August Books---The Grip of It

The Grip of It.

Ok, so who has read it and what did you think?

So for us, we thought it was super creepy until the last page. By which we mean, it stayed creepy the whole time without being the typical haunted house story. So when it came down to selecting the books for the month, we felt that for a debut novel, it was great. It had so much ambience, and just the right amount of atmosphere. We felt like out of the books that we read all of the previous month (which was a lot!) The truly creepy parts in the Grip of It, stood out.

It was indeed creepy...I had to close the closet door at night while I was reading it, lol! Well-written and original, too. I would certainly read more from Jac Jemc.

I loved it! The way the chapters alternated between the 2 POV made it especially interesting. I've recommended it to several people already. August was my first box, and I am excited for more!

I read it and found it really creepy in some places. It isn't going to be a favourite of mine, but it was a good and fun read.
The 2 POV got me a bit confused at the beginning but later on, it was quite interesting. And I had some problems with the last third of the book, but yeah, I think it's a good debut, just not a great book for me :-)

FeliFirefly wrote:I read it and found it really creepy in some places. It isn't going to be a favourite of mine, but it was a good and fun read.
The 2 POV got me a bit confused at the beginning but later on, it was quite interesting. And I had some problems with the last third of the book, but yeah, I think it's a good debut, just not a great book for me :-)

Yeah, you're not the only one who disliked the ending. It was a little jumbled or abrupt or something. Not sure how to describe it but idk, I still really loved it, ending included. But I like vague unsure conclusions. I like to wonder, lol

I just started reading it. Will report back with my thoughts looking forward to see where it leads. I am already liking it a lot with just the few pages.

I thought it had a good start and it was creepy, but (don't hate me) I ended up not really liking it. It felt kind of unfinished to me. There was stuff about the creepy neighbor and his sister, but then none of that ended up being explained. I like the fact that it seemed like Julie, James and there relationship were haunted and probably not the actual house. I liked the missing time and not sure what was real parts. It did leave me thinking and it did have creepy parts. But for me, the part about the neighbor and his sister could have been left out entirely because it didn't really add anything to the story. I hope I'm not the only one with this opinion.

K. Kasper wrote:I thought it had a good start and it was creepy, but (don't hate me) I ended up not really liking it. It felt kind of unfinished to me. There was stuff about the creepy neighbor and his sister, but then none of that ended up being explained. I like the fact that it seemed like Julie, James and there relationship were haunted and probably not the actual house. I liked the missing time and not sure what was real parts. It did leave me thinking and it did have creepy parts. But for me, the part about the neighbor and his sister could have been left out entirely because it didn't really add anything to the story. I hope I'm not the only one with this opinion.

I agree with you - Although I liked the book, it felt like there was a bigger story there that we  almost got.  It was still good; but like a haunted house, it was the creaking floors and groaning eaves instead of visible ghosts and ghouls (if that makes any senses, lol).

The Grip of It had solid ingredients but never came together for me, more like the outline of a story. Mapping the Interior was shorter but SO much better. This Book is Full of Spiders was great and then gutted me at the end, I was completely unprepared.

I LOVED This Book is Full of Spiders. I have What Did I Just Read on pre-order because I fell in love with both John Dies and this novel.

Noelle_Reads wrote:I LOVED This Book is Full of Spiders.  I have What Did I Just Read on pre-order because I fell in love with both John Dies and this novel.  

I may hold off on that preorder.....

Lol omg I preordered it too...but I'm hearing I should cancel....

Deleted. Misread book title.

Ok. so I finished reading it last night and I gotta say I agree with a lot of the posts here. It started off great, I loved the different perspectives. It had a great, creepy setting, but then kind of went no where. I was hoping for stuff to be unearthed in the house and more passages found, but then I guess that would've also been too predictable. The ending relied more on being philosophical rather than tying things together. A lot of books struggle with having a satisfying ending for the readers, but I enjoyed it otherwise

I really loved the ambiance of The Grip of It. I loved not knowing what was real and what wasn't, the missing time, the creepy neighbor. But, like everyone has said - it felt a bit rushed at the end. I don't mind stories that leave you guessing, but I felt like there were TOO many missing pieces, too much left unsaid. In the future I would definitely read more from Jac Jemc, for a debut novel it had all the right elements and she will probably only get better with time.

