Well, that was... like nothing I’ve read before. I should start by saying that this book is not an easy read. Huge trigger warning for self-harm, bloody scenes, and suicide. I’m not sure that I’ve ever read a book quite so graphic.

That being said it really was a fascinating read. I do like books that tackle mental health issues and this one does it brilliantly. Iseult was so likeable but incredibly unwell. Her relationship with her father was difficult and I really empathised with Iseult. What a horrid man. The dynamic between them was very well written.

I enjoyed her relationship with Mrs Pennington, it was really touching in places. We spend a lot of time inside Iseult’s head where she talks to her dead mother, Beatrice and this was incredibly well done. I applaud the author for her genius here.

It was a very dark story throughout and quite disturbing but I couldn’t put it down! I really was rushing to the end to see how Iseult’s story would pan out. An unsettling but fantastic read.

Many thanks to the publisher for the free eARC in exchange for an honest review.

I have read some odd books in my day. Many of them have charmed me and eventually won me over in the end. Others have left me feeling blank, confused, and like I’ve wasted hours of my valuable time. And then there are books like The Unsuitable. It’s difficult to come to grips with a book where so much is happening that falls just left of center. But oh, you want to absorb it, and relate, and grasp it all!
It's a dark story with subtle, dark humor and serves as a not-so-subtle reminder about the importance of mental health and a strong family support system. Nice debut!

A gothic period novel where the women just need to look pretty and seem sane. They definitely can’t be an embarrassment. Iseult’ s father thinks it’s time for her to marry but she thinks she fine and doesn’t need to. She has her mother with her always and is never alone. But isn’t that the problem? In this time period and any other this would be crazy talk.
She continues to find a balance with her father and her mother (the voice in her scar) it’s not easy.
This book has its weird parts where I was completely intrigued. I was most intrigued by the self mutilation parts but as for the rest it didn’t expand enough for me in the gothic era. I wish I could have seen the main character from another POV such as the maids that raised Iseult. I think that would have improved the experience for me and it would have made this an even crazier read.

I will post this review on Twitter , goodreads , amazon and Instagram on 4/29.

The nitty-gritty: Creepy and atmospheric, this claustrophobic look at mental illness was surprisingly chilling.

She had always loved sleeping and couldn’t understand people who didn’t. It was all of the best things about being dead, but without its permanence.

What an unusual story! The Unsuitable is one of those books that blurs the line between mental illness and the supernatural, so the reader is never really sure whether the main character is simply unstable, or if the horrifying event that she’s experiencing is real. I also want to mention up front that this book includes elements of self harm and suicide that may be triggering to some readers, so do proceed with caution if those things bother you.

Iseult Wince is a twenty-eight year old spinster, still living at home with her verbally abusive father. Her mother Beatrice died in childbirth when Iseult was born, when an incompetent midwife yanked her out by her feet, breaking the baby’s collarbone in the process. Iseult has lived her entire life in black garments, as her father insists on mourning his wife, even twenty-eight years later. But Mr. Wince has had enough: he’s eager to marry his daughter off and rid himself of her for good, but who will have her?

Iseult, you see, has a problem. She believes her mother’s ghost is living in the horrible scar on her neck, the scar from her traumatic birth. Beatrice and Iseult have conversations which only Iseult can hear, but often Iseult is so distressed over her mother’s words that she blurts her half of the conversation out loud. This has led to many embarrassing moments for Mr. Wince and the family housekeeper, Mrs. Pennington, and is the main reason why Iseult is still not married. Even worse, Iseult has discovered that she can silence her mother’s overbearing voice by inflicting harm on herself, mostly in the form of jabbing at her scar with pins and scissors.

And now, a potential husband has been found, a man named Jacob with odd, silver skin, who is otherwise a perfect match. This is Iseult’s chance to finally get out from under the oppressing rule of her father, but is that what she really wants? As the arranged wedding draws near, Iseult must come to terms with her one chance at happiness. That is, if Beatrice doesn't ruin things for her. . .

