for Maggie to impersonate her dead daughter so the attorneys will abide by her husband's Will. Maggie agrees only to be mindboggled by what is about to transpire....oh, you will as well. Yowzers.
Maria Tureaud presents a novel that winds its way far beneath the surface. She marries little known historical facts with the hammer head of reality. You can't help to walk the treacherous roads with these starving people and view the mass graves. It brings it close....as it should be. This House Will Feed is fictional, but if you glance through those broken windows, you'll see stunning jolts of real life and what actually transpired during those times. A painful reminder that humans are capable of dastardly deeds....and yet, there are still so many whose hearts still beat with compassion and empathy. Bravo, Maria Tureaud, just bravo.
I received a copy of this book through NetGalley for an honest review. My thanks to Kensington Books and to the talented Maria Tureaud for the opportunity.
February 20, 2026
What’s worse than losing your loved ones, and having to choose between having clothes on your back, shoes on your feet vs. food? This story reads like a desperate prayer at times, then vacillation between resignation and an insistent desire to seek revenge shutting off reason. But amidst the justified anger, there is hope. Survival instincts kick in to also preserve whatever dignity one has left, in the form of kindness, mercy, clarity of thought, and humanity.
January 25, 2026
Look, I have no doubt this is a stellar read to many people. There’s nothing especially wrong with this book, it’s very well written and the story is solid. And maybe it’s me reading it at the wrong time, which seems to be the story of my life lately, but this lacked something for me. I can’t rate it higher than how I’m rating it now and I’m honestly surprised this is the case, because again, it has all the bones of being a great read.
It did not hold my attention at all, I thought it would grab it immediately because the first line definitely intrigued me. But after that, my interest significantly decreased. I only started to get more into it at the halfway mark.
I was also under the impression that this was a horror book. I kept waiting for something horror-adjacent to happen and the closest we got was all the death, famine, grief. And the odd mention of cannibalism. And maybe the witchy things that happen all over. Overall I just wouldn’t say this was a horror book, it read gothic for sure, but horror? I don’t know.
I liked that there were some Irish folklore and myth elements instilled into it, like the Cailleach. So that’s a positive.
I couldn’t connect with the main character much. And in a book like this, that’s half the experience. You have to like the writing and connect to the main character. That’s probably why it didn’t work for me, I wasn’t all the way in.
I am proud to say that I understood a lot of what was said in Gaeilge, though it wasn’t much, and I only briefly glimpsed at the pronunciation guide. I’d say that’s progress!
I have to mention that part of what kept me reading was the quotes at the beginning of each chapter. I was like, let’s see what the next idiot from The Times (London, 1847) has to contribute (the answer is, nothing that won’t make you want to rip your hair off). Or, there you go, another heart wrenching quote from an Irish writer who lived through that time period, fantastic. I didn’t need my heart anyway.
Overall, I’d still recommend it. Maybe not to people who want a horror book, because I don’t think they’d find what they’re looking for here. Objectively, this is a good book. The problem lies with me and my inability to connect with the main character, that’s all. I’d give it a 3.5/5⭐️
Thank you to NetGalley for providing an ARC in exchange for an honest review.
It did not hold my attention at all, I thought it would grab it immediately because the first line definitely intrigued me. But after that, my interest significantly decreased. I only started to get more into it at the halfway mark.
I was also under the impression that this was a horror book. I kept waiting for something horror-adjacent to happen and the closest we got was all the death, famine, grief. And the odd mention of cannibalism. And maybe the witchy things that happen all over. Overall I just wouldn’t say this was a horror book, it read gothic for sure, but horror? I don’t know.
I liked that there were some Irish folklore and myth elements instilled into it, like the Cailleach. So that’s a positive.
I couldn’t connect with the main character much. And in a book like this, that’s half the experience. You have to like the writing and connect to the main character. That’s probably why it didn’t work for me, I wasn’t all the way in.
I am proud to say that I understood a lot of what was said in Gaeilge, though it wasn’t much, and I only briefly glimpsed at the pronunciation guide. I’d say that’s progress!
I have to mention that part of what kept me reading was the quotes at the beginning of each chapter. I was like, let’s see what the next idiot from The Times (London, 1847) has to contribute (the answer is, nothing that won’t make you want to rip your hair off). Or, there you go, another heart wrenching quote from an Irish writer who lived through that time period, fantastic. I didn’t need my heart anyway.
Overall, I’d still recommend it. Maybe not to people who want a horror book, because I don’t think they’d find what they’re looking for here. Objectively, this is a good book. The problem lies with me and my inability to connect with the main character, that’s all. I’d give it a 3.5/5⭐️
Thank you to NetGalley for providing an ARC in exchange for an honest review.
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
Thank you NetGalley and Kensington Publishing for this ARC.
This House Will Feed was so much more than I expected it to be and I am so glad I got to read it.
It had horror elements, but the story is really fragile and heartbreaking, because it is set during Ireland's Great Famine and depicts so very well how a young woman is haunted by those events. I could feel the anguish, starvation and hopelessness of the characters while trying to stay alive. My heart broke also for Maggie, for everything that happened to her.
The mystery of the novel starts once Maggie accepts an offer from Lady Catherine and moves to an old mansion with her. Once there, strange things happen and buried memories start resurfacing.
I loved Maggie's determination to find the truth and to fight for what's hers, and it broke my heart to read about what she and her family went through.
I must say, the ending was satisfactory, especially after such a turmoil of emotions while reading.
Do read also the author's note, it is very informative.
This House Will Feed was so much more than I expected it to be and I am so glad I got to read it.
It had horror elements, but the story is really fragile and heartbreaking, because it is set during Ireland's Great Famine and depicts so very well how a young woman is haunted by those events. I could feel the anguish, starvation and hopelessness of the characters while trying to stay alive. My heart broke also for Maggie, for everything that happened to her.
The mystery of the novel starts once Maggie accepts an offer from Lady Catherine and moves to an old mansion with her. Once there, strange things happen and buried memories start resurfacing.
I loved Maggie's determination to find the truth and to fight for what's hers, and it broke my heart to read about what she and her family went through.
I must say, the ending was satisfactory, especially after such a turmoil of emotions while reading.
Do read also the author's note, it is very informative.
February 18, 2026
I can't tell if I'm just in a really bad reading slump or if I read a completely different book from everyone else.
I'll start with the positives; the historical setting is really interesting. I will admit, I don't know a lot about the Irish potato famine and I'm now really interested in learning more.
That's it. That's all I have to say positive about this book.
This is not at all what I thought it was going to be. I was expecting a story about a desperate woman who takes on the job of pretending to be somebody else in a haunted house and the deep secrets of that house. And sure, there is a little tiny bit of that but there basically isn't. The house is not important at all, really. I don't know why the title of this book focuses on the house. It's just sort of there.
Maggie barely pretends to be Wilhelmina at all. Sure, she uses the name from time to time, but really only with people who know she's actually Maggie. She never actually had to pretend to be Wilhelmina. This plot goes nowhere and serves no purpose at all.
We get this really weird narrative reason for why there are flashbacks which actually makes things worse. I wouldn't have minded going back and forth between past and present if they had paralleled each other. I would have thought Maggie would uncover things about Lady Catherine and then we would get a flashback to see how much alike they are or whatever. Instead, it's this weird thing where Maggie has to "remember" something and so what we instead get is a stupid main character who can't remember really important parts of her life, apparently. There's this weird plot device where there are specific herbs in incense that mean when Maggie goes to sleep she has vivid dreams that are literally just her memories, and they play out almost in chronological order with no weird dream-isms to them at all. It's so stupid, and for what? I was expecting there to be some weird twist for why she can't remember these incredibly important parts of her life but no. She's just dumb.
Because oh my god Maggie is one of the stupidest protagonists I've read in a while. She is frustratingly stupid. I could sort of wave away her not asking Lady Catherine too many questions about the deal because she was in an awful situation and desperate. Sure, fine. But then she just kept being so frustratingly stupid. She can't remember anything about her life, apparently.
And then the whole plot was just so dumb it made no sense.
One thing that was so dumb but made me laugh was Maggie read The Count of Monte Cristo and just in case you don't know the plot, it is also explained in the book. And then I realized, this is a joke of a retelling. There is the element of her taking on the persona of a noble person and getting her revenge, but that is it. The persona of a noble person isn't used at all, and is thrust pointlessly on her. It wasn't her idea. It wasn't used as part of her revenge. She didn't even really seek revenge herself. But she has no agency in any of this. She doesn't make any of these choices. She doesn't decide to take the position to use it for revenge, which could have been interesting. The whole Wilhemenia thing gets thrown in so that Tureaud can go "see? It's a retelling" but also still has to have Maggie read The Count of Monte Cristo so we know because otherwise how would we?
I seriously must have read a different book from everybody else. This was maddening. I hate this book so much, actually. This is also not horror. Gothic, maybe, but this is not scary at all. This is historical fiction with an element of fantasy to it. I had such high hopes for this book, especially with the glowing reviews, but I have not been this angry about a book in a while. A truly dumb main character and plot that makes no sense.
I'll start with the positives; the historical setting is really interesting. I will admit, I don't know a lot about the Irish potato famine and I'm now really interested in learning more.
That's it. That's all I have to say positive about this book.
This is not at all what I thought it was going to be. I was expecting a story about a desperate woman who takes on the job of pretending to be somebody else in a haunted house and the deep secrets of that house. And sure, there is a little tiny bit of that but there basically isn't. The house is not important at all, really. I don't know why the title of this book focuses on the house. It's just sort of there.
Maggie barely pretends to be Wilhelmina at all. Sure, she uses the name from time to time, but really only with people who know she's actually Maggie. She never actually had to pretend to be Wilhelmina. This plot goes nowhere and serves no purpose at all.
We get this really weird narrative reason for why there are flashbacks which actually makes things worse. I wouldn't have minded going back and forth between past and present if they had paralleled each other. I would have thought Maggie would uncover things about Lady Catherine and then we would get a flashback to see how much alike they are or whatever. Instead, it's this weird thing where Maggie has to "remember" something and so what we instead get is a stupid main character who can't remember really important parts of her life, apparently. There's this weird plot device where there are specific herbs in incense that mean when Maggie goes to sleep she has vivid dreams that are literally just her memories, and they play out almost in chronological order with no weird dream-isms to them at all. It's so stupid, and for what? I was expecting there to be some weird twist for why she can't remember these incredibly important parts of her life but no. She's just dumb.
Because oh my god Maggie is one of the stupidest protagonists I've read in a while. She is frustratingly stupid. I could sort of wave away her not asking Lady Catherine too many questions about the deal because she was in an awful situation and desperate. Sure, fine. But then she just kept being so frustratingly stupid. She can't remember anything about her life, apparently.
And then the whole plot was just so dumb it made no sense.
One thing that was so dumb but made me laugh was Maggie read The Count of Monte Cristo and just in case you don't know the plot, it is also explained in the book. And then I realized, this is a joke of a retelling. There is the element of her taking on the persona of a noble person and getting her revenge, but that is it. The persona of a noble person isn't used at all, and is thrust pointlessly on her. It wasn't her idea. It wasn't used as part of her revenge. She didn't even really seek revenge herself. But she has no agency in any of this. She doesn't make any of these choices. She doesn't decide to take the position to use it for revenge, which could have been interesting. The whole Wilhemenia thing gets thrown in so that Tureaud can go "see? It's a retelling" but also still has to have Maggie read The Count of Monte Cristo so we know because otherwise how would we?
I seriously must have read a different book from everybody else. This was maddening. I hate this book so much, actually. This is also not horror. Gothic, maybe, but this is not scary at all. This is historical fiction with an element of fantasy to it. I had such high hopes for this book, especially with the glowing reviews, but I have not been this angry about a book in a while. A truly dumb main character and plot that makes no sense.
July 28, 2026
In a Nutshell: A historical Gothic paranormal mystery set during the Irish potato famine. A lead character who’s compelling as well as naïve. Slow-paced plot. More horrifying in its historical content than in its supernatural inclusions. Fantastical content based slightly in Irish mythology, which might get confusing to outsiders. Some details left vague till the end. Recommended but with caution.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Plot Preview:
Bookish Yays:
🍀 The author's heartfelt note addressed to Irish readers at the start and the detailed historical note at the end. I was surprised to see real-life influences even in the human characters.
🍀 The quotes at the start of every chapter, taken from factual British and Irish sources. A stark reminder of how brutal the famine was and how disdainful the Brits were towards the Irish.
🍀 The horrifying depiction of the famine. Calling it just an ‘Irish Potato Famine’ somehow diminishes the dreariness of the historical reality.
🍀 The extensive and stark depiction of the historical feelings of antipathy and mistrust between the Irish and the English and the horrendous apathy of the latter towards the former.
🍀 The regular use of Gaelic words and a detailed glossary for meanings at the end.
Bookish Okays:
🏠 Maggie. Her personality isn't what is typical in this genre, so her strength and her moral murkiness truly set her apart. At the same time, she is also naïve and often takes illogical decisions.
🏠 The dual timeline. Without going into spoilers, I can only say that the chronological nature of the reveals doesn’t make sense given the reason provided for the flashbacks. (Keep an eye out for the month-year at the start of every chapter; it’s important.)
🏠 The greyness of every single character, which makes it tough to slot them neatly into moral compartments. I enjoyed this realistic lack of an ethical border, but didn’t like how their motives often made no sense.
🏠 The inclusion of certain elements from Irish mythology. Interesting but also a little confusing for me at times due to my lack of familiarity with it.
🏠 The writing. Vivid and atmospheric in multiple ways, but also tedious and overwritten. Some of the words are highly overused. Words like ‘naught’ and ‘mayhap’ might be historically accurate, but seeing them pop up repetitively gets distracting.
🏠 The half-chapter that comes from a different character’s first-person perspective. The sudden shift is jarring, especially as the character’s voice doesn’t even sound different. Then, just as we begin to settle into the narrative, it goes back to Maggie. I get why it was important to use the first-person for this bit, but I wish the character’s voice had been more distinct in tone.
Bookish Nays:
🥔 The house. With such a title and genre, I was hoping the word "feed" would be a pun. The cover art also made me expect a more creepy Gothic paranormal. However, the house is barely utilised to its potential.
🥔 Paranormal, but not paranormal horror. The spookiness is more in the human famine-related actions than in the occurrences at the house.
🥔 The mysterious events. Intriguing but also mostly hazy. Many things aren’t clarified even up to the end. I’d have appreciated more details pertaining to “Wilhelmina” and the other females in the story. Getting merely the whats without the hows and the whys is not always satisfying.
🥔 The old journal, which is so relevant to the plot and yet is not even read in one shot, pops up only at random, and is forgotten after the midpoint. It felt like a convenient way of providing some backstory for one character without going into important details such as motives.
🥔 The pacing – so very slow moving. This is worsened by the multitude of secrets. One particular secret is kept too long and after its reveal, I didn’t even understand why it was a secret!
Overall, while the book delivered tremendous chills in its portrayal of the famine, the actual paranormal content felt somewhat lacking. I like books that make me wonder what I would have done in the character’s situation. In this novel, I often found myself disagreeing with a character’s decisions/actions and yet curious about the outcome of their deeds. At the same time, the story somehow never grabbed me entirely; I never felt like picking it up after keeping it aside. The vagueness of the character motivations ensured my disconnect.
Regardless, this might be a good option for readers who go in with the right expectations. This book doesn’t work that well as a paranormal horror despite the presence of paranormal elements. It might deliver better as a dark historical fantasy with elements of human-created horror.
2.75 stars. (I’d have gone higher had I received more clarity on the motives of some characters.)
My thanks to Kensington Books for providing the DRC of “This House Will Feed” via NetGalley. This review is voluntary and contains my honest opinion about the book.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I follow the Goodreads rating policy:
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ - Lifelong favourite!
⭐⭐⭐⭐ - I loved the book.
⭐⭐⭐ - I liked the book.
⭐⭐ - I found the book average.
⭐ - I hated the book.
The decimals indicate the degree of the in-between feelings.
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Connect with me through:
My Blog || The StoryGraph || Instagram || Facebook ||
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Plot Preview:
1848. Ireland. Twenty-two-year-old Maggie once had a large happy family, but she is now all alone in the world, having lost all her loved ones to the potato famine. So when an eccentric wealthy lady approaches her with a strange proposal - to pose as her daughter Wilhelmina and convince solicitors to release her inheritance in exchange for a house and land after the completion of the task, Maggie sees it as the best chance of defeating her destiny and honouring the memory of her late family. But Lady Catherine's house begins to wake up strange memories from Maggie's past. When the villagers also comment about ghostly activities at the house, Maggie wonders if the deal she made us worth the sacrifice demanded of her.
The story comes to us in Maggie's first-person POV over two timelines - the present and the past.
Bookish Yays:
🍀 The author's heartfelt note addressed to Irish readers at the start and the detailed historical note at the end. I was surprised to see real-life influences even in the human characters.
🍀 The quotes at the start of every chapter, taken from factual British and Irish sources. A stark reminder of how brutal the famine was and how disdainful the Brits were towards the Irish.
🍀 The horrifying depiction of the famine. Calling it just an ‘Irish Potato Famine’ somehow diminishes the dreariness of the historical reality.
🍀 The extensive and stark depiction of the historical feelings of antipathy and mistrust between the Irish and the English and the horrendous apathy of the latter towards the former.
🍀 The regular use of Gaelic words and a detailed glossary for meanings at the end.
Bookish Okays:
🏠 Maggie. Her personality isn't what is typical in this genre, so her strength and her moral murkiness truly set her apart. At the same time, she is also naïve and often takes illogical decisions.
🏠 The dual timeline. Without going into spoilers, I can only say that the chronological nature of the reveals doesn’t make sense given the reason provided for the flashbacks. (Keep an eye out for the month-year at the start of every chapter; it’s important.)
🏠 The greyness of every single character, which makes it tough to slot them neatly into moral compartments. I enjoyed this realistic lack of an ethical border, but didn’t like how their motives often made no sense.
🏠 The inclusion of certain elements from Irish mythology. Interesting but also a little confusing for me at times due to my lack of familiarity with it.
🏠 The writing. Vivid and atmospheric in multiple ways, but also tedious and overwritten. Some of the words are highly overused. Words like ‘naught’ and ‘mayhap’ might be historically accurate, but seeing them pop up repetitively gets distracting.
🏠 The half-chapter that comes from a different character’s first-person perspective. The sudden shift is jarring, especially as the character’s voice doesn’t even sound different. Then, just as we begin to settle into the narrative, it goes back to Maggie. I get why it was important to use the first-person for this bit, but I wish the character’s voice had been more distinct in tone.
Bookish Nays:
🥔 The house. With such a title and genre, I was hoping the word "feed" would be a pun. The cover art also made me expect a more creepy Gothic paranormal. However, the house is barely utilised to its potential.
🥔 Paranormal, but not paranormal horror. The spookiness is more in the human famine-related actions than in the occurrences at the house.
🥔 The mysterious events. Intriguing but also mostly hazy. Many things aren’t clarified even up to the end. I’d have appreciated more details pertaining to “Wilhelmina” and the other females in the story. Getting merely the whats without the hows and the whys is not always satisfying.
🥔 The old journal, which is so relevant to the plot and yet is not even read in one shot, pops up only at random, and is forgotten after the midpoint. It felt like a convenient way of providing some backstory for one character without going into important details such as motives.
🥔 The pacing – so very slow moving. This is worsened by the multitude of secrets. One particular secret is kept too long and after its reveal, I didn’t even understand why it was a secret!
Overall, while the book delivered tremendous chills in its portrayal of the famine, the actual paranormal content felt somewhat lacking. I like books that make me wonder what I would have done in the character’s situation. In this novel, I often found myself disagreeing with a character’s decisions/actions and yet curious about the outcome of their deeds. At the same time, the story somehow never grabbed me entirely; I never felt like picking it up after keeping it aside. The vagueness of the character motivations ensured my disconnect.
Regardless, this might be a good option for readers who go in with the right expectations. This book doesn’t work that well as a paranormal horror despite the presence of paranormal elements. It might deliver better as a dark historical fantasy with elements of human-created horror.
2.75 stars. (I’d have gone higher had I received more clarity on the motives of some characters.)
My thanks to Kensington Books for providing the DRC of “This House Will Feed” via NetGalley. This review is voluntary and contains my honest opinion about the book.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I follow the Goodreads rating policy:
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ - Lifelong favourite!
⭐⭐⭐⭐ - I loved the book.
⭐⭐⭐ - I liked the book.
⭐⭐ - I found the book average.
⭐ - I hated the book.
The decimals indicate the degree of the in-between feelings.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Connect with me through:
My Blog || The StoryGraph || Instagram || Facebook ||
May 16, 2025
A Note from the Author (Content Warnings)
This book portrays one of the worst tragedies (and some argue, genocide) of the 19th Century—An Gorta Mór (The Great Hunger, known simply in America as the Irish Potato Famine). The population of Ireland halved as a result, from an estimated 9 million down to just 4.5 million.
As such, depictions of extreme starvation, desolation, death (including instances of child death), possession, use of slurs, cannibalism, suicide, and murder appear on-page. This book includes epigraphs, most documenting eye-witness accounts (from Irish, British, and American observers) and should be read with caution.
As an Irish author, born and raised, the researching and writing of this book dredged up generational trauma that we as a people have not truly dealt with. Therefore I suggest native Irish readers should approach with a steady heart, and the heady knowledge that our great-great grandparents were forged in steel, and you are the freedom and legacy they dreamt of.
This book portrays one of the worst tragedies (and some argue, genocide) of the 19th Century—An Gorta Mór (The Great Hunger, known simply in America as the Irish Potato Famine). The population of Ireland halved as a result, from an estimated 9 million down to just 4.5 million.
As such, depictions of extreme starvation, desolation, death (including instances of child death), possession, use of slurs, cannibalism, suicide, and murder appear on-page. This book includes epigraphs, most documenting eye-witness accounts (from Irish, British, and American observers) and should be read with caution.
As an Irish author, born and raised, the researching and writing of this book dredged up generational trauma that we as a people have not truly dealt with. Therefore I suggest native Irish readers should approach with a steady heart, and the heady knowledge that our great-great grandparents were forged in steel, and you are the freedom and legacy they dreamt of.
October 18, 2026
Dacă aș putea să dau mai multe stele aș da, mi-a plăcut foarte mult cartea . Mai mult o carte istorică cu elemente de horror, foarte bine ancorată în istoria Irlandei, poate de aceea o face mai tulburătoare. There are stories in the world that must be told so that history does not repeat itself; this book is one of them.
May 2, 2025
This House Will Feed is both a luscious Gothic, as well a poignant examination of the nature of loss and collective memory in a time of unspeakable horrors. I absolutely adored it, and look forward to what Tureaud has in store for us next.
February 21, 2026
This House Will Feed
by Maria Tureaud
Love odd books and this one is unique. A young starving girl from a workhouse, the last in a family of 12, is chosen to go with a lady of means. She is to pretend to be her daughter so she can keep her land. Otherwise, she and all her land tenants will lose everything. This is about the time of the Irish potato famine. The girl agrees and is treated fair but the large house is a mystery of its own. She hears voices, dreams, and more. Interesting story.
by Maria Tureaud
Love odd books and this one is unique. A young starving girl from a workhouse, the last in a family of 12, is chosen to go with a lady of means. She is to pretend to be her daughter so she can keep her land. Otherwise, she and all her land tenants will lose everything. This is about the time of the Irish potato famine. The girl agrees and is treated fair but the large house is a mystery of its own. She hears voices, dreams, and more. Interesting story.
March 9, 2026
Finally, a book described as gothic that is actually gothic! My favorite part was the history woven throughout. I knew little about the potato famine and now feel like I had an education in its history in the best way. There are some first novel jitters here, but they were easily overlooked as I was totally absorbed into the story and the atmosphere. Maggie, our heroine, is easy to root for, but she’s also incapable of connecting the simplest of dots. There were many chapters where I was incredibly frustrated with her, but for the sake of the story I was willing to keep going.
Read
August 15, 2026Entertaining, but informative -- I knew the Irish Potato Famine was a tragedy, but I didn't realize it was a crime against humanity.
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
I absolutely loved every page of This House Will Feed. I started reading this about an hour after waking up and finished in the same day! If you love historical fiction, gothic horror, folklore, mysticism, multiple time lines, and rage then this one is for you.
Maggie, destitute and alone, has lost her entire family to the great famine. She has not other choice but to submit herself to the workhouse, laboring away to skin and bones. Her luck changes when the mistress of the workhouse offers her a way out - live with her and impersonate her deceased daughter Wilhelmina. If Maggie can fool Lady Catherine's solicitors she will grant Maggie true freedom. But as Maggie assumes the role of Wilhelmina she learns not all is right in Lady Catherine's house. What's worse is that Maggie starts having vivid dreams of her past, and she starts to wonder if her dreams and what haunts the house are connected.
I really enjoyed that the dream element was how we learned about Maggie. Her story is heartbreaking but even when she's at her lowest she manages to keep on going. This is a strong female character done right - she's completely believable because she adapts to each situation a little differently, and not without struggle or by being rude and outspoken.
While I guessed a lot of the plot correctly there were still some moments of surprise (mostly around the supernatural bits). I have a bit of knowledge about Irish lore from previous books and video games but I still managed to learn new things from this book. It has a pronunciation guide of the Irish words that are used throughout that I found super helpful. I enjoyed the writing, the pacing, the characters, the worldbuilding, absolutely everything. I sincerely recommend this to everyone!
I received an ARC from Kensington Publishing through NetGalley, which has no influence on my review.
Maggie, destitute and alone, has lost her entire family to the great famine. She has not other choice but to submit herself to the workhouse, laboring away to skin and bones. Her luck changes when the mistress of the workhouse offers her a way out - live with her and impersonate her deceased daughter Wilhelmina. If Maggie can fool Lady Catherine's solicitors she will grant Maggie true freedom. But as Maggie assumes the role of Wilhelmina she learns not all is right in Lady Catherine's house. What's worse is that Maggie starts having vivid dreams of her past, and she starts to wonder if her dreams and what haunts the house are connected.
I really enjoyed that the dream element was how we learned about Maggie. Her story is heartbreaking but even when she's at her lowest she manages to keep on going. This is a strong female character done right - she's completely believable because she adapts to each situation a little differently, and not without struggle or by being rude and outspoken.
While I guessed a lot of the plot correctly there were still some moments of surprise (mostly around the supernatural bits). I have a bit of knowledge about Irish lore from previous books and video games but I still managed to learn new things from this book. It has a pronunciation guide of the Irish words that are used throughout that I found super helpful. I enjoyed the writing, the pacing, the characters, the worldbuilding, absolutely everything. I sincerely recommend this to everyone!
I received an ARC from Kensington Publishing through NetGalley, which has no influence on my review.
January 16, 2026
I absolutely loved the descriptive prose and foreboding atmosphere of this gothic novel. There’s something deeply unsettling about this isolated house with a locked attic that no one is ever allowed to enter. Our main character is imitating the household’s presumed-dead daughter, but it’s clear from the start that there’s far more going on than meets the eye.
I really appreciated the historical setting and I felt for Maggie as she navigates the poverty and grief left in the wake of the Irish potato famine. She’s had a hard life, which makes her understandably cautious about trusting others. The Irish folklore elements were a major highlight, I loved learning about myths I’d never heard of before.
While much of the plot was predictable, there were still a few surprises along the way. And honestly, the writing was strong enough that the predictability didn’t bother me. Ultimately, I really loved this book, especially its rich Irish folklore and moody gothic setting.
I really appreciated the historical setting and I felt for Maggie as she navigates the poverty and grief left in the wake of the Irish potato famine. She’s had a hard life, which makes her understandably cautious about trusting others. The Irish folklore elements were a major highlight, I loved learning about myths I’d never heard of before.
While much of the plot was predictable, there were still a few surprises along the way. And honestly, the writing was strong enough that the predictability didn’t bother me. Ultimately, I really loved this book, especially its rich Irish folklore and moody gothic setting.
January 27, 2026
With such an exciting premise - impersonating a dead woman in a haunted house during the Irish Potato Famine - I expected Rebecca-esque vibes but with a historical context that illustrates themes of generational trauma, oppression, and hunger. Instead, this book does not illustrate its themes but tells them to the reader outright through unwieldy dialogue and a messy structure, and it delivers hardly any atmosphere at all. This work has great intentions behind it, but I didn't feel respected as a reader because there was little for me to think about or interpret for myself.
The characters could have been really interesting if the book had been structured differently - especially Lady Catherine, since she had multiple dimensions to her character that were not fully explored. Since all of Maggie's biggest woes are dumped on the reader in the first chapter and many of them had similarities to Lady Catherine's life, I think it would have made more sense to reveal what happened to Maggie in flashbacks that coincided with her finding out about what happened to Lady Catherine. This would have made these flashbacks more meaningful, especially given how repetitive they became when the reader already knew what would happen in each one.
These flashbacks happened whenever Maggie fainted (which was often) or was given the unexplained incense made from herbs that make people remember things. This need to remember, which is repeated throughout the book, was very strange to me; it wasn't clear how or why Maggie forgot any of what happened just a couple of years ago, or why Michael and the woman in white were both so aligned in making her remember who Cormac was.
Given the title and the popular association of haunted houses with trauma, I expected the house to be much more present than it was. The house was hardly described at all; I never had a sense of what it looked like or what the vibes were like, and I never felt unsettled by the environment. There just wasn't enough imagery to engage my imagination or my senses.
I also wanted more about the impersonation plot, but that hardly factors into the book either. I wanted more about the day-to-day of becoming another person and the erasure of Maggie's identity. It was hard to connect with Maggie when she described losing her identity because I had no sense of what it was to begin with: there were no stakes to this inner conflict. She describes herself as old Maggie and new Maggie based on before and after her traumatic journey, but the difference is not demonstrated by her actions in the flashbacks or in the present.
The dialogue between characters was so on-the-nose that it regularly jolted me out of the narrative. For instance, towards the start Lady Catherine says, "Vagrants, Maggie. Aren't we so very lucky to not have to run them over in my carriage? Why, Mr. O'Brien, how very thoughtful of you to clear our path of the good and honest subjects of her majesty the queen, whose crime is naught but being Irish" (p.21). As another example, in a flashback, Maggie's father says, "Our family's standing and survival relies solely on your father's good humor. And if you think I will overlook the gross imbalance of power you used to extort my daughter, you are very mistaken" (p.107). These characters were not wrong about what they described, but I wanted to infer this myself based on the story - I don't need or want the characters to explain it to me.
