Azalea House

by Clare Castleberry

On her sixteenth birthday, Marianne’s world gets turned upside down. After her parents die suddenly in an accident, she and her brother, Marcus, must fend for themselves as they adjust to a new life with a dysfunctional extended family. Marianne begins to unravel one dark secret after another, revealing a sinister past and awakening the spirits who inhabit Azalea House, the Southern Louisiana estate owned by her family for generations. Among those spirits are her dead twin brothers, who drowned under mysterious circumstances before Marianne was born. A gardener at Azalea House was blamed for the murder and incarcerated, giving rise to family tensions upon his release. But as Marianne listens to the buried whispers of the past, she discovers the truth is much worse than she suspected--and much closer to home.

248 pages, Kindle Edition

Published November 15, 2021

About the author

Author also writes under Clare de Lune

Reviews

[Brian Bowyer · Rating 5 out of 5]

Exquisite!

I adored my time in AZALEA HOUSE. This is a haunting, atmospheric, and beautifully written story, and I'm looking forward to reading more from Castleberry. Highly recommended!

[Bookaholic__Reviews · Rating 5 out of 5]

Full review coming soon!

Also, book 2 is releasing on the 7th!!!! You don't want to miss it, trust me.🖤

[Lyndon D. Johnson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Within these pages is a story full of stellar, well-written characters, lush scenes of terror, as Clare submerges her readers into the horrors of Azalea House. I really enjoyed this story!

Clare portrays her broken protagonist with such rawness and honesty, but also with grace and tenderness. Clare sets the tone for her readers in the first chapter of Marianne's trauma. We're shown her horrible predicament with her family during her 16th birthday. I was rooting for Marianne the whole way through the story as she faced every challenge, twist, turn throughout the story. Marianne's growth in the story is one of which makes you feel elated as she overcomes so much through this dark and haunting journey.

This is a great supernatural thriller! I'd put it up there with Mexican Gothic. Yeah, I said it! The pace of the story is consistent with a nice steady flow. There isn't a wasted chapter, nor long drawn out character storyline. It's elegant but punchy. An exquisite combination of writing style.

All of Clare's characters posses that southern charm you easily fall in love with. Well, I fall in love with! As the reader, you empathies hard with Marianne's coming of age struggles.



Listen, you'd be doing yourself a disservice by not reading this incredible, poignant story of family secrets, murder, mystery, and hauntings!

[Jeffrey Miller · Rating 5 out of 5]

Okay, I’m not going to get into plot and characters here; you’re going to have to read the book yourself to find out. But what I am going to tell you is that what I like most about this book, and all the more reason for you to buy it and find out about the plot and characters, is that the author, Clare Castleberry, has written a hauntingly poetic and evocative story that will keep you riveted. While reading this, for some reason I started thinking about Carson McCullers, which is a pretty good thing because Castleberry channels this idea of the grotesque indicative of McCullers and other southern writers. Castleberry excels with her use of language which is one of the things that I really loved about this novel. it is beautiful just as much as it is haunting. This is an impressive novel from an author that I hope we will get to see more.

[Andrea Dabu · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book follows a highly dysfunctional family, living in a haunted house. Deaths of the past and present seemed to be connected and the spirits of the house are connecting the dots for our MC Marianne.
This book was a wild ride full of dark secrets, death and seemingly sinister spirits and secret passageways. I had a great time reading this one.

[Ashley True · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was not my jam so take this review as you will. The story had not one but 2 perv uncles obsessed with a teenager. The book went heavy into this story line but a lot of it was not necessary. The haunting aspect of the book was minor in comparison to the teen turmoil and previously mentioned uncles. The FMC dealt with a lot of abuse from multiple family members. I think the book would have benefited from multiple POVs. It’s eluded to the the house causes darkness to creep in to people. It would have been interesting to see how each person was effected by the house instead of quick mentions of behavior changes. All and all the book was Meh for me.

[Frazer Lee · Rating 4 out of 5]

This Southern Gothic rattles along at a breakneck pace, only slowing to deliver haunting chills by way of dark family secrets and character revelations. The characters speak with snark and sympathetic insight in equal measure, and readers will empathise with Marianne’s coming of age struggles. In places the novel gives a perversity to the paranormal and comes on like The People Under the Stairs meets Skeleton Key. A couple of story threads perhaps could have been developed further but this didn’t spoil an otherwise fun read. Clare Castleberry is one to watch.

