- Source: Review Copy
- Pages: 328
- Format: Ebook
- Publication Date: November 5th, 2020
- Publisher: Self-published
- Genre: Paranormal, Horror
- My Rating: 4/5
Blurb
For two decades, the spirits left her alone. This is the true story of when they return with something chilling to prove.
Julie Coons’s troubling near-death event altered her life forever. After twenty years, she thought she’d escaped the ghosts that clung to her after her out-of-body incident. But when she moves to a new home, she’s horrified to discover the angry entities are back… with a vengeance.
As the phantasms become more and more aggressive, Julie hires a paranormal investigative team to help find a solution. But when the professionals intervene, she discovers the demons haunting her are very personal indeed.
Can Julie unearth the darkness in her past to finally free herself from the terrifying torment?
Haunted: A Paranormal Awakening is a frightening real-life supernatural memoir recounting how one woman coped with the experience of living with apparitions. If you like learning the secrets of the other side, engaging with the spirit world, and triumphing over evil, then you’ll love Julie Coons’s extraordinary account.
Buy Haunted to face a very tangible fear today!
Review
Haunted is the story of the author’s real-life paranormal experiences. Julie moves to a new house in a friendlier neighborhood with her husband and daughter after being harassed by her neighbor at her previous residence. However, she immediately starts experiencing paranormal activity in her brand-new house and comes to the realization that the house is haunted. The family is not able to leave the house because of financial reasons. The book shows Julie’s journey of struggling to protect herself and her family and what she had to through because of the paranormal and her traumatic and abusive past.
This book has everything you can expect from a paranormal book, which is actually pretty scary since it is based on real-life events. The protagonist had an extremely thick skin and resilience because of which she tolerated what went on in her house and fought it with everything she had. Her first instinct was to think she was going crazy and blowing things out of proportion, which just shows how even when we’re suffering or are afraid of something, we don’t trust ourselves and are more worried about what others would think. However, more and more instances of the supernatural nature kept on happening and made it impossible for her to ignore them and live her life.
Coons has a very easy-to-read writing style and an effortless flow in her prose. It fits the thriller-esque genre that she writes in. However, there’s this impersonal tone to the writing style that I think prevented me from instantly getting connected to the protagonist. There was a lot of “telling” rather than “showing” in the book. Also, the dialogue could have been more polished.
In the book, there is a lot about spirituality, mediums, empaths, and communication with the spirit world that I personally found interesting to read but I don’t think would be everyone’s cup of tea. I was also surprised that the book had a religious angle but I didn’t mind it.
At some points, the narrator goes off track and talks about things other than the paranormal—the main issue. I found that unnecessary and that it could’ve been edited out to keep the linear flow of the story. The narrator also repeated 2-3 backstory facts in the book which could have been written differently to avoid repetition.
The action was so intense throughout the book that I found myself glued to it and finished it in two sittings. It was definitely a different read for me. I cannot imagine the amount of strength it must have required for the author to go through all this and then to write it down for others to read and take help from.
Haunted: A Paranormal Awakening provides a thrilling—and even terrifying—experience. Pick it up if you want your eyes opened to a very dark aspect of this world that we live in.
Trigger warnings for the book: abuse, rape, suicide, violence, scary situations
