This gothic tale of magic and the supernatural is very atmospheric and delivers a few chills. Unfortunately there was an attempt at too many twists...this person is alive, dead, alive...who knows?! Is it a ghost? Something else? Who knows?! I’m afraid I got so brain-weary, I just wanted it to reach some/any conclusion. The writing quality was solid (despite the frustrating circles), so I’m giving it 3 stars.

I I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own. (via Netgalley)

I'll be honest. I don't really know what to think of this book. I was intrigued by the premise of this story and really enjoyed the beginning but after a certain point I was just confused. It's not the the author writes well from a technical standpoint but the plot just confused me.

Thank you to NetGalley for an ARC of The Death of Jane Lawrence.

I was so excited when my request was approved because the premise is exactly what I look for in a book: magic, mystery, ghosts, set in an alternate reality where a country is slowly recovering from the ravages of war and religious politics.

Sadly, I did not enjoy this as much as I hoped.

Jane is an unremarkable heroine; yes, she's book smart, intelligent and logical, but there's nothing interesting about her. She suddenly discovers a capacity to wield magic but there's no run up to her abilities; no exposition as to why she possesses such skills and talents.

She was so dull I found it difficult to imagine her as talented in anything that didn't involve math and logical proofs.

Augustine was not a compelling character; his personality is cowardly, weak, mousy. I liked that in a position reversal, Jane must sacrifice her life to save her husband as opposed to the other way around, but I didn't like him.

The world building is pretty good, including the reality that magic is practiced in this time period, with disastrous consequences, naturally.

The author does a good job describing magic as mathematical proofs but all the mumbo jumbo was dry and boring and went right over my head.

Blood and gore don't bother me, nor ghosts or demons; the narrative dragged on, especially when Jane is committed to saving Augustine.

The Death of Jane Lawrence isn't about magic, per se; it's about life and death, rebirth, existentialism, the choices we make, the guilt we carry, and the forgiveness we need to extend to give ourselves.

I'd recommend The Death of Jane Lawrence to anyone looking for something different to read.

It's hard to describe this book. It has kind of a Jane Eyre feel but more horror. It was compelling in the sense that I wanted to k is how the story ended but the magic descriptions were dense and co plicated.

I loved this book so much! It was the first book I have read by this author and I can't wait to read more! The characters and their story stick with you long after you finish the book.

I think I liked this book. It’s a gothic horror centered around the titular character, Jane, and her marriage to Dr. Augustine Lawrence, as well as the spooky mansion he inherited from family. The book feels like a real ode to the genre in a many ways, and pulls elements from Crimson Peak, Jane Eyre, Fall of the House of Usher, and lots more.

So here’s what worked for me: The first two thirds of the book. The setup, the characterization of Jane, the relationship between Augustine and Jane (which was blessedly missing the usual huge age and power disparity I see in these books). The atmospheric tone, the way “magic” worked, the sort of timeless and also old feel of the story, the place-less-ness (if that’s even a word) all contributed to this interesting liminal space where the story takes place.
Here’s what didn’t work for me: the last third of the book, which felt honestly like a continuous fever dream that probably made sense and felt felt beautiful to someone much smarter than I am. I spent so much of the end just at a loss for what was going on, and if that disorientation was intentional I also didn’t feel a sense of clarity or resolution that made the prolonged disorientation worthwhile. I’m inclined to still give this a good review because I have a sneaking suspicion that this book will reveal itself to me over time, and also because the writing in the first two thirds was really lovely.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the ARC!

I just cannot decide if I loved this book or hated it. The beginning was intriguing and made me want to keep reading to find out why Dr. Lawrence was so adamant that Jane not spend the night at his house. But once that part of the story became clearer the book got very intense and a little hard to follow. The mathematical and magical logic was convoluted and clearly the author has a great command of the written word to even attempt to put some of that in the book. The description of the house and the detail gore associated with the surgical procedures was very well defined, but the ability to conjure images of Elodie and the other visitors was very impressive. I began to hate it when the story focused on Jane's attempt to rescue Augustine, some of it was just too icky to read - necessary to maintain the heightened level of anxiety and fear - but still icky. Overall it just seemed a little too long, some parts could have been eliminated without impacting the quality of the writing or the story. I found myself skimming pages and eventually skipping pages just to get to the end. I found the resolution very satisfying but there is one chapter, which I cannot reference without giving away too much of the story, that just seems to be stream of consciousness and VERY difficult to follow. So in the end I liked it, didn't love or hate it. Thanks to St. Martin's Press for allowing me early access to this book in exchange for an honest review.

Well, first of all thank you to Netgalley for an advanced read of this book!
Now for my thoughts....that's a tough one.

This was quite a ride! Both in the story and how I felt about it. I liked it, then lost a bit of interest, then was fully on board again, then loved it, then was totally mindfucked! And don't even get me started on chapter zero.

