There were a couple of reasons why this book caught my attention. Of course the book has a wonderful cover. The colors, the symbolism, the vibe, it made me all really curious about the story. I also love those older classic gothic novels where the line between people going crazy and ghosts is really thin. So, I ended up requesting a review copy via Netgalley and I was really happy that Parliament House Press granted me a copy.

I have mixed feelings after reading this book and I don't think I can explain those mixed feelings without spoilers. If you're not a young adult and if you're planning on reading this book, I'd suggest skipping my review. The book has a great atmosphere and vibe, the situation our heroine is in is a delicious mix of realistic and horrific, and the finale is amazing and really moved me to the edge of my seat.

However, this book is clearly aimed towards teens. And don't get me wrong, I do want them to learn about healthy sex in their YA novels. However, that's part of the issue. The moment the sex scene happens, it's already quite clear for the reader that something about this guy is off. And for me that automatically changed the consent part of the sex scene. Technically the girl can't give consent, because she doesn't know the full truth about her partner, which makes the scene disturbing.

And, the story would have been just as great without the sex. The story would still be scary. I think teens, sadly, will recognize themselves in the heroine and the entire situation with her parents. I do love how the book has our heroine constantly accused of going crazy while she knows that something is really wrong with the house. The writing style will also clearly work for teens. Why would you add a sex scene, adding literally nothing, that eventually feels just wrong?

The cover is gorgeous. I loved the setting and the gothic, spooky atmosphere until about halfway. Then everything started to feel a little bit repetetive. Thank you to Netgalley, the publisher and the author for a free e-arc copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

The Keeper of the Key by Nicole Willson [ad/gifted]🗝️

*thank you to @netgalley, the publisher @parliamentbooks and the author for a free e-arc copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. despite this book being gifted, all thoughts and opinions in this review are my own*

synopsis: There are a thousand things sixteen-year-old Rachel would rather do than upend her life to move into Morgan House, an old, run-down mansion owned by her mom’s boyfriend, Geoff.

But when her mother announces they’re relocating to St. Mary, Virginia to live with him, Rachel’s cut off from her friends and life as she knows it. St. Mary is a remote, lonely place, and the best thing about it is Nick, a guy she knows is worth keeping when he takes her to a cemetery on their first date. Rachel struggles to get along with Geoff and his mile-long list of annoying house rules—in particular, his bizarre insistence that she stay out of the basement. But something in Morgan House plays by its own rules. At night, an unknown force pulls Rachel down to that forbidden cellar, showing her harrowing visions of a strangely familiar man lurking in the shadows. When a sudden tragedy strikes her family, those visions become more frequent—and more violent. The dead issue urgent warnings, and if Rachel doesn’t heed them, she’ll become part of Morgan House forever..👀

this book sounds so good from the synopsis and I was so excited to dive into a spooky, atmospheric gothic novel, especially in the autumn. however, this book just did not do it for me unfortunately😢

I read 58% of this novel before ultimately deciding to dnf (did not finish). I really liked the atmosphere of the creepy house and the small town vibes but the rest fell flat for me. the beginning was super interesting and felt like it dived straight in to the action but at 58% of the way in, the story started to feel a little repetitive for me and slow moving, which is such a shame as I feel this book has real potential!!🍂

if you like: small town, YA, sentient house novels, spooky atmosphere, ghost stories
and graveyard walks then this is the novel for you! unfortunately for me, it just missed the mark!🖤

This was a spooky, thrilling read, with twists, turns, and things that go bump in the night. Rachel is a great character, and my heart really went out to her as her life was upended. Nick was interesting, but I'm not sure if I really like him, he's well done, it's just his personality didn't quite sit well with me, and I can't exactly explain why. The story itself moves along at a good pace, but some things felt a little too convenient which is honestly the biggest issue I have with the story - it's something I'd expect to find more in middle grade stories. I do have to hand it to Wilson for masterfully building a dark and chilling atmosphere. This book will absolutely send chills racing down your spine at times, and I could easily see this being a great horror movie with a few tweaks. If you're looking for a dark book for the YA lit lover in your life, then you need to grab this.

3.5 rounded up to 4

Firstly I want to say that I really did enjoy this book and I thought that the characterisation was spot on. I loved the protagonist Rachel and thought that she was a feisty, independent and believable character navigating her way through this story. My only qualm was that I felt the pacing was a little off and there could have been large parts of the story edited and cut which would have made the reading of the story gain more impact instead of dragging in parts which took away from the ‘drama’ and intensity of the overall plot. Nevertheless an enjoyable read!

