Book Review - The House On Blackstone Moor by Carole Gill (Nurture Virtual Book Tourz) - August 12, 2011

Book Summary:

This is a tale of vampirism, madness, obsession and devil worship as Rose Baines, only survivor of her family’s carnage, tells her story.

Fragile, damaged by the tragedy, fate sends her to a desolate house on the haunted moors where demons dwell.

The house and the moors have hideous secrets, yet there is love too; deep, abiding, eternal, but it comes with a price, her soul.

My Review:

First thoughts when I finished the last page: 

"Wow, this book didn't end at all how I thought!  I wonder what happens next!"  (luckily there is a sequel coming)

What I liked about this book:

I am a big fan of vampire/horror books!  I haven't read one in a while, so this was quite a change in genre for me from what I have been reading lately!

The first few sentences in this book were shocking!  Rose came home to find out that her father killed her mother and siblings by slashing their throats.  Rose goes on to tell her story of what happens after that.

It seems like since Twilight there have been so many new vampire books.  The House On Blackstone Moor really had it's own unique style.  It had a really gothic feel to it.  I really had no idea what was going to happen next in the story either.  It was not predictable at all.   The end was quite a surprise!

What I didn't like about this book:

The font was very small. I downloaded the pdf file to my Kindle, and I had to enlarge the text and turn my Kindle to landscape mode to read it.  I did read part of it on my computer though, and the text was much easier to read there.

There were a few errors, but nothing that made the book hard to read.

Sometimes there was just so much going on with all of the vampires and demons.  At other times, it was slow and I found my mind wandering.   So for me, the book did not have a constant flow to it.

Would I recommend?

Yes.   This is not at all like Twilight.  Don't get me wrong--I loved Twilight--but I don't like reading books that are trying to be like Twilight.    Carole Gill has her own writing style and you will not feel like you are reading something familiar.  Even though I thought there could have been a little better flow to the book, I am still glad that I read it and look forward to reading the sequel.

My Rating (out of 5):

The House on Blackstone Moor
Author:  Carole Gill
Genre: Fiction – Gothic/Paranormal/Romance/Horror
Published by: Vamplit Publishing (December 17th, 2010)
Age Recommendation: 18 + for adult themes & violence
Format(s): Perfect Paperback & eBook
ISBN: 1-907366053-6
Number of pages: 251

About Carole Gill:

Carole Gill wrote her first story at age 8. It was science fiction. She switched to horror in her teens and has been writing ever since.

In 2000, she was selected by North West Playwrights of England for further development but found she preferred fiction writing (novels and short stories). However the experience enhanced her ability to write dialogue.

Widely published in horror and sci-fi anthologies, The House on Blackstone Moor, published by Vamplit, is Carole’s first novel. It is a tale of vampirism, madness, obsession and devil worship.

Set in 19th Century Yorkshire its locales include Victorian madhouses as well as barren, wind-swept Yorkshire moors. The story is a marriage of horror and gothic romance set in 19th Century England.
The sequel, Unholy Testament, will be released later this year.

A former New Yorker but resident in England and residing in Yorkshire gave her the knowledge of the area the novel is set in. Also, as a great admirer of the Brontes and frequent visitor to the Bronte Parsonage in Haworth she found herself nearly obsessed with recreating the gothic romantic narrative.

Also having been employed in a hospital which had been historically a workhouse and asylum in Victorian times, Carole was able to add great realism to the depiction of the asylums as described in her novel.

Where you can find and follow Carole Gill:

Official Author Blog
Bloody Good Vampires Blog
Nurture Your BOOKS™ NING
Twitter
Facebook Page
Facebook Profile
eBook Undead

Buy the BOOK at:

DriveThru Horror
Smashwords
Barnes & Noble NOOKBook

 Disclaimer:Thank you to  Nurture Virtual Book Tourz for sending me a review copy. I was not compensated for my review. My thoughts on this book were in no way influenced by the author or publicist.They are my personal reflections based solely on MYexperience while reading this novel.

© 2011, Cheryl of Black Diamond’s Book Reviews. All Rights Reserved. If you reading this on a site other than Black Diamond's Book Reviews, Urban Image Magazine, or Cheryl’s feed, be aware that this post has been stolen and is used without permission.