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3.41 AVERAGE
3.41 AVERAGE
The plot concerned the transfer of museum exhibit from London to the country for safekeeping during the the Blitz in World War II. This in itself would have been interesting, however this book became more of a mystery about the dark secrets of the Manor House. The Major, the owner of the manor had the stereotypical characteristics and therefore became for me implausible. The book was full of 'troubled' character and consequently I found the book to be disappointing and somewhat predictable. This is a book that I would not read again.
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
This just did not work for me; it took me forever to read because I just couldn't get into it. Perhaps I simply read this at the wrong time, because there are a lot of elements here that I usually like: historical fiction, a creepy old house, potentially supernatural mysteries, and a queer love story. But I really found it lacking; the story didn't move quickly enough for me, and the villains were a bit cartoonishly evil. I did enjoy the ending, mostly because the author FINALLY picked up the pace and resolved some loose threads. I'm disappointed that I didn't like this more.
dark
mysterious
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:
Complicated
I received an ARC of THE ANIMALS AT LOCKWOOD MANOR by Jane Healey from the publisher.
THE ANIMALS AT LOCKWOOD MANOR is Jane Healey’s debut novel and is atmospheric and unnerving. Hetty Cartwright is sent to Lockwood Manor in 1939 to oversee the natural history museum collection. Fearing for its safety in the coming war, it is moved from London to the country manor. Instead of bombs, Hetty must protect the collection from a myriad of other dangers at that possibly haunted estate.
No one is more haunted than Lucy Lockwood who has spent her life suffering from bad nerves. Lonely, she is thrilled to have the museum and Hetty. But old memories resurface, bringing nightmares. Animals from the exhibit go missing and appear to move on their own and soon both women will question their sanity.
The novel begins with the typical atmospheric style of a Kate Morton book. Right away, there’s an element of danger and mystery introduced—the house may be haunted. Almost immediately Hetty sees and hears things and is on guard. But then it slows down and becomes a bit repetitive. The book settles into a stilted pace as it focuses on the developing relationship between Hetty and Lucy. The characterization of the women is deep and each brings their own past trauma and experiences as they react differently. They are both so broken and yet so brave.
As I neared the end without getting any answers, I couldn’t figure out how everything could possibly be wrapped up in the few remaining pages. But suddenly the pace burst into a gallop and so much was finally happening and answers to questions were spilled with a gusto and then it was over. And I was left breathless and wondering just what had happened and going back over all the pages before seeing how the truth fit and filling in the gaps. And wondering. To be honest, I love an ending that leaves be slightly confused and unsure. By the end I was sold.
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Oh my gosh, I finally read a fiction novel in 2020 that I deemed worthy of 5 stars...excuse me for a second, *walks off, sobbing with joy*
But in all seriousness, this was amazing! The horror elements, the characters, the story, the mystery, all of it was so good! While I do have my gripes (we'll get to those later), I did thoroughly enjoy this novel and highly recommend it.
First things first, though. Ordinarily I take issue with novels enticing readers with promises of supernatural suspense only to just as quickly erase any notion of the supernatural, but for some reason this didn't bother me so much in this novel. Maybe it's because, while the supernatural elements themselves were terrifying, the supposed "lore" wasn't fully explained towards the end and I had thus lost interest in it. Then the big reveal came and I thought to myself, "damn, this is more creepy and disturbing than the supernatural elements," so all was well.
For me, what made the horror and suspense so intense was the situation and context. Hetty temporarily living in a manor with a misogynistic dickweed of a man, a woman her age who is mentally unwell, and a collection of staff members who are either phenomenal assholes or useless gossips. On top of that, the manor itself has NINETY-TWO empty rooms and FOUR STAIRCASES. I don't get how that makes sense, but even if I was surrounded by the most loving people ever I'd be freaked out by this house. And, you know, there's also the sounds of something prowling around the house, specimens being moved around, weird sounds at night, you know, the usual horror stuff. All of this bundled together makes for a tight, unnerving atmosphere that was hard for me not to empathize with Hetty's situation.
That being said, one thing that bothered me about her situation is, when the final reveal happens, we don't get a lot of backstory explaining other people's involvements. I know that sounds weird, but I'm trying not spoil anything, but what I'm saying is that someone specifically was involved and there were a handful of people who must have had SOME idea that something was going on, but we never get their side of the story or and backstory on them. That would probably be because the final reveal happens within the last 80 PAGES and while interesting, is SO FUCKING RUSHED that readers are left putting some of the pieces together on their own. Not that I think it was poorly handled, but considering how much time was spent on Hetty moping, talking about specimens, and the general layout of the manor, I think some of that should have been cut to make room for more explanation.
After reading some reviews, I noticed a lot of people complained that little to nothing happened throughout the novel. While I can't argue with that, my counter would be that once the reveal is made, having anything else happen would have been difficult to explain due to certain limitations. Again, I won't go any further due to spoilers, but I think it's more realistic how the story was done as opposed to something crazy happening every other chapter. Speaking of crazy...
The biggest thing that sold me on this was the perceived downward spiral into madness due to Hetty's situation. As I mentioned before, what made this so horrifying to read was the combination of the tense atmosphere and Hetty's company. None of the staff members, save maybe Dorothy, are nice to her and even treat her like she's a burden or a troublemaker. Combined with the mischief being made around the manor and being isolated from her usual surroundings, Hetty's descent into paranoia and almost madness is understandable because she has almost no support. And the only support she does have is Lucy, but Lucy is mentally unwell because of the trauma she suffered as a child and into her adulthood. Hetty's struggles, and even Lucy's struggles as someone who has suffers from anxiety and night terrors, is almost painfully real and that's what makes it so scary.
