Awake in the Night by Shauna McEleny

 

Jessica ad Nicole think they've finally found their dream house- by the sea, in the West of Ireland. 17 Montpellier Street has history, character...and so many rooms you could easily lose your way, if you don't tread carefully.

It has memories, too- so many memories. The new owners haven't learned them yet. But the girls who lived there decades before, when the church-used Montpellier Street to hide away its secrets- they've never forgotten.

The ones who survived, anyway.

Montpellier Street remembers every one of the horrors those girls suffered at the hands of the priests, nuns and doctors who should have been their carers. And Jess and Nicole...they're about to start reliving them, night after night.

Sleep may never come easy again.

This book immediately jumped out at me, set in Ireland, an old creepy house with a dark past and strange goings ons which a nice new couple have moved into. I knew straightaway this would be a great read and I wasn't disappointed!

Awake in the Night has two narratives, the first is a present day narrative of Nicole and her wife Jess moving into 17 Montpellier Street with no idea what they have let themselves in for. I really loved these two characters straightaway which immediately creates tension as I didn't want anything bad to happen to then. And of course there's Susan who is one of the most wonderful characters I've ever met in a book! As the title of the book suggest the house seems fairly normal during the day but at night strange things hinting at the home's dark past begin to emerge.

The second narrative is set in 1955, also in 17 Montpellier Street. This narrative although gripping was so hard to read. I felt so angry at what these girls were made to go through. Events which did happen in the past. 

Both these narratives work really well together and the paced in this book is fast paced and thrilling. Like with my previous book I stayed up really late reading this, telling myself I'll just read one more chapter and call it a night but before I knew it it was 2am!

This a horror book that has a lot of heart. There's some really gut wrenching events but also a lot of tender moments to balance it out. I also really loved the humour throughout this book. This is the first book I've read by Shauna McEleny and I can't wait to read more.