The Buried House

This review is also featured on Behind the Pages: The Buried House

Thank you to Dorian Wolfe for providing me with a copy of this book! I voluntarily leave this review!

As children, sisters Anais and Clara were fast companions and plagued by constant ailments. But as they grew older, their third sister Maye began to fall ill and the other two gradually returned to health. Already an outsider, Maye's illness drove her further away from her two sisters. When the day came for Anais to marry the mysterious man of the Buried House, it would mark the end of Clara's joyful home life. Bitter towards one another, Clara and Maye would never be able to see eye to eye. And when news of Anais' death reaches Clara, she embarks on a journey to find the Buried House and the truth of her favorite sister's death.

The Buried House explores fantasy horror in unique and imaginative ways. As Clara ventures deeper into the house, she is accosted by an increasing amount of horror. From butterflies as sharp as their coloring to body horror. The main focus is disorienting reality and forcing Clara to embrace the horror of the house. The imagery created through Dorian Wolfe's writing is terrifying, but do not expect a build-up of tension or a large amount of foreshadowing. The horror displayed is immediate and on a constant uptick once it begins. The added element of family drama will also accent the feeling of dread that arises once events begin to occur.

The imagery truly brought the element of horror to life. And the plot does explore the negativity between Clara and Maye, as well as the complex emotions they share because of their family bond. However, I would have liked to see the exploration of their bond right up until the end. Building their reactions into the horror that surrounded them would have made for a solid ending to the story.

This novella is a fast read at under one hundred pages. Given the shorter length, Dorian Wolfe did a wonderful job of setting the scene for fantasy horror. There was just enough information presented to emerge the reader into the sisters' life and join Clara on her search for the truth. If you are looking for a book that does not hesitate to explore horror with fantasy elements, The Buried House may be just the novella.