[The Temple House Vanishing || Rachel Donohue]
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Thank you to Netgalley, Algonquin Publishing + author Rachel Donohue for an advanced reading copy for US release today!! I am thrilled to have a tour stop on publication date 🤗
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One of my favorite things about this book was the author's powerful writing style, only to find out this is her debut!! She was able to create characters that portrayed emotions so sincerely, whether likable or not.
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Overall this thriller effortlessly blended the perspective of student Louisa with a modern-day journalist trying to unveil the truth of two disappearances many years prior. The multiple perspectives and dual timeline keep you reading to see what happened.
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I do wish there had been a bigger reveal at the end, but overall a lovely read!
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The summary of this book made this one feel like a must read for me. Any time that a book has an isolated school setting and/or a mystery that goes back years ago means that I'm instantly intrigued. But it was that last line that really hooked me and filled me with questions. What do they mean that nothing is ever as it seems? I just had to know! This book instantly pulled me in from the very beginning pages. Louisa was a very interesting character. As the reader, I didn't fully understand her in the beginning but she had me intrigued. Then there was the weird relationship between Victoria and Mr. Lavelle to try and sort through. And the relationship between all three of them. There were just all of these questions that I had about what was happening or wasn't happening while I reading this book based off of these characters and their connections to one another. The book was also set up in such a suspenseful way. We flashed back to the time when Louisa and Victoria were both in school together before the disappearance for portions of the book. We also got to see in present day the reporter's investigation into the disappearance from years ago. These two storylines combined into a suspenseful read that kept me turning the pages. I really appreciated this because let me tell you that my reading mojo has been off a bit recently. Instead of struggling like I have been, this book kept me reading and left me unable to set my kindle down. That was a really nice and needed change of pace for me. If I had one complaint with this book it was that I was left feeling slightly dissatisfied with the ending but I cannot put my finger on why. It was a good ending really but there was just something that held me back from fully enjoying it. That being said, this was a really strong debut that left me excited to read more by this author!

Overall, I really enjoyed this book and am so glad that it helped me get out of the dreaded reading slump that I had been in. The atmosphere and setting of this book was something that I just could not get enough of! Give me ALL of the boarding school books set in isolated settings with gothic vibes and I would be one happy reader - that's for sure! I think that readers who enjoy dark academic type of books, those who enjoy gothic vibes and books filled with atmosphere, as well as those readers who love a character driven suspense filled novel should pick this book up. I'm so excited to see what other readers think of this one so I can discuss it with them! Highly recommended!

Bottom Line: A suspenseful read that I just couldn't set down!

Disclosure: I received a copy of this book thanks to the publisher and NetGalley. Honest thoughts are my own.

This book was a real page-turner. I found myself staying up late at night to figure out what was going on in the book and definitely was having a hard time staying awake at points!! Louisa is a scholarship student at a very prestigious school and begins making friends and hanging out with the people from her art class. However, not everyone is a big fan of Louisa, or her relationship with Victoria and their art teacher. The story is told from Louisa's standpoint and the point of view of a young woman who is researching Louisa and the art teacher's subsequent disappearance.
This book evoked a very Victorian horror/thriller feel from the fact that it took place in a Catholic boarding school to the images evoked by the language in the book. I highly recommend this book to someone trying to find something spooky to chill you during the hot summer months or lying on a beach.

Once there was a sixteen year old girl named Louisa, who attended Temple House as a student. Longing to feel seen, she became deeply intertwined with Victoria, a fellow student, and Mr. Lavelle, their art teacher. But one day Lousia and Mr. Lavelle disappeared without a trace. As the twenty-fifth anniversary of this unsolved mystery approaches, a journalist begins to dig deeper into what everyone thinks they know.

This was a haunting beauty of a book. Every character is complex and captivating, and the alternating perspectives the reader gets provide a look into the characters' motivations, thoughts and desires. Temple House itself becomes a character as well, damp and dank and cold and frightening.

