I think what makes this book so splendid is the fact that it all seem so normal, the house the family. And, then people start to die and suddenly nothing is normal anymore. This is not a ghost story with an old creepy house with creepy people. This is a happy family, and then something happens that starts everything and suddenly the normal life doesn't seem that normal longer. And, slowly the house doesn't seem that idyllic anymore.

I found the book is especially good because of the slow introduction of the ghostly aspects of the story. It all starts so normally, Charlotte and her husband are recovering from Olivia, Press mother's death. But that is only the start of a serial of death and suddenly Charlotte feel that something is wrong, and she starts to look for answers, but the truth can sometimes be really terrible.

I don't want to spoil the book, this is a book that you should know as little as possible when you start to read it. I was completely taken with the story, it could feel sometimes a bit slow and I felt the need to rush things, but that can also be because I really wanted to know the truth. And the ending, it's just a truly great horrifying ending that I didn't expect. All I know is that I want to read the first book in the trilogy Bliss House and The Abandoned Heart, the last book in the trilogy that has yet to be released.

4.5 stars

I received a copy of this book from TLC Book Tours. ( )

OMG! Sick, twisted, dark, and perverse. And you don't realize the extent of all of it until the end. ( )

Charlotte's Story by Laura Benedict
Bliss House Series Book #2
3 Stars

From The Book:
The fall of 1957 in southern Virginia was a seemingly idyllic, even prosperous time. A young housewife, Charlotte Bliss, lives with her husband, Hasbrouck Preston “Press” Bliss, and their two young children, Eva Grace and Michael, in the gorgeous Bliss family home. On the surface, theirs seems a calm, picturesque life, but soon tragedy befalls them: four tragic deaths, with apparently simple explanations. But nothing is simple if Bliss House is involved. How far will Charlotte go to discover the truth? And how far will she get without knowing who her real enemy is? Though Bliss House may promise to give its inhabitants what they want, it never gives them exactly what they expect.

My Views:
As the story begins we learn that a tragedy has occurred at Bliss house. Not only has tragedy struck but strange and unnatural happenings soon follow. The house is beautiful but it has a dark secret within it's walls. The house offers it's residents whatever their hearts desire but it demands payment in return.

I began to loose interest in the story line about half way through the book when the outcome became predictable and the characters began to go off character. I didn't care for the character of Charlotte to begin with and the further into the book I got the less patience I had with her and the sorrier I felt for her husband and son. I did want to see how the author would end this tale and I'll have to say the ending was worth putting up with Charlotte for the 317 pages. ( )

I was eagerly awaiting this prequel to Bliss House. I love a good "house" story. When I discovered that this delved deeper into the earlier residents of Bliss House, I loved the idea and having just finished it I discovered that there is another prequel coming next year as well. What a fascinating idea to tell the story of a particular house, its biography, backwards while never losing sight of what happened most recently. Again I had strong emotional reactions to almost all of the characters. Those feeling might change as the story unfolded, but they were strong emotions nonetheless. Although it would never do the house justice, I would love to see photographs of Bliss House one day or even the inspiration for Bliss House. The last time I was this attached (for better or worse) to a fictional house was in Anne Rice's The Witching Hour. Bravo, Laura! You did it again! ( )

This was a difficult book for me to review because of possibly revealing too much. I don’t want to spoil it for future readers.

Randolph Bliss had built Bliss house in 1870. It was unlike the other grand houses in the area, having both a ballroom and a full theater on the third floor. It was a house that seemed to show more preference for stateliness than comfort. The house was tall and ungainly, but had a touch of romance to it, with its formal and lush gardens. Bliss house had a reputation for unnatural death and the presence of lingering death – a house that seemed to be haunted. And the family had certainly seen more than its share of tragedy over the years. There were some who said that Randolph Bliss had committed some crime that caused the house to be cursed.

1957 – Charlotte, married to Preston (Press) Bliss was now mistress of Bliss house, and the couple had two young children, Eva and Michael. Charlotte actually believed in ghosts long before she married Press and became a part of Bliss House. Charlotte’s mother had died when she was four years old, and when she was six, Charlotte had a haunting experience involving her mother’s ghost when she appeared to Charlotte.

And the story unfolds as tragedy occurs at Bliss house along with strange and unnatural happenings. Nothing is as it seems, and dark secrets are slowly revealed. Charlotte becomes very restless and tortured with grief and guilt as she searches for answers.

The author certainly has a vivid imagination with all the strange occurrences. Charlotte’s Story has a very dark story-line with a varied cast of eccentric characters. I thought the ending was just outstanding, with a resolution I did not see coming. It was a compelling tale of suspense that was haunting and rich with description. All of the characters do intertwine and are important to the story-line.

Unfortunately I never became absorbed in the story-line until about 200 pages into the book – it seemed to drag on and on. Finally the author picked up the tempo and intensity and I became fully engaged. This is certainly a worthwhile read! I waffled between a 3 and 4 and decided on 3.5 stars. ( )