In short, this was a really original piece of fiction. It kept me guessing just when i thought I knew what was happening. It made me think about things a bit differently for a while and I think that is what great writing does. I definitely recommend

The stunning cover art and comparison to Crimson Peak (one of my favorite movies) drew me to this book from the start. And it delivered on the eerie, victorian-gothic kind of atmospheric horror I had been craving.

I would caution that there are quite a few sequences of gory body horror, that were intense enough I think you need to know what you're signing up for before reading.

There was so much potential with its atmosphere and fictitious, alternate world, that I feel like was let down by its lack of originality in plot. It pulled quite a bit from Crimson Peak, which is fine in terms of atmosphere but more of a problem when it came to the plot elements. There was one specific twist/trope that seemed directly borrowed (I wont say for the sake of keeping this spoiler-free, but if you want to know, just ask via comment), and the ending itself I thought heavily resembled that of Crimson Peak. This may not be a problem if you've never seen it, but for me it didn't feel like it was bringing anything new to the table.

The supernatural elements were very abstract, in such a way that it lost me at times, especially at the end. There were moments that were written so well that I was deeply drawn in, but unfortunately just as many that were too abstract to keep my interest, and we never reached any kind of understanding even though those elements led to a very sudden resolution.

The building tension was very well done throughout, and I enjoyed how Starling played with reality and made the reader question the reliability of the various characters. Therein lied the true strength of this story, and what made it an enjoyable experience despite the misgivings I had over other elements.

[ Thank you to St. Martin's Press for providing me with an arc via NetGalley, in exchange for an honest review! ]

The Death of Jane Lawrence was suspenseful and terrifying with moments that had me clutching my seat. Jane and Augustine set the perfect background for a horror novel, guaranteed to keep you up at night!

This was a really interesting, gory read. I liked that even though the world wasn't much different than our own in maybe the late 1800s or early 1900s, but it was technically a fantasy. The ghosts were so interesting and the storyline itself seemed like it was loosely based on Jane Eyre-- with horror elements, of course.
However, the problem I did have was not liking Jane as a character. I liked all of her character traits: intelligent, practical, logical, strong-willed, but the execution wasn't that great. I found it hard to like Jane or be invested in her emotions, even though usually I would like and admire a character with those traits. Jane just seemed a little bland.
I was also bored for a lot of the book: it wasn't until the end that I was interested in what was happening.

The Death of Jane Lawrence by Caitlin Starling is a gripping gothic novel that I could not put down and kept me up late into the night! It is reminiscent of classic gothic stories such as Rebecca and Crimson Peak while being its own unique story. It has all of the essential pieces of a great gothic novel- an old, crumbling house that is a character unto itself, a dark, mysterious history, a doomed love, and shadows that may or may not go bump in the night. The writing was beautiful and haunting and was perfectly suited to the story. I was hooked from first to last! I don’t want to say too much about the story to not spoil anything, but I cannot stress enough that you need to read this book! It is a book that will continue to haunt me in the best way possible for quite some time.
5/5

The Death of Jane Lawrence by Caitlin Starling will be published on October 19, 2021.

Thank you to St. Martin’s Press and NetGalley for this eARC.

This book left me off kilter - in the best way. I wasn’t sure what to expect when I began this, and I certainly didn’t imagine it going the way it did. This book is dark, creepy and gave the the shivers more than once. I really enjoyed this a lot! I found Jane to be an incredibly interesting character. My only critique would be that sometimes I had a hard time following the more in-depth discussions of logic, the workings and the mechanics of the magic in the book. But I think that just added to the feeling for me of being disoriented and nervous/scared for Jane.

This book both delighted and terrified me, in equal measure. A marriage of convenience trope? An old, crumbling and isolated manor? Yes, please.

Jane Shorefield wants to marry, and as quick as she can, in order to maintain her independence. She chooses Augustine Lawrence, the beloved and mysterious town doctor. Augustine hesitatingly agrees on the condition that Jane should never set foot in his family home. But, of course, that plan falls apart as soon as the pair wed. Jane soon discovers inexplicable horrors within the walls of Lindridge Hall and the reason why her new husband wanted to hide it from her.

I enjoyed this book thoroughly. Books don’t usually scare me, but this one definitely did. I’ve never watched Crimson Peak, so I don’t know if it compares to that, but I can say I noticed Bluebeard similarities while reading this book. I loved Jane; she’s a smart, practical woman who goes on a journey in this book, facing things that she never worked have considered possible before meeting Augustine.

I will have to check out Caitlin Starling’s other works post-haste.

Thank you Netgalley, St. Martin’s Press, and the author for an e-ARC of this book!