Lastly, there were several minor inconsistencies that stuck out to me. In one flashback Da is described as never having laid a hand on any of his children, but in a previous flashback he had boxed Michael's ears. Similarly, Teddy describes his father as having never struck him, but he says in the next paragraph that his father is guilty about all the beatings. Abuse can take many forms, but this is a weird thing to be so inconsistent about. Also, at the risk of being nitpicky, there's a point where Maggie reflects on what the English think of the Irish: "Yet they called us barbaric savages, lazy, with naught between our ears to allow us to pull ourselves up by the bootstraps." At the time the book is set, the phrase about bootstraps was roughly a decade old and referred to absurd, impossible tasks - it wasn't used seriously until much later. This was yet another instance where I wanted the narrative to show me the English doing this to the Irish rather than telling me.
I did enjoy the historical quotes at the beginning of each chapter, but I wish they had been chosen more deliberately to reflect what happened in the narrative. Maggie's flashbacks felt so thematically disjointed from her present circumstances that the present story could be picked up and placed in any time period and work as a dramatic thriller. I really would have preferred if this book had married its plot and the spooky aspects more to the historical context and themes.
I don't know enough about Irish literature to recommend relevant alternatives, but here are a few ideas for what to read instead:
Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier - replacing a dead woman in a weird house
A Mouthful of Dust by Nghi Vo - a poignant exploration of famine
The Bog Wife by Kay Chronister - spooky folklore and family trauma
The characters could have been really interesting if the book had been structured differently - especially Lady Catherine, since she had multiple dimensions to her character that were not fully explored. Since all of Maggie's biggest woes are dumped on the reader in the first chapter and many of them had similarities to Lady Catherine's life, I think it would have made more sense to reveal what happened to Maggie in flashbacks that coincided with her finding out about what happened to Lady Catherine. This would have made these flashbacks more meaningful, especially given how repetitive they became when the reader already knew what would happen in each one.
These flashbacks happened whenever Maggie fainted (which was often) or was given the unexplained incense made from herbs that make people remember things. This need to remember, which is repeated throughout the book, was very strange to me; it wasn't clear how or why Maggie forgot any of what happened just a couple of years ago, or why Michael and the woman in white were both so aligned in making her remember who Cormac was.
Given the title and the popular association of haunted houses with trauma, I expected the house to be much more present than it was. The house was hardly described at all; I never had a sense of what it looked like or what the vibes were like, and I never felt unsettled by the environment. There just wasn't enough imagery to engage my imagination or my senses.
I also wanted more about the impersonation plot, but that hardly factors into the book either. I wanted more about the day-to-day of becoming another person and the erasure of Maggie's identity. It was hard to connect with Maggie when she described losing her identity because I had no sense of what it was to begin with: there were no stakes to this inner conflict. She describes herself as old Maggie and new Maggie based on before and after her traumatic journey, but the difference is not demonstrated by her actions in the flashbacks or in the present.
The dialogue between characters was so on-the-nose that it regularly jolted me out of the narrative. For instance, towards the start Lady Catherine says, "Vagrants, Maggie. Aren't we so very lucky to not have to run them over in my carriage? Why, Mr. O'Brien, how very thoughtful of you to clear our path of the good and honest subjects of her majesty the queen, whose crime is naught but being Irish" (p.21). As another example, in a flashback, Maggie's father says, "Our family's standing and survival relies solely on your father's good humor. And if you think I will overlook the gross imbalance of power you used to extort my daughter, you are very mistaken" (p.107). These characters were not wrong about what they described, but I wanted to infer this myself based on the story - I don't need or want the characters to explain it to me.
Lastly, there were several minor inconsistencies that stuck out to me. In one flashback Da is described as never having laid a hand on any of his children, but in a previous flashback he had boxed Michael's ears. Similarly, Teddy describes his father as having never struck him, but he says in the next paragraph that his father is guilty about all the beatings. Abuse can take many forms, but this is a weird thing to be so inconsistent about. Also, at the risk of being nitpicky, there's a point where Maggie reflects on what the English think of the Irish: "Yet they called us barbaric savages, lazy, with naught between our ears to allow us to pull ourselves up by the bootstraps." At the time the book is set, the phrase about bootstraps was roughly a decade old and referred to absurd, impossible tasks - it wasn't used seriously until much later. This was yet another instance where I wanted the narrative to show me the English doing this to the Irish rather than telling me.
I did enjoy the historical quotes at the beginning of each chapter, but I wish they had been chosen more deliberately to reflect what happened in the narrative. Maggie's flashbacks felt so thematically disjointed from her present circumstances that the present story could be picked up and placed in any time period and work as a dramatic thriller. I really would have preferred if this book had married its plot and the spooky aspects more to the historical context and themes.
I don't know enough about Irish literature to recommend relevant alternatives, but here are a few ideas for what to read instead:
Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier - replacing a dead woman in a weird house
A Mouthful of Dust by Nghi Vo - a poignant exploration of famine
The Bog Wife by Kay Chronister - spooky folklore and family trauma
August 6, 2026
This book is the perfect example of how a story can be so compelling that the reader feels the emotions of the characters right down to their bones. The anger over injustice. The devastating grief. The gnawing hunger and diminishment caused by poverty. The powerlessness of a young woman, manipulated by those of a higher rank. The enduring memory of family. And finally, the fierceness of an unbreakable spirit.
This House Will Feed not only had me cheering for a revenge plot that would satisfy my rage, but it sent me to Google many a time to research my vast lack of knowledge about The Great Hunger. I love a book that educates me while also entertaining me and making me feel all the feels.
This House Will Feed not only had me cheering for a revenge plot that would satisfy my rage, but it sent me to Google many a time to research my vast lack of knowledge about The Great Hunger. I love a book that educates me while also entertaining me and making me feel all the feels.
October 20, 2026
a tragic ghostly revenge story. i was bowled over by the unflinchingly brutal depiction of the great hunger in ireland - truly a horrific piece of history. rtc.
March 28, 2026
I will say that the title was what drew me into this story and I was not disappointed that I took a chance.
At times the horror of life overshadows the horrors of one's imagination.
Maggie O’Shaughnessy has lived through the horrors of the famine in Ireland. She has lost everything, family, a man she loved and even her beloved brother, Michael. Maybe life will start to look up for Maggie as she is plucked out of the Ennis Workhouse, by Lady Catherine, ad all that is required for Maggie is to impersonate her Catherine's daughter, Wilhelmina.