I could not put this book down. I became so caught up in the characters' world and having to know what really happened. I also became completely caught up in Donohue's writing style, where every single word truly felt like it mattered, and every sentence managed to be both beautiful and intense. The ending came as a complete shock to me (and the beginning came as quite a gut punch as well), but fit perfectly with what had come before.

I'm still thinking about this story even after I finished it, and I highly recommend this book.

Temple House Vanishing was a heart breaking story of a girl who just wanted to be special to someone and left alone by everyone else. Who do you trust? Who is using you? What is up with rich kids? I was puzzled by the idea that any guy could walk into a private high school and just be allowed alone with kids. The author kept inferring that the difference was because this was way back in the 90s and I kept flashing back to the many times I was fingerprinted and all of the databases I was run through in the 90s jut to volunteer and student teach before I was even allowed to run my own classroom. Private schools. Am I right?

So this random dude is allowed to just run his class how ever he wants and students are allowed to just hang out with him in this little shack behind the school. What could possibly go wrong? But, hey, I enjoyed the book. The relationships were compelling. The bullying was middle school level (most bullying occurs in those years and most kids outgrow the behavior by the end of freshman year). The reveal was emotional for me. That alone made the rest worth it.

Rachel Donohue's The Temple House Vanishing is an atmospheric, gorgeous novel about the friendship between two girls and the charismatic teacher who lies at the center of their relationship. Louisa is the new girl at the Temple House, a scholarship girl who is made keenly aware of the disparity between her and the other girls at the school from her first day. Victoria is the rebel—their teacher Mr. Levelle calls her an "outlier," someone who is unconcerned with rules or expectations. Victoria immediately draws Louisa to her, makes her want to impress her and to earn her friendship.

The novel is told in alternating sections, beginning with the unsolved disappearance of Louisa and Mr. Levelle decades before. Donohue unravels the narrative, focusing alternately on Louisa's experience as a new student and the way she is drawn into the web of Victoria's relationship with Mr. Levelle. The other point of view is a journalist who grew up on the same street as Louisa—she's a few years younger, but that proximity has always made her intrigued by the disappearance, and she decides to write a story revealing the truth of what happened so long ago.

I was captivated by this book, by its haunting atmosphere, by the vividness of Louisa's experiences, by the way Donohue uses the investigation to peel back layers on the story. I loved the questions it unspools about memory and love and connection. It's a beautifully written, thought-provoking, and compelling novel.

“The Temple House Vanishing” by Rachel Donohue follows the tragic disappearance of Louisa and Mr. Lavelle, a teacher at Temple House School. Louisa was a new student the year she disappeared and felt out of place. She discovers friendship with Victoria and Mr. Lavelle, but nothing is ever as it seems. Years later, a journalist picks up the story. Determined to crack the case, she reaches out to Victoria. Will this story of jealousy and revenge be resolved?

This story felt very gothic to me. Dank, dark halls, clear class divisions, and a sinister feel in the air, kept me on edge the whole read. I think immediately you can tell that nothing is what it seems at Temple House. The nuns and rich girls in uniform makes it feel like something sacred, but the feeling is more twisted than anything.

“The Temple House Vanishing” has so many layers of mystery that it’s hard to put down. The beginning is a little slow to set the scene, but once Louisa, Victoria, and Mr. Lavelle are all in place, things start to heat up. The trio is always together, but the connection is murky. There is jealousy all around and it’s hard to know how the death is going to happen.

If you like books with a dark feel, this one is for you. I gave this book 4 stars, because it felt a little heavy to me, but the mystery was intriguing.

“The Temple House Vanishing” comes out today! Thanks to Algonquin Books and NetGalley for the ARC, and a special thanks to Algonquin Books for including me in their blog tour!

a school for girls that sits on a hill, isolated and private from the rest of the world. The school is actually an old and unwelcoming mansion. The students are a tight-knit group of girls, with the exception of our main characters, Louisa and Victoria. Louisa is a scholarship student, judged by some of the other students for her circumstances. Meanwhile Victoria goes with her own flow, which disrupts the balance. The two radiate towards each other, as well as a new art teacher, Mr. Lavelle. Mr. Lavelle is electric and none of the girls are able to resist his charm. As the school year progresses, relationships intensify and one day Louisa and Mr. Lavelle are nowhere to be found.

