Scan barcode
A review by sol_journal
Within These Wicked Walls by Lauren Blackwood
4.0
3.7 rounded up to 4, out of 5 stars.
I almost DNF’d/soft-dropped-attempt-again-later this book pretty early on for the sheer fact that I couldn’t fit with the rhythm it was giving. This isn’t to say it was a completely bad book at all! I was just trying to read it with ‘Jane Eyre’, ‘The Hacienda’, ‘Mexican Gothic’, and a little bit of ‘House of Salt and Sorrows’ in mind, so I kept comparing it to works that I liked and held it up to an unfairly high expectation. I’m so glad I pushed through though, because while it did have similar aspects to it like the aforementioned books, it was also giving its own spark that I really enjoyed!
The spooky/haunted vibes the book was aiming for were all there. Set in a castle with a curse, there’s only so much that can happen, but Lauren Blackwood really delivered with the horror of the haunt! It was spooky, it was strange, and it had me eager to see what else would happen in this castle of bloody nightmares.
The characters were there, a little unlikable in my own opinion, but still enrapturing enough that I found myself gasping at plot points and little twists that happened throughout the book.
What I didn’t like too much, again all personal opinion here, was how the romance side of things happened. It seemed a little pushed or sudden for my liking. There were some parts that did make me cringe or just outright annoyed me. I’m not too fond of some romance tropes though, and I won’t fault the book for something that was just a personal dislike for me! If that’s up your alley, I totally hope it’s more enjoyable to you than it was for me!
Still, this book was good. When I got the rhythm of it, I couldn’t put it down. I did have to push through some parts here and there, but once the ball was rolling it didn’t stop until I finished it! ‘Within These Wicked Walls’, overall, had a lot of potential and delivered a lot! For me, it wasn’t quite my exact cup of tea, but it definitely was a nice read. I don’t think I’d re-read it, at least not anytime soon, but I enjoyed it enough to recommend it to somebody who wants something similarly cursed to ‘Mexican Gothic’ with the romance and needing-to-heal characters of ‘Jane Eyre’.
I almost DNF’d/soft-dropped-attempt-again-later this book pretty early on for the sheer fact that I couldn’t fit with the rhythm it was giving. This isn’t to say it was a completely bad book at all! I was just trying to read it with ‘Jane Eyre’, ‘The Hacienda’, ‘Mexican Gothic’, and a little bit of ‘House of Salt and Sorrows’ in mind, so I kept comparing it to works that I liked and held it up to an unfairly high expectation. I’m so glad I pushed through though, because while it did have similar aspects to it like the aforementioned books, it was also giving its own spark that I really enjoyed!
The spooky/haunted vibes the book was aiming for were all there. Set in a castle with a curse, there’s only so much that can happen, but Lauren Blackwood really delivered with the horror of the haunt! It was spooky, it was strange, and it had me eager to see what else would happen in this castle of bloody nightmares.
The characters were there, a little unlikable in my own opinion, but still enrapturing enough that I found myself gasping at plot points and little twists that happened throughout the book.
What I didn’t like too much, again all personal opinion here, was how the romance side of things happened. It seemed a little pushed or sudden for my liking. There were some parts that did make me cringe or just outright annoyed me. I’m not too fond of some romance tropes though, and I won’t fault the book for something that was just a personal dislike for me! If that’s up your alley, I totally hope it’s more enjoyable to you than it was for me!
Still, this book was good. When I got the rhythm of it, I couldn’t put it down. I did have to push through some parts here and there, but once the ball was rolling it didn’t stop until I finished it! ‘Within These Wicked Walls’, overall, had a lot of potential and delivered a lot! For me, it wasn’t quite my exact cup of tea, but it definitely was a nice read. I don’t think I’d re-read it, at least not anytime soon, but I enjoyed it enough to recommend it to somebody who wants something similarly cursed to ‘Mexican Gothic’ with the romance and needing-to-heal characters of ‘Jane Eyre’.