When I originally heard Lauren Blackwood’s YA debut would be a Jane Eyre-inspired retelling, I was very much on board. It sounded like the perfect creepy house tale I needed for my fall reading. But after I read a third of the novel, I couldn’t seem to get into it and decided to give up, mark it DNF (did-not-finish), and move on. It wasn’t a decision I came to lightly as it would be my first DNF of the year. Of course as soon as I did that, all the positive reviews started coming in from my fellow bloggers and Reese Witherspoon chose it as her YA fall pick. I decided to give it another chance, and I’m happy to report I read the rest of the book in one day.

I think my failed first attempt was a combination of things: I was distracted with wrapping up my yearly reading challenge (and this book was not one that would fulfill a prompt), the book wasn’t as creepy as I expected, and the romance was feeling a little too insta-love for me.

I still feel like the romance felt too instant, but as soon as I picked the book back up, there was a scene in the library that won me over to the story and the romance.

What I most enjoyed about this book was the world building and the characters that occupied that world. Andromeda is a fascinating character: her upbringing, her abilities, and her weaknesses. While I thought the romance was fast, I did enjoy their banter and chemistry. I think something that might have hindered my initial enjoyment of the book was my expectations for the Rochester character. I expected him to be like his namesake. But really the name was primarily all they had in common.

While the book didn’t start as creepy as I’d hoped, the second half did not disappoint. I was fully invested, unable to set the book down until the climatic end.

But go into this one with an open mind, not expecting a faithful retelling of Jane Eyre.

Within These Wicked Walls is well-written, has unique and engaging characters, and a creative plot unlike anything I’ve read before. And possibly one of my top five favorite titles for the year.

Loved this spooky Jane Eyre retelling -- Lauren Blackwood is incredible! I truly did not want this one to end. Haunting world-building, lifelike characters and heartwrenching romance.

Loved the spooky, eerie themes of the evil spirits and the haunted castle Andromeda found herself in the confines in. I also love a good female protagonist who is fierce but eventually learns how to love. With that being said, I thought the beginning of this book started out so strong with suspense and shadows, but then as it progressed, the whole plot became a little too sappy for my liking. I get that was the whole point of the character arc for the protagonist, but the love story aspect of the book took over too much to where there was no longer any adrenaline or suspense left to feel about the evil spirits she still had to cleanse. The ending was also a little too soft.

Overall, it was still a fantastic read and I highly recommend it to anyone. Thank you St. Martins Press for sending me a copy!

I loved this take on the classic Jane Eyre! Blackwood makes your skin crawl with her disturbing descriptions of the “Evil Eye”, but also makes you fall in love with the broken characters who are haunted by it.

Andromeda is hired as an unlicensed debtera for the rich and mysterious Magnus Rochester. After living on the street and fighting for her survival, Andi figures that ridding the Rochester castle from the evil spirits that lurk there won’t cause her much trouble. However, upon entering the home and experiencing the manifestations inside, it becomes clear that she was grossly misguided in her understanding of the job she accepted. She also is completely disenchanted with the handsome and odd Mr. Rochester, who has weird habits and makes his staff and friends follow a specific set of rules when in his home.

The action of this book begins early and does not let up until the end. Swept up in the fury and madness of the house are Andi’s emerging feelings for Mr. Rochester and her desire to ensure his safety. Her love for Magnus drives Andi to confront the promise she made to herself about leaving her past behind her and causes her abilities as a debtera to undergo the greatest challenge she has ever faced.

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press, Wednesday Books for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I really wanted to love this book, and it was certainly a great read for fall!! However, a few things just fell short of the mark for me.

Andromeda is basically an exorcist who has been hired to clear the Evil Eye from a mansion. The book is ostensibly set in historical Ethiopia, which I was really excited about, but they spoke and behaved like modern characters in the West which was a bit disappointing. Andi also has a physically abusive father figure, who did show a lot of growth through the book but I still need to think about how I felt about their plotline.

In terms of the main plot, it felt repetitive and overdone - for example I lost track of how many times Andi fled the house and ran back to her mentor, basically asking for the same thing.

