📕 Title: Eleven Houses
✏️ Author: Colleen Oakes
📖 Genre: YA Fiction
⭐ Rating: ⭐⭐⭐💫

BOOK BLURB

On a small, close-knit town on a Nova Scotia Island, eleven houses are tasked with protecting the island from The Storm, a horrifying supernatural event that brings death with it. Mabel is one of the last surviving members of her house, and when a boy named Miles arrives on the island they feel an instant connection. But as The Storm approaches, Miles begins to question whether the town can survive this time.

REVIEW

While the premise was intriguing, the overall delivery fell short. The pacing is excruciatingly slow at times and I felt that we didn’t get enough background information about the Storms and families.

The town is in a remote location, and in some ways the atmosphere and closeness of the community was well demonstrated. Still, there were aspects that didn’t quite make sense for such a small community.

Mabel and Miles have a cute insta-love romance, featuring some touch-her-and-die moments. However, I was disappointed by the failure to deliver on the significance of this relationship. There was buildup that never culminated into anything meaningful, at least not in this book. I was left wondering where there was a planned sequel, because things felt so unresolved.

This felt heavier on grief and loss than on romance or fantasy as Mabel deals with the loss of her father, her alcoholic mother, and a strained relationship with her sister. The arc with Mabel’s sister did this story a disservice and I wish it had been handled differently.

Additional Note: This book was advertised as being similar to Twilight and The Mist, however these are both poorly chosen comps. The book has zero vampires and has few similarities to The Mist.