Maggie takes on the task but in the manor they live in their seem to be spirits, ghostly apparitions, and nightmares that Maggie seems to have nightly. What could it be that has even the villagers whispering and nothing a presence in that manor that is dangerous and looks for something.
Lady Catherine does the best she can in supporting the villagers during this awful time, but for reasons unknown seems to have many fake Wilelminas pass through the house.
However, Maggie always remembers her brother's last words to her, that she should live, and that she endeavors to do.
Told with a mixture of Irish legends, folklores and of course the devastating famine, this book allows the reader to imagine the world of 1848 and a scared young woman who finds her strength.
As an aside I leaned much about the famine, the loss of life, the total disregard of the British Government to the plight of the Irish (which indeed many of them wanted dead), and the refusal of that government to allow help from other countries (America and other nations). It really was an atrocity that in some ways rivaled the elimination wanted by the Nazi regime.
At times the horror of life overshadows the horrors of one's imagination.
Maggie O’Shaughnessy has lived through the horrors of the famine in Ireland. She has lost everything, family, a man she loved and even her beloved brother, Michael. Maybe life will start to look up for Maggie as she is plucked out of the Ennis Workhouse, by Lady Catherine, ad all that is required for Maggie is to impersonate her Catherine's daughter, Wilhelmina.
Maggie takes on the task but in the manor they live in their seem to be spirits, ghostly apparitions, and nightmares that Maggie seems to have nightly. What could it be that has even the villagers whispering and nothing a presence in that manor that is dangerous and looks for something.
Lady Catherine does the best she can in supporting the villagers during this awful time, but for reasons unknown seems to have many fake Wilelminas pass through the house.
However, Maggie always remembers her brother's last words to her, that she should live, and that she endeavors to do.
Told with a mixture of Irish legends, folklores and of course the devastating famine, this book allows the reader to imagine the world of 1848 and a scared young woman who finds her strength.
As an aside I leaned much about the famine, the loss of life, the total disregard of the British Government to the plight of the Irish (which indeed many of them wanted dead), and the refusal of that government to allow help from other countries (America and other nations). It really was an atrocity that in some ways rivaled the elimination wanted by the Nazi regime.
January 20, 2026
A historical horror done right!! This book was so atmospheric and will literally chill you to your bones. I loved the writing format and the flash backs were so well done. Im also a huge fan of supernatural elements mixed with historical elements and loved the way the author tackled this. Absolutely recommend, all the stars
June 7, 2026
Sad, harrowing and genuinely spooky. I loved this story.
September 6, 2025
This book is a historical horror novel. It's also a ghost story. However, those looking for purely a ghost story should be warned that the ghosts don't arrive until a huge amount of the book has gone past, maybe 40-60% or so before the ghosts? Before that it's all potato famine all the time. It's very well researched and very horrifying. The kind of horrifying that is uniquely the province of the truth. That is to say that the potato famine was so horrific in life that a book about it is all the more horrible because it is true. I devoured the first 40% of the book in one sitting, but then it became so real and so hard to stare into the abyss that I had to read the rest of the novel more slowly in several sittings. This is a novel that I would recommend to anyone who enjoys historical horror. I also think that anyone who enjoyed the book The Reformatory by Tananarive Due will also enjoy this one. Just as the true events in the Reformatory are a piece of the past that we should all remember, so too are the events of the potato famine.
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
Well this is such a different book than what I normally read, but I saw so many people saying it was really awesome so I was super intrigued. I loved the supernatural elements and the history, taking place during 1848 Ireland’s Great Famine. The setting of the haunted mansion was really atmospheric and gothic. This is a slower read, but the lyrical and descriptive writing style was really engaging and vivid. Sometimes I was frustrated over the MCs actions but I guess under her circumstances, it could be understandable. I'm glad I decided to check it out.
Thank you to the publisher and netgalley for the gifted copy. All opinions are my own.
Thank you to the publisher and netgalley for the gifted copy. All opinions are my own.
Read
June 28, 2025the english are the real villains as is literally always the case in history
but also (and this is a compliment) the actual supernatural elements were not nearly as horrifying as the starvation and pain that lead the lead character into the supernatual elements
but also (and this is a compliment) the actual supernatural elements were not nearly as horrifying as the starvation and pain that lead the lead character into the supernatual elements
January 15, 2026
Fuck the English on God
March 29, 2026
An intriguing start quickly became lackluster. This book wasn't at all what I expected. The story was slow, choppy and the characters were unlikable. I could have DNFed but I was already invested.
July 12, 2026
I was really keen on starting this book because I thought it would be a horror novel, but it reads so much more like gothic fiction (which sometimes feels boring to me). Truth be told, this book is in uncharted territory for me, I know very little about the genocide of Irish people outside of “just” the potato famine, but the horrors of the British empire knows no bounds. The story is wrapped in famine, grief, and Irish history. It is written beautifully, with a strong, foggy atmosphere, but it doesn’t deliver on the horror aspect. Maybe the true horror is that humans are terrible creatures to one another, and I just didn’t get to that part yet. Anyway, all that to say that I’m dnfing at 30%, I’ll see if I can bring myself to picking it up again…. but really, the closest we get to HORROR is death, destruction, and suffering.
The bits of Irish folklore were interesting, and there was a lot of Gaelic sprinkled throughout, but I couldn’t connect with the main character, Maggie/Wilhelmina, so a lot of the emotional weight didn’t land for me. The one thing I probably took out of it is saying “Gods blood!” Under my breath when I get scared. I don’t know. The pacing is so slowwww it just didn’t hold my attention; the first page or two really hooked me, but it really drops off from there
Overall i am hesitant to rate it because I didn’t see it through, but from what I did read, I would give it a 3/5 DNF.
The bits of Irish folklore were interesting, and there was a lot of Gaelic sprinkled throughout, but I couldn’t connect with the main character, Maggie/Wilhelmina, so a lot of the emotional weight didn’t land for me. The one thing I probably took out of it is saying “Gods blood!” Under my breath when I get scared. I don’t know. The pacing is so slowwww it just didn’t hold my attention; the first page or two really hooked me, but it really drops off from there
Overall i am hesitant to rate it because I didn’t see it through, but from what I did read, I would give it a 3/5 DNF.
