Consumed is Kate Cann's sequel to the totally freaky YA horror novel Possessed.
As loyal Bibliophile Support Group readers, you guys know what I thought of Possessed. Need a refresher? Click here to read my review. The gist of it is - it creeped me out. But it was awesome.
So, obviously I was pretty excited for the second book, right? Right.
I'm always tightlipped when it comes to giving away any details about sequels, as I tend to be a strong believer in if-you-loved-the-first-book-enough-to-wanna-read-the-second-why-do-you-wanna-know-anything-about-it-instead-of-just-read-it-and-be-constantly-surprised???
Yeah, I'm a bit strange. But I embrace it! As all of us eccentric book addicts should!!!
Anyway, I'll only give you a teeny tiny amount of info about Consumed to whet your already starved appetites. BUT if you have not read Possessed DO NOT READ this review!!!
Okay, now let's get down to business.
Rayne believes the threat is over. Morton's Keep, the ancient, remote mansion she works and lives at has a horrifying and sickening past that lingers there like syrup never cleaned off the counter. Her romance with the seductive and enigmatic St John ended in terror, as his lineage to the legendary previous resident and host of sadistic parties at Morton's Keep, Sir Simeon Lingwell, was revealed - as was his desire to follow in Lingwell's disgusting footsteps.
But it's over. Rayne and Ethan, a member of a group of protectors of the area with knowledge of the Keep's dark past and continuing evil, set fire to the forgotten dungeon. All the evil has been burned.
Or has it just changed?
After the manager Ms. Barton leaves in a panic over a family illness, a new, attractive, and charismatic woman takes over the Keep and has some new ideas to keep it afloat, money-wise. Rayne is torn over the other employees' anger over the changes and the new manager's kind and attentive focus on herself. After all, what is there to worry about now that the evil is gone?
But will the evil of Morton's Keep ever really be eradicated...?
I was admittedly apprehensive to read Consumed, as Possessed was one of those books that suddenly makes your ordinary dark hallway look sinister when you're reading the book at night by yourself. But I was also super excited, because Possessed was equal measures of spooky, crazy suspenseful, and shocking.
However, the start of the book surprised me because I felt like it was bit shaky getting off the ground. The characters felt a bit off to me, kind of how you have to reintroduce yourself to a friend you only see during the summer. But this could be just me, as I didn't get a chance to reread Possessed before jumping into Consumed.
Despite it though, the creepy factor set in pretty fast - laying on the Shining-like feeling of a building being alive and rather unpleasant. Yet Consumed still came across to me as uneven at times. Didn't feel quite as smooth and riveting as Possessed did - though still scary and very easy to read on a page-turning scale.
But right around page 100 - BAM! - disturbing and unsettling stuff started happening in spades. There were a couple of chilling turn of events that had me, well, on edge and bothered. I'm sure once you read the book, you'll know what scenes I am talking about. They'd be hard to miss.
There is a constant ominous sensation in Consumed, like something really frightening and/or nightmare inducing is going to happen around the next turn - and it usually is. The deep gothic horror at the English countryside historical site can be hard to stand at times, as it kinda just really, well, disturbed me.
Kate Cann is great at freaking you out and soaking everything in a haunting atmosphere. And there is a strong magnetic pull about it. I didn't feel that Consumed reached the same level of horror and revelations as Possessed did, and I wasn't in love with how much focus ended up being on the potential feelings between Rayne and Ethan, BUT Consumed was still a great read that will rankle and scare you - even if you do read it in bright, cheerful sunshine.
Which I still suggest. Lol. ;)
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