Now, I feel the need to discuss the men in this novel, specifically the Major, but really their all just pompous assholes. It's 1939 when the story starts and follows WWII, how do you THINK men treat women, especially ones in male dominated fields AND their daughters? Seriously, just take use your imagination. Although, the one thing I will say is the Major fits very well with the theme of male dominance, predatory behavior, and the need for validation, specifically with trophies.
One finally thing, this is queer and I wasn't expecting it and I loved it. That's all I'll say, read the book for more.
Okay, I've ranted enough, but suffice to say, I loved this novel! This is definitely not going to be for everyone, but if you want a creepy, disturbing, Gothic horror with queer lovers, give this one a shot.
But in all seriousness, this was amazing! The horror elements, the characters, the story, the mystery, all of it was so good! While I do have my gripes (we'll get to those later), I did thoroughly enjoy this novel and highly recommend it.
First things first, though. Ordinarily I take issue with novels enticing readers with promises of supernatural suspense only to just as quickly erase any notion of the supernatural, but for some reason this didn't bother me so much in this novel. Maybe it's because, while the supernatural elements themselves were terrifying, the supposed "lore" wasn't fully explained towards the end and I had thus lost interest in it. Then the big reveal came and I thought to myself, "damn, this is more creepy and disturbing than the supernatural elements," so all was well.
For me, what made the horror and suspense so intense was the situation and context. Hetty temporarily living in a manor with a misogynistic dickweed of a man, a woman her age who is mentally unwell, and a collection of staff members who are either phenomenal assholes or useless gossips. On top of that, the manor itself has NINETY-TWO empty rooms and FOUR STAIRCASES. I don't get how that makes sense, but even if I was surrounded by the most loving people ever I'd be freaked out by this house. And, you know, there's also the sounds of something prowling around the house, specimens being moved around, weird sounds at night, you know, the usual horror stuff. All of this bundled together makes for a tight, unnerving atmosphere that was hard for me not to empathize with Hetty's situation.
That being said, one thing that bothered me about her situation is, when the final reveal happens, we don't get a lot of backstory explaining other people's involvements. I know that sounds weird, but I'm trying not spoil anything, but what I'm saying is that someone specifically was involved and there were a handful of people who must have had SOME idea that something was going on, but we never get their side of the story or and backstory on them. That would probably be because the final reveal happens within the last 80 PAGES and while interesting, is SO FUCKING RUSHED that readers are left putting some of the pieces together on their own. Not that I think it was poorly handled, but considering how much time was spent on Hetty moping, talking about specimens, and the general layout of the manor, I think some of that should have been cut to make room for more explanation.
After reading some reviews, I noticed a lot of people complained that little to nothing happened throughout the novel. While I can't argue with that, my counter would be that once the reveal is made, having anything else happen would have been difficult to explain due to certain limitations. Again, I won't go any further due to spoilers, but I think it's more realistic how the story was done as opposed to something crazy happening every other chapter. Speaking of crazy...
The biggest thing that sold me on this was the perceived downward spiral into madness due to Hetty's situation. As I mentioned before, what made this so horrifying to read was the combination of the tense atmosphere and Hetty's company. None of the staff members, save maybe Dorothy, are nice to her and even treat her like she's a burden or a troublemaker. Combined with the mischief being made around the manor and being isolated from her usual surroundings, Hetty's descent into paranoia and almost madness is understandable because she has almost no support. And the only support she does have is Lucy, but Lucy is mentally unwell because of the trauma she suffered as a child and into her adulthood. Hetty's struggles, and even Lucy's struggles as someone who has suffers from anxiety and night terrors, is almost painfully real and that's what makes it so scary.
Now, I feel the need to discuss the men in this novel, specifically the Major, but really their all just pompous assholes. It's 1939 when the story starts and follows WWII, how do you THINK men treat women, especially ones in male dominated fields AND their daughters? Seriously, just take use your imagination. Although, the one thing I will say is the Major fits very well with the theme of male dominance, predatory behavior, and the need for validation, specifically with trophies.
One finally thing, this is queer and I wasn't expecting it and I loved it. That's all I'll say, read the book for more.
Okay, I've ranted enough, but suffice to say, I loved this novel! This is definitely not going to be for everyone, but if you want a creepy, disturbing, Gothic horror with queer lovers, give this one a shot.
dark
emotional
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
"'Do you do well alone?' I wanted to ask, but something held me back. 'Why don't you have a beau, a bevy of visitors, or even a husband? Is it just your nerves or is it something else?'
I did not ask her because she could easily have turned the question around on me and what would I have said? That I was shy of others; that I was lonely, and yet used to it? That I seemed to lack some vital element that other women had which made it easy for them to love and be loved in return.”
I felt entirely connected with the main character. The setting, Lockwood Manor, is truly what drew me in. Utterly satisfying upon completion; this is written how all books should be—delicately woven with meaningful symbolism. Love this book through and through.
I did not ask her because she could easily have turned the question around on me and what would I have said? That I was shy of others; that I was lonely, and yet used to it? That I seemed to lack some vital element that other women had which made it easy for them to love and be loved in return.”
I felt entirely connected with the main character. The setting, Lockwood Manor, is truly what drew me in. Utterly satisfying upon completion; this is written how all books should be—delicately woven with meaningful symbolism. Love this book through and through.
I started this book but found it very slow going and hard to get into the story. I didn't much like the characters either and wasn't very interested in what was going to happen. So I stopped reading.
dark
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes