Hi guys!
I’m so sorry for not posting here for so long, but I’m back now! And I have another amazing book to review for you!
This book was sent to me via the platform ‘Readers First’! Which if you don’t know what this is, it’s essentially a website where you read previews of books, write a review of that and then potentially win the book! You earn points too, soo when you get 2000 points (which is actually pretty easy!), you get to request a book and not just hope you won!! It’s great!!
Anyway, the book I will be reviewing today is ’17 Church Row’ by James Carol!
Three years ago, Nikki and Ethan Rhodes suffered a devastating loss when their four-year-old daughter Grace was tragically killed in a road accident. Ethan, a radio personality, escapes into work, leaving Nikki to care for their remaining child, Bella, who hasn’t spoken since that day.
Seeking a fresh start, the family moves into a revolutionary new house designed by renowned architect, Catriona Fisher. The house features a state-of-the-art security system, along with every amenity you could dream of.
For the Rhodes’ this is a chance to finally pick up the pieces and get on with their lives in a place where they feel totally safe.
But what if 17 Church Row isn’t the safe haven that they think it is?
POSSIBLY MINOR SPOILERS
Wow! This book had me gripped from the first page! I don’t usually read books like this, any horrors or thrillers on my tbr are usually either historical, about ghosts or both! So this was a totally new experience to me. Not only was it set in the 21st century, it was set in the time we are actually living! The technology was there, the things we see about in the news, even ‘Alexa’ was mentioned! You defiantly wouldn’t get all that in a book set in the 1800s!
Immediately I felt for the characters after having lost one of their daughters in a tragic accident, and having to watch how much their other daughter was struggling with it. Losing a child must be one of the hardest things to have to go through, and to then move and feel like your house is attacking you? I can only assume how that would mess with your head!
The way it was written made the book super fast pace pretty much from the get go, with lots of short chapters, sometimes switching to different or even unknown perspectives! Knowing what was happening outside the house, made everything creepier in my opinion. Trying to figure out how everything was connected, and who everyone might be was quite exciting! I had a couple of theories regarding one of the perspectives and I can say I was wrong!
The general idea behind the story is not particularly new; ‘technology fights back’ etc., BUT I have never seen it done quite like this, and quite this well! I don’t personally own an Alexa, but if I did I certainly wouldn’t trust her anymore! Technology isn’t a new thing in our lives, but it’s becoming more and more prominent. To the point where we don’t really need to do much if we own an Alexa, because she will take care of so much for us! Now, I’m not one of those people that thinks technology is bad, or that people are getting lazy. But please just make sure that your are prepared for glitches to happen because I can imagine how horrible it would be if all the Alexa’s in the world malfunctioned in severe ways! Or at least be nice to your Alexa so she might spare you in the robot uprising😂
This book just kept getting more and more intense, right up until the final page. I couldn’t recommend it enough, and thank you to readers first and Zaffre books for sending it to me! A definite 5/5 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
See you soon!
Elizabeth
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