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A review by mediaevalmuse
The Madness of Miss Grey by Julia Bennet
fast-paced
- Strong character development? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
I liked the second book in this series enough that I wanted to go back and read book 1, so here we are. I was a little afraid that the doctor-patient dynamic would be a problem for me, but fortunately, I think Bennet handled it well. My reason for the 3 star rating, therefore, has more to do with the plot and character development. While not a dull book, I do think more could have been done to enhance the narrative and make it really dig into the themes it presents. That way, our characters could have also grappled with their own insecurities in a much more high-stakes situation.
WRITING: The prose in this book is generally fine - it's what you'd expect of the genre, which means it knows its audience. The writing is quick and clear, but also does a good job balancing interiority and exteriority. It's not overly laden with description or figurative language, but it provides enough detail to set the mood.
I wouldn't call this book "Gothic," despite the book advertising itself as a Gothic romance. Sure, it's set in an old building, and technically there's a terrorized heroine, but that's about as Gothic as it gets. The mood is also way too light for Gothic, and there's not any mystery element or supernatural occurances.
PLOT: The non-romance plot of this book follows Helen Grey, a woman who has been institutionalized in a private psychiatric asylum for the past 10 years. Helen has tried to escape numerous times, but when new hire Dr. William Carter shows up, he feels honor-bound to help her. Doing so, however, not only risks his career, but the wrath of the mysterious benefactor keeping Helen imprisoned.
Overall, I found the plot to be just ok. It wasn't dull, but it wasn't as exciting as I hoped. There are some repetitive elements, such as Helen being near-frozen a few times and constantly being terrorized. It got a little tedious, as did the moments when characters simply bided their time. I would have liked to see a plot where characters were a little more agentive or butted heads with the senior physician a little more. Something to make it feel like the characters were working against something or someone specific.
I also think the themes in this book could have been strengthened. The plot seems to be trying to make a feminist point about female sexuality, but the message feels a little awkward and could have been more forceful. Given the setting, I would have liked to see Bennet explore the nuances of pathologizing female sexuality and weaponizing institutionalization against women, specifically.
Lastly, I think the plot with Dr. Vaughn could have been stronger. As it stands, Vaughn just comes out of nowhere and his motivations feel random, like he was just there to cause conflict at the 75% mark. It didn't feel quite natural, and if Bennet wanted to go this route, I think more work needed to be done to make it feel cohesive.
CHARACTERS: Helen, our heroine, is admirable in that she doesn't let anyone intimidate her and seizes every opportunity she can to assert agency. Though she has been subjected to years of abuse, she doesn't let that dampen her determination. She does seem to be in need of rescuing a lot, though, which was a little repetitive; I think more could have been done to show her struggling with the other patients against institutionalization. Something to make her seem less of an individual in a bad situation and more of one among many.
Will, our hero, was likable in that he was honorable, but his character arc wasn't very strong. He doesn't seem to grow much as a person and doesn't necessarily have any flaws that need reforming; if anything, his flaws come from being too understanding, so there wasn't much growing he needed to do. I would have liked to see more pressure put on his insecurities so that his growth would be focused on overcoming those.
Side characters are fine, but many felt underutilized. I liked the friendships and alliances Helen formed with staff, but they didn't have much bearing on the plot or character growth. Antagonists were fine, but also underutilized; Dr. Sterling, the senior physician, doesn't seem to pose much threat because he's mostly all talk. Dr. Vaughn, another physician, feels too random, like he was injected just to enhance the drama towards the end. Fletch, Helen's abusive nurse, is just terrible and I wish more was done to examine how people are complicit in abusive systems.
ROMANCE: The romance between Helen and Will was ok. I thought I would have a problem with the doctor-patient dynamic, but Bennet writes Will so honorably that nothing in that regard felt problematic.
Instead, I think more work should have been done to explore the characters' insecurities as individuals and how their relationship e chances their emotional lives. Bennet does give us something to chew on: Helen has been so accustomed to manipulating people in the past that when real feelings get involved, she doesn't quite know how to act. That I did like - questioning whether or not the romance was real or just another desperate bid for freedom felt like an interesting hurdle.
But not much was done to actually show how that hurdle was overcome; it just seemed to not be a problem anymore given enough time. I wanted the characters to grapple more with Will's insecurity about his looks and class (since both are points of pride and shame for him) and I wanted them to bring out the best in each other. As it stands, ot didn't feel like they did that so much as they were already good people who just happened to find each other.