Years later, on the 25th anniversary of the disappearance, an investigative journalist (who happened to be Louisa's across-the-street neighbor) wants to try to solve the mystery once and for all. As she dives deeper and re-examines and re-interviews those who knew the pair, she finds more than she bargained for.


Overall, I did enjoy this book. I thought the characters were interesting and we were given enough information about all of them (including key side characters) to be invested and concerned about their situations. This does come off as a gothic story, so be prepared for slow burn and a plot that drags at times. I really enjoyed the ending and the resolution that we were given, it wrapped up nicely for me.

Additionally, this was a debut, and for a debut it was a very well-rounded story. I didn't feel as though there were any major plot holes or that I needed more or less of anything.

The downside for me- the synopsis really makes this sound like a ghost story, which it really isn't. There are horror aspects and supernatural aspects, but overall I would not classify this as a ghost story. I was a tad disappointed in that given how the synopsis read but had it came off as just a gothic thriller/suspense story, it wouldn't have bothered me.

“He had been careless with hearts that were still forming”
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Louisa is a new scholarship girl who wins a place at Temple House, a Catholic girls boarding school housed in a squat mansion perched on the edge of a cliff. Louisa is a social experiment, a bid by the school board to be seen to be inclusive. The Board may want Louisa, but the other girls do not, including Helen the head-girl and her prefects. On Louisa’s first night in the school, she is taken to see Sister Josephine, one of the Nuns who had died overnight, laid out in the school chapel…a portent of things to come


Louisa’s school life becomes infinitely better when she is befriended by Victoria, someone of the establishment and yet rebelling against it with her smoking and her pithy comebacks. Because Victoria is close to Mr. Lavelle their art teacher, Louisa also comes into his orbit until one day both Louisa and Mr. Lavelle disappear without a trace. Twenty-five years later a young journalist who lived on the same street as Louisa becomes obsessed with her case and starts to turn over old ground


Full of creeping menace and beautifully wrought phrases, The Temple House Vanishing was a joy to read. Rather like Louisa, the author was able to keep her readers in a state of uncertainty where nothing was as it seemed and the truth, when it comes looms suddenly off the page. If you enjoy a #campusnovel or a spot of #darkacademia then I thoroughly recommend this one. Here are a couple of my favourite quotes

“Everyone wants to have something else, be something more than the person beside them. The curse of human nature. The need to be seen”

“My personality was not yet set, it was fluid. I was a shape-shifter….The only thing that tied all the elements together was some need for recognition. I seemed to carry that with me regardless of circumstance. It made me nervous, this need to be seen because behind it, I knew, lay something else. A sense of shame. I was looking for someone to absolve me of this.”

Huge thanks to the publisher for including me on the Blog Tour and NetGalley for my eArc

A dark and eerie mystery involving the disappearance of a student and a teacher from a Catholic school 25 years in the past.

A young scholarship student and an enigmatic art teacher vanish without a trace from a Catholic boarding school in the early 90s and a journalist in the present day, a woman who happened to be the young student’s childhood neighbor, decides to dig deeper to see if she can uncover what truly happened all those years ago.

In two separate time lines, we see Louisa as she begins her new life at Temple House, meeting a girl she instantly connects with, Victoria. The girls come from completely different backgrounds, but have a quick bond. They both become enamored with a handsome and interesting art teacher at the school, creating some intense excitement in their lives.

Meanwhile, in present day, our journalist is finding Victoria a great source of information on the story and as she dives deeper into the life they lived in this school, the more she realizes that nothing at Temple House was what it seemed to be.

I thoroughly enjoyed the unfolding of this mystery. It left me guessing until the end. I always enjoy books set in present day where a narrator is leading you through an unsolved mystery, so I went into this book knowing I would enjoy it.

