The House by Christina Lauren

The quick cut: A teen girl finds her life in danger when her new boyfriend confesses to having a living house - and it seems to want him for itself.

A real review:

I'm sure many of us have wondered what it would be like to have a house that understood your needs and gave that to you at the perfect time. For Gavin, that was a reality until Delilah moved back and house got jealous.

Delilah has moved back to her small town after her father lost his job and they can no longer afford private school. Coming back reunited her with her childhood crush, Gavin, though and they picked up right where they left off. There's a problem though: Gavin has spent his life being raised by the house he lives in and has never been serious before. With Delilah, it's serious. Can their love survive or will the house end it?

This is one of those plots that sounds cool, but could easily turn bad if the writing isn't perfect. In this case, the author masterfully navigated the pitfalls to create a house that exuded strategy and fear with everything it did. It might sound insane, but that house scared the crap out of me until the end.

The chapters alternate between Delilah's and Gavin's perspectives. Seeing both helped to understand the relationship with the house, both good and bad. With Delilah, it had pure hatred. With Gavin, it had love and pure possessiveness. Seeing those different aspects helps you understand how Gavin missed the signs it was evil all his life.

A horror story that will make you shudder in fear.

My rating: 5 out of 5