Diavola by Jenn Marie Thorne

Anna has two rules for the annual Pace family destination vacations: Tread lightly and survive.

It isn’t easy when she’s the only one in the family who doesn’t quite fit in. Her twin brother, Benny, goes with the flow so much he’s practically dissolved, and her older sister, Nicole, is so used to everyone―including her blandly docile husband and two kids―falling in line that Anna often ends up in trouble for simply asking a question. Mom seizes every opportunity to question her life choices, and Dad, when not reminding everyone who paid for this vacation, just wants some peace and quiet.

The gorgeous, remote villa in tiny Monteperso seems like a perfect place to endure so much family togetherness, until things start going off the rails―the strange noises at night, the unsettling warnings from the local villagers, and the dark, violent past of the villa itself.

(Warning: May invoke feelings of irritation, dread, and despair that come with large family gatherings.)

4 Stars as a book, but would be a million stars as a movie.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️I loved it. I really liked our main character, Anna, she was confident, smart, and didnt get along with her family. On Anna's side the whole time, her family seems so annoying and terrible.

I wish we had gotten her nieces perspective in the epilogue.

actual rating: 3/5 stars

i really loved the italian vacation vibes of this and the commentary about not fitting into your family but i feel like the author literally lost the plot in the second half. the horror was lowkey disappointing and i didn't enjoy that the vacation element basically disappeared in the second half of the book.

Every character in this book is truly awful, but I can't say I didn't enjoy it!

I was strongly considering giving this a four star rating because of the slow start (and slightly rushed ending) but once it got going I was hooked! There were a couple of things that tipped it to a 5 star rating for me.

Anna is the black sheep of the family and I related to her more than I thought I would. Even when she was being haunted, I felt like she handled the entire situation like I would have, scared but also with the “well, this is my life now” attitude with dark humour and snarkiness sprinkled in.

The family in this novel are horribly toxic. Again, I relate to having an incredibly toxic family so that drew me closer to understanding Anna. I'm not sure if others would like her character if they can't relate to her.

I've read another review that said “families are terrifying” and in my case it's true and added another layer to a typical haunting story. No matter how toxic they can be, there's a certain obligation to keep in touch and make efforts, despite the constant passive aggressive behaviour.

I understand the mixed reviews for this, but it did resonate with me - it kept me hooked and wanting to read more. For me, any book that affects me emotionally and keeps me coming back will always be highly rated.

Quoting this from a review by Paige as I couldn't have said it better myself, “Blame is placed where it does not belong. Secrets are shared that have no business being shared. Some things are resolved, a lot of things are not. But I think family is like this. It's not enjoyable, but it's the way family is, and her avoidant personality is exactly how I'd react too”.