This is perfect for fans of mystery/thriller with a boarding house setting . It is mysterious, atmospheric and creepy. The author does a great job setting the stage. It is written in multiple POV between Louisa and the reporter who is on a mission to find out what happened. I was sucked in immediately and I was not expecting the ending that occurred.

Thank you to @algonquinbooks and #NetGalley for the #gifted copy.

My Thoughts
I was invited to participate in a blog tour for this book by the publisher. Here my pros and cons for The Temple House Vanishing:

Pros

1. I would describe this book as a 1990s Boho mystery with a large dose of Victorian Gothic. Bet you’ve never read a book like that before!!
2. The gothic element of the book was great. There are nuns running a private school for girls in an old, decrepit mansion… and people mysteriously go missing!!! That is a perfect recipe for a gothic mystery!
3. The story is told via alternating voices and time periods. One narrator is Louisa, the girl who goes missing. She tells the story about her time at the school before she disappears. The other narrator is a journalist who is writing a story about Louisa 25 years after she went missing. The alternating voices and timeframes melded together beautifully to slowly, but clearly, divulge what happened to Louisa and her teacher.
4. There is a subtle, but interesting examination of status in this book. The school is primarily made up of paying “rich” girls, but there are scholarship students (like Louisa) as well. The scholarship girls are definitely disparaged and derided. Girls can be so cruel when they are teenagers, and this book definitely included that trope.
5. The author has a particular skill with words. She is telling you all kinds of things throughout the narrative if you pay very close attention.
6. The second half of the book was mesmerizing. I couldn’t put it down.
7. The ending was tragic and heartbreaking, yet wholly satisfying. It almost ended on a strangely hopeful note, which seems odd to say for a tragedy, but that is how I felt. And even though I predicted the ending (see Con 1 below) it was still great to read how the author presented the conclusion.

Cons

1. In Pro 5 above, I mentioned that the author provides veiled, yet detailed, info about what happened at Temple House throughout the book, and I thought that was clever. But that also gives away the ending if you pay attention. At least it did for me. I knew how this ended at about the half-way mark.
2. The first part of the book was a little slow for me.
3. I wanted just a little bit more character development. Victoria, Louisa, and Mr. Lavelle were phenomenal characters, but they felt a little thin to me. I wanted more development between the girls, particularly regarding their relationship with each other.

Summary
This is a great gothic tragedy and it is the author’s debut novel. Even though I had a few criticisms, I did enjoy the book very much. I look forward to reading the author’s future work.

I highly recommend it to anyone who enjoys books with a gothic feel, mysteries, boarding school stories, tragedies, missing persons stories, or stories about journalists solving mysteries.

Thank you to NetGalley and Algonquin Books for a free copy of this book, which I have reviewed honestly and voluntarily.

"If only our lives were like a book and you could stop and ponder the ideas raised for a moment, turn the pages back and read again. But this time more carefully.

It would make all the difference."

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Temple House is a Catholic boarding school for teen girls, when Louisa is admitted as a scholarship student she is thrown into a world that will change her life forever. The stark difference between the haves and have nots is clear from the start. When she is noticed by the enigmatic Victoria, she is enthralled. Together the two form a bond that inspires envy in the other girls. The divide between them and the other girls is further exaggerated when their adoration for the young male art teacher is returned.

We begin to learn about Louisa and Victoria and the truths of the Temple House as the 25th anniversary of the disappearance of Louisa and the art teacher is being investigated by a journalist. She begins digging back into what may have happened to them. Did they simply run away together or were they met with a more sinister fate?

I liked that multiple time points and multiple POV were used to tell the story. It built a sense of creepy, uncertainty and helped to develop each of the characters a little more deeply. I wouldn't label this as a thriller so much as an atmospheric Gothic mystery. The writing was really gorgeous and I highlighted so many quotes, although many would be spoilers. Donohue perfectly captured the way precocious teen girls challenge the ways of the world with what they believe to be the most unique viewpoints. It was the right level of moody, dark and evocative. Also the resolution was entirely plausible which I need in a "thriller."

Thanks to Algonquin Books for a copy of this novel. All opinions above are my own.

