Belladona Ashbourne stands at the door of Umbracrest Abbey, a decaying estate she has inherited. When she walks in, the house raises the hidden memories. Belladona doesn´t remember the house, but it remembers her, and has been waiting for this day... What is it, she needs to find out?

This novella was like a drop in a gothic dream - or a nightmare. Like Alice in dark Wonderland, Belladona is wandering in the hidden staircases, dark corridors and mysterious doors appearing in front of her.

As a reader, I was confused and enchanted at the same time. The reading experience was really intense. It felt like watching a haunted mansion movie, all the cliches included, but still hooked by the interest, hardly able to blink. The story was short, I read it all at once.

In some way Forgotten Room felt like unfinished; I could easily see it as a long novel, if filled with description about the situation, prolonging the atmosphere and excitement with history and considered thoughts. But maybe that would have reduced the tension off this captivating experience. I felt like being in a mysterious console game, which you have to get on quickly from one room to another and find items and hints, until the time is out.

I found this quite an enjoyable experience, very different than I had first expected. Still though I think it could have been edited to be much more whole and deeper story as a longer novel. The idea was great, the story kept reader busy, but there could have been room for improvements.

Thank you for the gifted eARC, NetGalley!

Some houses remember. And some doors were never meant to open It is a suspenseful tale, and I will confess I read it more for the beautiful, powerful descriptions the author used to paint each scene. She is a master of words and each page puts her skill on display.

With thank to Stefonie Jordan, the publisher and NetGalley for allowing me to read this book.

The Forgotten Room by Stefonie Jordan is a hauntingly lyrical gothic suspense that draws you in with its quiet dread and refuses to let go. From the moment Belladona Ashbourne inherits the crumbling Umbracrest Abbey, the story unfolds like a dream—dark, disorienting, and utterly captivating.

Jordan’s prose is elegant and evocative, painting the decaying estate with rich detail and a sense of creeping unease. The house itself is a character: ticking backward, shifting staircases, and memories that don’t belong to Belladona. It’s not just haunted—it’s alive, and it’s been waiting.

As Belladona unravels the secrets buried within her family’s past, the novel builds a slow, simmering tension. The mystery is layered and psychological, with twists that feel earned and emotionally resonant. This is not a fast-paced thriller—it’s a slow descent into the shadows, perfect for readers who savour atmosphere, inheritance mysteries, and the quiet terror of things left unsaid.

At just 66 pages, it’s a compact read, but one that feels complete and immersive. Jordan’s ability to craft such depth in so few pages is impressive, and the ending leaves just enough ambiguity to keep you thinking long after you’ve closed the book.

The Forgotten Room by Stefanie Jordan is a short story that reads like a novella.
The descriptive writing is engaging, and the book is an entertaining read.
The eye catching cover caught my attention.
I found the storyline to be disjointed at times. Despite this, the book's vivid descriptions and engaging narrative kept me invested in the story.
Thank you to NetGalley and BooksGoSocial for the opportunity to read and review this book.

A short eerie gothic story. Our main character Belladonna inherits a house where the secrets do not want to remain hidden. Despite some proofreading errors, I found the writing atmospheric and mysterious, I felt as if I was walking through the house myself.

The book kept you in the world, or in the book. There were just enough twist in turns though a slow read. I sometimes like being into something slow and eerie. It had me thinking of the plots and twists and gave a gothic mood. This book is for someone who doesn’t mind the slow read or flow.
Would recommend for someone who doesn’t mind slower moving books.

This was an amazing read! The authors writing style and description made me feel like I was in the house 😅😂. There were twists and turns within the story, that made me want to keep reading. Would 100% recommend this story and would 100% read more from this Author :).

A Slow-Burn Gothic Tale With Moody Atmosphere

Stefonie Jordan’s The Forgotten Room offers all the elements of classic gothic suspense: a crumbling estate, unsettling family secrets, and an atmosphere so thick it practically drips from the pages. Belladona Ashbourne’s inheritance of Umbracrest Abbey sets the stage for an eerie and mysterious unraveling of the past.