I know that all sounds really negative - the writing was really good, and I would definitely check out Lauren Blackwood in the future; I just felt like this wasn't quite there for me.

This is a pretty loose retelling of Jane Eyer's. The only things that are similar are the castle/mansion and young heroine,

I think this would be a really cool book to go in mostly blind. I haven't read many YA fantasys that are also thriller. It was exhilarating, and I really enjoyed it.

I read it in a day, and didn't know how long had passed until I looked out the window, I think this would be great to get you out of a reading slump.

The characters were really interesting to read about, and I will definitely read more Lauren Blackwood books whenever they come out.

eArc provided to me by Netgalley for an honest review!

Firstly, I would like to state that comparisons to Jane Eyre are doing this a disservice. While I do love Jane Eyre, this story and characters were ultimately more charming — especially the romance. Andromeda is stubborn and brave and just wants to be loved, Magnus is exceptionally odd and endearing.

The exploration of difficult relationships hit HARD and was as upsetting as it was cathartic. I appreciated the effort put into Andi’s feelings surrounding Jember and the way a certain relationship of Magnus’ is written very much hurts in the best way.

The setting, the tension, the romance: all fantastic. If I have one complaint, it’s that I don’t get Magnus’ point of view. It would have been especially fascinating as the book went on!

Overall, an enjoyable read and I’ll definitely be picking up future books by Lauren!!

I'm not much of a Jane Eyre fan, but this retelling was superbly done. I thought the relationship between Andromeda and Magnus paralleled that of Jane and Rochester's dynamic perfectly. Honestly, I prefer this version of them and I think it is due to the fact that they are so close in age in this story. Magnus' odd behaviors and manipulating ways make more sense coming from a 20-year old. I also enjoyed the humor used throughout the book. Without those bits of comic relief, this could have easily been a much darker and heavier story. Overall, I thought this was a gorgeous debut from Lauren Blackwood.

An Ethiopian-inspired fantasy retelling of Jane Eyre. Yes, thank you. I'm not usually attracted to horror but of course, I was fascinated by the other details of this book.

From the very beginning, this story was filled with action. Andromeda, known as Andi, is a debtera; and basically, she's an exorcist hired to cleanse households of the Evil Eye. She is raised by a man named Jember, who is a talented debtera, and he trains her. What follows is her journey as she embarks on her first big job on her own, of tackling these odd manifestations.

I loved the eeriness of the book as well as how each character was so well fleshed out. I can't wait to read more from Blackwood.

Rating: 4⭐️

Thank you to Wednesday Books for gifting me an arc via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

Content warnings: graphic gore, blood, abuse, death, paralysis, abandonment, slavery, trafficking

Within These Wicked Walls is an Ethiopian, gothic Jane Eyre retelling set in a terrifying house cursed with the evil eye, and Andromeda, a debtera, is hired to cleanse the evil within.

I have never read Jane Eyre so I can’t rate it as a retelling since I have no knowledge of the classic. However I can talk about the fantasy elements in the story.

I really enjoyed the atmospheric setting the castle provided. As soon as Andromeda stepped into the house, it creeped me out. The idea of the Evil Eye was intriguing and very gory. I was not expecting it to be so explicit with the description but it was. I don’t want to give too much away, but this story throws you right into the action. You are also told Andromeda’s story through out the book which was nice, instead of having an info dump at the beginning.

The characters were intriguing. Marcus Rochester, who is 20 years old in this book, is a flirt to say the least. He has his days of depression but is always distracting Andromeda from her work. It’s hard not to fall for him instantly. Andi is a badass who grew up way too fast. Sold to Jember by her parents, she is abused and treated horrifically as a child. But it also trained her to survive on her own. I think Saba was my favourite character in the story. She’s so interesting and you can’t help but love her and Andi’s friendship.

Overall this was a very alluring story that got better as it went on. I highly recommend this if you’re looking for a gothic fantasy with a smidge of romance!

Great Possession Tale

I saw a review for Lauren Blackwood’s Within These Wicked Walls, and it sounded amazing. So I snatched it right up. And I’m glad I did.

