Spoiler-free
There were strong White Lotus vibes in this one! If you have seen the show and like it, then there's a good chance you'll find a lot to love here!
The Pemise
Diavola follows the story of Anna, who goes on holiday, with her family, to a villa in Tuscanny. It's a horror book, so the villa is haunted, of course. However, the horrors of the haunted villa pale in comparison to the horrors of a family holiday. This blend of supernatural horror and phycological terror twist and bend to form a modern gothic ghost tale.
The Review
'Diavola' focuses on the relationships within this family, and let me tell you, they are all insufferable people. It's infuriating at times, but in a good way. The family dynamics developed drastically into a crescendo of insanity. It was a pleasure to witness.
The horror elements really shine bright. (If you can't tell already by how stunning the cover art is! Design by 'Esther Sarah Kim' and art by 'Judy Chung.') I'm honestly obsessed with this cover, and every time I see this book in a bookshop, I'm instantly compelled to pick it up. Unfortunately, I read this on my Kobo, so dont have a physical edition... yet ;).
This is a haunted house story, so naturally there are some ghostly delights. The descriptions of the haunting felt very physical and made the whole book immensly chilling. This created the perfect atmosphere and backdrop for this dysfunctional family to do its thing.
Now I know I said that all the characters are unlikable and insufferable, but I actually really liked our main protaganist 'Anna'. She's on the outs of her family, and they all treat her like shit basically, but her attitude was quite commendable and amusing at times. I dont know if I was meant to like Anna. She's definely a flawed character (they all are), but I found myself relating to her flaws and was pleasantly charmed by her whole demeanour. I also loved how her family basically just used her for her Ialian, which she learned from duolingo, lol. Get it, girl! Save yourself from the demented bird.
The only downside for me was, towards the end of the book, there was a shift in setting, and a lot of the things I loved about the first 2/3rds were missing. It's not a bad ending by any means, and there's without doubt some good moments, but I felt like it lost some of the charm and pull that was in the main bulk of the book.
🌕🌕🌕🌕🌗 4.5 stars
Ps. Now that the book has had time to sit with me longer, I think I've grown to appreciate the final act much more. I think on a reread, this has the potential to be a 5 star book for me.
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