TL;DR: The Madness of Miss Grey is fine, but doesn't quite sink into the themes or characters it presents.
WRITING: The prose in this book is generally fine - it's what you'd expect of the genre, which means it knows its audience. The writing is quick and clear, but also does a good job balancing interiority and exteriority. It's not overly laden with description or figurative language, but it provides enough detail to set the mood.
I wouldn't call this book "Gothic," despite the book advertising itself as a Gothic romance. Sure, it's set in an old building, and technically there's a terrorized heroine, but that's about as Gothic as it gets. The mood is also way too light for Gothic, and there's not any mystery element or supernatural occurances.
PLOT: The non-romance plot of this book follows Helen Grey, a woman who has been institutionalized in a private psychiatric asylum for the past 10 years. Helen has tried to escape numerous times, but when new hire Dr. William Carter shows up, he feels honor-bound to help her. Doing so, however, not only risks his career, but the wrath of the mysterious benefactor keeping Helen imprisoned.
Overall, I found the plot to be just ok. It wasn't dull, but it wasn't as exciting as I hoped. There are some repetitive elements, such as Helen being near-frozen a few times and constantly being terrorized. It got a little tedious, as did the moments when characters simply bided their time. I would have liked to see a plot where characters were a little more agentive or butted heads with the senior physician a little more. Something to make it feel like the characters were working against something or someone specific.
I also think the themes in this book could have been strengthened. The plot seems to be trying to make a feminist point about female sexuality, but the message feels a little awkward and could have been more forceful. Given the setting, I would have liked to see Bennet explore the nuances of pathologizing female sexuality and weaponizing institutionalization against women, specifically.
Lastly, I think the plot with Dr. Vaughn could have been stronger. As it stands, Vaughn just comes out of nowhere and his motivations feel random, like he was just there to cause conflict at the 75% mark. It didn't feel quite natural, and if Bennet wanted to go this route, I think more work needed to be done to make it feel cohesive.
CHARACTERS: Helen, our heroine, is admirable in that she doesn't let anyone intimidate her and seizes every opportunity she can to assert agency. Though she has been subjected to years of abuse, she doesn't let that dampen her determination. She does seem to be in need of rescuing a lot, though, which was a little repetitive; I think more could have been done to show her struggling with the other patients against institutionalization. Something to make her seem less of an individual in a bad situation and more of one among many.
Will, our hero, was likable in that he was honorable, but his character arc wasn't very strong. He doesn't seem to grow much as a person and doesn't necessarily have any flaws that need reforming; if anything, his flaws come from being too understanding, so there wasn't much growing he needed to do. I would have liked to see more pressure put on his insecurities so that his growth would be focused on overcoming those.
Side characters are fine, but many felt underutilized. I liked the friendships and alliances Helen formed with staff, but they didn't have much bearing on the plot or character growth. Antagonists were fine, but also underutilized; Dr. Sterling, the senior physician, doesn't seem to pose much threat because he's mostly all talk. Dr. Vaughn, another physician, feels too random, like he was injected just to enhance the drama towards the end. Fletch, Helen's abusive nurse, is just terrible and I wish more was done to examine how people are complicit in abusive systems.
ROMANCE: The romance between Helen and Will was ok. I thought I would have a problem with the doctor-patient dynamic, but Bennet writes Will so honorably that nothing in that regard felt problematic.
Instead, I think more work should have been done to explore the characters' insecurities as individuals and how their relationship e chances their emotional lives. Bennet does give us something to chew on: Helen has been so accustomed to manipulating people in the past that when real feelings get involved, she doesn't quite know how to act. That I did like - questioning whether or not the romance was real or just another desperate bid for freedom felt like an interesting hurdle.
But not much was done to actually show how that hurdle was overcome; it just seemed to not be a problem anymore given enough time. I wanted the characters to grapple more with Will's insecurity about his looks and class (since both are points of pride and shame for him) and I wanted them to bring out the best in each other. As it stands, ot didn't feel like they did that so much as they were already good people who just happened to find each other.
TL;DR: The Madness of Miss Grey is fine, but doesn't quite sink into the themes or characters it presents.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Confinement, Physical abuse, Sexual content, Forced institutionalization, Kidnapping
Moderate: Bullying, Sexism, Classism
Minor: Body shaming, Child death, Mental illness, Blood