[Chance Noir · Rating 5 out of 5]

Deep in Louisiana’s bayou country, secrets die hard, and ghosts of the past never rest. For young Marianne, sweet sixteen was anything but sweet. It was the day her life changed forever. The sudden death of her parents leaves her and her brother, Marcus, orphaned, but tragic endings are nothing new for the residents of Azelea House. Marianne’s twin brothers died before she was born, their killer rotting in prison for his crime, but did he really commit such a heinous act, or was he framed, falling victim to small-town justice needing a scapegoat? Read the book and find out.

Clare Castleberry created an immersive world filled with interesting, believable characters. She has single-handedly made a fan of me for Southern Gothic. No spoilers, but this is a very creative and dark tale, with plenty of twists and turns to keep the reader guessing. I truly appreciated the way I was led to the darker side through subtle seduction and not had it shoved down my throat until I couldn’t breathe. I can’t wait to jump into more of this author’s work.  

 

[Eva · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ever since I discovered Clare Castleberry's work, I have exclaimed on more than one occasion: Where have you been all my life! I love everything about her work with the plots, the Southern Gothic atmosphere, the tension between the characters, the Louisiana setting, and much more. This work is suffused with Louisiana through and through from someone who knows the life there so intimately. I'm obsessed with haunted house stories. Can't get enough of them, but in order to capture my attention, they have to be done really well, and "Azalea House" is very satisfying. The author does an excellent job building up tension and going at things so hard but then easing up and letting the dread build up again.

[Mary-Ann Maronski · Rating 4 out of 5]

A sister and brother tragically loose both of their parents in an accident. Their Aunt and Step-Uncle then move in with their cousin until Marianne the main character and oldest child comes of age. Marianne finds herself haunted by the ghosts of two previously deceased twin brothers who are buried on the family estate. They lead her into an investigation of their own tragic deaths that unravels twisted family secrets she never knew before. Azalea House is a dark atmospheric gothic tale. I would recommend this book strongly to readers who enjoy the work of V.C. Andrews, the twisted family dynamics reminded me very much of reading and enjoying those books myself in the past.

[Kelly Atkins · Rating 4 out of 5]

Azalea House by Clare Castleberry is an atmospheric gothic story reminiscent of V.C Andrews. The story was creepy and twisty with paranormal elements. The characters are well developed, coming of age in a family with long held secrets. This is not my normal genre but highly recommended.

***** I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review. *****

[Jeannie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Hauntingly Good Page Turner

I meant to take my time reading this book and I just couldn't. I was hooked from the moment I started it and couldn't put it down until I was done. I liked that the author created such an ominous, creepy vibe throughout the whole book and kept me guessing what could possibly happen next in this somewhat tragic tale.

[Brieanna Wilkoff · Rating 4 out of 5]

I don't normally read horror, but this one kept me turning the pages. It had a great eerie atmosphere that stayed in my head (in a good way) even after I finished reading. I don't feel like I'm good at writing setting as a character, but Azalea House definitely felt like another character in the book.

[N.J. Gallegos · Rating 5 out of 5]

I started reading this after attending one of Clare’s readings of the follow-up novel and greatly enjoyed it! A gothic horror (in the 1990s) story that follows a dysfunctional family residing in Azalea House. This novel has it all: who-done-it, grief, trauma, scares, romance, and I need an iced tea after reading because it is steamy! Excited to start the next one!

[Hanna Belle · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is extremely dark so please read the triggers before diving into this book. I really enjoyed this gothic romance with dark elements, a great romance between the main characters in addition to a creepy background story.

I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.

[Rain · Rating 4 out of 5]

Castleberry writes her adolescent characters so well and honestly, that the supernatural and dark fairy-tale elements of the novel are totally grounded in a gothic but modern reality. This leads to so much room to play with other elements that work so well: the haunted house, nonchalant ouija gumshoeing, and the baffling but exciting time of emerging sexuality.
This one left me feeling like I wanted a shower, with an ending that is very satisfying while not being what I expected!

[Ashley Marmon · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book lives up to the expectations! The imagery is amazing and I could put myself right there in Azalea house watching all of the tragedy unfold. Looking forward to the next book