Welcome To The Dark House
Laurie Faira Stolarz
Expected Publication Date: July 22, 2014
Disney-Hyperion
What’s your worst nightmare?
For Ivy Jensen, it’s the eyes of a killer that haunt her nights. For Parker Bradley, it’s bloodthirsty sea serpents that slither in his dreams.
And for seven essay contestants, it’s their worst nightmares that win them an exclusive, behind-the-scenes look at director Justin Blake’s latest, confidential project. Ivy doesn’t even like scary movies, but she’s ready to face her real-world fears. Parker’s sympathetic words and perfect smile help keep her spirits up. . . at least for now.
Not everyone is so charming, though. Horror-film fanatic Garth Vader wants to stir up trouble. It’s bad enough he has to stay in the middle of nowhere with this group—the girl who locks herself in her room; the know-it-all roommate; “Mister Sensitive”; and the one who’s too cheery for her own good. Someone has to make things interesting.
Except, things are already a little weird. The hostess is a serial-killer look-alike, the dream-stealing Nightmare Elf is lurking about, and the seventh member of the group is missing.
By the time Ivy and Parker realize what’s really at stake, it’s too late to wake up and run.
For Ivy Jensen, it’s the eyes of a killer that haunt her nights. For Parker Bradley, it’s bloodthirsty sea serpents that slither in his dreams.
And for seven essay contestants, it’s their worst nightmares that win them an exclusive, behind-the-scenes look at director Justin Blake’s latest, confidential project. Ivy doesn’t even like scary movies, but she’s ready to face her real-world fears. Parker’s sympathetic words and perfect smile help keep her spirits up. . . at least for now.
Not everyone is so charming, though. Horror-film fanatic Garth Vader wants to stir up trouble. It’s bad enough he has to stay in the middle of nowhere with this group—the girl who locks herself in her room; the know-it-all roommate; “Mister Sensitive”; and the one who’s too cheery for her own good. Someone has to make things interesting.
Except, things are already a little weird. The hostess is a serial-killer look-alike, the dream-stealing Nightmare Elf is lurking about, and the seventh member of the group is missing.
By the time Ivy and Parker realize what’s really at stake, it’s too late to wake up and run.
Seven contestants win the chance of a life time. All they have to do is write an essay describing their worst nightmare. The winners get an all expense trip to a spooky B&B and a chance to meet their idol director Justin Blake. Justin Blake is the mastermind between the widely popular Nightmare Elf series.
Ivy Jensen enters telling her worst nightmare never thinking she would win. In fact, she has no clue who Justin Blake is. Natalie is a Nightmare Elf junkie who worships the movies and she has a surprising secret of her own. Together with Parker, Garth, Taylor, Frankie and Shayla they find themselves in their worst nightmare come to life. All they have to do is make it out alive.
This is a really good scary story. It was a quick and easy read. I liked the characters. They all had their own inner demons they were struggling with throughout the book. We really didn't get to know them too well. I would have liked to have had a little more background story. We didn't get to know Taylor at all. We vaguely get to meet Midge, who is the chambermaid, with a sinister background. She is a wonderful delight and her part in the book is way too short. Hopefully there will be a second book to this one. It would be a nice series to find out some answers that were left at the end of this book.
A fast scary, full-filled ride. Read it with the lights on!
I received a copy of this book from NetGalley for a fair and honest review. This in no way influenced my review in any way.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Laurie Faria Stolarz grew up in Salem, MA, attended Merrimack College, and received an MFA in Creative Writing from Emerson College in Boston.
Laurie Faria Stolarz is an American author of young adult fiction novels, best known for her Blue is for Nightmares series. Her works, which feature teenage protagonists, blend elements found in mystery and romance novels.
Stolarz found sales success with her first novel, Blue is for Nightmares, and followed it up with three more titles in the series, White is for Magic, Silver is for Secrets, and Red is for Remembrance. The four novels in the "BIFN" series have sold over 500,000 copies collectively.Stolarz has also announced a graphic novel entry into the series titled Black is for Beginnings, which she published in summer 2009.
Glad you liked this one. I read this and I actually had a problem with the book not being scary enough. But I enjoyed the characters' backstories and I think that was one of the strongest aspects in the book. Lovely review! :)
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