This is very loosely based on Jane Eyre, with an innocent young woman entering a gloomy castle called Thornfield owned by a man named Rochester, mixed in with Ethiopian Christian elements and magical elements. It's billed as a YA romance/horror, but the romance didn't work for me. It's pretty much instalove with no grounding in the relationship, and they seem entirely mismatched--Andromeda is more world-weary and feels much older than she is, and Magnus is a "brat" as Andi calls him and acts like a spoiled rich boy a lot of the time. Andi deserved someone more mature. The tone of their relationship is off as well--they banter a lot, like rom-com couples, but there are serious issues going on around them, and the Gothic horror vibe to the rest of the story makes this banter feel wildly out of place.

I wish the story had been more grounded in sense of place and time. I wasn't sure when it took place and wouldn't have known where if not from the blurb and from some cursory research about debteras. I also wanted more world-building around the magic systems and its relationship to religion--the religious aspect of the debteras' work is unclear to me.

Blackwood creates sympathetic characters in the women, especially Andi and Saba, and writes beautifully, but this fell flat for me, unfortunately.

I don’t have enough good things to say about this book. I had previously never been a huge Jane Eyre fan so I was unsure how I’d like a retelling but this story was so unique and beautiful! I loved learning about the debtera and watching the relationships within this book as there were many different types. We had the love of friendship with Saba, the conflicting relationship with Jember and first love with Magnus.

My favorite part of this whole book has to be Magnus. He was such a cinnamon roll and I’m going to say brat too, but in the most endearing way possible. His indignation at ridiculously small things was precious and his affection for Andi was so sweet. Saba was a close second with her enduring friendship and constant dealing with the brat owner of the house and panicky debtera. She was a no-nonsense character and I adored her.

The creepy factors of this book was so very well done. It was just enough to get me creeped out while also not taking away from the bonds within the book. I will say I was conflicted with her bond with Jember just because of the harsh way he raised her and how she was so starved for love she even admitted to being okay with any form of touch, even a slap, to receive love. But after finishing the book I was content with how the relationship played out.

P.S. I don’t know if it was intentional, but I feel like there was a Pride and Prejudice reference in here with Magnus joking to Andi about her trying to intimidate him while she watched him play the harpsichord. I really hope it was a reference because I got a lot of enjoyment out of that!

I received an ARC of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you!

A Jane Eyre-inspired story set in Ethiopia with magic and horror? Absolutely. Sign me up! That's what I loved most about this story – the worldbuilding, the magic, the Jane Eyre-like atmosphere. The writing was stellar and I was hooked from the very beginning. I literally sat in one place for a few hours until I finished it.

Andromeda is exactly the type of protagonist that I like – tough, wary to trust, whip-smart, and with a dry/sarcastic sense of humor. What I didn't love was that it all seemed to go away when she started liking Magnus – found that to be a bit unreasonable that fourteen plus years of trauma disappeared over the course of the novel (about a month).

If the romance hadn't been so instalove and a bit more believable, I would have given this book 5 stars. It was literally the only part that I didn't like. They were kissing already in the first third of the novel. And Magnus dropping that he was setting up a wedding without asking her first? No thank you. Andromeda girl, you can do better.

Overall: 3.5 stars.

I came for the horror and I stayed for the romance. What a ride this book was, let me tell you.

This book was set in a haunted mansion and had the most chilling atmosphere ever. I was fascinated by the concept of debteras and the world building seemed really well developed.

What stuck with me the most after finishing this novel were its lovable characters and the heart wrenching romance between our two main characters.

Definitely worth a read if you’re a fan of atmospheric horror, gothic romances and Jane Eyre!

(A big thank you to NetGalley for providing me with an ARC of this wonderful book!)

This story was amazing I couldn't stop reading it and ended up finishing it under 7 hours. The story follows Andromeda who is a debtera or an exorcist that is hired to cleanse the castle of Magnus. The banter between them was humorous and flirty which had me pausing to collect myself. Andromeda was a beautifully written strong Black female character that I just fell in love with. This easily became one of my favorite stories and I cannot wait for everyone to get a hold of this one.

*3.5 stars
Thank you so much to Netgalley and Wednesday books for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review!

Jane Eyre is one of my favorite classics, so once I saw that this was a Jane Eyre retelling, I was immediately sold! I had so much fun reading and spotting all of the callbacks to the original novel, and I fully believe this book did the story justice.