I absolutely loved the Victorian setting in The Unsuitable, and I thought it was the perfect time period for such an unsettling, creepy story. It turns out that mental illness among Victorian era women wasn’t that uncommon, what with all the pressures and expectations heaped on them. Women didn’t have any rights and had very little choice in anything, including who they would marry, when they would marry, what they could wear, etc. Whether or not Iseult’s mother was actually a ghost or not is never explained, but it made sense that the only bit of control she had over her circumstances was self-harm, as horrible as that seems. And I loved Iseult’s character. She’s been living her entire life with the guilt of having caused her mother’s death, and she truly believes that her mother is still with her. She’s trapped in a house full of secrets and tragedy with no way out, so it’s no wonder she’s mentally unstable.

Molly Pohlig’s writing has an almost poetic quality to it at times, which added to the overall eeriness of the story. Not a lot actually happens in The Unsuitable, but Pohlig’s ability to create tension through all the little, unnerving events added a wonderful feeling of suspense. The slow pace might not be everyone’s cup of tea, but I actually loved the author’s careful build-up of odd elements over the course of the story, like watching a train wreck in slow motion.

The real tragedy of Iseult’s life isn’t that she’s seemingly crazy. It’s the fact that everyone in her family is horrible. Mr. Wince is one of the meanest characters I’ve ever run across. He hates his daughter and wants nothing more than to be rid of her, and his verbal abuse was both shocking and terribly sad. He’s made Iseult dress in black her entire life (in mourning for her dead mother), and it’s only when Jacob enters the scene that he finally relaxes this rule. He tells Iseult that he wished she’d been the one to die instead of Beatrice, and he even tells her he’s tried to send her to a convent. And then you have Beatrice, or what Iseult imagines Beatrice to be. The conversations between the two are manic, and Beatrice flip flops between adoration toward Iseult and hatred. She is constantly trying to convince Iseult to make amends with her father, so that the “three” of them can live together, happily ever after. Once Iseult meets Jacob and imagines an actual future for herself, she finally starts to believe that she would be better off without Beatrice. This ongoing war between the two, with the actions of the horrible Mr. Wince thrown into the mix, were some of the most chilling scenes in the book.

The only person who makes Iseult’s life somewhat bearable is the housekeeper, Mrs. Pennington. Mrs. Pennington is used to covering up blood stains (from Iseult’s mad rampages on her body) and you can tell she cares about Iseult. But she’s also caught in the middle between Iseult and her father, which isn’t a good place to be. 

Everything in the story leads up to the main event—the wedding—and by that time the tension is nearly unbearable. I don’t usually like ambiguous endings, but this time it worked. Readers who love a creepy, Gothic story and don’t need everything wrapped up neatly at the end will really enjoy this, and I look forward to reading more by this talented author.

Big thanks to the publisher for supplying a review copy.

3.5 stars.

⚠️ Trigger warnings: self-harm, suicide.

I think this is the strangest book I’ve ever read. It’s very, very dark and disturbing. I had to put it down a few times while reading because the descriptions of self-harm were explicit.

This book is a blend if Gothic ghost story and Victorian novel. It’s a story about Iseult Wince (I was really struggling with the pronunciation of her name 🙈). Iseult is a 28 year old single woman and because she is close to spinsterhood her father is desperately trying to marry her off and finally be rid of her.

Iseult is a tragic character who’s haunted by the death of her mother. Her mother died at childbirth and Iseult is convinced that her mother lives in the scar on her neck, since she hears her inside her head on the daily. She’s seen as strange and mad by the people around her. The only person who’s good to her is the housekeeper Mrs. Pennington. Iseult and her father despise each other and her father wouldn’t miss the chance to insult her on every occasion he gets. Since she has a reputation finding a husband for her is a challenge.

