Four teens go into a haunted house, but only three come out. It’s not a super unique premise, but I was hooked once I started reading nonetheless. I wanted to know what happened to Ethan. I don’t tend to like when stories keep past events from me as a way of forcing mystery, but dual timelines is a valid storytelling method and one that I felt worked well to build the mystery and tension here.

I also wanted to know what would happen in the present. The story kept my attention and was just the right amount of spooky for me. Not super scary, not gory (some injuries, not overly described), but there were ghosts and weird things happening.

I liked all the teen characters, even Colton. They were imperfect, but it was clear they were all just struggling and dealing with trauma in different ways. I also really liked the strained friendship dynamic. How they had their issues, but they used to be close and went through something traumatic together and were still going to look out for each other when it mattered.

Speaking of, I love that the effects of what they went through, both times, were acknowledged and part of the story. They were all affected emotionally, and some of them were affected physically. It felt realistic and grounded.

The audiobook narration by Max Meyers was great! The characters all sounded different and natural with slightly different voices and slightly different ways of talking that suited them. I enjoyed the audio.

Overall, I liked this! I was into it. I wanted to know what had happened in the past and what would happen in the present, and I enjoyed the paranormal spookiness and the realistic aftermath and the struggling but trying their best characters.

*Rating: 4 Stars // Read Date: 2024 // Format: Audiobook*