I adored the main character, Andromeda. She's a young girl just trying to survive, and I found myself immediately rooting for her. Mr. Rochester is certainly more likeable in this book than in the original novel, but I ultimately found the romance to be a little rushed. That's definitely more personal preference, however, considering the romance in Jane Eyre is also very rushed.

I found the plot to be a little slow to start, but by the halfway point I was hooked and wanted to keep reading to unravel the mystery. This is definitely a YA fantasy that I think should be on everyone's radar.

Atmospheric, Romantic and Immersive

The quality of this book is extraordinary, particularly for a debut. I loved Jane Eyre and have read it several times, and it’s extremely rare to find a book that captures that same unearthly-within-everyday life atmosphere so naturally. The reader falls into it immediately.

The magic system is so creative and unique, a combination of spirits, curses and amulets. It draws on sources as diverse as classical mythology, African/black culture and Christian theology with other elements that are universal across cultures. Similarly, the characters are diverse in a way that mixes a range of human skin tones with unearthly elements, such as brown skin blending in a complementary way with blue hair. As a black woman myself, it is affirming and restoring to inhabit the main character, Andromeda, and enter a world where diversity exists but is not the point of the narrative. Andromeda contains galaxies and so does this book. The visual descriptions are vivid and wondrous. The house contains endless landscapes within it thanks to a multitude of Manifestations juxtaposed with mundane details such as scarred wood and peeling paint.

The writing is stellar and really breathtaking in its ability to combine economy and beauty. The heroine, a young girl who is trying to survive on her own, is instantly sympathetic and you begin rooting for her right away. We see through her eyes and make discoveries as she does, and you can feel it all as it happens. Her character is complex, initially revealed in hints that eventually lead to revelations. The character building in general is excellent and we quickly feel the essence of each person and of the mysterious house itself. The interaction between her and the enigmatic man of the house is romantic in the purest sense in the world, and it’s hugely enjoyable to watch their relationship unfold.

This is a book best experienced without knowing much about it, so it is difficult to describe. Everyone should have the joy of falling into it and discovering its wonders. I recommend it highly and this author is now an automatic “must buy” for me. I hope we won’t have to wait long for her next book!

I was a little bit wary and a bit excited to read this retelling of Jane Eyre, but I have to say I enjoyed it. Andromeda is still a strong woman, Magnus (Rochester) is still a bit weird and moody, and all in all it was fun. I loved learning about Ethiopian culture a little through it and will likely read other things by this author.

Book Review for Within These Wicked Walls
Full review for this title will be posted at: @cattleboobooks on Instagram!

Free book for honest review from Netgalley ~ so this one... it’s ALL romance honestly. The “creep” factor comes from a haunted house but it’s mostly background to the instalove romance. Some of the shenanigans the house gets up to feels more like a bad episode of Doctor Who (if you’ve watched the series you’ll know what I’m talking about when you get to that point) so it doesn’t remotely feel scary—and I’m a wuss. Except there’s no aliens.

On to the romance in question. I hated Magnus. There, I said it. Sorry not sorry. He was irritating and controlling, and I couldn’t see how he had our dear mc hanging on his every word. At one point he talks about WEDDING PLANS. But excuse me, you have to ASK FIRST if someone will marry you before making it a given. It wasn’t just this one time either, that he treats the mc this way. He won’t leave the mansion without knowing where she is going, he doesn’t tell her a number of important details before romancing her, and he’s basically a spoiled brat full stop. It’s neither cute or enticing.

Moving on from the most prominent male character, let’s take a look at her mentor. Here’s another situation that’s clearly abusive and she keeps making excuses for him and the author gives him a tragic backstory to “make it better.” it didn’t fly for me. Jember is still awful and made me want to ragequit the way our girl venerates him. At one point she flat out states that he must have trained her to like awful men because of his behavior toward her.

Now, Saba was awesome and I give her an extra star. She made every part of the book she appeared in better. (If only she had been our mc.).

I could have done with more world building. I tried pin pointing the time but failed. There’s guns and people using carts but they also say “Sweet Jesus,” which feels distinctly modern. Idk, honestly.

If you love romance you might give this book a try. This one didn’t work for me but the writing was decent. 2.5 rounded up to 3 for now mostly because of one reason: Saba—but I’m wavering thanks to some of those abusive relationships that are extolled here.

I absolutely loved this book. I wasn’t sure exactly what to expect when I started it, but saying I was surprised is an understatement. This was everything I wanted and more.

Within These Wicked Walls is an Ethiopian inspired retelling of Jane Eyre. Andromeda is a debtera, tasked with creating amulets to banish Manifestations. After accepting a dangerous job in a cursed house, she is dragged into the center of a dangerous battle against evil.

I do want to start this by saying that I’ve never read Jane Eyre, so I have no idea how closely this follows it. I would guess not super closely, but I’m not sure. I think not having read the original actually heightened my enjoyment of this, because I had no idea what was coming. I was kept guessing the entire time, and I loved it!

My favorite thing about this was definitely the relationships between the characters. They were incredibly well written. Somehow, Blackwood had me caring about our secondary characters as much, if not more than Andromeda. To me, the shining star of this book was the father/daughter relationship between Andi and Jember. It was conflicted, and even though Jember wasn’t always kind, I loved him. Getting to see their bond in action, and not just through flashbacks had me captivated. Watching both of them confront their feelings was one of the things that had me on the edge of my seat, and the ending had me in tears.

I truly cannot decide where I stand considering the romance. I liked it, and I really liked Magnus and Andi, but it just felt so instant. There was virtually no buildup to their relationship, so I was slightly confused the entire time. Clearly, I wasn’t too bothered, because I still have this 5 stars, but I didn’t love the romance.

I did love the world though! I loved how this wasn’t a typical “haunted” house. We had the curse, we had the objects rearranging themselves, we had the nightmares, but we did have ghosts. We had incredibly interesting Manifestations, and I still have so many questions regarding them. How do they form? Why do they form? Why do the amulets prevent them?

Although I’m not entirely sure what the next book will bring to the table, and what it’s plot will be, I want it now! I’m not ready to leave these characters and their relationships behind, so I can’t wait to see what else Blackwood can do.

Thanks to Goodreads for providing a copy through a Giveaway!

Rating: 2.5 stars

Okay, I honestly saw "Jane Eyre retelling," and just started reading. To even call this a re-imagining is a bit of a stretch, and to be honest, I got more Beauty and the Beast vibes than fantasy Jane Eyre from Blackwood's debut. I don't even say this as a Jane Eyre purist--I don't even like the Brontë sisters; I just have a fondness for retellings--but this is more of a psuedo-modernized Gothic featuring a love interest whose last name happens to be Rochester. So ignoring the whole Jane Eyre element, I'm going to review this based on the description Lauren Blackwood gives us herself, "If you love kissing, creepy stuff, and banter for days PULL UP A CHAIR YOU'RE IN THE RIGHT PLACE."

Kissing. Because YA/contemporary romance is my comfort read, I've read a lot of instalove over the years, but the relationship between Andromeda and Magnus is pretty high up there on the list of Ridiculously Bad Instalove. I think the main issue was that the characters were flat and weren't particularly developed, so it was hard to be invested in their weirdly paced romance. (I honestly was more invested in complicated cool-motive-still-murder-type relationship Andromeda had going on with the re-imagined Brocklehurst than I was in the romance.)

Rochester went from a dark, moody hero to a socially awkward, lovelorn boy in the blink of an eye, and Andromeda was instantly transformed from a hardened street urchin focused on survival to a blushing, girlish optimist in the span of a couple chapters. They kept wondering what the other person saw in them, and I have to say, I was wondering the same thing. They each lacked any kind of personality, so it was hard to connect with them emotionally.

One of the problems with instalove is that when the protagonist falls in love too quickly, the author needs to come up with reasonable explanations for why the couple can't have their happily ever after for another 100+ pages. Unfortunately, the supposed obstacles Blackwood threw between Andromeda and Mangus were fairly unconvincing. For the most part, the romance felt like an unnecessary will-they-won't-they tug-of-war with a lot of kissing in between. Blackwood was not kidding, if you love kissing, you're definitely in the right place.

Creepy Stuff. I'm not one with a major creep tolerance, but even I thought this wasn't particularly spooky. I'm not necessarily complaining since I wouldn't have read this if I'd seen the whole "exorcist hired to cleanse households of the Evil Eye" part of the summary before I started, but if you're going to market this in connection with a classic Gothic romance, you need to deliver on the Gothic aspect. Without a creepy wife locked away in the attic, Within These Wicked Walls felt more like a dark version of Howl's Moving Castle. Don't get me wrong, there were spider-filled closets and bleeding walls, but because the writing was fairly basic, Thornfield didn't quite give off the eerie, atmospheric vibes I think most readers--especially lovers of "creepy stuff"--would be looking for.