Creepy and unsettling. This book is filled with mystery and intrigue. And it has some serious haunted house vibes.

The story is fast-paced and captivating. And the character development is spot-on. Everyone had distinct personalities, and their actions felt organic and unforced. I will say that not all of the characters are likable. Some of them feel decidedly unsavory. But even the ones that feel toxic, do so in such a way as to feel very real and believable.

This book really pulled me in and held my attention. And I love how disconcerted it made me feel.

Thank you to netgalley and Parliament House Press for the ARC! 3.5 stars. When I got back into reading, I really thought gothic horror was going to be one of my favorite sub genres. However, as I’ve tried out a few I found that’s not the case. I usually find them dreadfully slow and difficult to make it through. This book, I’m happy to say, is an exception. Gothic still isn’t for me, so I’m landing on a 3.5 here. But this has been the most enjoyable for me so far. Every time I felt the plot slowing down, something would happen to grab my attention. A reveal or a vivid ghost scene always seemed to be perfectly placed. If you’re looking for something to give you the creeps and help you explore some difficult family and relationship dynamics (just me?) then definitely check this one out.

The Keeper of the Key follows Rachel: forced to move into the gothic Morgan House with her mum and mum’s boyfriend, Rachel gets strange visions and feels drawn to the forbidden basement. When tragedy hits the family, she may be stuck there, and the house doesn’t want her to leave.

The Keeper of the Key is a classic YA gothic tale of strange spirits, teen angst and first love all rolled in to one. The characters are a little basic but you do get drawn to them, and the narrative voice is really consistent as a teenage girl. There are some shocking moments, and while I predicted the ending quite early on, this is a good read for any young adult who likes gothic and classic horror.

Thank you Netgalley for giving me the opportunity to read and review this book. These opinions are completely my own.

I love a good ghost story and The Keeper of the Key provided me with it. You get drawn into the story quickly and find your self really hating Geoff from his first appearance.

Beautifully haunting novel about the power of family and trust in who you love. The characters were so relatable and the end was great!

“The key isn’t about Nick. It’s about my reminder that you can’t hide the truth forever. It will always come crashing through whatever barriers you’ve set up to keep it away, no matter how many you build.”


I did have a good time reading this book but I personally will say that this is not a horror book but more like a thriller book. Unless I don’t understand the difference between the two but yeah. I really loved the plot line though if we were to ignore the ending. I feel like the ending just came out of nowhere, like there wasn’t a lot of build up to it. I would’ve loved to have her go through more stuff at the end like the way she ended it was just so disappointing like it didn’t seem thrilling at all.



: ̗̀➛Rachel
I honestly felt bad for her that no one in the house believed her what was happening. My heart was just breaking for her. The things she went through in the house were honestly so damn awful. I want to wrap her in a bubble wrap and just keep her safe.


: ̗̀➛Nick
He’s the love interest that comes into the book quite early and it’s an insta love type of thing. He did annoy me so much, like he’s very manipulative and always wanting to go to the Morgan House with Rachel or any other place where there won’t be any people around them for the ‘alone time’ which I did find very weird.




Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this arc in exchange for an honest review.

The Keeper of the Key is a good recommendation for teen audiences. It has enough suspense and horror to keep it interesting, and enough family drama and relatable teen experiences (first relationships, moving away from friends) to balance it out and plant it firmly in YA. The haunting scenes are just creepy enough, some characters are domineering enough to make them suspicious, and the ending is somewhat predictable but still satisfactory.

Sixteen-year-old Rachel does not want to move to Morgan House with her mom. Her mom’s boyfriend owns the an old, run-down mansion in St Mary, Virginia. Rachel will lose everything she cares about such as her friends. St. Mary is a lonely place until she meets Nick in the bookstore. She likes him and think he is special. Rachel is struggling to get along with her mom’s boyfriend Geoff and his long list of rules. At night an unknown force pulls her down into the basement which Geoff tells her is off limits. When he finds her there he is mad. When a tragedy happens, she has more visions that are more violent. The dead are speaking to her but she isn’t listening or is she? Will she ever leave Morgan House?

The author has written a suspenseful horror novel with a strong protagonist. Rachel was fascinating to follow throughout the novel. The book kept me reading as I wanted to know the secret of Morgan House. It’s a story about a haunted house and more.

“

Thank you to the author and NetGalley for a copy of this e-book in exchange for my honest review.

This book was a fun little gothic YA horror and I enjoyed it. I didn’t realise it was YA at first but that is on me for not doing my due diligence.

