Reviews with content warning for Child abuse - Within These Wicked Walls

The premise of this novel sounded very interesting and the world where the stoty took place was intruiging (yet a little confusing).
But the heavy focus on the romance made me lose interest (I'm not a big fan of the insta-love trope) and overshadowed the more compelling storylines and characters.
I liked the haunted atmosphere Blackwood created and the action scenes were fun.
Although the novel tackled a lot of heavy topics, it didn't leave an impression on me. But as I have not read Jane Eyre, I possibly missed some underlying nuances and deeper meaning.

Overall, it was an entertaining read with complex characters.
If you are looking for a romance taking place within a creepy/gothic atmosphere and you like YA fantasy, I think you will adore this book !

Content Warnings

emily_mh's review against another edition

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dark medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.5

I started off LOVING this Jane Eyre retelling. I thought that Blackwood did such a good job at creating Rochester’s desperation in Magnus and the dialogue between Andromeda and Magnus felt as dramatic and devoted as it did in the original. The setting was also really intriguing. However, I liked the book less and less as time went on. There was a lack of context historically and geographically which made it difficult for me to place the book. The romance became the sole focus to the detriment of the more interesting cleansing-the-household plotline. And also the drama in that romance was SO contrived; at some points I didn’t even know what they were disagreeing about. Most importantly, I don’t think it worked well as a Jane Eyre retelling. There was a lack of atmosphere, and also none of the themes of coming-of-age/character development that really makes Jane Eyre stand out to me. Also, the romance in the original is an important part, but not the ONLY part, which is kind of how it ends up in this book. Moreover, I don’t think the toxic relationship between Andromeda and her mentor is given the gravity that it deserved. I also thought that the whole concept of disabilities coming from the attraction of the Evil Eye was super problematic.

I would by no means say this was bad, it just didn’t live up to the expectations it set and instead presented an average, slightly gothic instalove romance. As a side note, I did listen to the audiobook and thought it was okay.

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emmehooks's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark mysterious slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

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readerperson's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional hopeful mysterious sad fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

First off, I want to commend the author for putting a content warning within the first couple pages of the book, it was so welcome especially after reading a book last year that absolutely left me gobsmacked with it's graphic content

Highly, highly recommend this book. I don't know why I put off reading this book for so long but I absolutely devoured it. The storyline is fast paced and the characters are complex and feel like they have depth to them. There is a character who never speaks a word in the book but her mannerisms and loveableness still shine so much. The events are paced well enough that it isn't too overwhelming, which I found made it easier to read so quickly because the short breaks are what left me in suspense.

And man, who doesn't love love. Whether it's familial, platonic, romantic, this book explores all of those relationships in such an interesting way, and in the midst of such intense events. I absolutely loved this book.

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vicktorea's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

chilling, creepy & atmospheric

this creepy Jane Eyre-inspired book would've been a great read for spooky szn!

I really enjoyed the writing style, fantasy/horror elements, romance, and how the author interwove Ethiopian culture throughout the novel. The Jane Eyre inspo was really apparent to me in the atmosphere and romantic elements of the story and i really appreciated that (since it's my fav classic)! the main character was also smart, feisty, and headstrong (just like Jane 😌)!

There were times, however, that i found the plot dragged. I listened to the audiobook via Libby; the narration was impeccable and i think that really contributed to my enjoyment! I think i would've gotten a bit bored with the movement of the plot had it not been for the audiobook/narration.

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icegoddess09's review against another edition

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dark mysterious fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.5

I really wanted to love it, but as the story went on it was clear that the main character was accepting that she was abused as love. And abuse is never love. It really bothered me

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chippyreads's review against another edition

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dark

Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

I have many feelings about this book and not many of them are nice. Firstly, the MCs relationships with both men in her life is grotty. Actually. That's my whole gripe about this book. I don't enjoy reading toxic relationships. So this book was a massive boooo for me.

The dude that raised her is abusive, both physically and mentally. The guy that hires her is the love interest. He is a flake. His only redeeming quality is that he can draw.

The love interest is cursed and people who live in his castle 'go missing' but apparently it's ok to just keep using them as servants? Apparently if they look into his eyes they're doomed, so he walks around with bells on in order to warn them to look away. If it was such an issues, why doesn't he cover his eyes or lock himself away? Stop prancing around your cold castle putting your staff in danger. He has a rule that demands people socialise with him after dinner. How about no. You're a danger to EVERYONE, stop forcing people into your company when your gaze kills them. Also the dude is her BOSS, she's literally starving when he hires her and he falls in love with her asap.

Dont get me started on the father figure. He saved her from being sold to a brothel as a child and in order to protect her, he abuses her...... Wot. Also he has this thing where his skin hurts if people touch him, so naturally he hates people. What is this shit? I woul have minded if at the end

Andy told him he was a horrible man and he deserves to die. But no, she calls him daddy and loves him.

Yuck. No thank you. No wonder she fell for the first man who was half way nice to her.....

The whole cleansing the cadtle/boss thing can't even save this story. If I wasn't listening to this book via audio book I would have DNFd it.

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