The story comes to a peak when her father finally finds a plausible suitor, Jacob, a handsome young man with silver skin. Yes, you read that right. His skin is silver due to a medical condition. Jacob was very good to Iseult, and I really liked his character. I just wish there was more about his character and his skin condition. As the wedding plans are happening, the drama is unfolding and the family secrets are being revealed.

The ending was horrible as I expected, but there’s a plot twist near the end that I did not expect.

The writing was good, I was struggling with the inner dialogues a little bit at first but as you continue reading you get used to it. I liked that the author wrote the inner dialogues in different fonts. It’s a character driven book, so it might not be suitable for readers who prefer plot driven books. I like a good balance between both so I found it quite good. All in all, I enjoyed reading this book and I recommend it to people who like a dark and morbid read.

Thank you Henry Holt and Company for sending me an ARC.

Disclaimer - this story contains references of self harm and might be unnerving. Please notice the snippety scissors in the book cover.

Iseult (I honestly didn’t know how to pronounce her name, so I kept reading Ise for the rest of the book), is a Victorian spinster who believes she’s awkward, her mother Beatrice lives in a scar on her neck and her father tries to marry her off!! Ise’s neck scar is caused by her broken collar bone during the time she was born, which made Ise’s mother bleed to death - Ise’s entire self-harm bring is framed because she feels she killed her mother!! (prepare to see a lot of exclamations.. I cannot tone it down more!!). The marriage prospects that Ise’s father brings forth are all seen as unwanted and unsuitable by Ise, only because she has no interest in marriage and wants to be left alone. Mrs. Pennington is the only good thing that has happened in Ise’s life, who tends and cares for her like a mother. In other words, Mrs. Pennington’s “light” keeps Ise from harming herself... Finally Ise gets to meet oddly silver skinned Jacob, whom she finds fun and is attracted to. She wants the romance to bloom between Jacob and herself, but is constantly taunted by Beatrice’s voices in her head!! (This made me actually wonder if Ise is haunted or if she’s imagining voices and I understood that Ise’s self-harming is a way to shit Beatrice out of her head!!). The story grows along with the romance between Jacob and Ise.. which makes Ise more vulnerable, more darker and more tense as the humming voices of Beatrice grow inside her head!!
What happens next?? Read to find out!!

The things Ise does made me cringe.. its bloody, gory but I came back to know what happens next.. the writing is that good!! Explicitly perfect for Victorian, gothic, horror, drama lovers. The story is true to the genre and the quality of writing, should surely be appreciated.
It took me few days to get back to normal and take Ise out of my head!!!
🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟
Thank you Netgalley, Molly Pohlig and Henry Holt & Company for the ARC. This review is my own and is not influenced in any way!

Unnerving. Unsettling. Strange. Grim. Bloody. Elegant. Disturbing. Delicate. Macabre.
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28 year old Iseult believes her dead mother (who she killed) lives in the gruesome scar on her neck. This unusual and strange and twisted story is not for the faint of heart. It deals heavily with grief, eating disorders, depression, personality disorders, and much more. (This is not a tale of healing or happily ever afters.) For me, this tale ticks all of the boxes for a classic psychological Victorian gothic story. And the cover is perfect! Someone call Guillermo and tell him to get the adaptation started. Thank you Allison at @henryholtbooks for sending me the eARC!

*trigger warning: self-harm/self-mutilation, cutting, suicide, eating disorders

This book is about Iseult who is a 28 year old women who lives with her father and servants. She was told that her mother died while giving birth to her and her collar bone broke in the process. Iseult believes that her mother lives under that scar and talks to her. This creates a host of problems for Iseult including self-mutilation, revenge tactics to rid her of her mother’s voice, and social isolation (because it appears she is talking to herself).