The mood and setting are wonderfully rendered. The house feels alive, with backward-ticking clocks, disappearing staircases, and a raven that seems to know more than it should. I loved the rich visual details and the creeping dread that builds steadily.

That said, the story’s pacing was uneven. While the buildup is immersive, it moves slowly, and I found myself wishing for a few more high-tension moments earlier in the book. The final reveals were intriguing but didn’t pack as much punch as I hoped after all the buildup.

Still, readers who love classic haunted house stories and atmospheric gothic fiction will find something to appreciate here.

3/5 stars – A beautifully written, moody tale that lingers, even if the pacing drags at times.

This was an interesting read. A house with memories, and a young woman who is doing her best to figure out what the house wants.

While this was a good read, there were some areas where the book felt like a thought started, but didn't fully flesh out. But overall, decently done.

This is a short gothic horror. More a novella with short chapters and briefly fleeting ideas like candle light wavering in a breeze.

Think Deconstructed horror. Not plot or characters but sensations in a house that stretches the bodies of the physical.

The writing is disjointed. Tossing the reader into a world that doesn't make logical sense. Stream of consciousness. Mirrors and clocks. Cracking and ticking backwards. In a labyrinth house. Memories of past timelines.

Belladonna explores this labyrinth house. Looking for ... what? How she got here we do not know. What she's looking for we do not know. We can only follow her on her mysterious quest. It difficult to get a toehold into this book. You're dropped into a world very different from our own.

Without orientation difficult to hold on to the story. What is happening to our heroine. I found it easy to read the horror without engaging with it. My feeling was overriding confusion.

If you're looking for a mind bending post-modernist mystery that is a little outside the box, this is for you.

Personally I found it frustrating. With no story or character to move through the pages with. I felt disconnected with the character. Nowhere to latch hold of to know what's happening in this changing world. That might be what the author is aiming me to feel. But I didn't find it a fun ride or satisfying in the end. We are watching. 3rd person. As if drifting along beside our character without engaging.

This book does a good job of building atmosphere and has an intriguing setting. It would be interesting to get a real picture of the location.

For me, the book lacked interest because there was no real character building or world building to get me invested in the story. I understand the conceit of unveiling the main character's background over the course of the book, but if I don't know or care about the main character and her world before I jump in to the tens of pages of metaphors, there is nothing to keep me interested in what happens to her. Ultimately, while there is potential here, I felt the work lacked a strong story to pull the atmosphere together in a meaningful way.

Though this is a short suspense/ horror story, it does pack quite a punch.

Belladona inherits the Umbracrest Abbey and is the only person within it's walls. However, it seems as soon as she enters it's doors, The abbey seems filled with ghosts, vanishing stairs, ever changing hallways, and rooms revealing and hiding themselves. There also seems to be specters lurking in mirrors, and soft voices trying to share hidden secrets.

At first, I wondered if this woman was spiraling into madness. I could see where the narrative could devolve into madness and psychosis. It also is not written in an incredibly clear narrative form. She is trying to solve something about the true nature of her past, and it seems, at times, that the house will consume her if she does not keep pressing forward. This short story/ novella has quite a few twists and turns but I do think it is well worth the read if you enjoy gothic suspense. Just be aware there are quite a few "likes" when describing a comparison and I think some of it could have been phrased better in order to address this.

This is one of those books that really leans into atmosphere. From the start, it sets a moody, slightly off kilter tone that pulled me in. The pacing is definitely on the slower side, which worked for me since I like when stories take their time building tension, but I can see it being a bit too drawn out for someone who wants constant action or fast moving plot points. It’s very much about the creeping dread and the subtle unraveling of the mystery, which I appreciated.