Banter for Days. As I mentioned, the instalove didn't have much substance, so most of the relationship between Andromeda and Mangus was, in fact, made up of banter for days. I personally love banter and can't say Blackwood didn't deliver on her promise to provide plenty of back-and-forth between the main characters; it just wasn't particularly special. The banter was fun but perfectly forgettable, and in a day and age in which books with banter are a dime a dozen, I'm going to need a lot more than some decent banter to keep me invested in a book.

One of the big selling points for Within These Wicked Walls is that it's an Ethiopian-inspired fantasy. Unfortunately, the world building was virtually non-existent. I can't tell you how many times I forgot this was supposed to be set in Africa while I was reading because it felt like a generic haunted English mansion set in a generic desert. I also had a hard time find what Jordan Ifueko called "an intricate magic system." All I was really able to gather from the book was that debtera use wielding pens to draw designs in silver to scare off manifestations of the Evil Eye (whatever that means.) There's still a bit of time between now and November, so maybe more of the world building (and story) will be fleshed out before Within These Wicked Walls hits the printing press; I'm just not going to stick around to find out whether or not that's the case.

Special thanks to Wednesday Books for the early digital proof which was provided in exchange for an honest review.

This was book was beautiful creepy, i have read a lot of paranormal books and i have never read a book like this.

This is Lauren Blackwood’s debut novel and she has a way that makes you feel every characters emotions and you feel like you are that person in that book.

The synopsis of the this book describes it very well and i would say go into only knowing what the synopsis told you.

The banter between Andromeda and Magnus was everything.

Please get this book when its released you won’t regret

The concept of this story is stunning, I mean a female Debtera. Within the first pages I was dissapointed. The writing is very basic no beauty,no metaphors or descriptive language to it there are various repetitions of the word gaped and gasped and it was annnoying. There is no world building especialy considering its supposed to be a story set in Ethiopia, where in Ethiopia exactly north,east south or west? it could be anywhere in this world. I hadn't anticipated how fast this was going to turn into a romance between the main characters maybe because i havent ever read the source material (Jane Eyre).The main characters are barely developed, Andromeda has an unstable personality and Magnus was not adorbale but boderline creepy, A lot of things happened of book like Andromeda surviving on the street and I would have liked to see that and the curse itself and how it came about
I assume this is an early copy of the book and some things will be better handled in the final copy.


Thank you netgalley and the pulisher for letting me read this copy.

I think I’m clearly an outlier when I say that this book was just fine. Good, should have had all of the things that excited me and where I certainly read it fast, I didn’t think it was quite 5 starts good. I think I sit at a 3.5.

I did enjoy a lot of things in this book, and only wish they would have been expanded upon. The debtera are fascinating, and I’m absolutely in love with the religious themes. Magnus and Andromeda had fun banter and I found both of them to be, while somewhat flat, enjoyable characters.

I felt like the romance was a bit too insta-love for my tastes, and would have liked to see more Gothic-horror than just a spooky house, but found the writing itself very enjoyable and well done. I think if you’re someone who is looking for a fun, fast, and unique take on old stories you wouldn’t be upset spending an afternoon reading this debut.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you Netgalley and the publisher for granting me an early copy of the book.

WTWW is a gothic supernatural story based on Jane Eyre. Set in an Ethiopian desert this intriguing story kept fascinating me.
As mentioned before, it is a re-telling of Jane Eyre. However, it must be one of the most unique and original retellings I have ever read in my life. Our main protagonist Andi is an exorcist who has just lost her mentor and in search of a job. She finds one quickly and sets her journey to cleanse Magnus Rochester's house, falling in love along the way.

There are some amazing descriptions and incredibly creepy moments that had me agonizing. The side characters were amazing and I once the story kicked in I couldn't stop reading.

If you like sweet romances, badass heroines, mystery and heartbreak then I totally recommend this one.

The only thing I didn't like was how Andi behaved during some scenes related to Magnus and a secondary character. It was a little messy and cringy to me but overall I loved this book.

I know it said "fantasy retelling of Jane Eyre" in the blurb, but I feel like there were also quite a few elements of Beauty and the Beast in there. A man living mostly alone in his house save for his servants; that man considering himself a monster, calling himself that and believing it; a curse to be lifted... The author definitely wrote this with Jane Eyre on the mind – and delivered, plot-wise and character-wise – but I saw another retelling mixed in there. And I liked that!