This novel was sometimes hard to read (especially the self-harm parts). I felt myself motivated to finish it because I wanted to know what happens to Iseult. The end ties everything together so if you can make it through, I recommend reading it!
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#theunsuitable #mollypohlig #netgalley

Advanced readers copy from the publisher via net gallery)
A disturbing and daring debut. Iseult is the most disturbed character in a Gothic novel in history. The feel of the book is a cross between Ibsen’s ‘The Doll House’ and Henry James’ ‘The Turn of the screw’. The novel did seem a little uneven at the start but it made up for it by being full of surprises towards the end. Not an easy read in subject matter or plot.

An interesting new voice to the world of historical fiction, may Pohlig continue to create interesting and more importantly challenging new fiction.

This is quite the interesting read. I'm utterly fascinated with books dealing with mental health and how it was dealt with in history. And as we all know, times have changed drastically in this field. Pohlig brings us Iseult (I STILL can't figure out how to pronounce this so my mind kept pronouncing it a bit differently each time). Iseult lost her mother before she could ever meet her but feels she lives in this scar in her neck as she hears her voice on the daily. The run on sentences in these internal conversations are HARD to read - it takes some getting used to and to be quite honest, I didn't care for it even after I got used to it. However, I do understand why it was portrayed this way. Madness.

Here's the thing - this is more a character read than a plot driven read. Iseult is considered a spinster at her age and her father is trying desperately to marry her off but her "condition" doesn't bode well to make this a proper goal. The hard part is seeing how people treated her because at this time, no one could understand a woman claiming to carry her dead mother with her inside. We get the inside of Iseult and everything she is going through. It's a bit of a tough read at times because of this.

Full disclosure, despite the subject matter, this writing style is typically not the kind of book I usually like. I usually need something more plot driven. However, in this case, the continuous grumbling of Iseult and what she has to endure is psychologically fascinating. And that ending, while not unexpected, still gave me pause. What are we actually reading about here? Iseult and her mental illness? Or is her mother truly a part of her and haunting her? I don't even think Iseult truly knows.

This book definitely won't be for everybody. I'm so curious what Pohlig will bring us next.

TW/gore, self mutilation, abuse

So. This was intense! Equal parts fascinating and disturbing, I couldn’t put the book down. It only took a few chapters for me to be completely horrified - yet, captivated - by the The Unsuitable, and the unease built and built until the inevitable climax of the book. It’s a character-driven story, and although Iseult isn’t an incredibly complex character, she’s a very honest unreliable narrator (or.. is she?) and that’s what made me feel for her so easily. Her voice is genuine, straightforward, and communicative: I felt all the helplessness as well as confusion that can come with mental illness, especially in a society where stigma against mental illness (and any form of singularity, really) runs high.
All in all it was a very disturbing but gripping book, which I finished in one sitting. But be careful if you’re easily spooked ! It’s not a book for everybody.

The Unsuitable by Molly Pohlig is a beautiful, tragic nightmare about a woman with a doomed fate. Iseult is awkward, nervous, strangely pale, and has a huge scar where here collarbone broke during her birth and killed her mother. But that's ok because her mother now lives in her scar and talks to her, telling her what to do and being critical as only a mother can. The only way Iseult can get her mom to leave her alone for a bit is to cut herself. A warning to readers: the scene of self-harm are extreme and sometimes difficult to read.

Being in her late 20s, Iseult is considered a spinster, but her father won't allow her to go unmarried. He is cruel to her and can't wait to be rid of her. Once it becomes painfully clear that Iseult will never willingly marry and leave his house, he arranges a wedding with a man named Jacob who has silver skin. Jacob is kind to Iseult, and Iseult starts to have hope. But her mother does everything she can to manipulate Iseult in ways that are confusing and selfish.

Most of this book is about Iseult and her mother struggling with each other, and Iseult struggling with herself and her thoughts of independence. It's full of horrible things happening to Iseult. Lies, betrayals, unnecessary cruelties. It does not end happily, it ends the opposite of happily, but it is so beautifully written. It's upsetting but also exciting and fascinating. You love and care for Iseult, which makes it even harder to read her tragic journey. Truly the best way to describe The Unsuitable is a beautiful nightmare.

