Book Review by Christine Bode
Title: The Hospitality
Author: Luna Asli Kolchu
Publisher: Self-Published
Released: January 20, 2026
Pages: 144
ASIN: B0GDS1NKNJ
Stars: 4.0
“Some families pass down heirlooms. Some pass down land. The Ashfords pass down guests.“
Discovering a Gothic Debut on Substack
One of the best gifts of Substack is the way it reveals extraordinary writers before the wider world catches on. This book review of The Hospitality by Luna Asli Kolchu reflects that kind of discovery. Kolchu was one of the first voices I encountered there who truly captivated my attention. Her gothic fiction novella, The Hospitality, marks a striking debut—one that lingers well after the final page.
A Ritual That Refuses to End
At its heart, The Hospitality revolves around a ritual as precise as it is unsettling. Every Saturday night at exactly 7:03 p.m., mysterious guests arrive at the home of Eleanor and Robert. They have been doing so for three hundred years. For the past twenty-six years, Eleanor has carried the burden of hosting them.
Marcus Returns Home
Their son Marcus returns home from London after three years away to find the house unchanged, preserved in a kind of domestic stasis. Yet his mother feels altered in ways he cannot quite articulate. He remembers the Saturday dinners, the table set for six, and the persistent absence of one expected guest. What he cannot remember are the guests themselves.
Drawn home by something he cannot name, Marcus begins to notice the subtle wrongness threaded through the household. Edmund and Clara Harrison, the regular dinner guests, feel both familiar and unknowable. As Marcus probes deeper, he is compelled toward truths that have been carefully buried—truths that resist being uncovered.
Themes of Memory, Consequence, and Repetition
Kolchu explores themes of memory and its slipperiness, the inescapable cost of past actions, and the cyclical nature of history. The novella suggests that the past does not merely haunt—it repeats, insists, and collects its due. Ghosts here are not always literal, but they are persistent.
Tone, Tension, and Gothic Craft
The cover art is beautiful, perfectly echoing the formal elegance and underlying menace of the weekly dinners. Kolchu’s command of tone is awe-inspiring. Her use of foreshadowing builds tension with a patient, deliberate hand, allowing unease to bloom rather than erupt.
The emotional unravelling of the characters is rendered with care, making the novella difficult to put down. While the narrative grows slightly repetitive in places, Kolchu’s instincts for gothic storytelling are sharp. The singing of the entities recalls the haunting pull of siren folklore and brings to mind elements of The Nevers TV series.
Supernatural Ambiguity and a Lingering Question
The supernatural aspects remain abstract—perhaps intentionally so—though this ambiguity invites contemplation rather than closure. Just like Marcus, I found it a challenge to imagine the true faces of Edmund and Clara Harrison. Still, it left me lingering on an unanswered question concerning the grandmother who once lived in the house.
Final Thoughts: A Quietly Haunting Read
Ultimately, The Hospitality by Luna Asli Kolchu is a swift and deeply atmospheric read. Available in paperback and digital formats on Amazon, it will especially appeal to readers who enjoy speculative fiction that values mood, implication, and moral consequence. If you appreciate gothic stories that whisper rather than shout, this novella deserves a place on your list. Following Luna Asli Kolchu on Substack is well worth your time—you will want to read what she writes next.
If you enjoy my book reviews, you can read more on My Bodacious Blog.