I don’t read a lot of YA, but this isn’t the angsty YA that would turn off a lot of adults. It’s intelligent and complex. The heroine, Andromeda, has lived a hard life and grown up fast in her scant nineteen years. She’s sent to the castle of twenty-year-old Magnus to rid him and his home of a curse that ten licensed debteras (essentially exorcists) had failed to cleanse. Why was she chosen? Because she was unlicensed, thrown out by her instructor, the most powerful and famous debtera ever. And she accepted because she had nowhere else to go. That makes for a desperate alliance that’s compelling to read about.

The supporting cast is as rich as the two heroes, and it was a pleasure to learn about each of them. Of particular note were the character arcs of Saba, Jember, and Kelela.

The atmosphere in the castle is dark and foreboding. Blackwood paints a horrific picture of a cursed home that is sometimes chilling, sometimes shocking, and always a little uncomfortable. She excels and making the reader sense the undercurrents that live in the house.

I really enjoyed this story and recommend it to anyone looking for a gothic horror tale. Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for a gratis copy of the book in exchange for my unbiased opinion.

Within These Wicked Walls had an intriguing premise. A tale with influences from Ethiopian-inspired folklore and about a cursed gothic manor in need of cleansing sounded like a compelling read. Unfortunately, I was disappointed in the execution of the story itself.

The horror elements and the creepy atmosphere were what I liked best at the times when they were employed, which was honestly less than I was expecting. I had enjoyed all the descriptions about the cursed Manifestations that haunted the house, as well as those of the main character Andromeda’s work as a debtera attempting to exorcise them. I was more interested in her and the other characters' plans to combat the Evil Eye than anything else as I consider those to be some of the most well done and attention-grabbing scenes of the book.

The rest I struggled with. I found the text was often littered with tonal whiplash, stilted dialogue and repetitive conversations that really dragged the plot of the book, and not in a way that contributed any meaningful development to the characters either. The magic system and the setting outside the manor weren’t very well-explained or were alluded to very sparsely. The characters themselves were interesting at a glance, but besides Andromeda and Jember, I don’t think any of them were really fleshed out enough to be memorable. There seemed to be a narrative distance between the reader and the majority of the characters that prevented us from getting to really know any of them and it wasn’t just because this takes place in Andromeda’s POV.

It also didn’t hurt that Magnus and Andromeda’s relationship, which took up an understandably large part of the book, did not sell me at all. I’m not a fan of instalove at the best of times but this particular instance takes the cake for unbelievability. Their sudden confessions of devotion were inexplicable to me beyond their individual longings for affection – because there’s nothing beyond that which convinces me why they actually even loved each other in particular. The two just didn’t have any noticeable chemistry. They had maybe one or two instances of clever banter and that was it. The rest of their conversations seemed forced or out of place. I’m aware this is all purely subjective to the reader, but that relationship just couldn’t keep me invested and its huge place it the story definitely dampened my enjoyment of it.

I do sincerely hope this book finds its way into the hands of those who will enjoy it better than I did.

Thank you to St. Martin's Press for providing the free eARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you to the publisher, Wednesday Books, and NetGalley for providing me with an eARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Andromeda, a debtera who cleanses houses of the Evil Eye, is hired by wealthy heir Magnus Rochester. But she quickly realizes that this job is very different from others she has handled in the past. The castle is filled with dangerous Manifestations, and staying to complete the job almost certainly means death. But leaving, apart from giving up a chance to gain a patron, which Andromeda, as an unlicensed debtera, desperately needs, would also mean dooming Magnus to live with the curse for the rest of his life. The evil that has a hold over the castle will not be defeated easily, and each day Andi lingers there, the more danger she places herself in.

This is called a Jane Eyre retelling, but I honestly didn’t see any similarities other than the remote mansion and the last name Rochester. Nevertheless, the setting with a spooky twist made for an excellent backdrop to this story. The magical system was really interesting, especially how silver amulets were used to cleanse the Evil Eye and each type of manifestation required a special amulet. It would have been nice if the book had taken time to explain the system in more depth though, because we only got to know a few things that then kept repeating throughout the rest of the book. I would also have loved to see Andromeda cleansing a few more rooms of the house as it would have made it a bit clearer how the process actually works. The writing was excellent and the descriptive narration keeps this an engrossing read throughout.

Andromeda was a great central character – determined, tough, but also slow to trust because of the hard childhood she has had. Magnus on the other hand, was the snobby rich brat, somewhat depressed because of the curse forcing him to live out in the desert castle, but his wit and sarcasm make him a wonderful character. The banter between the two of them was one of the best parts of this book and it adds some humor to an otherwise very gothic feeling story.

This novel was an interesting blend of fantasy, horror and romance. The pacing was rather fast, which worked very well for the first two aspects, but not for the romance, which was entirely too rushed and insta-lovey. While Andi and Magnus were really cute, I felt like there wasn’t enough build up – so much so that the story would have been better without it.

While the ending did feel a bit rushed, this was quite good for a debut and I’m looking forward to reading more books by this author. The eerie mood of the story makes it a perfect fit for this season and I would definitely recommend it, especially if you’re looking for a fast paced and easy read.

When people say they are tired of retellings, I'm just going to throw this one in their faces to prove them wrong. Unique, fresh, and yet still recognizable—this is what a retelling should look like in the year of our lord 2021.

As a debtera, Andromeda has been trained to exorcise houses of the Evil Eye. She no longer works with her cruel mentor, and without a licence she is in desperate need of a sponsorship to survive. But when she takes on the job at Thorne Manor for Magnus Rochester, she quickly realizes she's bitten off more than she can chew. The entire house is full to the brim with evil, the manifestations in each room stronger than she's ever seen. Andi has a lot of work ahead of her and too little time to prove to not only herself but to Mr. Rochester and her past mentor that she is capable of ridding this house of the curse. This is a rich story with incredible world building, a sweeping romance, and characters that will stick with you.

This was a fabulous retelling of Jane Eyre. I've only read the book once, but I've seen several adaptations, and this hit on a lot of the major key plot points while still taking a remarkably fresh stance with an Ethiopian inspiration. There's no mad wife in the attic, but Andi's difficult upbringing, her employment in the house, Magnus's attraction to her, and so much more all fit so well when transferred from Jane to this dark and magical desert world. The characters too, were excellent reimaginings. Andi is rather quiet, just trying to do her job, but she is also fierce and independent. She's not had much to rely on but herself, and it shows. And Magnus, well, he's a wealthy young man with a lot of bitterness and fear in his heart, but he has a soft spot for Andi almost immediately.

I'm obsessed with the world building for this book! Blackwood has created something that is so fun to sink into for hours at a time. I was lucky enough to receive an early audio copy, and while I did zone out a few times, I was always able to come back and immediately pick up with what I missed. As a debtera, Andi has been trained to see the patterns in the air that will let her dispel a manifestation of the Evil Eye. Those patterns she then etches into silver medallions and hangs from a neck or the wall to keep the evil out. It's complex, intricate work, and one you can tell she takes pride in, even if it is challenging or she feels out of her depth. And the manifestations themselves were great! Hands reaching out of the floor, spirits throwing books in the library to communicate, rooms filling with blood. They're so spooky and dark. I loved it all, but I do wish we had gotten to see a little more of them.

My only critique for this book was the romance, and this is purely out of personal preference. One thing that always struck me with Jane was that the relationship between Jane and Rochester didn't feel romantic. I always got such bad vibes from it because of how pushy and overly dramatic Rochester was, and unfortunately I found the same red flags transferred over to Andi and Magnus. Even though it is, at face-value, terribly sweet, I couldn't quite root for it. I didn't see much in Magnus that would entice me to want Andi with him, and it came across as a little icky for me.

Look, if Britney Spears and Reese Witherspoon are reading this book, then that means that you need to too. Also, if this doesn't hit the list next week I think I'll riot.

This book had me hook, line, and sinker! As a Jane Eyre retelling, WITHIN THESE WICKED WALLS, is set in a cursed house, and Andromeda (the main character) is an exorcist--which (imo) is a brilliant twist on the original Bronte!! I am a super chicken when it comes to horror, but I couldn't stop reading this one. It just kept getting better! And there's killer banter for days!

This book was pretty terrifying! Andromeda is known as a debtera, an exorcist that cleans houses of the Evil Eye, and she takes on this job that people before her have quit because she needs the money after her adopted father/mentor kicks her out. So the owner of this house she goes to clean is this guy named Magnus who was technically cursed by his father, as the curse passes on to the next generation after death. So Andromeda gets stuck in this love triangle and basically stuck at this job until she realizes she's in way over her head. I think my favorite character is (of course) the librarian, but that's just me.

This was one of my most anticipated reads of the year and I did enjoy it though it didn’t deliver as much as I thought it would.

Blackwood’s take on Jane Eyre feels fresh and new with this Ethiopian inspiration. Rather than a governess, the MC here is a debtera or exorcist, hired to get rid of the Evil Eye that’s tormenting a wealthy man and his staff.

Despite those significant changes, this does feel like it stays pretty true to the original, though thankfully without that considerable age gap. The original’s romance with its push and pull, and fighting and flirting, is followed here as well.

The relationship is still odd though, partly because they move so quickly from strangers to cutesy talk and also because the Mr. Rochester character here speaks in such an old-fashioned way when he’s only 20 years old. I couldn’t totally get on board with it and because of the changes in this retelling I was expecting a thriller moreso than a romance and that was just not the case.

The second half fell flat for me while the thrill aspects of the beginning were exciting. But nothing really came of them and it felt like we left the mysterious dread behind, which was disappointing. There are also many questions around the curse that are left unanswered and it feels unfinished and messy because it’s so central to the main action.

Still an interesting story but I could’ve gone with more on the thriller side.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for a free ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I am so sad that I just did not enjoy this book. This was one of my most anticipated releases for fall of 2021, but it just didn’t work for me. I did really enjoy the spooky, gothic vibes, but the central romance was not convincing for me at all. The main character seemed to do a very quick 180 on her opinion about Magnus, the love interest. The pacing felt really weird; the plot did not move along at all during the first half, but the romance moved too fast without allowing it to develop naturally.

I received an audiobook arc of this book to review and I absolutely adored every second of it. The narrator did the most amazing job with giving each character a unique voice. I was never lost on who was who or where we were in the story. It definitely made this fantastic book come alive all the more! I highly recommend the audiobook.

I’ve never fully read Jane Eyre so beyond the basics, I don’t know much about it so this despite this being a retelling, the story was completely new to me and I loved it! I’m sure I missed out on some key aspects of the original but I honestly do not mind because this just blew all my expectations to the wind in the best way.

This is full of dark magic, murder, intricate mysteries and magical elements. Along with the most angsty yet perfect maelstrom of a relationship. There are so many quotes between the main character and her love interest that I have now saved! Lauren Blackwood knows how to write a compelling romance!

This book had me feeling literally every emotion— anger, deep sadness, yearning and joy, hope and had me gripping the edge of seat during the action scenes. Within These Wicked Walls is a book I think everyone should both buy and read because the inside is just as stunning as the outside.

Yall need this book in your life, trust me!

4.5/5⭐️

I am very saddened to say that I did not get to read this highly anticipated novel. The NetGalley Shelf app has repeatedly kept me from accessing it. When I first acquired this book from the Read Now section, the NetGalley Shelf app would not let me download it. It said “this book already exists”, although I had never downloaded it before. I have been trying for several months to download it and the app will not let me.
Just now, I tried to download the book one more time and I got a message saying “this license is revoked by its provider. It was registered on 6 devices”. That is not true. I may have tried and failed to download it six times, though the app would never let allow me to do so. I contacted NetGalley’s support team, but they said there’s nothing they can do to help.
So sadly, I cannot read this book that I have been anticipating for months.. This review does not at all affect my feelings about the book, being that I haven’t gotten the chance to read it. But, I will be leaving a 5 star rating for this book because it isn’t the author’s fault that NetGalley has given me problems and I also refuse to let the app’s problems affect my NetGalley feedback ratio. So 5 stars for this book, even though I haven’t read it yet. And I will be picking it up in the future!
This review is by no means is a reflection of the book, author, or publisher.