Book review
Check-In Checkout by Keran Pantth Joshi
A spooky read that’ll give you sleepless nights
My Ratings: 4.3/5
The scenic Villagio Hotel seems idyllic for a holiday, but little do the guests checking in know about the chilling horrors that stir to life in the darkness of night. This book is a collection of various short stories, right from spooky to shocking, with Hotel Villagio at the backdrop of each.
Book details:
Blurb (as on Amazon):
THE DARKNESS AWAITS YOU…. Hotels conjure images of cozy rooms, lazy holidays, memorable adventures, fresh crisp white sheets, and gorgeous views. But the scenic Villagio Hotel hides a dark and bizarre secret. Check-in Checkout is the story of those secrets. Behind the renovated majestic façade, laminated polished exteriors, fresh-smelling, and brightly painted rooms lie old, rotting innards, musty corners, and creepy crevices. The place houses some chilling horrors, seething in unknown corners, which stir to life in the darkness of night. Between check-in and check-out, the guests of the Villagio Hotel experience blood-curdling horrors. This book will take you on a thrilling ride, with ten gripping stories depicting different genres of horror — urban legends, revenge spirits, gore, modern-day haunting, psychological horror & satanic practices. Come uncover the grisly and ghastly tales of the travelers who visited the Villagio Hotel from different parts of the world. But remember! In this hotel, you are not alone…someone somewhere is always watching you! WOULD YOU DARE TO STAY A NIGHT?
Pages: 160
Genre: Fiction/Horror/Thriller
Format: Kindle eBook/Paperback
Price:
- Kindle eBook: 49 INR/$8.00
- Paperback: 225 INR/$10.99
Check out the book here
Detailed review:
What I liked about the book:
The writing style is impressive as per the genre. It manages to creep you out in necessary places and creates an atmosphere of suspense and drama.
- The stories touch on various lesser-known (or popular? I a, probably the ignorant one who didn’t know about them before reading this book) myths and legends like Hitori Kakurenbo and Kuchisake Onna.
- Though it’s a horror book, it made me question a lot of things, like our blind faiths, superstitions, and dark practices.
- Some of the stories feel as if they are true that they do exist in the world today, as the lifestyle.
- The writing style is impressive as per the genre. It manages to creep you out in necessary places and creates an atmosphere of suspense and drama.
The stories touch upon social issues like rape, being a single woman, poverty, and the plight of women in war-ridden countries, etc.
What I did not like about the book:
It felt more telling than showing. If there wouldn’t be so many indicators of what’s happening rather than the description of what’s happening, maybe it would have turned out more scary.
- Being a person who scares very easily, I wasn’t quite scared while reading it. I have almost zilch experience in reading horrors and it was underwhelming for me to discover that reading horror did not scare me as much as watching a movie/series does.
- It felt more telling than showing. If there wouldn’t be so many indicators of what’s happening rather than the description of what’s happening, maybe it would have turned out more scary.
Quotable quotes:
Love! One that consumes and smothers you. One that is irresistible and risky. That finds you in the most unexpectedly ways.
-> Your door might be locked and lights turned off. But someone waits for you in the darkness of your safe haven. It’s death!
-> Maybe there is a light at the end of the tunnel. But what if darkness is now your forever companion and there is no end to the tunnel.
-> Credit cards can buy fashion but not style sense.
-> That’s how social media sites work. Every nobody is a somebody, and people hide behind fancy facades.
-> There are no explanations for weird people doing weird things.
-> Sometimes imaginary demons arise and invite in the real evil around. And there is no turning back as they surround and persecute you, drowning you bit by bit.
-> An incomplete love. The kind of love that comes as a blessing and mutates into a curse.
-> Death! The strangest and the most normal thing in life. What happens when a loved one dies? Perhaps, after our death, we reunite with them.
-> Love! One that consumes and smothers you. One that is irresistible and risky. That finds you in the most unexpectedly ways.
->Love! Such simple four letters but was it just as easy to find love? Maybe not. Often, it took a lot of faith, luck, aligned stars, and some divine intervention.
Thank you for reading.
If you are an indie writer or have some great book recommendations for lesser popular books, hit me up and I’ll be more than happy to read and review them on all major social media platforms. You can check out all my book reviews under the list titled Bookish Witch on my Medium profile.
Here’s the link to my (other) latest review: