This debut novel from Paulette Kennedy blends a historical fiction thriller with gothic romance and mystery and sets it in the English countryside around the turn of the century. Paranormal activity, guarded servants, and locked doors, and family secrets send our MC, Eliza, desperately searching for answers before it's too late to save herself and her family.

Some of the dialogue did not seem to coincide with the vernacular of the era, and I felt some questionable plot twists didn't feel entirely resolved. As with many romances, you may need to suspend slight disbelief, but overall, this was a satisfying and suspenseful read.

A creepy over-tone, dark, crumbling once beautiful mansion, mysterious behavior from the supporting cast, and a spooky seance scene makes this a page-turner for those who enjoy a little darkness in their historical romances with a nod to Rebecca or Jane Eyre.

Parting the Veil was such a great gothic read that I absolutely loved! The characters were well formed and honestly, the twist was really good and I wasn't expecting it. There was a lot of mystery in this about past family members and I just didn't really catch on to a couple of things so I love being surprised. I loved the writing style and I was completely engrossed, could not put this one down!

This was an exciting gothic story with romance, suspense, and mystery! This historical setting was beautifully written, and I didn't want to put the book down!

Well, what can I say about this book?

I am literally lost for words, which is a rarity for me, but seriously I can’t seem to find the words to convey how much I loved this book, it’s a wonderful debut and I can’t wait to read more from Paulette Kennedy. It has everything you could ever want in Gothic historical fiction.

Before I start this review, let’s take a moment to appreciate how striking this cover is, it’s beautiful and works perfectly with the story.

Set in 1899, it tells the story of Eliza who has left her home in New Orleans with her sister Lydia, after Eliza receives word that their aunt has passed away and left Eliza her estate; a broken, run-down shell of what was an elegant and beautiful Manor. The moment they set eyes on the house and they first hear the whisperings of ghostly goings-on the sisters are drawn to the darkly atmospheric snd shadowy manor.

As you would have expected, the two sisters become quite the centre of the gossips and are well and truly the centre of attention, not exactly something they had wanted but not entirely unwanted, especially when it comes from the direction of the startlingly handsome; Malcolm, Lord Havenwood, not surprisingly Eliza falls completely under his spell and swiftly marries him, only for their marriage to be nothing but a hellish existence that plays with Eliza’s mind. With the treatment from her husband and the ghostly goings-on, plus gossip it’s understandable that Eliza soon sinks into a deep pit of paranoia and fear.

I must give a little warning though, that this does deal with difficult subjects such as; mental illness, domestic abuse, racism and grief. So, if you prefer a lighter historical romance then this may not be the best book for you, but I do hope everyone who loves a love story will give this one a go, it’s not for the faint-hearted but it is worth every moment you spend reading it.

Parting the Veil is a beautiful and mesmerizing story of love and hope, of finding happiness and discovering the truth, it’s also dramatic and chilling with darkness and spidery mist swirling around in the corners. You feel as though there is something sitting just out of sight watching, something lurking in the darkness but is the darkness really ghostly, is there really something in the shadows or is it in someones mind?

I thoroughly enjoyed this book, it’s one that will keep you up all night long whether from the chilling and hard-hitting story or that you keep on reading. I thought the various themes running throughout the story could have been joined up together to make the overall reading experience smoother as once the twists and turns started emerging it felt as though everything was being pushed at the reader in big clumps. But, to be honest, it didn’t affect my overall enjoyment, I loved the darker tones it really puts the reader on edge of what’s to happen.

Parting the Veil tells us the ghostly atmospheric and beautiful story of Eliza as she runs away from her own past, hoping to run into a brighter future only to find herself stuck in the darkened past of another.

Thank you, NetGalley, Paulette Kennedy, and Lake Union Publishing for the opportunity to read this book!

The cover of Parting the Veil by Paulette Kennedy is what originally caught my attention. It wasn’t until I received the book that I actually looked at the synopsis of the book and I can tell you now, I was not disappointed. Eliza and her sister, Lydia arrive in England after growing up in New Orleans. When they receive an inheritance, it came at the perfect time. They are desperate for a new and independent start. However, there is one stipulation to their inheritance, Eliza must marry within three months. Good thing there is a handsome and mysterious neighbor who comes to call. Malcolm is the Lord of Havenwood. Rumors swirl about him but he and Eliza have instant chemistry. A quick marriage leads her into moving into his home. A fire took his family, but the house has many secrets. At first, marriage is delightful for Eliza. But her husband starts acting strange. He is no longer the charming and caring husband she married. Maybe she should start listening to the ghosts of the manor…

Duality. There is the duality of nature, of the human condition, of truth, and of love. Robert Louis Stevenson’s Dr. Jekyl and Mr. Hyde had the concept that we have both goodness and evil within ourselves. In actuality, dualism is a common theme from the dawn of time. It has been present since the first civilizations, their myths and religion. And it is a very prominent theme in this book. This book introduces Eliza and Lydia, sisters but very different. Malcolm differs drastically in the day and at night but is also a twin. And there is more—but I shall not spoil it for you because it was quite divine.

Trigger Warnings: Abuse, Depression, Grief, PTSD, Suicide

Honestly, I could not find a single thing to complain about with this book. It has all the atmospheric gothic-ness of the classics–Love, Murder, Deceit, Ghosts. At first, I thought I had it all figured out and I was beyond shocked that the book would even go that far, but PLOT TWIST. I. WAS. WRONG. I did not predict the ending. But after the shock wore off, every plot detail came together beautifully. The first 30% of the novel involves the whirlwind romance. By the time the marriage rolls around, there is still more than half the book left. I had two thoughts. One, this is going to be a long and arduous read or two, I am in for a wild ride. I am happy to report that it was the latter.

Eliza is not without flaws. She acted on her emotions like any person would. You might think that Malcolm doesn’t make sense–hang in there, he will. I love how the author portrayed grief and forgiveness. Eliza tortures herself with blame and guilt and we have all been there. Maybe not the same circumstances, but we have all experienced the ruminating thoughts that surround a lapse in judgment. We all have experienced what grief can do and how unrelenting anxiety really is. So bravo. I connected with Eliza so much.

I can’t leave without discussing the representation in this book. Again, Bravo! It was beautifully intertwined in the story. I rate this book 5 out of 5 stars. This author is now on my must-read list!

I love Gothic suspense stories but this one fell a little short...
It was well written but I found the characters tedious...especially Eliza and Malcolm. Their story just didn't connect with me but I had to finish the book to see what happened.
The suspense was there but I found it strange that the ghost aspects of the story was lacking.
There were many disappointing aspects to the story one of which was Eliza having to find a husband to inherit her Aunt's home/money...there were time limits on that....you can't just fall in love with someone so that you inherit a fortune to be given to the husband. Yes I know this was in the late 1800's early 1900's and that is how they did things but it wasn't realistic.

I'm sorry to the author but this book just wasn't for me...maybe that is why it took me 8 days to read it...

Thank you to NetGalley and Lake Union Publishing for allowing me to read a digital copy of this book. All opinions are my own and again I'm sorry to the author that I couldn't connect with her book.

My heart is still racing, my palms sweaty, and I swear someone is watching me, and I finished this book an hour ago! Parting the Veil is my favorite type of read! An ominous manor, that becomes a living, breathing character, that makes you jump at every noise and pause before you can continue on. I had to keep telling myself I was reading a book and this wasn't actually happening to me! Paulette Kennedy quickly draws you in with rich characters, and exquisite details. I found myself flying through the book, not able to put it down until I uncovered every last secret surrounding Havenwood and the Winfield family.

Eliza has inherited her late Aunt's estate in England. She is excited to leave New Orleans in her wake and have a fresh start. From the beginning Eliza is struck by her neighbor's mansion, Havenwood. It is dark, crumbling into disrepair, and shrouded in mystery. Havenwood's Lord on the other hand is dark, handsome, and leaves Eliza wanting from the first moment she lays eyes on him. They are smitten and marry quickly after they meet. Eliza is completely enraptured with her new home. Each room is like opening a present on Christmas. This feeling quickly begins to wane, when she begins to feel eyes following her everywhere, strange noises that haunt the night, sections of the house she is not allowed in, all makes for a whirlwind, spine tingling mystery. Not only does the house have moods, her husband seems to take on two different personas depending on the day. One is a ravenous, attentive lover, who will do anything for her. The next hour he becomes cruel and hostile. What is going on within Havenwood's walls? Eliza is determined to find out!

Everything about this book is fantastic, first off, the cover! I was jealous when I saw this book popping up everywhere and I had to read it! Kennedy's writing style is perfection, she brings the story to life. I literally thought I was in the book a few times. There were a few secrets I figured out early on, but that did not matter. There are so many twists and turns, that you will never uncover the entire truth until the end. Thank you to Paula Kennedy, Lake Union Publishing, and NetGalley for this mysterious, tantalizing read!

*Spoilers*

Escaping a tragic past in New Orleans, a mysterious new neighbor, horrible rumors of betrayal and a haunted estate: things Eliza Sullivan has to survive in her new life in rural England at her inherited estate.
Her new neighbor, Lord Havenwood, catches her attention with his mystery and with his charm, but he’s the talk of the town…and not in a good way. Lord Havenwood changes after their hasty marriage, and Eliza is caught in between his sweet generosity and his vile secrets. Parting the Veil was a genuine mystery. There were a few moments throughout the story where I thought to myself “Oh, I know where this is going.” Turns out, I definitely did not.
The story started a bit slow and didn’t truly capture my attention until a little over halfway when Eliza finally starts taking matters into her own hands and searching for the answers to the mysteries that haunt Havenwood Manor. However, the paranormal aspect to this story was well written, and I’d love to have read more of it, as it was rather brief. Eliza’s interactions with the ghosts of Havenwood Manor were suspenseful and spooky, and kept the mystery alive. More rumors and horrors threatened to spill from Havenwood Manor and put Eliza’s life in danger. And holy plot twist! The ending of Parting the Veil was an intricately crafted surprise. It’s so cliche for the bad guy to be the “evil” twin, that I literally didn’t even consider that the bad guy could be the “evil” twin. Though of course, Malcom is not truly evil, but his actions spiral into madness more and more until Eliza realizes he’s not the twin she married. A+ plot twist for taking a cliche and burying it so deep behind a paranormal haunting and the mental deterioration from syphilis that I’d completely forgotten it was even a possibility. All of the main and side characters were well written and interacted with each other in a way that kept the story moving at a pleasant pace. The intricacy of character relationships was unique and engaging. The descriptions and detail of the setting and scenes were beautiful and haunting and draw you deep into the walls of Havenwood Manor. Overall, a wonderful gothic mystery!

This book was very hyped for me on twitter and while I enjoyed it I think my expectations were too high. It fell into many classic Gothic tropes and I was expecting something a little more out there. I did really love how queer characters were added and it not being a huge problem in the plot considering the time period its set in. I'm not sure that the twist really worked though as I feel like the main character would of noticed sooner.
Overall a page turning Gothic tale but not something outside the box!

I have to say this book is right up my street and I highly enjoyed it from start to finish. It's a compelling, historical mystery and part ghost story. The protagonist, Eliza, is a spirited American who lands in the UK in the midst of the landed gentry at the turn of the 20th century. She falls in love with the mysterious Malcolm Winfield. It was a perfect read for this time of year. I highly recommend this read to readers who love a good gothic mystery with lots of twists and turns. Thanks to NetGalley and Lake Union Publishing for an advance copy.

You just have to take one look at this gorgeous cover and you can’t help but to be pulled into this gothic romance/thriller called Parting the Veil by Paulette Kennedy and you know you are in for an amazing ride. The cover is gorgeous and it literally pulls you into the story! Romance and intrigue, thriller and just a touch of the paranormal! What fun!

🪞Eliza Sullivan, our main character, has just inherited a home in the English countryside and, eager to leave her old life and painful memories behind, she moves to England with her sister.

🗝She can’t help bit to be drawn to her neighbor’s mansion or the tragic story behind the one remaining family member, Malcolm Winfield, Lord of Havenfield Manor, dark and brooding - who forms an instant connection with Eliza. They marry, but she soon discovers he has a Jekyll and Hyde personality. There are strange sounds at night. Why did one wing of the house burn? What is going on?

This was such a great read! Gothic romance, gothic thriller, paranormal treatments… the atmosphere pulls you in instantly and you can’t put the book down. Well written with a strong female lead this book also does a great job of shedding light on PTSD. I guessed one of the twists, but not the other until almost the end - so that makes it a winner for me! I highly recommend!

Thank you @letstalkbookspromo @pkennedywrites @amazonpublishing and @netgalley for a copy of this ARC! It is right up my alley!

A delightfully creepy and atmospheric read, though most of that comes at the end. So, the beginning of this book was slow and by page 100 I was wondering if anything was going to really happen.
Our main character, Eliza, who inherits an estate from her recently deceased aunt, finds out that there is a stipulation: she has to marry within three months. I thought this would be the basis of the story actually, but I'm not sure we ever found out WHY her aunt stipulated this. Rather, it just felt like an easy way to get Eliza over to the real destination: the crumbling Havenwood manor, with her new husband, Malcolm and his handbag of secrets.
Now this is where the story got going, and all my favorite gothic tropes came to life: secrets, forbidden rooms, ghosts, madness, and of course the icing on the cake, which was predictable, but still good, duality.
All in all, a good read, though I'm thinking the pacing in the first half could've been upped and the story a bit shorter. Still, I quite enjoyed it! Thanks to Netgalley for the free arc.

I enjoyed reading Paulette Kennedy’s debut novel. This novel opens in 1899 as Eliza Sullivan and her stepsister, Lydia, leave behind tragedy and loss in New Orleans to create a new lives for themselves in rural England. Eliza has inherited a country estate from a deceased aunt, and the two women look forward to a fresh start and the independence they crave.

Their dreams of independence are short-lived. Eliza soon learns that her inheritance hinges upon her rapidly marrying, something she has never desired. Nevertheless, she finds herself increasingly drawn to her mysterious neighbor, Malcolm, Lord Havenwood. Although the townspeople warn her off, Eliza’s fascination grows steadily. His tragic past, suspicions he may have murdered his family, an old country estate that may be haunted, none of the rumors give her pause as she plunges headlong in this whirlwind romance.

After the passion of the honeymoon begins to fade, Eliza, the new Lady Havenwood, begins to untangle the web of mystery and lies surrounding her husband’s past. And she learns that the townspeople were not only spreading idle gossip, there are definite supernatural presences residing alongside her in the crumbling estate.
This was a beautifully written, atmospheric tale, with strong Gothic elements. I enjoyed the writing and the strong character development. As a reader, I appreciated following along Eliza’s journey as she attempts to piece together the mystery of Malcolm’s past and to make sense of her surroundings. The plotting was strong and moved the story along at a brisk pace.

Although I love these types of stories and all elements of Gothic, the final chapters did come with a few too many rapid-fire twists and turns for my taste. Nevertheless, this was a highly enjoyable read and I’ll look forward to reading more by this author.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for a copy of this novel, in exchange for an honest review.

A derelict mansion, a handsome bachelor with mysteriously missing family members, and reticent servants? Check, check, and check! Add in some thoroughly modern twists to this classic gothic formula, and you’ll get a story that grips you until the very end. Congratulations Paulette Kennedy on a phenomenal debut!


When Eliza Sullivan inherits an estate from a recently deceased aunt, she leaves behind a grievous and guilt-ridden past in New Orleans for rural England and a fresh start. Eliza arrives at her new home and finds herself falling for the mysterious lord of Havenwood, Malcolm Winfield. Despite the sinister rumors that surround him, Eliza is drawn to his melancholy charm and his crumbling, once-beautiful mansion. With enough love, she thinks, both man and manor could be repaired.

Not long into their marriage, Eliza fears that she should have listened to the locals. There’s something terribly wrong at Havenwood Manor: Forbidden rooms. Ghostly whispers in the shadows. And Malcolm’s threatening moods, as changeable as night and day.

As Eliza delves deeper into Malcolm’s troubling history, the dark secrets she unearths gain a frightening power. Has she married a man or a monster? For Eliza, uncovering the truth will either save her or destroy her.

This book is currently free on Kindle Unlimited and only $4.99 for the ebook – I highly recommend that you grab a copy today! Thank you @amazonpublishing and @letstalkbookspromo for the eARC. All opinions are my own.

My love for gothic romance started when I was a teen reading Rebecca for the first time. This debut novel, Parting the Veil, by Paulette Kennedy embraced some of my favorite elements in a gothic: spooky estates, mysterious deaths, and locked up wings of a house. I mean is it even a gothic if there isn't a séance scene?

Eliza and her half sister Lydia sailed from New Orleans to England to start a new life. Eliza finds out she has inherited a home and fortune from a distant aunt. She will be required to marry within three months or risk losing everything. The estate next door is mysterious and the backstory of some of its owners perishing in a fire is intriguing. Eliza is immediately drawn to the owner of the estate, Malcolm, even though everyone warns her against him.

I really enjoyed this book and I thought the pacing was really good. There was always something interesting happening. I was able to figure out the "twist" early on but it didn't take away from the storyline. The characters were diverse and fascinating. I was impressed by this debut novel from Kennedy and can't wait to see what other stories she will bring to life.

Thank you to Paulette Kennedy, NetGalley and Lake Union Publishing for giving me this reader copy in exchange for my honest opinions.

I can't believe that this book is a debut! This is a Gothic romantic Thriller with stunning imagery and excellent storytelling. Full of twists and turns, the plot keeps you on the edge of your seat and turning the pages to unravel the mysteries of the house and its master.

Newly arrived from America, Eliza Sullivan quickly falls for the charming handsome Lord Havenwood. After a whirlwind romance and marriage however, it soon becomes clear that he's hiding something. Eliza begins to wonder if she's made a terrible mistake; should she have listened to the locals, or are they peddling malicious gossip? There are rooms that are out of bounds to her and ghostly whispers seemingly trying to warn her. There was a deliciously dark atmosphere and an oppressiveness to both the house and Lord Havenwood. I found myself willing Eliza to flee even if it meant losing everything, including the house she'd inherited from her Aunt.

This book was captivating and was absolutely perfect for a chilly Autumn evening, or day for that matter. I'm looking forward to more from this wonderful debut author.

Parting the Veil is a mix of multiple genres that worked together to produce the perfect historical romance paranormal suspense novel.

Eliza Sullivan has inherited a large estate in England from a distant aunt and moves with her sister from New Orleans to start a new life with none of the memories or reputation of the past. Days after her arrival, she meets her neighbor Malcolm Winfield, who is the Lord of Havenwood Manor, a once grand estate that has partially burnt down in a devastating fire that killed multiple people. Eliza falls for Malcolm, ignoring warnings from people in the town, and learns that not everything is as it appears at Havenwood.

I loved the atmospheric writing from the start of this book. The setting is so well described, I felt like I was on the docks as they disembarked the boat at the beginning, was walking in the woods with Eliza and exploring Havenwood Manor alongside her.

As a main character, I could not stop rooting for Eliza. She stood up for herself and did not let people push her around. I did guess one of the major twists about two thirds of the way through, but this did not change my opinion of the book at all.

I'm not normally one to read #historicalromancenovels but the blurb of this sounded so interesting and the cover is fantastic, so again I took a plunge. I am so glad I did!

While it does that some romance and the relationship between Eliza and Malcom is fast and turbulent and full of love, lose and passion....it really isn't the highlight of the book like I thought it would be. 🤷‍♀️

Instead we have secrets and vengeful ghost and horrible people doing bad things...unraveling of mysteries, murders, forbidden love triangles. 💀

This book is so so much more than what is described and I hope everyone gets a chance to read it!

Parting the Veil is not my usual type read, in fact I usually bypass anything that says gothic. Not sure why but I do. I have to admit this particular story intrigued me and I’m glad I got to read it. This debut novel by Paulette Kennedy is extremely well written and will keep you on the edge of your seat until you’ve reached the end.

Parting the Veil is a gothic novel set in the year 1899 at a time when women were not supposed to be independent thinkers. This story has secrets, ghosts and family tragedy within it’s pages. The descriptive nature of Paulette Kennedy’s writing puts back to the time period and place of the story.

Thank you to #netgalley, #PauletteKennedy and #lakeunionpublishing for giving me the opportunity to read this wonderful book.

I was excited about this one when I saw it because I am always on the lookout for upcoming gothic-themed releases. I make no apologies. The summary of this one sounded like it might just be right up my alley and let me tell you, it was wild. Unfortunately it was not always wild in a good way. I was absolutely entertained by this one, but I also have several issues with this read that I will no doubt rant about right about...now.

As previously stated, I was absolutely entertained and never bored reading this book. It also hits several gothic notes absolutely right and, in particular, the seance scene was perfection. I loved it. In contrast to that the main character is mildly ridiculous and several things happened that made me laugh out loud when I was not supposed to. The dialogue is also unintentionally humorous I have to say. I was always entertained, but not always for the right reasons. To top of this sundae, several plot points are quite obvious early on and scenes that are supposed to be surprising are not surprising.

On the flip side, the pace of this one is great. The plot never lags and the entertainment factor of this one is very much there. It also hit some emotional notes that I did not expect. The representation in this one is also great and I appreciated its subversiveness. Everything else... Well, as already stated it has quite a lot of issues. There are actually a few more things I really could rant about (I still have questions!) but I don't want to spoil anything. What I can say is that if you are gothic romance fan I do think this one will capture your interest. How you may feel by the end may be a different story, but I promise you will never be bored.