The Haunting of Brynn Wilder
A book review
Yes, long time no write. Don’t expect frequent writing from me. I will likely start looking for a different platform that isn’t subscription based soon, but “subbing” seems to be trendy right now…gone are the days of the RSS feed I guess? Or maybe I’m just an elder millennial.
***SPOILER WARNING*** This book releases to paperback on November 1st, 2020; I snagged it through Amazon Prime’s First Reads. This post contains information on the plot and characters. The opinions provided in this post are solely mine and I am by no means a literary professional, just an avid reader.
One of the many perks I love about my Amazon Prime membership is the ability to read books before they are released. I almost always look forward to September and October’s First Reads because I can usually find something that goes with the Halloween season. My typical reads are suspense, mystery, crime, chic-lit, or non-fiction. So when I was scouring the first read books, this kind of checked the suspense and chic-lit boxes in my mind.
I so wanted to love this book, but I really only liked it. I’d give it 3-3.5 stars out of 5.
PRAISE:
At 287 pages, this was a quick weekend read for me. It’s also a fairly easy read.
Set in the Lake Superior town of Wharton during the summer, Webb does a beautiful job of describing the life and characters of the town and the surrounding areas. It really made me miss the small towns off the Chesapeake Bay and around the Delmarva Peninsula during the summer months.
Reference to Ray Bradbury’s The Illustrated Man. Although the reference has very little to do with the plot, it is one of those books I read in high school and didn’t give it much thought. The mention of it is making me want to re-read it.
Mystery - up until probably 60% of the way through there was this mystery and suspense about the boardinghouse where Brynn has chosen to spend her summer. Vivid dreams, odd sounds, possible ghosts, and a fellow tenant with Alzheimer’s who seems to know more than she should about Brynn and Dominic’s relationship.
CRITICISM:
That’s it?!?! After the introductory chapters, the book quickly reels you in to the plot. And just as you start to really become invested and get to know the characters, it ends. A heartbreaking end at that.
Towards the middle Brynn has a dream about her and Dominic in a previous life and it completely spoiled the ending for me. It was one of those “oh, I’ve read this book before” moments.
Ugh romance. Don’t get me wrong, I love a good chick-lit and boy-meets-girl book, but I really was expecting something different from a book that was in the “Mystery, Thriller, Suspense” category. I did read the description before downloading the book, just was expecting different.
Characters that don’t really do anything for the story. I understand having the characters and the need of them for the sake of setting the scene and plot development, but there was a lot of mention of the bookstore owner who doesn’t do much for the plot other than emphasize the small town gossip mill.
I don’t want to do a plot summary or a book summary because that can be found on the listing with Amazon. If you’re looking for a quick read and something you don’t have to pay super close attention to, this fulfills that. I read it over the span of 4 days, but read 60-70% of it in an afternoon while on vacation.
Wendy Webb is an author I would be willing to try again; her other reviews are good and if her other books are as easy and quick as The Haunting of Brynn Wilder, I can see myself plowing through a couple of them on holiday breaks or quiet weekends.