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"Unemployed English professor Emily Murray has been given a chance of a lifetime: to work and study inside Gnarled Hollow, the former estate of one of her favorite authors. She doesn’t believe in the supernatural, but by the end of her first day, she knows something is wrong. The house has a disturbing habit of changing dimensions—and not just physical ones. Rooms go missing, doors close on their own, and time has a strange tendency to disappear. Emily is joined by other scholars, among them the beautiful art historian, Juniper Friend. Together they begin to research the history of the house, refusing to abandon their work despite the appearance of a mysterious, frightening presence. Spurred on by their desire to uncover the mysteries of Gnarled Hollow and its ghostly inhabitant, they’re determined to uncover the truth, even if it means risking their own lives."
Gnarled Hollow is an enthralling horror/thriller which kept me glued to the page.
Starting this book late at night while home alone was, perhaps, not my best choice, but it certainly ensured I read it in one sitting! I was desperate to discover what would become of the characters investigating this mysterious and disturbing estate.
The story-line was well-paced and intriguing. The fact that the disturbances begin so quickly after Emily's arrival at the house, and gradually escalated, felt natural; the relationships explored in the book were realistic - although the behaviour of some of the characters seemed a little contradictory at time - and the eventual revelation about the house and its occupants was an unexpected twist.
I also felt the romance elements of the novel were well-placed and didn't detract from the overall plot, something which I often find to be lacking in cross-genre romance novels.
I initially found Emily's attitude and internal monologue with regards to her love interest to be off-putting, but as the novel progressed the author was able to rectify this and I was no longer distracted by it.
I'm not usually a fan of horror novels - and I would definitely classify this as 'classic horror', no jump scared, but a steadily building creep-factor - however, I would thoroughly recommend Gnarled Hollow to anyone who is interested in the genre!
Thanks to Bold Strokes Books and NetGalley for granting me an e-galley of this book - I thoroughly enjoyed it!