haunting of william thorn - Ben Alderson - releasing september 9th
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

“After all, what was a ghost except the love of a soul clinging onto what they didn't wish to leave behind?”

👻 Ghosts and haunting
🪦 Gothic Horror
👻 murder mystery
🪦 MM romance
👻 Dual timeline (journal entries)

nothing short of remarkable. this book has left a permanent mark on my bones that i don’t think i’ll ever be rid of. it’s hauntingly beautiful and i knew within 100 pages this would be a five star read however i didn’t expect this book to immediately jump to one of my all time favourites. i find myself struggling to find words that feel strong enough to describe how incredible this book was.

When William Thorns recently deceased boyfriend leaves a large manor for him in the cotswolds, william jumps at the option to leave the city for a while to get some clarity and maybe run from his life for a little bit. what william didn’t expect to find in the manor was a murder mystery, self discovery and a haunting beautiful love.

this book had me waiting with baited breath for the next sentence every time. it made me feel so many emotions from terror to joy, joy to heartbreak and everything in between. it had everything you want in a murder mystery with a side of hauntings and i couldn’t have loved this book anymore. as i said, this has now jumped to one of my all time favourites and i see myself thinking about it and william, often.

this book is released on september 9th. please go and preorder and put this book on your radar because you won’t be disappointed!

“it’s not the living i fear, william”

I was really looking forward to this book, but had a very hard time getting into it.

It has some classic gothic elements, including isolation, a decrepit manor with a tragic past, and history repesting itself. Even so, I did not sense the impending doom that the characters seemed to. It created an odd dissonance between the growing dread the story was intended to have and what I was actually experiencing as a reader.

I would also have liked more chemistry between the main characters. It felt like their attraction was more due to proximity than romance

I'm grateful for the chance to check out an ARC of this book and I hope that the final version will improve upon some of these issues.

I know this kind of reaction is way overused, but when it fits, it fits.

Insert Lady Gaga GIF: talented, brilliant, incredible, amazing, show stopping, spectacular, never the same, totally unique, completely not ever been done before, unafraid to reference or not reference, put it in a blender... because this is exactly how I felt reading this book. I loved Ben Alderson's books before, but this is an instant favourite.

"If loving you is worthy of hell, I go there gladly, knowing it accepts us together"

This was absolutely amazing. A gothic, horror, suspense and dangerous romance which will absolutely break your heart.
When William Thorn inherits a rundown manor in the beautiful backdrop of the Cotswolds, he is eaten up by grief and guilt over the loss of his true love. When he arrives, it is made clear to him by everyone in the village that they want him out and more importantly, they want to manor torn down.
Whilst arriving back at the manor, he meets Teddy, a man laced in mystery but wanting to find out what happened to his relative, a man who seemingly went into the manor only to die in very strange circumstances. It is very clear that they are not the only two people in that house. A restless and angry spirit

This book is a dual timeline book, the journal entries telling of a devastating romance guiding William and Teddy to try find out what secrets have been hidden in this place. I have to say, both doomed romances had a resemblance and longing if the fated Healthcliff/Cathy type of raw yet doomed love

Not only was the suspense and the horror aspect first class, this was absolutely heartbreaking in so many ways.

Thank you to Angry Robot and NetGalley for the e-ARC!

What an unexpected emotional rollercoaster this was! I was pulled in by the promise of a haunted house and a dual timeline and left with a broken heart. I loved the two queer romances, one told by heartfelt diary entries and the other by William Thorn himself as he finds himself caught up in the creepy manor's histories alongside Edward.

I did find the first quarter or so of the book to be a gradual ramp up, but then came the twists and turns that kept me reading. I think I finished the last third in one day which is quick for me. The writing style is simple and easy to dip into and whilst I love lyrical prose especially in gothic horror, I found the plot engaging enough for it not to bother me. It matches the vibes of the book well.

As well as the mystery and intrigue, there's gore (I visibly grimaced in a few parts), betrayal and lots of yearning. I really ended up enjoying the two main characters. William and Edward are both brimming with guilt, the former lashing out and using alcohol as a crux and the latter masking with humour. They're a mess. I love them.

And don't even talk to me about the end I'm still getting teary-eyed over it.

