Darkhouse by Karina Halle

Release Date: 1st May, 2011

Publisher: Metal Blonde Books

Pages: 323pgs

The Story

Enter the world of the highly-acclaimed Experiment in Terror Series by visiting . . . the Darkhouse.

There's always been something a bit off about Perry Palomino. Though she's been dealing with a quarter-life crisis and post-college syndrome like any other twenty-something, she's still not what you would call "ordinary". For one thing, there's her past which she likes to pretend never happened, and then there's the fact that she sees ghosts. Luckily for her, that all comes in handy when she stumbles across Dex Forary, an eccentric producer for an upcoming webcast on ghost hunters. Even though the show's budget is non-existent and Dex himself is a maddening enigma, Perry is instantly drawn into a world that both threatens her life and seduces her with a sense of importance. Her uncle's haunted lighthouse provides the perfect catalyst and backdrop for a mystery that unravels the threads of Perry's fragile sanity and causes her to fall for a man, who, like the most dangerous of ghosts, may not be all that he seems.

The Review

A big thanks to the author, Karina Halle, for sending me a review copy of this book!

There's no hidden secret about me loving ghost stories and the whole ghost hunting business - I love it no matter what book it is. For Karina Halle's book, DARKHOUSE, the first book in the Experiment in Terror series, despite it being a self-published book (which I only read on a casual basis), I thoroughly enjoyed it.

DARKHOUSE was a great introduction to a series, with a very interesting storyline and a variety of intriguing characters. Especially Perry, the main heroine. I absolutely loved Perry from her snarky humour all the way down to her insecurities of her life. She was a great character whom a lot of readers could sympathize with. But like in any common paranormal story there's a love interest and in this case it's Declan "Dex" Foray who is the gorgeous and sexy kind. There are many qualities to describe dear old Dex but I can definitely say he's an enigma. He can be annoying at first but then he can immediately switch straight back to damn right lovable . . . but I just wanted Perry to hug and kiss him, and also attack him with a few punches. Well, he's just that kind of guy that you get frustrated with but I still loved him for all he's worth.

Now as for the storyline itself, it pretty much had everything you want in a story. You had a good fair share of horror written at its best, an enjoyable set of characters, an addictive plot where you wanted to know more and more about what's going to happen next . . . like I said, you have everything you could possibly want. While I'm still left with many unanswered questions regarding why Perry can see things others can't or even what exactly Perry is running from (from her past), that did not distract me away from the storyline and I'm definitely interested in what's going to happen next in Perry's adventures especially with Dex.

Overall for a self-published novel (which can be just as good as a published one), I thought Karina Halle did a fabulous job in entertaining her readers. It may not be 'strictly-speaking' your young adult novel as it's focusing on a 22-year-old girl, but I think readers with a passion of horror will enjoy this book immensely!

The Rating

4/5 stars