Nevertheless the story was interesting and it definitely kept me guessing about where it was going to go next.

Where it fell short for me was the reveal/ ending, it felt like it was happening too quick - I was actually wondering how it would all fit in as I was approaching the last 20ish mins of the book.

Again, I did enjoy it despite it being a YA book and hope to read more of the author’s work in the future.

The keeper of the key is an entertaining YA haunted house story with a side serving of romance. While a little predictable it was a very fun read with some gorey imagery and an eerie atmosphere. The story had great pacing and gradually builds to the conclusion.

I'd recommend this book if you enjoy classic haunted house stories such as: the Haunting of Hill House, The Amityville horror and The Conjuring.

The Keeper of the Key is a gothic horror novel about 16-year-old Rachel, who moves into a creepy, old house after her mom remarries. The house seems like its own entity, but only to our main character, leading to confusion, fear, and other feelings.
I liked the dynamics between the characters and the overall atmosphere of the house.
Unfortunately, I predicted the ending nonetheless the explanation and conclusion were still quite intriguing.

Thanks to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for the ARC.

I love creepy, kind of gothic mysteries and this one came along right at the perfect time for me to finish it for the spooky season.

Rachel's life is turned upside down when her mom decided to move them into her new boyfriend's spooky, possibly haunted house. The only issue is that Rachel is the only one who seems to be affected by the house and it's ghostly inhabitants.

Geoff, the mom's boyfriend, is overbearing and certainly oversteps his bounds when it comes to the way he speaks to Rachel and that's one of my biggest issues with him as a character. I was not remotely sad when certain situations happened. (No spoilers here). I do wish the author had written him in a more compassionate sort of way, I think it could have been a more powerful story had the reader seen him to be a bit more understanding or have a bit more empathy towards him.

I would have also loved to have the mystery been woven in a bit more. I think the author wanted us, the reader, to be pointed in a certain direction when it came to what was happening in the story, but I don't know if I was fully on board with the way it was laid out for us. I wanted more creepy and more spooky but I overall, it was a YA romancy spooky story. I love a good haunted house, with lingering souls and creepy basements. It's a quick read and can be read in about 2 or 3 sittings. It's not a heavy read so if this sounds up your alley, I hope you'll find it as entertaining as I did.

I’m new to the YA horror, or horror genre in general but I feel like this is what a YA horror should be? The author does a great job writing a 16 year old character who has some edge. She’s the appropriate amount of immature and feisty for her age but not annoying. The book itself was creepy, suspenseful, and thrilling- especially at the end. It was fast-paced, easy to read, and I loved the incorporation of the supernatural, as I learn that not all horror books actually do involve that! I’d definitely read another one of this authors books.

Thank you NetGalley and the author for a digital ARC in exchange for an honest review!

I love spooky, haunted houses. I love dumb teenagers who are figuring themselves out and have smart moments when it matters. I love dark forces that won't tell you what they want until it's almost too late.

The writing I thought was a perfect fit for the story that was told. You've got a teenager stuck in creepy old house that seems to have as many issues with her as she has with her mom's boyfriend, who is seemingly the Worst Person Ever. There's nightmarish and unknown things happening in the house, and our FMC Rachel is trying to figure what is going on. Is Geoff hiding something? Why doesn't her mom believe her? Who is the mysterious boy in town? Why oh why does the house seem to want her dead??? We get put right in the middle of all the horrific drama with every paragraph.

I had a teeny issue with how late in the game the title came into play in the story. Yes, it adds to the mystery, but one thing that always keeps me thinking about a book while I read is why it's been given its name, you know?

An enjoyable YA gothic horror story that is sure to keep you up late reading, just to know what happens next.

After reading 40 % I realized that I also have the novel "Tidepool" by this author. After not quite finishing "The Keeper of the Key" I don't know yet if I still want to read the other book.

The start of the book was great: instantly there was atmosphere and pressure from the outside that made the hauntings possible. and the hauntings are the best part of the book.

Otherwise I was pretty fast disappointed because the characters are quite one dimensional and seemed to be like the simplest stereotypes possible. And I hated how every conflict was resolved with running away and talking afterwards after the emotions in every person were heated. The protagonist learned nothing except that having a boyfriend is cool, you don't have to know anything about him and being constantly horny is normal. But it isn't and I really dislike this steady representation of teenagers that want to get sexual because being active is the only thing you can think about.

So after 71 % I dnf'd the book even as I would like to have liked to read some more atmospheric scenes.