The House on Foster Hill, by Jaime Jo Wright (BOOK REVIEW)

 

"Nothing good ever came from wandering in the dark."

Kaine Prescott is no stranger to death. When her husband died two years ago, her pleas for further investigation into his suspicious death fell on deaf ears. In desperate need of a fresh start, Kaine purchases an old house sight unseen in her grandfather's Wisconsin hometown. But one look at the eerie, abandoned house immediately leaves her questioning her rash decision. And when the house's dark history comes back with a vengeance, Kaine is forced to face the terrifying realization she has nowhere left to hide.
A century earlier, the house on Foster Hill holds nothing but painful memories for Ivy Thorpe. When an unidentified woman is found dead on the property, Ivy is compelled to discover her identity. Ivy's search leads her into dangerous waters and, even as she works together with a man from her past, can she unravel the mystery before any other lives—including her own—are lost?

“The moment grew awkward. Silence. Yes, silence was awkward, but Kaine couldn’t think of anything to say. She looked away. The man hardly blinked. He was like some Jedi from Star Wars. No mind tricks on her today, no thank you.”

This is one of those books that I'm kinda "meh" about. Nothing about it really stuck out to me as amazing or absolutely terrible. So, I'm just in-between. It took me awhile to finish this book, probably because I was reading a bunch of other books at the same time, and partly because it was pretty slow too. 

The main plot of this entire book had a turn that I wasn't really anticipating. This book focused more on the layer of abuse and trafficking. That's something that I honestly don't really care to read about, but I do think that for certain people it can be really powerful. This is a Christian book; so I really did enjoy the outlook of a Christian perspective on the concerning subjects. 

I liked how there were also different timelines. We got the present day POV of Kaine and then the POV of her grandmother, Ivy. The healing aspect of this story was really sweet to read about but, I feel like I haven't lived enough of my life to relate to any of it. Because of that, not much of it really "touched me." That being said, I think a lot of people, specifically adults, would find this story really moving.

The more mysterious side of this book with the house kind of being known as "haunted" was very interesting. I did find myself creeped out at times and was very intrigued to know the rest of the story. I think that the author did a good job creating a reputation surrounding the house.

The writing style was slower, but I don't remember hating it. The wit and humor was a nice relief amidst the heavier topics. I did have a lot of quotes in this book, so that's a good sign. I did enjoy how this author weaved Christianity into the story. I've said before how Christian books can be cringy when the author just throws in Jesus at random times. But this author achieved that aspect quite well.

The romance was pretty good. I feel like there wasn't really anything that I absolutely hated but it also didn't stick out to me as anything special. I like the banter between them and definitely became interested in the outcome of their relationship. The whole third-act-breakup vibe was kind of over-the-top, but it was bearable.

Overall, I would recommend this book to adults. I became bored reading this book and was quite uninterested in the plot of the story. This book could be very effective in some people's lives and that automatically gives it a certain quality that I have been trying to acknowledge. This book wasn't for me, but I think that it was done very well and tons of other people would like it. 

I give this book a 6 out of 10 and recommend it to ages 16+

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Happy Reading!

-Ariana :)