In her debut novel, Rachel Donohue provides a moody mystery that captures the terrors of adolescence- mean girls, social exclusion, schoolgirl crushes, female friendship, first love. Set in a dismal, decaying Catholic private school on the coast of what I assume is Ireland, a new scholarship girl (Louisa) befriends the free-spirited Victoria, forming an obsessive friendship that helps Louisa cope with the horrors of her new school. Then Louisa disappears, as does her handsome male art teacher. Possibilities abound, but eventually the case goes cold. Life goes on.

Fast forward to the near-present where a reporter searches to find the truth about Louisa, which unfolds in a parallel narrative between the reporter's investigation and Louisa's first-person narrative. I would not say the ending is either surprising nor terribly satisfying, but the reader does gain closure. The tragedy of this story is how so many people can fall through the cracks in life, whereas their life could be so different if only someone would listen to them and extend a helping hand. That really stood out to me here.

Donohue has vividly captured the kind of frenetic friendship that can arise between two adolescent girls on the cusp of adulthood. The characters were well-developed and colorful. The book overall has a cinematic quality that evokes a gothic sentiment which will appeal to many.

Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for an ARC of this delightful novel.

ONE SENTENCE SUMMARY: An atmospheric story about the disappearance of a sixteen year old student and her handsome young teacher some twenty-five years earlier.

BRIEF REVIEW: In 1990 Louisa, a scholarship student, enters an elite Roman Catholic boarding school perched high on a seaside cliff in Ireland. She comes from a troubled family and is uncomfortable and lonely in her in her new environment. She doesn't dress like the wealthier girls and she doesn't like the strict rules either. Things get better when she meet Victoria, another girl who dislikes conformity under the watchful eyes of all the nuns. Then there is Mr. Lavelle (Edward), a handsome young teacher that is just the type of man that many teenaged girls will easily fall for. He's encouraging and full of compliments and Louisa and Victoria quickly become rather obsessed by him and each girl feels that Mr. Lavelle is attracted to them as well. As the end of school approaches and Louisa and Mr. Lavelle disappear on the same day, lots of unanswered questions remain.

Twenty-five years later, a journalist, who knew Louisa as a child, becomes intrigued by the unsolved disappearances. She is determined to dig deep and believes that Victoria, Louisa's old friend from school, may be the only one who can fill in some pieces of the puzzle, providing much needed insight into her time at Temple House.

This is a debut novel that was quite suspenseful and had a Gothic vibe as well. I loved the former mansion turned into into a boarding school, the cold winter setting and the sense of foreboding as I read. There are lots of themes running through this story: wealth, jealousy, lust, secrets, lies and revenge. Readers who enjoy stories that take place on a campus or in a cloistered environment might want to add this one to their list. The epilogue, which sometimes can be a hit or miss for me worked well in this story IMO.

A journalist investigates the disappearance of a student and teacher from an eerie Irish boarding school, twenty-five years earlier. The Temple House Vanishing is a lyrical and atmospheric tale about love, loss, friendship, and obsession. A must-read for anyone who loves gothic suspense.

The Temple House Vanishing
By: Rachel Donohue

Pub Date: July 6, 2021

Thank you to Algonquin Books and NetGalley for the eARC in exchange for an honest review!

Warning: This book does contain suicide.

A haunted gothic dark academia novel layered with religious undertones takes place in the 1990s, and present day at an Irish Catholic Boarding School.

In the 1990s, Louisa attends the boarding school on scholarship. Seen as an outcast, Louisa simply does not fit in with the privileged girls that attend there. When Louisa meets Victoria, a fellow student that has an edge to her, she sets out to become her friend. She is quickly introduced into the world of Victoria, and soon becomes friends with their Art Teacher Mr. Lavelle. Mr. Lavelle is a charming young charismatic teacher that a special group of girls hang out with. The girls are drawn to him, and as quickly as Louisa arrives she learns that not everything is what it seems. One winter night, Louisa and Mr. Lavelle disappear without a trace.

