Reviews with content warning for Death of parent - Madam

Reviews tagging 'Death of parent'

ajay913's review

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challenging dark tense medium-paced

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

4.0

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a1exander's review

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dark mysterious tense slow-paced

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

2.5

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booklvrkat's review against another edition

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dark emotional mysterious slow-paced

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

3.5

A boarding school, on the Scottish cliffs, named Caldonbrae Hall. Set in the early 1990s, the school is an old castle, very remote, and lends the gothic air to the story. Secluded away from the nearest town, the students and inhabitants of the school put up with the dark sea, dreary coastline expected of the Scottish cliffs, and lots of rain.

Rose, tells us of her encounters, the students she teaches, and the rest of the school’s inhabitants. We get lessons on Medusa, Dido, Medea and other strong, feminist women in classic history, and the feelings from the students Rose is teaching. Rose sought out this position to take care of rising medical costs of her mother’s failing health, and the school seems to want to help her with this. The previous teacher of this class was terminated under mysterious circumstances and seems to lend another sinister message throughout the story, and as Rose learns more about the school, she sees that things are not what they seem.

Rose isn’t the strongest FMC that we would normally like in this kind of story, but I liked that she was bendable to a point, and then she was ramrod straight in her stance on teaching. The school is haunting, and I had deep empathy for the young women that were shuffled there like property by their parents. The backdrop and moody characteristics made this an interesting read and kept me engaged. The story does date itself to the teaching practices, and the ominous, discriminatory characters are purposeful to the plot, and it brought depth to the dark atmosphere of this story. A gothic tale indeed, it reminded me of The Stepford Wives and Rebecca at times. There are men that are misogynists, the school runners are there for the money, and the dreadful mystery that this author put forth kept me turning the pages.

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