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mibookobsession's review
challenging
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Wow, what did I just read?! Set in a fictional world, similar to our Victorian Era, this is Gothic horror, supernatural and strange, with just a hint of romance thrown in.
Jane Shoringfield, accountant and lover of all things numbers and math, has calculated that her best chance of survival is a marriage of convenience. She creates a list of her most eligible men, none too handsome or young so as to limit competition from other women. Bachelor #1 is Dr. Augustine Lawrence, country doctor and surgeon with a large estate in Larrenton called Lindridge Hall. At first skeptical of the match, he is soon convinced when she steps in to assist him in an emergency surgery without fainting or squeamishness. His only condition... that she stay at the surgery in town and NEVER visit his estate, where he will stay every night. But things go awry the first night when the wedding crowd delivers them to Lindridge. Are the whispers of ghosts and strange things in the house true? Why does she see the reflection of a blond-haired, red-eyed woman when she looks at a dark window pane?
I found myself deliciously scared by the strange things happening in this book. At first just seeming like a nightmare, then I thought maybe Jane was losing her sanity and these were the workings of a psychotic mind. I honestly got a bit lost for a while with all the strange things going on, but it all added to the foreboding atmosphere of the story.
I received an advance reader copy of this book through NetGalley. The views and opinions expressed in this review are completely my own and given voluntarily.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Death, Medical trauma, Injury/Injury detail, and Gore
Moderate: Drug use
Minor: Abortion
slow_reader's review
challenging
dark
mysterious
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
I didn't expect the ending to this book. I received as an ARC from Netgalley. As a lover of gothic fiction and horror, this book ticked every box and then some. The worldbuilding of the town isn't very solid. It takes places it what seems like an alternate Europe with Jane wanting to marry a man who fits her list of requirements. And she finds such a man in Dr. Augustine Lawrence. He has a rule of his own, she is never to stay at his familiy's old home, Lindridge Hall. A storm upends that and sets the story in motion.
I put down other books to finish this. It is my first book by the author and I loved it. The third act got a bit slow but not without reason. We watch as Jane dives deeper and deeper into darkness and things she may not be able to control. I read as quickly as I could to find out if she would be okay, to find out just how it would end. I couldn't have predicted it. In fact, the prediction I had for it was thankfully wrong.
I do wish the cast had been better described. There were no real descriptions of the characters in a way that gives a clear picture. At the end of the book, I have no solid idea what anyone looks like. It's why I can't give it five stars. I want to know what the characters look like. I want to know if they look like me or my friends and family.
I put down other books to finish this. It is my first book by the author and I loved it. The third act got a bit slow but not without reason. We watch as Jane dives deeper and deeper into darkness and things she may not be able to control. I read as quickly as I could to find out if she would be okay, to find out just how it would end. I couldn't have predicted it. In fact, the prediction I had for it was thankfully wrong.
I do wish the cast had been better described. There were no real descriptions of the characters in a way that gives a clear picture. At the end of the book, I have no solid idea what anyone looks like. It's why I can't give it five stars. I want to know what the characters look like. I want to know if they look like me or my friends and family.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood and Abortion
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