Present day, twenty-five years later a journalist is set out to uncover the truth regarding the disappearance of Louisa, and Mr. Lavelle. Haunted by the cold case of her neighbor from childhood, she stops at nothing to retrieve the answers she desperately searches for. She quickly realizes that not everything is what it seems regarding the disappearance, and the boarding school. What really did happen that night, and where are Louisa and Mr. Lavelle? Did they really run away together or did something more sinister transpire?

This was a well-written novel that grasped your attention within the first few pages. I read this book in one sitting, as I became engrossed in the story of Louisa. The timeline of jumping from the past to the present, made me not want to put the book down. I have always loved a good mystery surrounding a school setting. The author nicely hit on topics that most teenagers face in regards to cliques, bullying, jealousy, sexuality, and secrets. The vibe I got from Mr. Lavelle's character was of Ted Bundy minus the serial killer aspect. I felt each character was very relatable, and I related mostly to Louisa. The only thing that I disliked was the journalist character not having a name. I would pair this book with The Maidens by Alex Michaelides and The Divines by Ellie Eaton. If you love a good dark academia thriller then this book is for you!!

3.5
“Temple House Vanishing” by Rachel Donohue
Pub date: July 6th, 2021

A haunting story of teenage desire & betrayal set at a lonely Irish Catholic boarding school, the book has been praised as “an atmospheric, gothic read”.

Perched high atop a seaside cliff in Ireland, a lonely Victorian mansion is home to Temple House School. & at Temple House, nothing is ever as it seems...

The year is 1990, & Louisa is the brilliant new scholarship student at the all-girls Catholic boarding school Temple House. Immediately shunned by the rich & popular students, Louisa forms a fierce bond with the compelling Victoria.

Then, suddenly, Louisa and Mr. Lavelle disappear. On the twenty-fifth anniversary of Louisa and Mr. Lavelle’s disappearance, a journalist tries to finally uncover the truth, and she is quickly drawn into a web of lies and long-buried secrets. What really happened at Temple House all those years ago?

This book is for you if you enjoy:
- Atmospheric reads
- Gothic literature
- Suspenseful narratives
- Dark academia

Thank you to my friends at Algonquin books for this gifted copy.

Temple House is an all-girls catholic boarding school that is inhabited by mystery and privilege. Once a place to educate the elites, in the nineties, they decide to give a chance to the less privileged. That's how Louise ends up enrolling in Temple House with a scholarship. She feels lonely and self-conscious until she meets Victoria. They become friends and "protegees" of Mr. Lavelle, a young and seductive Art teacher. Louise is mesmerized by Victoria. And Victoria is entirely captivated by Mr. Lavelle. But she is not the only one.
One day Louise and Mr. Lavelle disappear without a trace. Twenty years later, a journalist decides to write a series of articles about the infamous Temple House vanishing. Her research leads her to the harsh and heartbreaking truth.

What can I say about the book to do it justice? It is such a beautiful reading. The language is so clean and articulated, and the story so chilling. It has an eerie ambiance that will delight dark academia aesthetic lovers.
About halfway through the book, I thought that I had figured it out. But I was SO wrong. The ending was completely unexpected. With every twist, I felt that the plot was getting near to what I was expecting but again, the conclusion revealed to be unforeseen.
The book conveys as many emotions in the reader like the ones the characters are experiencing.

This is Rachel Donohues' first novel. I liked her style so much that now I will definitely check out her short stories.

I found this book to be quite interesting. It's written in an unusual way where it goes back and forth between the past and present written in the first person from a journalist's point of view and that of a 16 year-old girl; Louisa. The Temple House is a Catholic boarding school for girls. Louisa earns a scholarship to it. Louisa's parents are getting a divorce and Louisa feels that living at the school during the week will benefit her and distance her from her parents drama. Louisa has always felt like an outsider. She figures it will be the same at this school too; until she meets Victoria. They become best friends. At one point in the school year, Louisa vanishes on the same night as the Art teacher leaves. This occurred 25 years ago and it is still an unsolved mystery; enter the Journalist who wants to do an article on the anniversary of the disappearances and hopefully unravel the mystery in the process.