New Adult Horror Review: Darkhouse by Karina Halle

For a something a little bit creepy try Darkhouse by Karina Halle, a new adult horror romance. It’s the start of the Experiment in Terror series, so strap in for some ghosts, romantic drama and prepare to be scared!

Disclosure: I received this book for free from the author in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review. This post contains affiliate links. That means we receive a small commission at no cost to you from any purchases you make through these links.

initial thoughts

I’ve been hearing praises for this series ever since I finished reading The Artists Trilogy.  I’ve fallen in love with Karina Halle’s writing over the last few months and I couldn’t wait to read more from her.

Darkhouse by Karina Halle had a lot of the feel I found in The Devil’s Metal.  Obviously this was written before so it was the original, and it’s set in today’s world instead of the past.  But a lot of the same elements and “scare tactics” appear in both books.

synopsis

Darkhouse is the story of Perry.  A 22 year old who has confidence issues because she’s a bit overweight and well…she sees things.  Her entire life she’s had episodes where she can see and talk to people, when to everyone else no body was there.  She still lives at home with her parents and younger sister and is trying to move up at her company and get a better job.  Even though she hates it.  Did I also mention that she drives a motorbike?  Anyway, I fell in love with Perry from the very beginning.  She has a silent strength to her and a core that needs to come out.  What she experiences in this book are bound to do that and I can’t wait to see it all happen.

review

But Darkhouse is not all about Perry.  This book really begins when Perry goes on a family trip to visit her uncle who just happens to have an unused lighthouse on his land. Feeling reckless and curious Perry goes off in the night, alone and drunk, to explore the lighthouse.  Things quickly turn creepy in there. But it turns out she’s not alone. There’s also a cute guy with a camera there trying to document any paranormal activity.  This is where we meet Dex for the first time. 

Dex is a little scraggly and, frankly, a little psycho. But he does offer Perry an opportunity to be the star of the paranormal web-show he was trying to pitch to his boss.  For that, they have to go back to the lighthouse and shoot some good footage.

Going back to the lighthouse is when things really get creepy.  I’m not going to lie, I was reading this at night and kept looking over my shoulder until finally I flipped on my back and made sure my feet and hands were under the covers as I read. Karina Halle doesn’t pull any punches and she doesn’t leave you wondering about what might be there. You get the full on terrifying, technicolor detail.

But, this is just the beginning of Perry and Dex working together and I’m very excited to see what other trouble they get into next.

For the romance lovers, there is a connection between Perry and Dex and I’m sure we’ll see more of that in the future.  In this book, Dex is unavailable, however, the tension and chemistry between them is off the scales. But, I’m happy the author kept things the way she did as it also shows respect between the characters, doing it any other way would have been complicated would have hurt other people.

in conclusion

If you want a book that is refreshingly creepy with a dash of scary, then this is the one for you.  Karina Halle’s writing made this story and this book totally unputdownable. Literally.

Currently free on Amazon (as of 16 September 2022).

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