Review: House of Hearts by Skyla Arndt

*I received an advance reading copy of this book from Penguin Teen Canada in exchange for an honest review.

House of Hearts

by Skyla Arndt

September 2, 2025

Goodreads Summary:

Solving her best friend's murder means infiltrating a secret society, resisting a forbidden love, and running from a vengeful ghost in this sophomore novel by the author of Together We Rot.

Violet Harper knows her best friend was murdered. Even if everyone else has labeled her death a “freak accident,” Vi is sure she’d been trying to tell her something right before she died. Cryptic messages about her friend’s elite boarding school, her whirlwind romance, and the mysterious secret society she was entangled in all point to a more sinister fate.

So, Violet does what no one else seems willing to do: She transfers to the same fancy school to dig into the society’s murky history and find out what really happened to her friend. She knows the truth might not be pretty, but what she doesn’t bargain for is the handsome boy at the center of it all—Calvin Lockwell, the brother of her prime suspect and descendant of the school’s founder. He’s obnoxious and privileged, and Violet can’t deny their haunting attraction. It soon becomes clear his family is hiding a dark secret that may not be of this world, and suddenly Violet’s following her friend’s doomed footsteps down the rabbit hole. Even as details emerge of a deadly curse plaguing the school, she can’t escape her true feelings for Calvin. But loving him may be the last thing she ever does.

Review

It’s been ages since I flew through a book, but House of Hearts is the perfect reminder how amazing it can feel to love a book from start to finish. I couldn’t stop reading and guessing!!

House of Hearts has the perfect blend of paranormal, thriller and mystery. I had so many theories. The supernatural elements created a strong backstory that was both haunting and riveting. The serious nature of the curse couldn’t take away the characters’ humours. They made me laugh a lot especially because their jokes came at the most inappropriate times ;)

I applaud Violet for all the courage and resilience she showed in trying to solve her best friend’s mysterious death. Switching schools in her final year, befriending a bunch of suspicious students and participating in strange games was no walk in the park. Although she was pretty helpless in the beginning, Violet used her smarts to piece together clues. I loved seeing her mind work.

The romance in House of Hearts wasn’t as central as I thought it was going to be. However, the development that we did get, felt epic given the enormity of the curse. Calvin was not the easiest love interest, but he tried his damn hardest to protect the people he loves. He and Violet seemed like an unlikely pair, but they had chemistry in spades.

For a short book (less than 300 pages), House of Hearts managed to give a lot: a suspenseful setting, many intriguing characters, an engaging mystery and multiple killer (literally) love stories. I loved every moment of this book!

*I received a copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own and not affected in any way. Any quotes included in my review were taken from the copy I received.