The Place Where They Buried Your Heart Book Review

Hi everyone and welcome back to the blog! Today, I have such an amazing book to talk about. I’ve really been into horror books lately, and I saw someone on booktok highly recommend The Place Where They Buried Your Heart by Christina Henry. This is hands down on the best haunted house books I’ve ever read, so let’s get into it!

Jesse dares her little brother Paul to go into the spooky, haunted house at the end of their street to prove he’s a big kid, and he has to take his two best friends with him as eyewitnesses. Little does Jesse know something terrible is going to happen. Paul and his two friends go into the house but only two of them come out.

Paul’s friends make it out, although, one friend is missing part of his arm, but Paul never comes out. His friends say the house ate him. This accident tears Jesse’s family apart. Her parents are swallowed by their grief, and Jesse feels responsible. Time passes and more kids disappear in the house. The city tries to step in, but they’re stopped.

Years later, Jess and most of her neighbors stayed and declared themselves watchers of the house. They know there’s something more to the house; they know it’s a living breathing thing. They know they need to put a stop to it but how?

When I say this exceeded all expectations, I truly mean it. This may sound weird, but I love the trope of a monster house. I think it’s so interesting and the writer can be so creative. Just when you thought this book couldn’t get any darker it does. I literally kept telling myself, “one more chapter.” This was definitely the kind of book I’ve been looking for especially to give me more of a summerween vibe.

We get a spookier, more gothic natured story when we are learning about the house’s backstory, and a more modern take when we’re in the present. It’s the perfect balance. We jump between past and present but in a very specific manner. There was nothing confusing about any of the writing, everything blended together so perfectly.

I loved learning about the house’s history and reading about all the terrible things that happened there. Is that weird to say? I just like a good origin story I swear, and learning how this house became what is was, was so cool. Again, just when you think it can’t get any darker or crazier, it does.

This book was also extra spooky because the house is called the McIntyre House and McIntyre is my maiden name. It was lowkey kind of weird to see my last name so much in a book.

My only issue is that the ending happened so fast. It felt like three pages (I’m being dramatic), and everything was wrapped up. I won’t give any spoilers because this book is truly so good, but everything was finished so quickly.

At only 305 pages it’s a very short novel, but also, I feel like another factor could be that I loved the book so much I didn’t want it to end. I wish it was longer.

Christina Henry has written a lot of horror novels, and after this one, I will be checking out more from her. Overall, I gave this 5/5 stars. I truly loved it so much, and this has become a staple recommendation for me!

Alright folks, that is all I have for this week! Come back next week for another blog post. As always, thank you for reading :)