This was my honest goodreads review... don't hate me. But that being said, I would read this author again! And I'm going to read the Spider book next when I get finished with my current non-NBR book. (I am LOVING that they posted a list of all the books I missed receiving in the past too)

((I'm possibly being generous here with the 4 stars; I probably feel closer to giving it 3 stars. But I did read it in about a day and that has to count for something! I couldn't put it down ... but probably about the final quarter of the book, that was more due to just wanting to finish it than really finding it compelling. This started out with me thinking it was modern day Amittyville House! I was so excited and unnerved! Then, I noticed the creepy iridescent faces on the cover about 1/4 through the book and got a little giggle of horror satisfaction -- were they there all along or did they just show up? ;-) But then...... the story intersected the paranormal with real world medicine and I have no idea what the point of any of it was... did she really have a brain condition? Did they both actually have mold poisoning? What the hell with the neighbor? Where did he go and how did he lose his pinky finger? Was some malevolent energy actually following them (a la Paranomal Activity) and damaging their friend's house? Was the medical stuff driving them both mad? Was this all just an allegory about their marriage? It just ultimately missed the mark for me and became tedious rather than creepy. I have no idea which of the many possibilities that were hinted at (and I only named a few) would make this a satisfying ending but I know dangling them all out there and then throwing the house on the market and ending the novel was not it for me as a reader. Unfortunate.))

Unfortunately, this book never gained a strong enough grip. The eeriness of the house & the town around the couple worked well, but the relationship between the 2 main characters really killed any momentum the book may have had for me. They were rather unbearable. I also had trouble imagining the 2 of them in a marriage- they acted more like roommates or a couple in the beginning of their relationship. There was nothing connecting them, & the split narrative emphasized that. Each lived their own life separate from the other, & the book often read like 2 separate stories that occasionally crossed.

There were also several moments that didn’t seem to follow from the previous events. I’m talking in particular about Julie’s sudden religious obsession- there was nothing in the book that would have suggested that, not even as a possession angle. Also, James & Julie’s decisions throughout were questionable & unrealistic to me, but I suppose that could be explained as a product of the house’s influence.

I wasn’t as bothered by the lack of answers or resolution as some readers, but I agree that the ending was abrupt & made the struggle throughout the rest of the book seem meaningless. Why not take that action early if it was going to happen at all? Overall, this book had promise but is not one I will pick up to reread in the future. I will however read more from Jac Jemc.

Admin wrote:

Noelle_Reads wrote:I LOVED This Book is Full of Spiders.  I have What Did I Just Read on pre-order because I fell in love with both John Dies and this novel.  

I may hold off on that preorder.....

Got it - cancelled!! Thanks

From my Goodreads review!

Where do I start...okay so this book had such an unsettling feel to it and I really liked that. We have a young married couple that is having some issues that they are trying to resolve. They decide to move out of the city and buy a house in a small town, hoping that a change of scenery will help resolve their problems. Paranormal shenanigans ensue and their relationship begins to unravel even more. Throw in a creepy neighbor, children that may or may not exist, and strange town folk. I began asking questions if they were actually haunted or if they had some sort of mental break or sickness, but then the bruises, the drawings not matching anybody's, the parents staying the night and encountering the same entity as James and Julie...it goes on and on...so many questions! So I think there is enough evidence pointing to a genuine haunting..that's my conclusion and I think I'll keep it. The ending was a bit anticlimactic though and kind of a bummer...it just kind of fizzled out there. I am fine with things not being completely resolved and having questions unanswered but I prefer a bit more pizazz when it comes to the ending of a haunted house book. I also wanted more back story to Rolf's family history, but you don't always get what you want and when that happens you're just left guessing! All in all I did enjoy this book for the most part and would like to read more of Jac's works! And remember even if you move to a new town and get a new job and buy a house your problems don't stay behind they like to tag along.