Trigger warnings for: self-harm, postpartum depression, suicide, infanticide, family trauma, abuse

DNF

I won't summarize this story, since the synopsis basically sais it all 🙈 but watch out for the trigger warnings.

CW : self mutilation, violence, suicide

So. I was first attracted to this book at the mention of gothic horror literature. However, the writing style felt very childish, almost middle grade. That resulted in the bloody, gory parts (which are VERY frequent) coming off as psychotic, instead of dark and creepy.

The main character has a constant internal discussion with her mother's spirit, who lives inside her. I didn't particularly care for these discussions, as there was no punctuation, no upper case letter, and they didn't make much sense. Which I get is part of the story, but it was just very irritating for me.

Anyways. This book is very character driven, with not much of a plot. And since I didn't really care for the character.... yeah. I think this book could appeal to some readers, but it's definitely not for everyone.

Let me start by stating clearly that this book can't possibly be for everyone. There is explicit self harm. Cringey, bloody, snippy self harm. The kind that makes the reader grit their teeth and look away from the page, before obviously turning back to the wreckage with shamelessly eager eyes. Very well written. Explicit. Notice the gorgeous sewing scissors on the cover.

Iseult is an awkward Victorian spinster - I mean, unmarried at 28?! - of passable social standing. Her father owns a steel mill or some such business inherited through his nuptials to Beatrice, Iseult's dearly departed mum - she bled to death after the traumatic birth of Iseult. In fact, this one event has shaped Iseult's entire life. Her entire being, because her broken collarbone not only tore her mother as she was dragged out, resulting in the aforementioned death, but it is also the wound within which her mother lives.

Iseult is haunted by Beatrice.

If you haven't already ticked off all of your Victorian gothic horror boxes, let me mention the requisite romantic storyline as a parade of unsuitable and unwanted marriage prospects. Old, ugly, rude, she meets them all - Iseult's father wishes for nothing more than to marry her off and be free of the burden of her, and Iseult, in all of her instability, just wants to be left alone. Her one shining light in life is the oft-harrassed Mrs. Pennington, who dutifully attends to Iseult's needs and tries to prevent as much self-harm as possible by hiding her tools of infliction - everything from hatpins to scissors is spirited away under Mrs. Pennington's watchful eyes. Otherwise, she's the one who cleans the wounds and washes the blood from various surfaces and clothing. It doesn't help that her father is increasingly fed up with her and uses dinner conversation as a daily opportunity to insult her

Finally, Iseult gets her last chance match with someone she finds more repugnant than herself, Jacob, of the silver skin. While Iseult battles her increasingly hostile mother's voice inside her mind and body, Jacob's oddity is written on his skin. Literally. And her father makes it very clear that this is it for her. She cannot get out of this one and woe be to her if she ruins it like all the rest. Iseult doesn't realize that her internal struggles sometimes slip out into the physical. She's got a reputation around the town. So she doesn't quite settle into acceptance, but tries to get to know Jacob with as much eagerness as is expected. That is to say, barely any.

Iseult herself is quite funny. She has the dark and macabre humor of someone who has no say in their life and all the time to ponder that. She is the Victorian maiden, with Victorian maidenly concerns.

Not only is she bound by her social standing as an unwed woman in her father's home, she is controlled by the screeching voice of her mother in her head - never getting a moment's respite, and she struggles to separate her thoughts from Beatrice's as she tries to navigate the already treacherous waters of Victorian courtship. Her self-harming is her effort to silence Beatrice. The farther along her relationship with Jacob goes, the more volatile Beatrice becomes, and the more desperate Iseult grows for some silence in her own head.

The growing hostility and violent attacks of Beatrice is a constant back and forth between wondering if Iseult is suffering from mental illness or a haunting. No matter which idea the reader settles on, the atmosphere grows considerably and consistently more tense, just as I imagine the constant humming of Beatrice within Iseult's head grows more and more unbearable. Perhaps it's one or the other, perhaps it's both, but it grows with Iseult's terror as she marches toward the unknown future of an unhappily wedded woman. It is palpable.

<i>There was a group of black-clad men waiting for a funeral? No, for her wedding. Or yes for her wedding.</i>

Either way, I absolutely loved the intricacy of this Victorian tale. Absolutely recommend to fans of gothic horror, Victorian dramas, Daphne du Maurier and Shirley Jackson. Not only for content and genre, but quality of writing. I am eagerly awaiting future books by Molly Pohlig.

Let me also state my grateful thanks to the publisher, Henry Holt and Co., for gifting me an e-copy of this through Netgalley. Disclaimer, disclaimer, trust me - this in no way affected my opinion of the book.

I love spooky stories set in a Victorian time setting. The story had elements of gothic, as well as ghost story blended in. Pohlig's ingenuity had me floored.

Iseult believes that her dead mother is housed in a scar on her neck. Yes. I just said that. It was compelling to read about a character with mental health problems in this era. The attitude towards mental health is drastically different than it is today and is therefore interesting to read about.

Iseult was so troubled and lost, it was hard not to have extreme empathy and compassion toward her. I found her the most engrossing to read about in this book. It made this story come to life.

If you enjoy books about mental health in a time long ago, this would be for you.

Iseult Wince is a 28 year old Victorian woman who is on the verge of being labelled a spinster. Her horrible father has been trying to marry her off, but unsuccessfully. Iseult is not normal. She believes her dead mother lives in the scar on her neck that she received when she was born/her mother died. Mr. Wince has finally found a candidate for Iseult to marry who can’t refuse. However, he is silver. All of his skin...silver.

This book was weird and wonderful.. First, a VERY heavy trigger warning for self harm. It’s everywhere in this book and if that’s a problem for you don’t read it. I actually never get squeamish, and this book had me leaning away from the page. I will say that the author did a fantastic job of explaining why Iseult uses self harm. Through graphic and extreme it did not feel like it was done for shock value, which is a refreshing change.

Iseult’s relationship with her new silver fiancé is hilarious. She’s been shut up her entire life, so interaction with people in general is hard. So, when she’s in situations causing her to interact with her fiancé, she gets super flustered. It’s great.

My big negative is the interactions between Iseult and her mother are done in chunks with no grammar rules whatsoever. I really struggled with these sections if there was more than a sentence. I get the concept of what was trying to be done with mind-speak...but I didn’t enjoy. I am clearly not the queen of grammar (or spelling), but sometimes I remember punctuation.

So here’s my last pitch: if Tim Burton and Quentin Tarantino starting making sad/funny/bloody/haunted Victorian films together, I’d want them to adapt this book. I’d also want it to be a musical but that’s just me.

A huge thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for allowing me to read an ARC of this title.

I loved this strange, gothic, twisted story of possession and obsession. Iseult's life is controlled by her emotionally distant father and her long dead mother. Iseult is a virtual prisoner in her own home, with only the insidious voice of her mother's spirit to keep her constant company. Iseult is convinced that when her mother died birthing her, her mother's soul underwent transference to her daughter, and inhabits the scar on her neck.

Her mother's soul provides commentary and condescension for her her every action and reaction. The presence is unavoidable, and she uses it to her advantage. She has managed to convince all of her potential suitors of her madness and unsuitability for a life of domesticity. Until her father produces a suitor that is undeterred by her eccentricity.

Iseult wields every weapon in her arsenal, attempting to persuade her future husband that in wedding her he will be acquiring not one, but two wives. As her suitor and his family prove impervious to her warnings and her behavior, Iseult must resort to desperate measures.

