Title: Black Water Tales: The Unwanted
Author: Jean Nicole Rivers
Genre: New Adult Psychological Horror
Age Group: New Adult
Rating: 4,5 stars
Purchase: Amazon
Review copy provided by Enchanted Book Promotions in exchange for an honest review.
In the remote, eastern European town of Borslav there is St. Sebastian orphanage, a place where people discard their unwanted children. For the American, Blaire Baker, it’s the perfect place to volunteer her services. Paired with a cheerful volunteer nurse, Blaire is enthusiastic about the possibilities, but is quickly discouraged when she encounters the nefarious nature of the staff and the deplorable conditions of the facility and the children.
Upon arrival, one of the children informs Blaire, “There’s something in the basement.” It isn’t long before strange things begin happening, including Blaire’s flashbacks of the accident that killed her parents. The children soon suffer injuries that Blaire, first, fears may be the deeds of the callous workers but she soon thinks the abuse may originate from a source that is less than human, something unwanted.
The unwanted is coming but in order for Blaire to fight it, she must dig into St. Sebastian and herself in search of truth. Blaire wants nothing more than to help the children, but when she discovers the tragedy that happened in the basement and learns that the same evil forces are still at work, it will be Blaire who needs help…There’s something in the basement.
In Black Water Tales: The Unwanted, Blaire Baker is a teacher from the supposedly cursed town of Black Water. She accepts a volunteer post at St. Sebastian’s orphanage, and along with volunteer nurse Travis Wells, she heds to the orphanage. While Blaire is optimistic at first, her optimism soon turns into despair – the facilitiy is housed in an abandoned, derelict building, the staff doesn’t care much about the “unwanted” children left at the orphanage, and the children aren’t exactly being taken care of the way they should.
As strange things start happening, and one of the children informs Blaire there’s something in the basement, Blaire grows more and more wary that something is going on at the orphanage. When Blaire is haunted by flashbacks of the accident that killed her parents, she realizes she might have to dig through the depths of her own subconscious, and the history of St. Sebastian’s orphanage, if she wants to find out the truth behind the Unwanted.
The setting is deliciously creepy (derelict orphanages are just about number one on my creepy list). The pacing is slow, but in a good way – the suspense builds up slowly, but when it reaches its crescendo, I was on the edge of my seat. The book reminded me of The Woman in Black, both in tone and eerie atmosphere, which is always a good thing.
I would recommend this book to anyone who enjoys a good, creepy horror novel.
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