S. H. Cooper

Book source ~ BBNYA Tour

Eudora Fellowes is an odd duck in this Victorian gothic. Over 40 and never married, with both parents dead, she lives a comfortable life in the city with her two huge dogs. And she likes it that way. I mean, who wouldn’t?! Then she gets word that she has inherited High Hearth out in the country and by the seaside. After deliberating for a few days she decides to move to High Heath and live the rest of her life there. She has no idea when she sets out that the house is more than meets the eye. So much more.

Ok. This story is fantastic. Do you like gothic tales? How about when they are set in historical times? What about great writing? Do you enjoy that? And mystery? And dogs. You do like dogs, right? Then have no fear! This is the book for you! I love everything about this book - the writing, the pacing, the setting, and the dogs. There’s scary shit and a mystery set in Victorian England (I think - it’s not really specified), and great characters. Though the book is mostly centered on Eudora, there are some others who populate this world. And, of course, the dogs, Cerberus and Black Shuck. Honestly, I don’t know what else to say. Eudora is awesome and you should read her story.… (mehr)

I received an e-Galley ARC of Inheriting Her Ghosts, authored by S. H. Cooper, from Sleepless Sanctuary Publishing, cover art by Morrighan Corbel, and edited by Elle Turpitt, for review consideration. What follows below is my honest review, freely given.

I rated this novella 5 stars.

This is a Gothic horror, with sweeping mansions and family secrets, but it also falls into cozy horror, a newly created sub-genre from Twitter. Cozy is not that different from it’s mother Gothic, except animals companions are a crucial addition, which we have here in the protective forms of Cerberus and Black Shuck. Also I feel that the violence stays within a certain containment, so those that may have a squeamishness to gore can safely read without fear of being overwhelmed past their comfort level. While still being scared, that too is vital. The MC, Eudora Fellowes, embodies the type of woman that I would wish to be if I were born in her era, though truthfully the chances would be slim to none. A freethinker, not afraid to shirk tradition for the lifestyle she craved, no nonsense attitude and had a large library. It doesn’t hurt that she was born into a certain wealth level, but a girl can dream right? The way she did not flinch from the idea of a haunted home, but dived into dealing with it, that is my kindred spirit fictional character right there!

As the story progresses, the title’s brilliance really shines. I had lived in my great grandmothers home passed down to me after sitting closed up for eight years. It was an active haunted house, but not by anything I recognized as a family member. This title, after reading this novella, hit me between the eyes like a ton of bricks. What if the things I, and friends, had seen in that house, were things I had inherited from my great grandma, her ghosts? I love it when something I read connects to me in unexpected ways.

Grief, loss and the way one handles it, the way it can change you over time, these are all good vehicles for one to relay horror. I think that they have been a part of the genre since its birth. Emmeline walks a troubled path; sometimes I felt very sympathetic to her pain, other times repugnant to the extremes she went to for satisfaction. At some point you could argue justice was served, but going beyond that was criminal; and that is being overly generous. The ending hit me with a complexity of emotion that surprised me. The strength of character surpasses anything I am capable of, I am sure of that.… (mehr)