This is a wonderful book! I loved the story line and the characters. They were such strong characters; Helen enduring all that she did and Will being able to fight for her and go against the system. The reader was taken on an emotional roller coaster! The book makes you sad (for the situation Helen was in), mad (at the treatment received from “caretakers”), and happy (that someone helps Helen). I like how the author wrote about a subject/situation that unfortunately happened in history until the medical profession became more regulated and advanced in the psychological area. I couldn’t put the book down it was such a great book.

A housekeeper’s son, Will is “common” but is given the opportunity of education by a kindly benefactor (his mother’s employer) & comes full circle back to the very manor where he grew up, returning as a doctor. The manor is now an asylum run by the well known Dr Sterling whom Will hopes to gain permanent employment with. One of the patients that is assigned to Will is the lovely Helen, a young lady who has been at the asylum for 10 years (enough to make any sane person mad). Dr Sterling warns Will that she is quite sex crazed and has just about seduced any and everyone personable man she can get her hands on (seriously! *rolls eyes*). The only reason why he entrusts Will to her is because the venerable Dr Sterling writes Will off as too plain to interest Helen.
Will is quite an amazing character. Everything you would want in a doctor – a person of integrity, who takes his position seriously and whose utmost aim is to help his patients. He shies off from any improprieties with Helen (& yes she deliberately goes all out to tempt him hoping to earn his help to escape from Blackwell) no matter how strongly the attraction because of his position as her doctor. He has a dog! A massive Great Dane he puts on guard to Helen so that she comes to no harm when he is not around.
I found the story somewhat sad & dismal due to the storyline in the 1st few chapters. I hate to think that such situations could have been real & the torture and suffering asylums brought to the very people they were supposed to be treating. Will and Helen’s fight is quite bleak initially when Dr Sterling holds all the power over them both – in keeping Helen locked up in the asylum and over Will’s career. He threatens Will once he thinks Helen has gained Will’s trust. I loved the way the story progressed & the story was wholly satisfying in the end. Somewhat different from the run of the mill historical romances.

Very unusual romance wrapped in the darker side of society of that time period. Asylums/hospitals were a place to hide away a family member you did not want. Heroine Helen Grey, has been a prisoner for ten years without really knowing why. She is abused and ill treated by those around her, some quite sadistic who are paid by her ‘benefactor’ father. One day she is mourning the loss of her mother, picked up by her father, who used a fake name, within a month she has been sent to a Blackwell Hospital and kept a prisoner.

There is so much to like about this romance even though there is a dark side. There is, also, a very caring side by people who try to help as best they can and still keep their positions at the hospital. One comes new to employment, Dr. William Carter. The former housekeeper’s son who was loved by the former, now deceased, owner of the estate. William was able to gain his education due to his mother’s former employer who thought of him as a son.

Kind William is not considered a handsome man, but he is a strong man who never forgot his origins. Nor did he forget his oath to care for people. He was consistent in his goodness and mercy toward everyone, especially the patients at the hospital. His character is who Helen found comforting and intriguing. He is the man she came to care for, too.

Although not a light-hearted romance, it is still a romance featuring the strength of good people. Yes, there are some sick, evil people, but love over comes even them. The numerous secondary characters who had such good hearts brought the kindness Helen needed to keep going. Helen was no saint. She attended no balls. Had no society entrance. But, she did have a talent for acting, which probably saved her on more than one occasion.

You will enjoy the uniqueness of this Victorian era romance as one that will entertain and charm with the preciousness of Helen and goodness of William. I wondered what would become of Somerton, Helen’s interesting, and also, good-hearted, newly found brother.

Excellent and different historical romance, with a dark undertones.

This book is not your average lighthearted regency romance, it is however, very well written, with a slightly unusual dark plot, compelling characters, and some nice touches which have stayed with me.

Helen Grey is 26, and has been locked up in an asylum in Yorkshire for 10 years. The illegitimate daughter of an actress and a mysterious aristocrat, she was abducted from London shortly after her mother died, and locked up at fifteen.

