I absolutely loved this dark and creepy gothic novel!  Everything about the description  of the manor and the setting is so atmospheric I could see it in my minds eye.  I really wish the love story had been further played out and I was surprised by the ending.  All in all it is a great book..  If this is your genre you will not want to miss this one.

Thanks to Net Galley for allowing me to read this amazing book for my honest review.

A haunting Gothic story that stays with you long after. 

The woman in the mirror is a chilling novel that ties multiple lives together all attached to one house. 

Alice Millar is brought on as a governess of Winterbourne after the second world War. Soon after her arrival Alice starts to see a strange woman around the property, followed by more strange events. 

In the present day, Rachel Wright finds out she is the heir of Winterbourne. Never having known anyone of blood relation she goes to the Winterbourne manor to look more into her families history and the tragic past of the property. 

The creepy, mysterious feel the woman in the mirror gives off while reading the story is perfect. The modern gothic style thats brought to life is so haunting. I did not want to put it down. 

I would recommend this novel to people who like ghost stories and shows like the haunting of hill house. It gave me the same vibe. 

I received an advanced copy through netgalley in exchange for an honest and unbiased review.

A huge thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for giving me an ARC of this title in exchange for an honest review. 

The multiple POVs in this tale of suspense and secrets are compelling and unforgettable. I was inexorably drawn into a world shrouded in mystery and punctuated by loss and betrayal. 

Alice and Rachel's parallel stories incorporate classic Gothic elements- the foreboding mansion, the windswept coast, the governess in search of a place to belong. The elements are seamlessly woven together to create an atmosphere of decadence and decay that will enthrall readers. 

4.5 Stars.

Fans of Netflix’s hit series “The Haunting of Bly Manor” will fall right into this book, which is a double timeline story in which one of the stories, taking place in 1947, has a bit of a “Turning of the Screw feeling,” complete with gothic, isolated estate, creepy kids and a new governess who discovers that she’s stepping into a situation that is far greater than she imagined. In the present day, Rachel, discovers that she has inherited said creepy estate and that it may be hiding the secrets to her mysterious past. But what she discovers may not be the touching, loving family story she always imagined. And it may not be over.

The story is a classic gothic ghost story that is great to curl up with on a stormy, cold day. Be warned, this is one story where you can’t stop reading until the very last page!

Hopefully that summary conveys enough to get you interested, because this really is one heck of a story. I loved it! Both timelines were interesting, and I couldn’t wait to see what happened in both. We see Rachel uncovering her past as we see Alice living it out in 1947. In the end, it all comes full circle and everything is revealed. It’s worth the wait. 

I really liked Rachel and Alice, though it became sad to see the things happening as they did (let’s just say the house, Winterbourne, has an effect on people) but that’s the nature of gothic novels and this one really stuck to the genre the whole way through. I was totally sucked in by the atmosphere and felt like I was there in that isolated house.

There’s plenty of twists that I enjoyed as well, so things remained really interesting right up until the very end. 

Overall, this book is a great story with a fantastic atmosphere and great characters. If you’re at all interested in gothic fiction or ghost stories, you’ve got to pick this one up!

I read this as part of a buddy read and it allowed us to have great conversations each week. The story was such an atmospheric thriller that was spooky. You don't want to read this on in the dark! Definitely some great twists at the end I didn't see coming!

I love when a great, amazing Gothic tale just pulls you right in.

1947- Winterbourne is a creepy, mansion in Cornwall overlooking a cliff. Alice comes to be a governess to twins Constance and Edmund. The children are sweet at first but things soon turn darker. Their father, Jonathan de Grey wounded in the war and having lost his first wife, ignores all the goings on in the house. 

Present Day-
Rachel was adopted as a baby. She received news that she has inherited Winterbourne and that she is the heir to the de Grey fortune.

I liked both past and present story lines. They blended well together. The past was more creepy and atmospheric to me and I felt like I was right there!