July 20, 2026
4.25 stars
I am not gonna lie, I was initially drawn to This House Will Feed because of the cool purplish cover, so I was not at all prepared for what Maria Tureaud would have in store for me here. This is a gothic historical supernatural horror novel steeped in Irish history and folklore, and I could not stop myself from devouring it even when it disturbed me beyond imagining. Which, honestly, is always a good sign… probably not for my mental wellbeing, but definitely for the book.
Now, I am going to be very honest, I knew almost nothing about the Irish Potato Famine of the mid-1840s, but I honestly think This House Will Feed was just about the most morbidly fascinating way for me to learn about it. We are drawn straight into the horrors and despair of this period through the eyes of Maggie, who has lost her entire family to the famine and is working herself to the bone just to barely get by on her own. So when Lady Catherine invites her to stay in her mansion and impersonate her presumed-dead daughter, she obviously cannot say no. Except, of course it is too good to be true, because the house is not quite alright and something is awakening painful old memories in Maggie that might be more horrifying than starving to death.
I absolutely loved Maggie as a protagonist, and I was completely glued to the page as her life unravelled through the unreliable and almost hallucinatory dual timeline storytelling. Her journey is so heartwrenching in all the best ways without ever feeling like one big trauma fest, and I really appreciated the way that Turead explored identity, grief, gender roles, mental health, family, generational trauma, and vengeance. There is so much pain in Maggie's story, but she never felt reduced to that pain, and I was completely invested in watching her uncover the truth about herself and the horrors surrounding her.
And sure, the plot of This House Will Feed might be a bit slow in places and perhaps a little predictable at times, but I was just eating up the haunting atmosphere and anticipatory dread of it all, especially on audio (highly, highly recommend). The blending of human horror with supernatural suspense and cultural folklore was beautifully done and added so much to the sense of intrigue and immersion for me, and I loved the way the real horrors of history sat alongside the more supernatural elements. Sometimes I did wish that some of the emotional gut punches had hit a bit harder, but I was still deeply moved by Maggie's journey, and I have a feeling this book will haunt me for a while to come.
I really think This House Will Feed is one of those books that you just need to go into as blind as possible and experience for yourself, so I am going to stop talking before I accidentally start spoiling things. If you like gothic historical horror, Irish folklore, supernatural suspense, complicated women, haunted houses, and stories that offer both excellent horror escapism and painful lessons about our history and how humanity can fail each other, please do yourself a favour and pick up this (audio)book. What a dreadful delight.
I am not gonna lie, I was initially drawn to This House Will Feed because of the cool purplish cover, so I was not at all prepared for what Maria Tureaud would have in store for me here. This is a gothic historical supernatural horror novel steeped in Irish history and folklore, and I could not stop myself from devouring it even when it disturbed me beyond imagining. Which, honestly, is always a good sign… probably not for my mental wellbeing, but definitely for the book.
Now, I am going to be very honest, I knew almost nothing about the Irish Potato Famine of the mid-1840s, but I honestly think This House Will Feed was just about the most morbidly fascinating way for me to learn about it. We are drawn straight into the horrors and despair of this period through the eyes of Maggie, who has lost her entire family to the famine and is working herself to the bone just to barely get by on her own. So when Lady Catherine invites her to stay in her mansion and impersonate her presumed-dead daughter, she obviously cannot say no. Except, of course it is too good to be true, because the house is not quite alright and something is awakening painful old memories in Maggie that might be more horrifying than starving to death.
I absolutely loved Maggie as a protagonist, and I was completely glued to the page as her life unravelled through the unreliable and almost hallucinatory dual timeline storytelling. Her journey is so heartwrenching in all the best ways without ever feeling like one big trauma fest, and I really appreciated the way that Turead explored identity, grief, gender roles, mental health, family, generational trauma, and vengeance. There is so much pain in Maggie's story, but she never felt reduced to that pain, and I was completely invested in watching her uncover the truth about herself and the horrors surrounding her.
And sure, the plot of This House Will Feed might be a bit slow in places and perhaps a little predictable at times, but I was just eating up the haunting atmosphere and anticipatory dread of it all, especially on audio (highly, highly recommend). The blending of human horror with supernatural suspense and cultural folklore was beautifully done and added so much to the sense of intrigue and immersion for me, and I loved the way the real horrors of history sat alongside the more supernatural elements. Sometimes I did wish that some of the emotional gut punches had hit a bit harder, but I was still deeply moved by Maggie's journey, and I have a feeling this book will haunt me for a while to come.
I really think This House Will Feed is one of those books that you just need to go into as blind as possible and experience for yourself, so I am going to stop talking before I accidentally start spoiling things. If you like gothic historical horror, Irish folklore, supernatural suspense, complicated women, haunted houses, and stories that offer both excellent horror escapism and painful lessons about our history and how humanity can fail each other, please do yourself a favour and pick up this (audio)book. What a dreadful delight.
January 18, 2026
https://www.tiktok.com/t/ZThAJ5NMp/
📖 Aaron Reads | Book Review
Title: This House Will Feed
Author: Maria Tureaud
Publisher: Kensington
Format: Ebook
ARC: Thank you, NetGalley and Kensington!
⭐ 5/5
🔪 3.5/5
📄 Page #: 280ish
Quick Descriptors
• Gothic
• Disturbing
• Haunted house vibes
• Desolate, bleak atmosphere
One-Sentence Take
A deeply disturbing horror folktale about a young woman fighting to survive an Irish Famine. By losing everything/one she loves, she’s ultimately given the chance to gain it back. This is a STUNNING novel. Huge kudos to the author for undertaking this daunting subject matter and creating an eerily atmospheric story that not only entertained me, but taught me new things. All I’m going to say is,
buckle up.
📖 Aaron Reads | Book Review
Title: This House Will Feed
Author: Maria Tureaud
Publisher: Kensington
Format: Ebook
ARC: Thank you, NetGalley and Kensington!
⭐ 5/5
🔪 3.5/5
📄 Page #: 280ish
Quick Descriptors
• Gothic
• Disturbing
• Haunted house vibes
• Desolate, bleak atmosphere
One-Sentence Take
A deeply disturbing horror folktale about a young woman fighting to survive an Irish Famine. By losing everything/one she loves, she’s ultimately given the chance to gain it back. This is a STUNNING novel. Huge kudos to the author for undertaking this daunting subject matter and creating an eerily atmospheric story that not only entertained me, but taught me new things. All I’m going to say is,
buckle up.
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