William Carter is the son of the former housekeeper of the Manor House which has become the asylum, and the latest doctor at the asylum. He is back at his former home, to hopefully get a recommendation by Dr Sterling who runs the asylum.

He encounters Helen in the woods, when his dog, Hector, a Great Dane, acosts her, as she is trying to escape. Mistreated by her evil nurse Fletcher, and deprived of all mental stimulation by Dr Sterling, to try and make her docile and unresisting, she is desperate to escape. She sees immediately that Dr Carter is attracted to her, and she starts to plot to get him to help her to escape.

Will, sees through this very quickly, and he also realises that she is not at all mad. He is also very attracted to her, how can he help her, and maintain his professional distance? How can he rescue her from a hidden enemy who insists she stays locked up? How can he keep her safe, when as the son of a commoner he has no connections or money to help her? How can Helen escape and be happy, does she care about Will or is she just using him?

I thought this was very well done. The developing relationship between the two felt realistic and tender. Will’s kindness and skill as a doctor apparent as he improved her treatments and care so she was not cruelly abused. The appalling treatment of people in asylums was very apparent, and the huge sadness of Helen, who despite her resilience and determination to escape, had not been touched except in anger or lust for ten years. Their vulnerabilities were believable and well handled and the romance between them was really satisfying.

I look forward to reading more by Julia Bennet. I really found this an intelligent and satisfying read.

I voluntarily reviewed an advance reader copy of this book. All opinions are my own.

Posted on Goodreads.

All of society believes former actress Helen Grey to be mad, but after a decade imprisoned in a crumbling Yorkshire asylum, she’s managed to cling to sanity

Dr. William Carter knows Miss Grey is using him, but he can’t blame her. She’s no madder than he is yet she’s spent years in this place.

This is a debut work by this author. It is just OK and maybe the author shows promise but I'm not sure I would read another book by this author. I would have to check to see if the next one has a better premise.
This book is a sad and compelling story. It has it's moments but it couldn't hold my interest.

Because it has it's romantic moments I gave the book 3.4 of 5.0 stars for story line and characterization.

I received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher via Netgalley to read . This in no way affected my opinion of this book which I read and reviewed voluntarily.

Dr William Carter is a housekeeper's son who was lucky to have a sponsor who paid for his education. He has a new job in an asylum, and is shocked at the way the patients are treated. The doctor in charge has a good reputation and Will has always wanted to work with him, but finds the man is nothing like he expected.
Miss Helen Grey has been a patient/prisoner in the asylum since her mother died ten years ago. The doctor in charge and the so called nurse who control her are in the pay of someone who wants her kept out of sight.
The way these places were run and the treatments they were subject to in that era is truly scary. Anyone could use any excuse to commit a person, especially women possibly forever. Our hero is a wonderful, honest man and a very good doctor. Our heroine is a brave woman who has somehow managed to survive the worst that life can throw at her.
A very entertaining story with great characters.

Ms. Bennet writes an interesting story about a woman, who is the illegitimate daughter of an actress and a nobleman, who after her mother's death was admitted to an asylum. She languishes there for ten miserable years. Then one day a new doctor joins the asylum. Helen, desperate to escape, immediately starts scheming as to how she can use this new arrival to her advantage. Unbeknownst to her, Dr. Carter, is a man of integrity and intelligence. Throughout the book, William and Helen both grow as people.


This story focused on the growing relationship, and their own personal growth rather than outside drama. I really liked that about Helen and William. You could see their love and trust blossoming, but at the same time, William really struggled to keep things professional and to cling to his ethics.

I was really enthralled by the premises of this book but after reading it I just couldn't gel with the characters enough to care too much about them. This was my first book by Julia Bennet but certainly not the last one.
I voluntarily reviewed this book provided by the publisher via Netgalley.

