This book was good! I liked it but didn’t love it. I definitely see potential in it and look forward to seeing what else the author does.

Thank you to NetGalley and Parliament House Press for the ARC of this novel.

Horror is not my typical genre, but I enjoyed this story. I think the fact that it was YA helped keep it from being too scary - which was ideal for me. The story was captivating and I was eager to figure out what the mystery of the house was. It’s a very quick read and is interesting enough to keep me turning the pages and finish it in a day.

This was a VERY COOL world. The characters were intriguing to follow. They were easy to fall in love with just like the world. Simple magic system. Enjoyable read.

This was a fun, twisty, slightly creepy haunted house book. It was just the right amount of scary for me. It was fast-paced and kind of addicting to read. I guessed the twist pretty early on, but it was still fun to read. I liked the good characters, especially the grandmother. The Bluebeard connection was interesting and played out a little differently than I was expecting.

I read an ARC of this book from NetGalley. All comments are my own.

Loved this gothic contemporary thriller/horror story with a twist of magic great book for a teenager who has just started to read this genre

I read this a while back for a book tour group. I was thoroughly impressed with this one. I wasn’t sure what I was expecting when I went in, so I enjoyed this read a lot. The story was very engaging and very capsulizing. I feel honored to be able to read this as an arc

The typical teenager Rachel wants nothing more than to have an exciting summer with her friends. Her mother has other ideas. They move to be with Mom’s boyfriend Geoff. He owns a spooky mansion called Morgan House.

Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC and to the publisher Parliament House Press.

Though I find myself drifting away from YA books, particularly those aimed at the lower end, this was a great introduction to the gothic novel structure for younger readers, including the use of a haunted house as its own character. It also sets load of examples of how not to behave, which is important! A quick read that I'll be recommending to younger YA readers.

We start out with the basic tropes of these gothic YAs: a teenager (Rachel-- or 'Rach' as everyone calls her) loses one parent and the other parent meets someone who is kind of an ass. There's a power struggle. You're not my parent! The stepparent also lives in a creepy house. In another town. Far away from the teen's high school and all her friends. The power struggle continues. But then the basement starts calling to Rachel? In her sleep?

Oh, and there's a boy she meets at the local bookstore. He's mysterious. He smolders. He's different.

2.75 stars. It's a quick read, and I tend to find these overly trope-y YA gothic horror nuggets to be cozy. I still enjoyed it, but I wouldn't necessarily recommend.

No. Just no.
It's not a horror book, more of a family drama. The bikkering between our main character Rachel and her mothers boyfriend overshadowed every horrory scene. And there were not that much of those creepe episodes in the book to begin with. Every ghostly encounter were the same and got boring towards the end of the book.
Characters were annoying to say the least. Rachel especially was like a spoiled brat from the beginning to the end of the book. It urked me to no ends how she judged her mother for rushing into new relationship, when she herself gave her virginity to the guy she met few days ago. She declared that she loves him even thow she didn't even know his age, where he lived, what was his surname and so on.
The story itself was too long, just a perfect snore-fest.

I really loved Rachel's character. She felt like a very authentic teen and made me cringe a bit at the memory of all the times I was probably just like her. I loved how certain key themes in a female teen's life were handled. I was rooting for her and had to resist flipping to the end to find out what would happen. It is a horror story after all... I am glad I did NOT peek and let the ending unfold!

One thing about me is that I love any story embedded within a gothic setting - bonus points for haunted houses. And additional bonus points for the gothic house-as-a-character trope. Ticks all the boxes.

Heed the Dead or Join Them, said the warning on the cover, and I braced myself for a good read.

When 16-year-old Rachel Morley’s mother, Tara, decides to accept boyfriend Geoff’s invitation to move into his mansion, Morgan House, in St Mary’s, Rachel feels uprooted. When they get to Morgan House, Rachel gets the creeps. She can’t help feeling that someone is watching her. Soon strange things begin to happen. She feels a strange presence in the house and hears odd noises.

