Diavola by Jennifer Marie Thorne
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
The first thing that attracted my attention to Diavola was this stunningly-disturbing cover. What does it even mean?
I had to know.
Then I read the synopsis, which completely sold me. A Gothic-feeling Travel Horror novel, set in Italy, full of family drama and haunted happenings. Yes, please.
I was lucky enough to receive an audio copy, and definitely recommend that format.
The narration style of Andi Arndt was absolutely perfect for this story, and as a representation of the MC, Anna’s, voice. I was transported into the Pace family vacation via this audio.
We follow Anna as she meets her family in Italy, where they have rented a gorgeous historic villa near the tiny town of Monteperso. As Anna tries to settle in, the atmosphere is tense. Her family is complicated.
Mom is always passively-aggressively nagging at Anna about her life choices. Dad seems distant, except when he would like to remind everyone of who paid for their vacation. Nicole, Anna’s sister, has their entire itinerary mapped out to the second, and god forbid anyone question it.
Nicole’s two daughters are also there, as well as her husband. They seem to be the only ones in the family Anna even remotely gets along with. Thank goodness for them.
Then there’s Anna’s twin brother, Benny, attending with his arrogant, asshat of a boyfriend, Christopher.
Anna and Benny’s relationship is the most difficult to figure out. As twins, their relationship has always been a special one, but it is definitely strained at this point. At times it seems good, at other times, not so much.
Honestly, that’s the best way to describe this vacation: strained. Unfortunately, it’s not just the family though. The villa itself, is strange and seems to be affecting everyone.
There’s a locked tower room, odd noises and an ominous atmosphere that’s downright oppressive. I would certainly need a vacation after this vacation.
I was impressed with how immersive this ended up being. When I was in it, I was really in it.
I went through a whole range of emotions and was astounded by the direction it ultimately went. I wasn’t expecting a lot of what occurred in the later half of the story. It fleshed out so many layers that were there all along that I feel like I missed initially.
I am already looking forward to reading it again. I would love to annotate it and really just spend some more time with it. It’s beautifully executed!
I can’t stress enough how gripping and haunting this is. My mind was left reeling, trying to interpret all of the events that went down. The atmosphere is top notch, but it never overshadowed the characters, or the emotions that were raging between them.
I would recommend this to any Horror fan, particularly if you enjoy Travel Horror, or Horror featuring complicated family dynamics. I feel like I know the Pace family inside and out. I’m practically one of them at this point.
Thank you to the publisher, Tor Nightfire and Dreamscape Media, for providing me with copies to read and review.
Diavola has been my greatest surprise of 2024 thus far. I cannot wait to read more from Jennifer Marie Thorne!