The Haunting of Blackwood House by Darcy Coates

Could you survive a week in a haunted house? 
Mara is the daughter of spiritualists. Her childhood was filled with séances, scam mediums and talk of ghostly presences. 
When Mara finally left her family’s home, she vowed she would never allow superstition or false religion into her life again. Now she’s ready to start over with her fiancé, Neil, in a world based on rationality and facts. 

But her past isn’t ready to let her go just yet. 

Mara and Neil purchase Blackwood House, a derelict property outside of town. They’re warned about strange occurrences in the crumbling building. Doors open by themselves, voices whisper in the night, children’s handprints appear on the windows, and cold spots appear in the basement where the house’s original owner was murdered. But Blackwood was dirt-cheap and came with a large plot of overgrown land. Mara loves her new home, and disregards the warnings. Because ghosts aren’t real… 

…are they?~ Goodreads

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Okay, y'all all know I love ghosty/haunted house books. I really, really wanted to love this one. Don't get me wrong, I didn't NOT like this book, I just think it could have been better.  The book started out pretty good.  Mara grew up in a Spiritualist household and has totally cut herself off from her family. I had a hard time with this. What exactly was so terrible about being Spiritualists that she refuses to talk to her parents?  Just because you don't like or agree with someones beliefs you cut them out completely? SMH...  Oh, and back when Mara was younger, she was told that she was a Medium and could see/hear spirits.  So anyway...on to the present day. Mara has to move out of her apartment so she is on the lookout for a new place to live. The realtor tells her she has a house in her price range but she really doesn't think she would want it (Red Flag #1 Mara! ).  They go to look at the house and even before she goes in, Mara knows this is THE HOUSE (When does that ever mean a good thing in a scary book!?).  Turns out...a serial killer killed like, a ton of people (okay maybe 8 or 9? But still!!) in the house.  Does this keep her from wanting the house? Nope (becuase people are usually idiots in these kinds of books. Seriously? Would you buy a house that a serial killer actually killed people in? Reminds me of the dumbasses who bought Fox Hollow Farm.).  So to skip over some things that happen, turns out, the house is haunted. The rest of the book deals with Mara and the hauntings,  Does she leave? Does she stay and try to contact the spirits since she was once told she was a medium? Who are the ghosts anyway? 

I'm not going to tell you any more about it since it would spoil the book for anyone who wants to read it. If you can suspend your belief enough, it's a quick, kind of enjoyable read. I give it 3/5 stars. ~ Laurie