Review – House of Furies (House of Furies, Book 1) by Madeleine Roux (3/5 stars)
Reading Level: Young Adult
Genre: Historical Fantasy
Length: 432 pages
Publisher: HarperTeen
Release Date: May 29, 2018
ISBN-13: 978-0062498595
Stand Alone or Series: 1st book in the House of Furies series
Source: Borrowed from Library
Rating: 3/5 stars
“After escaping a harsh school where punishment was the lesson of the day, seventeen-year-old Louisa Ditton is thrilled to find employment as a maid at a boarding house.
But soon after her arrival at Coldthistle House, Louisa begins to realize that the house’s mysterious owner, Mr. Morningside, is providing much more than lodging for his guests. Far from a place of rest, the house is a place of judgment, and Mr. Morningside and his unusual staff are meant to execute their own justice on those who are past being saved.
Louisa begins to fear for a young man named Lee who is not like the other guests. He is charismatic and kind, and Louisa knows that it may be up to her to save him from an untimely judgment. But in this house of distortions and lies, how can Louisa be sure who to trust?”
Series Info/Source: This is the first book in the House of Furies trilogy. I borrowed this from the library.
Story (3/5): Louisa takes a job as a maid at the strange Coldthistle house. It’s rumored that those who have committed evil acts are drawn to Coldthistle house to meet their end. I really enjoyed the start of this story, it held a lot of promise. However, midway through the book just got really boring. It wasn’t even creepy or scary…it was just flat out boring and nothing much happened. There ended up not being much of a story or plot at all.
Characters (3/5): While Louisa does have some spunk, I was never really all that engaged or into her as a character. Mr. Morningside had potential to be another intriguing character but aside from his initial mysterious presence he really lacked depth. I felt the same way about all the side characters. They are all intriguing characters with interesting little quirks but they are never filled out well.
Setting (3/5): This is set in a generic historical Victorian type of setting in rural England. The setting was fine but wasn’t really the focus of the book. I did enjoy the creepy Coldthistle house but wish it had been described in more depth and given more personality.
Writing/Drawing Style (4/5): The writing is beautifully done and I really loved how beautifully this book is put together; beautiful colors and nice thick pages. There are some creepy drawings throughout and I enjoyed the short asides about creepy demonic creatures. Sadly these small sections ended up being the highlight of the book for me because they were way more interesting than the main story.
Summary (3/5): Overall even though this is beautifully written and had some neat artistic aspects to the way the book was assembled, I won’t be continuing the series. The story was just way too boring and didn’t have much of a plot. I really wanted to love this but was left feeling pretty underwhelmed.
