Horrid by Katrina Leno Review

 Title: Horrid 

Author: Katrina Leno 

Age Group: Teen/Young Adult 

Genre: Horror 

Series: Standalone 

Star Rating: 2 out of 5 Stars 

I borrowed this book from my local library and reviewed it. 

Katrina Leno and I; our relationship is strange. I loved Summer of Salt, but I was feeling ambivalent about You Must Not Miss, and to be honest, Horrid wasn’t bad, exactly? But it left me wanting more. Leno is a fantastic writer, and there were some parts about this book that I really enjoyed, but overall, it just felt unfinished? I loved the tone of the prose: I got Agatha Christie, Stephen King, and Alfred Hitchcock vibes from it. I was very intrigued by Jane, her mother, and the dark, mysterious past of North Manor. I’m just really disappointed; one thing’s for sure, I’m glad I have my library because I would’ve been pissed if I’d actually spent money on this. I love horror stories, but I would almost call this suspenseful. I don’t know what I was expecting, exactly, but the ending made this book fall flat. I was just expecting more. I loved the Gothic vibes and the family secrets, but overall, this book just left me feeling lukewarm. 

After her father’s unexpected, untimely death, Jane and her mother, Ruth, have to leave their home in California for cold, remote Maine, in an old, creaky house that belonged to Jane’s grandmother, whom she’s never met. Jane is certain that her new home is haunted: roses bloom as if by magic, doors open by themselves. She hears footsteps on the stairs. Thoroughly creeped out by her new house and town, Jane realizes that the secrets buried within her family tree may in fact be deadly... 

I really wanted to love this book, but it just fell flat for me. I loved the elements that were incorporated; it was a nod back to classic mystery, suspense and horror, but overall, the ending felt like it was building to something great and it fizzled out! I love Leno’s books, but in almost every one of her stories the ending feels rushed. I loved the creepy supernatural elements, and the general feeling of dread, but that was the only thing that prompted me to finish the book. All I can really say is that I wanted more. I loved the premise, and the twist, but the end just left me wanting more, and not in a good way. The bottom line: Haunting, creepy, and dark, I wanted to love Horrid, but the strange ending left me confused and angry. Next on deck: Splinters of Scarlet by Emily Bain Murphy!