The Blood That Defines Us By Majanka Verstraete
smashwords // goodreads
Published Date: May 1, 2011
Publisher: Evermore Publishing
Book Format: E-book; pp 88
Age Demographic: Young Adult
Every house has its own history and its own secrets. Some secrets are just darker than others. And some are even downright terrifying.
When the Johnsons moved into their new house, they didn’t expect that weird things would start to happen, objects would move on their own, and that the house’s history would come back to haunt them.
But I did.
*Summary taken from Goodreads.
The Blood That Defines Us is a gloriously rich mix of gothic elements combined with a new warped and twisted take on evil and what it truly is. For anyone who is a fan of the horror book genre, this would be the novella that you would definitely want to read on those dark frightening nights when you in the mood for a good scare. One of the things that I like most about this book, is the way in which the author examines evil close up and how it affects each person from one generation to the next and how that same line of evil is carried through.
The room hidden in the attic, is perhaps the most creepy thing about the book. It cannot be found unless the evil wants it to be found and it's rather interesting how everything has to be done through the sheer force of free-will, instead of a forcefulness that usually occurs in most horror stories told. The imagery lent itself quite well to the novella and serve to showcase the mansion even more frightening than I had originally envisioned it to be. The secrets locked away, had a way of making the story slightly more edgey and sinister than I had originally assumed it would be.
In a sense it had a Flowers In The Attic type feel to it, but took it to a whole other level with it's own uniqueness and style that had me so richly engrossed that I had to finish it in one sitting. I have no problem giving this novella a perfect five start rating, as I was quite pleased with it and if you're a fan of the horror novel genre, then I definitely suggest you read this.
