Reviews with content warning for Slavery - Within These Wicked Walls

Loosely based on Jane Eyre, this is a YA horror that is packed with action and spookiness. All of the descriptions of the curse that was happened in Rochester's house were rightfully creepy, and the tone was immediately set from the beginning. As more of the story unfolds and we learn more about the curse, it just gets more and more creepy.

There was also great chemistry between Andi and Magnus, as all of these manifestations are happening around them. It almost brings them closer together, the danger making their relationship all the more exciting. The changing relationship between Andi and Jember, her guardian/caretaker/trainer/master, also added dimension to the story. All of these details worked well together to create a story that was difficult to put down once you got started.

I feel like YA horror has been upping it's game a bit in the last year, and this is a great addition to a genre that desperately needs more diversity.

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foreverinastory's review against another edition

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dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

4.0

Thank you to Netgalley & Wednesday Books for an eARC in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

Rep: Ethiopian female MC, Ethiopian male love interest, Ethiopian male side character with a peg leg and chronic pain, Ethiopian supporting cast.

CWs: Abandonment, blood, child abuse, death/death of parent, emotional abuse, fire, gaslighting, gore, grief, injury/injury detail, murder, slavery, violence.

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spinesinaline's review against another edition

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mysterious tense medium-paced

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

3.75

The pacing dropped off a bit for me at the end but I really enjoyed this take on the Jane Eyre story. Thanks to the publisher for an e-ARC!

This was one of my most anticipated reads of the year and I did enjoy it though it didn’t deliver as much as I thought it would.

Blackwood’s take on Jane Eyre feels fresh and new with this Ethiopian inspiration. Rather than a governess, the MC here is a debtera or exorcist, hired to get rid of the Evil Eye that’s tormenting a wealthy man and his staff.

Despite those significant changes, this does feel like it stays pretty true to the original, though thankfully without that considerable age gap. The original’s romance with its push and pull, and fighting and flirting, is followed here as well.

The relationship is still odd though, partly because they move so quickly from strangers to cutesy talk and also because the Mr. Rochester character here speaks in such an old-fashioned way when he’s only 20 years old. I couldn’t totally get on board with it and because of the changes in this retelling I was expecting a thriller moreso than a romance and that was just not the case.

The second half fell flat for me while the thrill aspects of the beginning were exciting. But nothing really came of them and it felt like we left the mysterious dread behind, which was disappointing. There are also many questions around the curse that are left unanswered and it feels unfinished and messy because it’s so central to the main action.

Still an interesting story but I could’ve gone with more on the thriller side.

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catapocalypse's review against another edition

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adventurous dark mysterious 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? Yes

3.0

Disclosure: I received an e-ARC of this book that was openly available to NetGalley users in exchange for an honest review.

This is a YA retelling of Jane Eyre, set in Ethiopia and involving actual supernatural evil forces! Andromeda has taken on the dubious job of cleansing the heavily-cursed estate of Magnus Rochester. She's a 'debtera' from the church who exorcises such manifestations of the Evil Eye by crafting holy amulets by intuition--or she would be, if her master, Jember, hadn't thrown her out before she could attain official licensing. Andromeda quickly finds she has a lot to learn about dealing with the ultimate manifestation of the evil eye, coming to terms with her hard upbringing, and the peculiar experience of falling for the rich young recluse who employs her.

I loved this premise, the setting, and the magic system. There was a fair bit of good creepiness, and as a YA read, it didn't go overboard on the gore or grimdark. The story moved at a fast pace that kept me interested, and likely will satisfy plot-driven readers. While I still enjoy plot-driven narratives, as someone who really loves character-driven reads, I found a few things wanting in this regard. I loved the idea of Andromeda, but her characterization was a little all over the place, to me. She had supposedly learned a lesson about the dangers of showing compassion for others from her life on the streets, but in practice she seemed to care quite a lot very easily. She was meant to be a pragmatic character, but made some odd decisions here and there. Her pragmatism also made for clunky chemistry with the eccentric and often immature Magnus.

To be fair, I am very picky about romance, and I hadn't noticed at first that this was also YA. And to its credit, the angst wasn't overdone, so this is still approachable for adult readers. Even with the ways it fell flat to me, I still found it enjoyable and feel it's a solid 3-stars.

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