The House at Watch Hill
A Novel
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4.6 • 12 Ratings
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- $18.99
Publisher Description
#1 New York Times bestselling author Karen Marie Moning is back with a gripping, imaginative, and seductive new series in which a young woman moves to Divinity, Louisiana, to inherit a large fortune and a Gothic mansion full of mysteries and ominous secrets...
Zo Grey is reeling from the sudden death of her mother when she receives a surprising call from an attorney in Divinity, Louisiana, with the news she has been left an inheritance by a distant relative, the terms of which he will only discuss in person. Destitute and alone, with nothing left to lose, Zo heads to Divinity and discovers she is the sole beneficiary of a huge fortune and a monstrosity of a house that sits ominously at the peak of Watch Hill—but she must live in it, alone, for three years before the house, or the money, is hers.
Met with this irresistible opportunity to finally build a future for herself, Zo puts aside her misgivings about the foreboding Gothic mansion and the strange circumstances, and moves in, where she is quickly met by a red-eyed Stygian owl and an impossibly sexy Scottish groundskeeper.
Her new home is full of countless secrets and mystifying riddles, with doors that go nowhere, others that are impossible to open, and a turret into which there is no visible means of ingress. And the townspeople are odd…
What Zo doesn’t yet know is that her own roots lie in this very house and that in order to discover her true identity and awaken her dormant powers, she will have to face off against sinister forces she doesn’t quite comprehend—or risk being consumed by them.
“This book has everything! A witchy, sexy read that made me sleep with the lights on…Karen Marie Moning at her best!”
-Sophie Jordan, New York Times bestselling author
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Witches and female empowerment are the focus of Moning's heavy-handed latest (after the Fever series). Zodeckymira "Zo" Grey has spent the last several years caring for her dying mother at the expense of both her personal and professional life. Zo is used to this kind of liminal existence, however. When she was growing up, they moved from town to town, with no answers from her mother as to why. After tragedy strikes during a job interview, Zo finds herself suddenly homeless—until she learns that a wealthy, unknown relative has left her a fortune. Whisked away to Divinity, La., Zo discovers a side of the family her mother was keeping from her and a legacy of magic she was never allowed to explore. The town is idyllic, but the house Zo has inherited is foreboding, and she has enemies who want her gone before her burgeoning magic can fully manifest. The lack of subtlety in Zo's coming-of-power narrative frustrates, with Moning holding the reader's hand every step of the way. Still, plentiful magic and eventual romance will please fans of urban fantasy who aren't looking for anything too challenging.
Customer Reviews
So good!
This was such a refreshing read after so many booktok similar stories out there. Truly a pro wrote this. The prose is eloquent and the sentences feel dreamlike. The lead characters all have realistic needs and growing to do which is developed on the book . The ending has me so excited for the next novel. If you are a Highlander series fan you will adore this ending and if you haven’t read the Highlanders you will also adore this ending . I want to know more and hate that I have to wait for the next!!
Captivating and enchanting
THE HOUSE AT WATCH HILL is the first instalment in Karen Marie Monig’s contemporary, adult WATCH HILL dark, paranormal trilogy focusing on twenty-four year old Zo Grey and the residents of Divinity Louisiana.
NOTE: Due to the nature of the story line premise, there may be triggers for more sensitive readers.
Told from dual first person (Zo and Alisdair) using present day, journal entries, and personal letters THE HOUSE AT WATCH HILL follows in the wake of the death of two members of Zo’s family: Zo’s mother Joanna Grey, as well as a distant relative Juniper Cameron. As the sole living heir to her great aunt Juniper’s bloodline Zo Grey is invited to Divinity, Louisiana where she will discover that she is descended from a long line of powerful beings, and as such, the latest target of the townsfolk of Divinity but Zo has yet to come into her powers, powers that our heroine will struggle to control. From dark and light witches, and a warm vampire witch, Zo will come face to face with an uncertain future when the town takes aim at our story line heroine.
The world building focuses on Zo Grey’s foray into a world she knew nothing about. Hidden most of her life, always on the run with her ailing mother, Zo will soon discover, with the help of her best friend Este Hunter, and a haunting grimoire , the truth is much more heart breaking and anger-inducing than she could have ever imagined. Zo is a strong-willed, young woman whose life is changing rapidly.
There is a large ensemble cast of magical, powerful and determined secondary and supporting characters all of whom has varying degrees of magic and power. We are introduced attorney James Balfour, groundskeeper Devlin Blackstone, Rufus the owl, and Kellan. The requisite evil has many faces.
THE HOUSE AT WATCH HILL is a story of secrets and lies, power and control, betrayal and manipulation, magic and mayhem, family and friendships. The premise is captivating, enchanting and dramatic; the characters are magical and powerful. There are two men vying for Zo’s attention but their true intention may be something more nefarious than a one-night stand. THE HOUSE AT WATCH HILL ends on a cliff hanger-you have been warned.