Review: Feels like there could have been more
Rating: 3 out of 5
Date: 07 16, 2014
If you take a look at the description, you’d think that this novella is pretty high on characterization, especially with the two main characters.  That’s not the case though.  The true star of this novella is the Harbor Motel, and Room #8.  All things extend from the horrors that this room provides to its inhabitants.While not very high on characterization, the story is fraught with tension as you slowly discover the towns horrible secret.  Lisa von Biela does a good job stringing you along and giving you just the right amount of information so that you know the horrors of the town, but you don’t know how or why until the very end.While the story itself was decent enough, and there was a great build up of tension, and what happened in the town was truly horrific, I was looking for more.  More characterization, more town history, and a bit of a better ending.  Everything is sort of tied up in a neat little bow, which is fine, but I found that the end of the novella left much to be desired.The Bottom Line:  While it’s an easy read, and there are moments of brilliance, the story is really hampered by its length.  I felt that it wanted to be more, and that it could have been more had every thing been fleshed out.  You get these inklings of a great moment, but then it switches to something else.  I wanted more with Room #8, I wanted more with Frank and Eileen, and I wanted more with Cromwell Bay.  Perhaps there was be a revisit of this setting at a later date, but for now, I’m left with a feeling of indifference.  It wasn’t a bad novella, per-say, but it wasn’t anything to write home about either.