Friday, September 19, 2014

Review #15- The Supernatural Enhancements by Edgar Cantero

*Goodreads Page*
I received a copy of this book for review from NetGalley

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Goodreads synopsis-  What begins as a clever, gothic ghost story soon evolves into a wickedly twisted treasure hunt in The Supernatural Enhancements, Edgar Cantero's wholly original, modern-day adventure.

When twentysomething A., the unexpected European relative of the Wells family, and his companion, Niamh, a mute teenage girl with shockingly dyed hair, inherit the beautiful but eerie estate of Axton House, deep in the woods of Point Bless, Virginia, it comes as a surprise to everyone—including A. himself. After all, he never even knew he had a "second cousin, twice removed" in America, much less that the eccentric gentleman had recently committed suicide by jumping out of the third floor bedroom window—at the same age and in the same way as his father had before him . . .

Together, A. and Niamh quickly come to feel as if they have inherited much more than just a rambling home and a cushy lifestyle. Axton House is haunted, they know it, but that's just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to the secrets they slowly but surely uncover. Why all the suicides? What became of the Axton House butler who fled shortly after his master died? What lurks in the garden maze and what does the basement vault keep? And what of the rumors in town about a mysterious gathering at Axton House on the night of the winter solstice?

Told vividly through a series of journal entries, scrawled notes, recovered security footage, letters to Aunt Liza, audio recordings, complicated ciphers, and even advertisements, Edgar Cantero has written a dazzling and original supernatural adventure featuring classic horror elements with a Neil Gaiman-ish twist.

I don't generally read this kind of book, mostly because I'm a little harsh when it comes to "scary" books because it's next to impossible to creep me out. Unfortunately, this book didn't succeed on that front. It did, however, make me fall in love with it's many other aspects.

This book follows A., a young man from England who has inherited a manor called the Axton House from his distant cousin, Ambrose Wells, from America. Along with Niamh, a mute teenage girl from Ireland, A. travels to Point Bless, Virginia to live in his new home. Not long after, A. and Niamh realize that things in this house and the late Ambrose's life were anything but ordinary. After finding a letter addressed in code to the missing butler, A. and Niamh find a series of clues that point toward the mysterious group that Ambrose was a member of and the possible cause of his suicide.

Add to all of that A.'s strange dreams, the appearance of several members of Ambrose's secret society, secret rooms, coded letters, and the installation of a swimming pool in the dead of winter, and we've got ourselves a pretty intriguing mystery!

The only thing I didn't like was that there are a few unanswered questions at the end of the book, all of which I hope will answered in a sequel, though *cough cough*.

Apart from that though, I really enjoyed this book. I stayed up much later than I should have just so I could finish this book, because I just HAD to know what was going to happen next, and there was no way I could sleep knowing shit was about to go down.

In short, pick this book up. You won't regret it.

Until next time,
xox 


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