This book is everything I look for when I want to read a grotesque, haunted, creepy horror read. The Death of Jane Lawrence follows a girl named Jane. Jane has gotten to the age where she needs to get married and, after reviewing all of the prospective gentlemen in her town, has decided that Dr. Augustine Lawrence is her first choice. After explaining her logic, Dr. Augustine accepts this marriage of convenience with one condition: that Jane must never visit Lindridge Hall, his family’s crumbling manor outside of town. On their wedding night; however, after an accident Jane is stranded at Lindridge Hall with Augustine.

This book is pure madness and horror, and I couldn’t get enough of it. The manor screams Haunting at Bly Manor/Crimson Peak. The characters are extremely complex. The writing is beautiful and creepy. The romance is intense and complicated. There’s a mystery around the entire story that grabs you and refuses to let you go until the end. I highly recommend you pre-order this book immediately. I find myself still thinking about the story weeks after finishing it because it’s just that good!

Special thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for sharing this digital reviewer copy with me in exchange for my honest opinions.

When a novel's strength is also it's weakness; The Death of Jane Lawrence is a modern take on classic gothic novel, toying heavily with concepts of mathematics and metaphysics. While the final output suffers from over-writing, and drowning in its own complicated pseudo-logic, it is still an amiable exercise at re-invigorating a familiar setting.

Caitlin Starling's detail-oriented prose shines when it comes to establishing settings (from the bleak, blood-stained surgery, to the ramshackle manor), and depicting grotesque supernatural incidents. But beyond these critical moments, this obsession for the minutia can be laborious to get through; the pacing never peaks because everything is dragged out by hollow textual busywork (no matter how beautifully written). You know this is an issue when chunks of paragraph can be skipped without losing the plot—the book can easily be 80+ pages shorter.

Set in a fictitious universe, this 'alternate timeline' approach allows flexibility in imagining a world that is more fantastical than our historical reality. With the female protagonist being someone who's obsessed with logic and order, the story presents memorable moments where her belief is thoroughly challenged. On the flip-side, without a grounded context (and the book never fully fleshes out its own world), and distressing scenarios constantly resolved by convenient, fantastical solutions, I find myself losing empathy as The Death of Jane Lawrence becomes more and more outlandish (even though it's part of its intent). The 'revelation' (No spoiler, but to those who've read the book it should be clear which chapter I'm referring to) is beautifully complex, would've been a daring move to end the book there—the remaining material feels anticlimactic, as it draws to a conclusion very typical to stories of this genre.

Overall, The Death of Jane Lawrence excels in conjuring the foreboding atmosphere and the supernatural, but the narrative as a whole suffers from an imbalance of homage and new ideas. Still, there is enough polish here to make it well worth checking out.

This book was a pleasure to read! It quickly drew me in with its mystery...there truly was never a dull moment. Jane and Augustine, with all their quirkiness, were lovable characters. Some parts of the book (mainly a chapter near the end) had confusing components that were hard to fully follow (for me), but it did not detract from the enjoyment of the book. The amount of detail used throughout is impressive and I was pleasantly surprised with the ending! The imagination that went into creating this story is astonishing. I can't wait to read another one of this author's books!

What a ride!

Instead of moving to Camhurst with her adoptive parents, Jane decides to marry the kind but troubled doctor, Augustine Lawrence. They agree to marry out of convenience, not love, but that agreement soon changes as they come to appreciate each other. Augustine doesn’t ask much of Jane, except she’s not to stay at his family home, Lindridge Hall, with him. On their wedding day, Jane is forced to Lindridge Hall and will soon understand why Augustine wanted to keep her safe from the house and in return, Jane will do anything to save them both.

Just as poor Jane didn’t know what was real and what wasn’t, you don’t know either and can feel what Jane was going through. It was definitely topsy-turvy, but in a good way. Characterization, setting and overall theme were brilliantly detailed and cinematic. It was like reading a movie.

I think it’s only fault, was there was one chapter that came off as repetitive. I understand why Ms Starling included it, to show us the state of Jane’s mind, but if you were paying attention to what you read in the previous characters, it slows everything down when you want to be ramped up.

Other than that one thing, “Death of Jane Lawrence” was SO GOOD.

This is a difficult book to review because I liked the ideas but didn't like the book. The first half was interesting and suspenseful, much more gothic than the second half. When the magical part of the story was introduced, it ruined it for me. It felt sudden and out of place in what was a gothic horror up until that point. I'm not sure the gothic and fantasy horror were a good match? The second half dragged which killed the mood. A magical cult, a haunted mansion, and creepy doctors are great ideas but I think there were too many ideas that were competing with each other.

If you like your thrillers dripping in atmosphere and intrigue, propelled by a compelling plot, look no further. This gothic suspense explores how far we'll go for love and what horror we'll perpetuate in doing so.

*Thank you to NetGalley, the publisher, and author for proving this ARC in exchange for an unbiased review."