Her mother, eager to build a future with Geoff, hopes Rachel will settle. But that won’t be easy as Geoff has lots of rules, the strangest of which is that Rachel is never to go into the basement.

Luckily what makes her new town bearable is the presence of Nick Alexander, a good-looking guy who takes Rachel to the cemetery on their first date. Suddenly, the town of St Mary doesn’t feel so unbearable. The only trouble is that Morgan House seems more dangerous than ever. Each night she has horrible dreams about something evil in the basement, and a strangely familiar man whose face she can’t see, then wakes up to find herself in the basement, even though she doesn’t remember having gone there.

The book is written in the 1st person present tense PoV of Rachel. The author creates a sense of dread. The eerie atmosphere weighs us down. The writing evokes the right imagery. The pace is good. Even though I guessed the source of the mystery, I still continued reading.



Geoff is a pain from the beginning, at least to Rachel. But he comes across as one-dimensional. Initially, there is nothing to redeem him in Rachel’s eyes.

The mother’s character could have been a little stronger. She doesn’t seem to have any agency of her own. She tells Rachel to give Morgan House a shot, and that if she doesn’t like it, they will leave. But then when Rachel expresses her misgivings, she still won’t move.

Another time, she tells Rachel that if she is not happy with Geoff’s proposal, she will decline. But then, she accepts the proposal. In both instances, Rachel settles down and makes peace with her decision. Which is a letdown, given her fierce desire to leave.

They don’t decide to leave until the very end. They should have at least made an attempt to leave.

Overall, I felt that there should have been more scenes with Rachel and her mother together, without Geoff around. We don’t get to see the mother-daughter dynamic enough. Also, Rachel mentions her father initially, but then halfway through the book, she comes to know something about her dad that she hadn’t known and that detail seemed forced. Having come to know of that fact, Rachel stops stressing over it, and doesn’t mention it again. This is strange, given that relationships play a huge part in this book.

There were some things that weren’t clear.

Why was Rachel targeted? Just because she lived in the house?

What was the deal about the key in the title? Why does that key show up so late?

Rachel talks about another kind of ghost, when friendships fizzle out. I found this very sad. She knows that best friend, Elena, will soon forget her. On the other hand, Rachel herself forgets about Elena, once she meets Nick.

Characters: 5/5
Story/Plot: 5/5
Writing: 4/5

This atmospheric read follows Rachel, a 16 year old girl, as she is forced to move into her new step-fathers creepy mansion. Hours away from her friends and other family members, Rachel has a lot of trouble adjusting. Her step father Geoff is not making it any easier. As she starts to see some unnerving things in the house and the tension with Geoff escalates, secrets come out.

This YA book was very easy to read and I flew through it. I will say the writing was not flowery at all, but was still descriptive enough to paint a vivid narrative. The characters all elicited a strong emotion ( some of them I disliked quite a bit), and had great flaws. It is well paced and suspenseful, I even got the chills with some of the more spooky scenes. I was able to predict where it ended up going, but I enjoyed it anyway!


Thank you to NetGalley and Parliament House Press for providing an arc in exchange for an honest review!

Triller/horror YA with a spooky house.
The description of this book pulled me in and I enjoyed reading the book to the point in parts I struggled to put the book down. During the read I thought there were several instances where the FMC could have gotten out of the house - however it all lead back to her ensuring her mother's happiness. I also didn't love the romance aspect overall with the 'love-bombing'/insta-love from the MMC, but that might just be personal frustration/opinion.
Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this advance copy in exchange for an honest review - sorry on the delay in reviewing!

Thank you to NetGalley and Parliament House Press for the ARC.

My rating: 4 stars

This book completely took me by surprise and I enjoyed it much more than I thought I would. I loved that the pace is nice and fast and I read this in one sitting which is very rare for me. I just needed to know what was going to happen next.