The wording felt intentionally rich and descriptive. Sometimes it bordered on a little too much like the author was trying to make the house feel alive through every sentence but I think that was the point. The prose added to the gothic tone and helped immerse me in the setting. I wouldn't call the writing flowery exactly, but it definitely lingers on details. If you're not into highly atmospheric writing, that might get frustrating, but I found it effective.

for the characters, Belladona was interesting, though not always easy to connect with. Her voice felt a little removed, but that made sense in the context of the story since she’s thrown into a strange and unfamiliar place. I did wish we got a bit more emotional depth from her early on. The house and its secrets sort of overshadowed the human relationships, which might have been intentional, but I personally wanted a little more complexity in the supporting characters.

Overall, it felt like the book was more interested in creating a vibe than in delivering constant twists or deep character arcs. I don’t mind that sometimes I like sinking into something slow and eerie. It left me thinking more about the feeling it gave me than the specifics of the plot, which I think is a mark of a well executed gothic story. If you go in knowing that it’s more about mood than movement, it’s a satisfying and atmospheric read.

This book was so good. I love how the story line came together I enjoyed the story it kept me interested till the very last page thank you

I enjoyed this short story. Originally, I thought it was going to be a horror story. It is actually quite clever the way the book reveals the Abbey and the gardens. Each chapter describes a different room and how the character is feeling. It is a gripping book and not a style that I would usually read. I’m glad that I did.

First, thank you Netgalley and BooksGoSocial for this ARC!

I honestly was not sure what I would throw myself into when reading this one. While labelled as a thriller, it was more a horror book, as it turned out. I also did not expect it being a novella. However, it was still a good read, so I am giving it solid 4 stars. I did like the haunted mansion theme (one of my favourite tropes in scary movies, really) and the writing was really good! Would recommend!

The Forgotten Room is a short gothic horror, great for a quick read. I was hoping to love this one, but unfortunately, I could not seem to get past the number of times the author used "like" and "as if." It's in almost every other sentence, and frankly, I thought I requested a gothic horror, not a book of similes and subordinating conjunctions.
Thank you NetGalley, BooksGoSocial, and Stefonie Jordan for this one.

A short story that has so much depth and imagery it’s true meaning is lost like the blur on the desert’s horizon. What is real; is it just a mirage or an illustration of the journey of grief.

I am sure a certain type of reader will bring their own ideas and subjective understanding of gothic novels and haunted mansions to this book. However, this is not my own go to genre, so I approach this story with a little less baggage.

At times I found the story beyond my grasp and understanding. Somewhat like poetry can seem on a first read through. A jumble of words, pleasant couplets and ideas, that disappear like mist, as you reach for them.

Then you revisit and spend time in the writing. The words enchant and enthral you. You grasp at meaning and feel you’re perhaps are becoming presumptuous in your ideas when really the story does elude you and you have no idea of its form and true message.

Then the words assail you again and the characters and themes take shape. The returning themes resonate and provide some lasting framework. You inhabit the Abbey and walk with Belladonna and in taking a step back; dwelling on the reoccurring themes you find some truth, self discovery and the pain of embracing some personal identity.

Perhaps a book that has as many facets as rooms in the Abbey that Belladonna passes through. A book to stir one’s emotions and open you up to fresh interpretation on each read through. I felt a sense of dread and thrall and was left enchanted; wanting more and another reader to share our experience together.

Thank you so much to NetGalley and Stefonie Jordan for providing me with a complimentary digital ARC for The Forgotten Room coming out May 6, 2025. The honest opinions expressed in this review are my own.

I wasn’t expecting this to be a novella. It was definitely short, but I really enjoyed it. I thought it was a good gothic story. I was just hoping for more of it. I would check out other books by this author!

An inheritance to claim, Umbracrest Abbey, Belladonna Ashbourne has no idea what she is walking into. The writing is so well done you feel as if you are there with her, making every step she makes. Nothing is what it seems, door knobs that burn, walls that move, mirrors that suddenly produce images and a house that is forever changing. She must find out what is really going on or the house may just claim her soul......I enjoyed reading this and I would recommend this book.