For the most part, I was really fond of Andi. Tough, determined, knowing exactly what she wanted and what she didn't: she started off as a character I knew I would be rooting for throughout the novel. Her relationship with her old mentor, with all its twists and turns, was what I loved most about this book. The instalove, though, I couldn't quite get behind. It had both Andi and Magnus acting more like 16-year-olds rather than 19 and 20 respectively, hiding behind bookcases in overwhelming emotion and giving romantic speeches without knowing each other for all that long, really. Their manner of speaking and word choices confused me about the time period this story was placed in, too: the setting may have been charming, but I wasn't sure if this was set in an older time or was a little more modern.

The plot more than made up for a lot of the areas I was not as invested in. Andi, one of the exorcists known most commonly as debtera, was hired to cleanse a mansion of the Evil Eye – one which ten debtera had tried to cleanse before her and failed at. The methods used to rid people of the Evil Eye, the descriptions of the many forms the manifestations took: all of it was riveting and ensured I had a good time reading this book.

Hmm... Mixed feelings on this one. This was one of my most awaited releases of 2021 so I was ecstatic to read the ARC. I mean... Ethiopian gothic fantasy retelling of Jane Eyre where the heroine is an exorcist hired to cleanse a cursed house? GIVE IT TO ME! <b>While I enjoyed the first half immensely, even ready to rate it 4.5, I feel like the second half really needed more work.</b>

This very much reads like a debut novel. My biggest complaint is the romance. There is instalove, which I'm not a fan of. And the romantic pacing is very weird: sometimes good, sometimes too fast, sometimes there's a really emotional moment but there isn't enough gravity to it.

Midway through, our heroine momentarily rejects the hero because she's heartbroken that he hid something very important from her (this is a Jane Eyre retelling; you can probably tell what it is)... and I was aggravated that everyone acted like she was making a big deal out of nothing? Even the narrative voice wasn't sympathetic to her which was so weird. Girl, you were right to get angry at him. You should make him GROVEL for an apology. What he did was wrong and IDK why the book treated it like a tiny misunderstanding...

HOWEVER.

Independently, I actually really loved the elements. <b>The protagonists and central romance remind me of a Margaret Rogerson or Cassie Clare novel.</b> Super likable heroine who is kind, positive, and no-nonsense (my favorite scene is when she slaps Magnus LMAO). Bratty prince love interest who is super tactless but has a secret heart of gold. Tons of banter, drama, and epic love confessions like a standard gothic romance. Actually, this is the rare case where I feel that they should have been aged down. Andromeda is nineteen, Magnus twenty... But they felt more like 16 or 17 year olds to me.

The worldbuilding is also incredible and I adored the magic system. Vivid setting, unique magic, quirky characters. Furthermore, I loved how the first chapter started exactly where it needed to. No long, winding, and unnecessary introductions. Just. Straight to the point.

<b>I just wish it was more complex, but hey, it was still fun. I received a galley copy so I'm hoping that my issues will be fixed in the final copy. We'll see.</b>

<b>Check this out if you enjoyed <i>Mexican Gothic</i> or <i>Down Comes the Night</i>.</b> Personally, I'm loving the resurgence of gothic fantasy right now!

<i>Thank you to NetGalley and Wednesday Books for providing me with an e-ARC in exchange for an honest review.</i>

I'm not sure why Jane Erye is having a resurgence right now, but it seems like I've read more modern Janes's this year than I have P&P adaptations. That said, if you want to hop on the Jane boat (I mean, everyone is doing it, after all), this is a great place to start. It's atmospheric and the heroine is tough and the magic system is fairly novel.

Lauren Blackwood took elements of the story of Jane Eyre and managed to turn it into cursed house mystery. And I can safely say that even if you have never read Jane Eyre, you can still wholeheartedly enjoy this book.

Andromeda, her character is an absolute treasure, she was smart and brave- it was hard to not love her. As her and Magnus spend more and more together they develop quite relationship, while many spooky and mysterious things are happening at his house. I enjoyed his character a lot s well.
I loved the romantic element in this book, I thought the growth of the romance was organic and sweet and believable.

This was so expertly woven! And the dark feelings and vibes throughout really makes this such a unique and amazing reading experience.

If you’re looking for Gothic romance that funny, with an addictive plot and fantastic characterizations, look no further.

ARC kindly provided by the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.