The profound grief this book made me experience....it's been a long time since a book affected me as much as this one did. It's a beautifully tragic story with a beautifully tragic ending. William Thorn is flawed, but that makes him such an engaging character. Definitely will be thinking about this for awhile. My only critique is that this book needs more editing before pub. Many typos, POV changes, and mixed up character names.

well. i certainly see why this was recommended to fans of the haunting of hill house (and i would argue there’s flavors of bly manor, too). both of them sure did traumatize me!! i really shouldn’t have been surprised, considering the way this book is so tied up in themes of the coexistence of love and grief – man, it still got me. for the most part, i thought i knew where everything was headed, but ben alderson absolutely rocked my shit in the last 5-10% of this. i quite literally said “NO” out loud on my couch before promptly bursting into tears, so do with that what you will.

i liked the idea of the dual timeline with teddy & robert and william & edward a bit more than the execution of it. robert’s diary entries felt a little more overwrought than natural to me, so i didn’t enjoy his perspective quite as much – i’m not sure if this is because the diary as a tool to communicate his point of view just wasn’t as effective for the writing style or what, but it didn’t work for me as much. i still love him and teddy though, don’t get me wrong! the interweaving of their story with william and edward’s was lovely, and man, did the ending destroy me. i’ll be thinking about it for a while!

This might just be my favorite read of the year, and without a doubt, it’s my favorite work from Ben so far. I’ve devoured all of his books, but this one pushed me out of my usual comfort zone stepping away from my go-to romance reads and I’m so glad I did. What I found was something haunting, intimate, and entirely unforgettable.
William and Edward’s nonstop chemistry and witty back-and-forth brought such necessary light into a story that otherwise deals with the rawness of grief and loss. Their banter was a relief between the heavier moment a thread of connection that slowly deepens into something so meaningful. The haunting elements were subtle but chilling, like a quiet dread creeping in at the edges. Watching them both come to terms with their pasts in order to move toward a future together was utterly heartrending. I’m obsessed with the emotional growth they each experienced.

Robert and Teddy’s story broke my heart in a quieter, more tragic way. Pieced together through Robert’s journal entries and William’s scattered readings, it felt like unraveling a ghost’s memory. I was completely hooked from the first mention, desperate to know what had happened to them, aching with every new revelation. The mystery of it all added such depth and gave us a portrait of a man we never fully meet, but who still left a lasting impact.

In short I’m obsessed. As always with Ben’s work. And I truly hope he explores this type of story again. It’s powerful, unsettling, romantic, and achingly beautiful.

“The Haunting of William Thorn” is the latest novel by Ben Alderson, combining gothic horror with MM romance, mystery, adventure, and intrigue. Although Alderson is typically known for his fantasy works, he has successfully ventured into this new genre.

Initially, I was unsure what to expect, as the beginning felt a bit slow. However, I quickly became engrossed and spent the last three-quarters of this well-plotted and twisty novel on the edge of my seat. The novel uses two timelines: 1939 and present day, so readers get multiple intertwined stories in one read.

As the author suggests, I recommend reviewing the content warnings before starting the book. This is my favorite work by Ben Alderson. The story is rich in emotional connections and humor, and keeps readers guessing throughout. Thank you to Angry Robot and NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

🥀🥀🥀🥀🥀/5

The profound feeling of grief that choked me at the end, the bittersweet feeling of stories tying themselves up neatly, has kind of just rocked me.

This is possibly my favorite read of the year, not to mention my favorite work of Ben's. I've devoured every book just the same, but came out of my comfort "romance" zone to read this.

William and Edwards nonstop chemistry and riffing with each other was such a welcome reprieve between the intense claws of grief and loss tearing at the heart. The hauntings are in a way so subtle, like a growing dread. To watch as they resolve their pasts to begin to walk into the future was so heartrending and I am truly just obsessed with the growth they both showed.

Robert and Teddy's story pained me, catching only glimpses of it through Robert's journal and William's sporadic reading. I was hooked from the first entry, begging to find out what happened to the young men. The mystery is fascinating and gives such an insight into a man we never truly know.

IN ALL!! I am obsessed, as I always am with Ben's work, and HOPE he goes down this path some more.

I've been looking forward to this ever since it was announced as I loved the premise and I had enjoyed several of Ben's books before. As soon as I got approved I dropped EVERYTHING and started reading. But it pains me to say I've had to DNF this 15% in. The writing is so clunky and distracting that I couldn't get into the actual events unfolding. So many sentences include words that just feel so out of place, almost as if the author had a thesaurus open whilst writing to try and use many different words as he could. The effect just did not pay off. I am so sad right now. I may try again nearer release but for now, no.