I love Delilah S. Dawson’s brand of creepy horror and grabbed her newest thriller, House of Idyll. In this standalone fiction, Angelina Yves, a struggling singer/songwriter, is offered the chance to join an experimental luxury compound sponsored by the most famous band in the world, Black Idyll. Dawson delivered a dark, wicked and atmospheric tale that I devoured.
by Delilah S. Dawson
Narrator: Cassandra Campbell
Length: 6 hours and 41 minutes
Genres: Horror
Source: Publisher
Purchase*: Amazon | Audible | Libro.fm *affiliate
Heat Level:
Narration: 5 cups Speed: 1.5x
From the New York Times bestselling author of Bloom and Guillotine comes a darkly seductive tale of beautiful rock stars, sinister cults, and a magical oasis where dreams come true...for a price.
Angelina Yves is a struggling singer/songwriter offered the chance of a lifetime to join the experimental luxury compound sponsored by the most famous band in the world, Black Idyll. With her every need accommodated, she finally has the time and space to perfect her music. Her muse? Reclusive rock star Jesper Idyll, who lives up to her every high school daydream. But this paradise has a haunted underbelly heralded by screaming horses, mysterious figures in the night, and dreams too twisted to be real. When people start to disappear and Jesper's ex turns up dead and hideously mutilated, Angelina begins to suspect that something malevolent lurks behind the cult that's grown around the band....
A disturbing, decadent, and wickedly compelling tale of a Hollywood dream turned nightmare, Delilah S. Dawson's darkly delicious prose will seduce you, tie you up, and never let you go....
House of Idyll was an atmospheric tale that pulled me in almost from the onset. We’ve got music, a fantastic setting that gives of cult vibes, attraction and the sense of foreboding that makes you unsettled.
I wasn’t thrilled going in, because even though I love music, I am rarely a fan of rockstar/band reads, but I love Dawson’s brand of horror and jumped in. I am so glad that I did because this dark tale pulled me in and never let go.
We meet Angelina Yves, a starving artist who loses her job and is facing eviction when a customer offers her dream opportunity. He takes her to the House of Idyllic, a commune of sorts run by the legendary rock band, Black Idyll. She is given the opportunity to live there and offered the chance to pursue her musical passions without the stress of rent or financial responsibilities.
To Angelina, everything feels like a dream come true at first, from her own private villa to meeting her teenage rock crush, but strange things happen, friends disappear, and she is invited to join an elite group. Fire jams, sex, strange beings and confusion soon follow.
The tale wrapped up with a twist that left me stunned. The audiobook is narrated by Cassandra Campbell, who did an excellent job of capturing not only the tale of the story by the key characters as well.
If you are looking for an atmospheric horror thriller with cult-like vibes, you’ll want to grab your earbuds for this one. At just around six hours, it’s the perfect weekend listen.
About Delilah S. Dawson
Delilah S. Dawson writes whimsical and dark Fantasy for adults and teens. Her Blud series for Pocket includes Wicked as They Come, Wicked After Midnight, and Wicked as She Wants, winner of the RT Book Reviews Steampunk Book of the Year and May Seal of Excellence for 2013. Her YA debut, Servants of the Storm, is a Southern Gothic Horror set in Savannah, GA, and HIT is about teen assassins in a bank-owned America. Her Geekrotica series under pseudonym Ava Lovelace includes The Lumberfox and The Superfox with The Dapperfox on the way. Look for Wake of Vultures from Orbit Books in October 2015, written as Lila Bowen.
About Cassandra Campbell
Cassandra Campbell is an American narrator of over 900 audiobooks.[1] She has won four Audie Awards from the Audio Publishers Association and has been a finalist for several more. She has also earned numerous Earphone Awards from AudioFile, which named her a Golden Voice Narrator. In 2018, she was inducted into Audible’s Narrator Hall of Fame.
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About Kimberly
Kimberly is a coffee loving book addict who reads and listens to fictional stories in all genres. Whovian, Ravenclaw, Howler and proud Nonna. She owns and manages Caffeinated PR. The coffee is always on and she is ready to chat. BlueSky | Facebook | Instagram
Rachel @Waves of Fiction
I haven’t read anything by Dawson but I’ve seen her name connected with Kevin Hearne in the past. This does sound interesting!
Lisa Mandina (Lisa Loves Literature)
Definitely sounds like this was a good one! I have wanted to try this author. Great review!
hena
Wow that sounds great.
Ethan
I was not aware of this author, but you’ve certainly piqued my interest!
Nadene @Totally Addicted to Reading
It has been a while since I have read a horror story. Thos sounds really good.
Bree @ BibliophileBree
I loved Guillotine by this author and have been meaning to check out more of her work!
Jessica @ a GREAT read
Ooh nice! I just read this one last month in those last 2 days of the year! Lol. Loving Dawson’s horror novellas! They are very atmospheric and super creepy! Glad to hear you enjoyed this one too! Nice review!