I read this dark and gloomy novel with a lot of pleasure. I liked the characters, the athmosphere, the whole dark and mysterious vibe of the book. The only thing I could say tha tis a bit more on the negative side, is that the love relasionship should...in my view , have been more developped... I did not understand one second the reasons that pulled alice to fall for jonathan. But once and for all, it was the perfect fall read.

Wow!! I absolutely loved this book! So hauntingly good I seriously did not put it down and read this in a sitting! New author to me and I look forward to reading more books by her! Fantastic!!

I love gothic thrillers.  This book description sounded right up my alley.  I was on the edge of my seat wanting to see how it ends. The alternating timelines were well written which I loved.

This book was incredibly thrilling! I usually don't go in for thrillers like this, and now I don't know why, because I was honestly sucked in and didn't emerge from my fright until it was over.....and even then my scared little heart beat at every sound for the next few days. I can say that the story, while being split in time hooked me from both aspects, both "back in time" and the "present day". The ending is absolutely gutting, which really made the story believable and all around amazing.

Did not finished. I did not liked the book. It was slow read and I stop by the page 100. Not very successful ghotic novel. Also I do not understand the title. Why Woman in the Mirror when the main character saw woman in teh painting.

I had a really hard time getting into this one. I was very intrigued by the cover and the plot. It started out with a great sense of mystery and the hope that it would be a kind of time period thriller. However I just found it a slow burn and the characters were not very likable to me. It was pretty predictable and not really what I expected. I loved the cover, but the writing just did not hold my attention very well.

Thank you Netgalley for this ARC of The Woman in the Mirror by Rebecca James.

In 1940's London, when Alice Miller gets a position as a ward to twin siblings in the giant manor of Winterbourne, she had no idea what she was signing on to.  At both, frightened, and compelled to the children, their father, and the haunting new home that she now inhabit's, she is constantly on edge.  Not only is the behavior around her erratic, but her own behavior is strange as well.

Jump to present day Rachel, an art curator/ adopted orphan, just discovers that she has inherited a huge estate in England.  Desperate to know more about her family, she rushes over, only to find even more mystery wrapped up in this spooky mansion.

I do like a creepy atmospheric ghost story, if it's done right.  I feel comfortable giving this 3 stars.  It was a bit hasty and choppy, not all of the storyline was convincing (mostly the relationships) but overall the this readable and enjoyable.  I love being able to really feel the darkness and essence of a foreboding setting.

This is a book that sucks you into an eerie and enthralling world. A gothic haunted tale of women seeking to find their place in the world and personal happiness. I was completely entranced with this book. It’s the kind of story that has you always on the edge of your seat awaiting what is to come. Like one of those puzzles that you have to slide the pieces around to find the picture, that’s what the plot does here. Constantly shifts your expectations and distorts the picture until you can see it all clearly.

Wow...I wasn't expecting this book to be so good! This Gothic tale is eerie, atmospheric and creepy. Rebecca James did a wonderful job of crafting a story that leaves you wanting more. 
Thank you for the ARC. This was my honest review.

The Gothic atmosphere of this book was palpable! Genuinely spooky, and the setting was beautifully crafted. I enjoyed the alternating timelines. The book started a little slow, but otherwise a good read.

Just tell me the words "dark English Manor", "governess", "Gothic mystery" and you've got me opening the book. This one doesn't disappoint. From the moment, Alice steps foot in the manor as governess, you know there's going to be trouble and that trouble extends all the way to New York City.

This was a quick, enchanting read about a house that is haunted by the spirit of a captain’s late wife. 

Alice, the newly hired governess for the Captain’s children, moves into Winterbourne and quickly realizes that there’s something disturbing occurring behind its walls. 

Before she knows it, the spirit has possessed her and she will find her life spiraling down towards a different path than she had previously hoped for.

This book was dark and haunting in a very gothic type of way.  It was also moving and engaging.  Easy to read while waiting on edge for the coils to ensnare those soon to be caught in the trap.   I didn't find it frightening or spooky so much as disturbing and atmospheric.

A home and family is cursed by a slow growing madness. I enjoyed the claustrophobic setting of the novel, along with the steadily increasing horror, but found the ending to be somewhat of a let down.