Since her mother’s death, Helen Grey has been imprisoned in an asylum. It is there that she meets Dr William Carter, the housekeeper’s son, returning to work with a well-renowned psychiatrist. Helen sees his arrival as her means to escape, believing that despite her illegitimate birth, that her father, a man of the ton, holds her imprisoned there.
Whilst there is tremendous sadness and desperation in this book, the romance between William and Helen, provides some hope and brightness. The detail behind the medical beliefs of the type was quite fascinating but was outlined in a manner that did not detract from the romance. Whilst the story highlighted the depressing outlook for women placed under psychiatric care and their subsequent mistreatment, I found the character of William, a pleasing addition, adding a sense of hope to what was at times, quite dark in tone.
I received an advanced review copy from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I was okay with this book. While I enjoyed the romance, there was definitely some weirdness with the mental health aspect. Like even though the guy knew she wasn't actually crazy, she was technically still his patient. The book addresses this a bit, though not as much as I would have liked. I also liked some of the reveals though.

Helen Grey has been confined to an insane asylum since the death of her mother when she was fifteen years old. Her mother was an actress and Helen is the result of an affair with an unknown high born gentleman. Her father, wishing to hide Helen away, commits her to an exclusive asylum where she has suffered at the hands of her "Nurse" and the leading psychiatrist who believes Helen to be insane.

Dr William Carter has returned to his birthplace in the hopes of securing a permanent position at the asylum. A housekeepers son, he was lucky to receive funding to undertake his medical studies, and he is pleased to be near his mother learning under one of the greatest psychiatrists of the time.

William knows Helen is only using him to be free from the asylum like she has others, but he is sure she suffers from no illness that justifies her detainment there. As he struggles with his feelings for her, he knows he must do what he can to get her out of there even if it means losing all he has worked so hard for.

This is definitely not your typical historical romance. There is a darkness to this book that is appropriate to its setting. This book is true to the harsh realities women experienced in asylums during that time. William is a strong, ethical man who strives to provide the best for his patients in an unjust environment; he is a beacon of hope.

I received an arc of this book from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review, all thoughts and opinions are my own.

This was a compelling story - a lady locked into a sanatarium against her will trying desperately to maintain her sanity....
The characters were good, but I felt like Miss Grey could have had a lot more character progression. She had a rich inner voice that I didn't feel was translated onto the page well.
When the plot started moving, I felt that it was well paced, but there was *a lot* of plot build up.

An insane asylum is an unusual setting for a romance novel. The novel certainly showcases the abuse that was administered in asylums. The characters Helen and Will were written well, but the book tone was a little heavy for me.
I received an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I enjoyed William and Helen's story. I was definitely a different type of historical romance than I normally read, but still enjoyable. It didn't have all the positive things that you tend to get in a romance. Helen is locked up in an asylum when she shouldn't be, so much of the storyline is her life there and how horribly she has been mistreated. I would probably classify this as more of a historical fiction story with a little bit of romance thrown in.

I could not finish this book. so I will not be submitting a full review anywhere but here. I was very interested when I saw the title and read the blurb. This book looked to be so different from other romances and I was excited. However this book fell short of what I expected. the heroine was extremely unlikable the fact that she was basically came out in the beginning saying "he's ugly but a girl has needs so he will do" just totally turned me off. that her calling his dog a thing. While I was horrified by nurse Fletcher any sympathy I had for what she did to Miss Grey quickly went away when Miss Grey opened her mouth or had a thought. The hero was very weak. He wanted to bang her so bag but was like "nope I can't she's my charge, but damn I want her" the entire thing played out horribly. While the idea was great the execution was not.

This might not sound like a compliment but this book read, as I can only describe, as, dreary. The positive meaning is that it held true to the subject matter of the book. There was always a feeling of darkness in every scene that lent to drawing the reader in to the feeling of entrapment that the main character, Helen, experienced.
The negative is that at times it was so full of the physiatric beliefs of the day that I felt like I was reading a partial medical book.
Due to the dark nature of the novel, the romance had a different feel. It was more of an relief that Dr. William Carter and Lady Helen found each other rather than a belief that love conquers all.
Well written but I needed more of a silver lining for my taste.

I received an advanced reader’s copy in exchange for an honest review

What a sad yet romantic story. There was certainly sufficient heat and romance, but overshadowed by the horrors of women in asylums in the Victorian age. If you’re looking for a scape this is not it, but I enjoyed it anyhow. And now I have to cry and take a long bath