Even though Rachel is only 16, I found her character to be relatable and not too immature. I have read other YA books where the FMC is a very young 16, but I felt like Rachel acted in a way that my niece of the same age would. The author did a good job of making Geoff very unlikeable and it made you really sympathise with Rachel. The bad tension between Rachel and Geoff was very believable. I would have ideally liked a little bit more development between Rachel and her Mum because they seemed like they were close, but then her Mum seemed to easily disregard her feelings and concerns at times, despite saying Rachel is her number 1 priority. Gram was a fantastic character though and her relationship with Rachel felt very genuine. Nick is a bit of a problematic character but I think it's fairly obvious from the start that he isn't being 100% honest.

I really enjoyed the gothic haunted house vibes and it was sufficiently creepy. I'm not great with horror/supernatural stories but I thought this was just the right level for a YA book. The descriptions of the creepy house are very detailed and help with the tension. I would have liked a little bit more build up to the haunting/creepy activity starting because it's almost instant. As in the first night Rachel moves in, but honestly that's the biggest criticism I have with this book.

Overall, it's a really intriguing and compelling read, and I will definitely read more from Nicole Wilson.

Nicole Willson’s The Keeper of the Key blends small-town charm with eerie supernatural suspense, delivering a story that’s equal parts haunting and heartfelt. Sixteen-year-old Rachel’s reluctant move to Morgan House sets the stage for a compelling mystery filled with secrets, visions, and a touch of romance.

The strength of this novel lies in its atmosphere. Morgan House, with its shadowy halls and forbidden basement, is as much a character as Rachel herself. The tension between Rachel and her mother’s boyfriend, Geoff, adds emotional depth, while Rachel’s blossoming relationship with Nick brings moments of warmth and levity. The supernatural elements—visions of a familiar yet terrifying figure and an escalating sense of danger—keep the reader hooked.

Rachel’s resilience and determination make her a relatable protagonist, and her journey from frustration to bravery is inspiring. The story’s twists and turns, while occasionally overwhelming, add a sense of unpredictability that keeps the pages turning.

The Keeper of the Key is perfect for readers who enjoy a good haunted house tale with a mix of family drama and supernatural intrigue. It’s a story that lingers, leaving you wondering what might be hiding in the shadows.

I loved the gothic vibes of this story. The tone was very YA though and was hard to get through at times. Rachel is very much a teenager. The supernatural elements were good and kept the story interesting. I enjoyed the twist at the end.

I adore the growing renaissance of Modern Gothic that has appeared in recent times. This books takes a likely familiar scenario (a mother moving her family in with her new partner) and transforms it into something much creepier. While it's easy to aspire to a spooky house full of mystery, the reality here is really not a life anyone would welcome!

While 'The Keeper of the Key' could be considered a fairytale retelling, the characters feel original and well-defined, certainly relatable even within the very gothic setting. The author's skill in voicing her young protagonist drew me in, and (in the grand tradition of horror movies since forever!) while I wanted to yell at her to stand up to her mother as everything slides downhill, I can understand how difficult this would be. A key facet of YA fiction is the powerlessness that teenagers can feel, and being physically isolated as well as losing one's family connections to a stranger is evoked beautifully.

The atmosphere reminded me of 'The Haunting of Hill House', with sounds and feelings working to create fear over anything visible or tangible; the nastiness of the father-figure was Bronte-esque. The whole package is inspired by the best in gothic fiction, and I'm sure this book will in turn connect with a new audience for the genre.

2.5 ☆

this is more ya thriller than ya horror imo.

the plot was fun until the last bit and then it got confusing. there wasn’t enough build up for all of that and it felt kind of a letdown. i wanted to reallyyyy like this one because

- decent title
- nice cover
- interesting blurb

but i just wanted to finish it because i’d read too much to dnf (also i would have felt bad since i got an arc)

good enough to break up my longer reads ¨̮ tysm to netgalley for the arc ~