This book made me question many things: was Iseult truly mad, or does she just want to escape the conventional bondage of Victorian womanhood? Is Iseult's fatalistic view a purposefu[ deception or is she truly beyond redemption?

I loved this dark descent into the origins of one woman's affliction.

Thank you to the publisher for sending me this dark, literary Victorian gothic horror! I enjoyed the hell out of it. I haven't read this level of body horror for a while, so yes, I cringed every time, it's written so, so well. I wanted to hug Mrs Pennington, the housekeeper, for being so supportive, and then shake my fist at Iseult's bastard of a father for being so awful. 28yo Iseult has not had an easy life.

That's because Iseult is haunted by the ghost of her mother (who lives in the scar in her neck), which makes her unsuitable for marrying off. That is, until her jerky dad finds someone perfect for her, another outsider: a man with silver skin. Despite the book's dark tones and themes, the silver man was a light, a beacon of hope for Iseult's future. I had such warm feelings toward the silver man, and enjoyed their scenes together.

Review on Goodreads and mini-review/photo on Instagram.

The title of Molly Pohlig's dark (humorous) Victorian fairy tale refers to Iseult, the daughter Mr. Wince dearly wishes to see married off, but it also refers to the men who appear at her table, all bad matches for some reason or another. Iseult, a thoroughly interesting and sympathetic character, carries a host of burdens a prospective husband might not be eager to take on. She hears her dead mother's voice inside of her head (and answers it), she delights in self injury, and she has a horrible scar from her birth. Here's a sample of her mother's dialogue (the unique formatting is from the book): "i will Iseult i will bother you until the day you die. then i will go on until i die and then we'll see how things stand." I was really taken with Iseult and her peculiar psychology (there might be some pure O OCD there?) and I think you will be, too. The book follows her when she's finally paired with a suitor who will take her. I don't want to spoil their journey, but I will say that reading it felt a little like listening to The Dresden Dolls while reading Angela Carter. You might want some strong tea nearby, but you'll have a good time!

I received an ARC of this book from Henry Holt Books via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

At 28, Iseult Wince is still unmarried and a burden to her cruel father who ensures on a regular basis that she is very much aware of that fact. He has on multiple occasions attempted to rectify this by bringing various suitors to their home, but invariably, Iseult runs them off, many times by having audible conversations with her dead mother - who she believes lives within the scar upon her neck. This mother-daughter relationship is by no means a pleasant one, and Iseult employs various methods of shutting her mother up so she may have moments of peace. At his wit’s end, Mr Wince finds an eligible suitor in a man just as desperate due to his skin being silver in color from medical treatments. As the wedding day draws nearer, her mother becomes increasingly temperamental, driving Iseult to drastic measures. Just how far will she have to go to rid herself of her dead mother?

I absolutely loved this dark, twisty, gothic tale. It is so smartly written that even through the smallest details, the reader is unsettled by this story. I physically winced (no pun intended) multiple times as I read about the methods Iseult employed to quiet her mother. I wouldn’t call myself a squeamish person, but these acts were so well described, there was audible gasping. While those are very extreme acts to visualize, the dark tone permeates so thoroughly throughout the story in things as simple as descriptions of food to the astonishing history of Iseult’s maternal relatives. This all sounds very macabre, but there were spots of levity, even if they were subtle and also darkly comedic.
The format took some getting used to, but that could be because I was reading an e-copy vs. the physical book, making it more difficult to differentiate. The conversations between Iseult and her mother do not use traditional grammatical/editorial approaches in terms of punctuation, capitalization, italics, etc. Once I got the handle for it, it didn’t bother me, and I was able to understand the intended effect of these sort of stream of conscious, frenzied exchanges between mother and daughter.
This was just such a smart story. It is by no means for the faint of heart, but if you are a fan of Victorian gothic novels, I highly recommend this one. Bravo to this debut author for creating something so incredibly unique. 5 stars.