Cover Image: Dunmoor

Dunmoor

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Member Reviews

𝗘𝘅𝗽𝗲𝗰𝘁: Haunted house, Dark secret, Missing persons, Orphanage, The woods
𝗖𝗼𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗪𝗮𝗿𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴𝘀: Child abuse, Child death (you don’t need the other content warnings because it’s a HORROR and I’ll give it away!)

“𝘓𝘢𝘶𝘨𝘩, 𝘦𝘯𝘫𝘰𝘺 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘴𝘦𝘭𝘧. 𝘐𝘵 𝘪𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘣𝘦𝘴𝘵 𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘮 𝘰𝘧 𝘷𝘦𝘯𝘨𝘦𝘢𝘯𝘤𝘦 𝘰𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘨𝘰𝘴𝘴𝘪𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘴. 𝘛𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘮𝘢𝘺 𝘩𝘢𝘵𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶, 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘣𝘦 𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘮𝘪𝘥𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘣𝘺 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘢𝘱𝘱𝘢𝘳𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘫𝘰𝘺. 𝘐𝘵 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘧𝘶𝘴𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘮, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘴𝘩𝘢𝘯’𝘵 𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘸 𝘩𝘰𝘸 𝘵𝘰 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘥 𝘺𝘰𝘶.”

✮ ✮ ✮ ✮ ✮

Wow. I haven’t ever read any gothic romance / horror books before, but 100% this is now one of my favourite genres. This book, just was incredible. I always thought that it was difficult to find a book truly scary, but I was pulled into this book and raced to the end, it would make one incredible film, and I have book two in the SERIES (YES SERIES!) ready to go!

There’s so much going on in the dark secrets behind this ‘haunted house’. This book has a lot of ‘stuff’ going on, and it was an intricately woven web of horror after horror. The ending was super shocking, and completely unexpected too. But, this is so much more than just a haunted house tale, I just don’t want to give any spoilers!

I loved the characters, as MCs you’ve got a lady, Helena Winters, whom has separated from her cheating husband, who is now missing… The other MC is this gentleman, Luke Lennox, who bought her husbands old family home, and is opening a foundling hospital for orphans. Their stories were well built, and their emotions flew off the page!

I can’t wait to see what’s in store for the second instalment!

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I really wanted to love this book because I am a fan of gothic romances. However, there were many disturbing scenes that made me uncomfortable. I also could not get connected to the storyline. Still, I recommend this for fans of Mexican Gothic!

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This book is more than its premise. I went into it thinking I’d find a simple mystery, something I would solve before reaching half way. Instead, Dunmoor provided a more intricate story than I could foresee.
What surprised me the most were the paranormal and horror elements. I did not expect this story to have so many chilling scenes. And I especially did not imagine it would contain such horrors. I say this in a positive way. I doubt there are too many regency mysteries that combine romance and horror so well.
In regards to the plot, I could never figure out what was going to happen or which direction the author was going to take but I really enjoyed the ride. The story is relatively fast paced, considering the descriptions, setting and characters there are in it. The slow burn romance was evident, but the way it developed made it all the more enjoyable. For a book set in 1810-1820’s England, I expected longer descriptions or more emphasis in all the details that were included as part of the setting. But there weren’t too many or at least they weren’t dense enough to slow down the pace of the story.
Both the main characters, Helena and Luke, were likeable so I always rooted for them. I lived for their encounters and interactions. Their love was so passionate and not just based on looks or money, it was based on true emotions and the admiration both had for each other.
On the downside, I felt the language used was a bit modern at times. Some terms and how certain topics were approached didn’t feel true enough for the period. Luckily, there weren't many cases like these, so it didn’t distract me much nor I would classify the entirety of the novel as historically inaccurate.

Overall, Dunmoor is a story with adrenaline bursts strewn in the right places, a constant gloomy atmosphere, characters that feel so deep they make the reader a part of their journey. Without jumpscares but plenty of ancient evils and horrors, I thoroughly enjoyed my stay at Dunmoor and I’m curious to read and experience more stories from its author, London Clarke.

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I really struggle to get into "gothic" novels however this book didn't disappoint and the gothic atmosphere was there from beginning to end.
A heavy and deep story that I highly recommend

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This is my second book by London Clarke. The first was The Neighbour.

The book covers a period of two years from 1817 to 1819.

In the Prologue, we come to know of a mysterious letter sent by Lord Drake Winters to his half-sister, Augusta, hinting at a dark secret in their past. Lord Winters has just sold the ancestral house, Dunmoor, to Luke Lennox, who intends to convert it into a home and school for orphans and foundlings.

Lady Helena Winters, abandoned by her husband, Drake, is already reeling from the scandal. Her father takes her to Dunmoor, with the intention of investing in Lennox’ efforts and helping his daughter get over her sorrow.

At Dunmoor, Helena’s father falls in and they are forced to extend their stay, enabling both her and Luke to witness the strange and frightful events together.

Once there, Helena is dragged into the terrors that inhabit Dunmoor and its surroundings.

Will these terrors defeat Luke's plans? Will Helena and Luke get out alive?



The book is written in the 3rd person past tense point of view of Helena and Luke.

Early on, the author creates a deliciously creepy vibe. There is something otherworldly about Dunmoor House. Shadows appear and footsteps sound when no one is around, and the forest behind the house is dark and menacing. The trees seem to be alive, and keep coming closer to the house.

The scenes about the terrors at Dunmoor and in the forest were well written but the overall impression wasn’t one of horror at all. There was a surfeit of evil entities involved and that undermined the effect.

There are ghosts. There is the evil of child sexual abuse, rape, incest, devil worship and orgies. This excess weight causes the book to totter under the burden.

The story also seemed to lose focus for a while when Luke, frightened by the supernatural horrors he sees in the forest, flees to London and gives in to a life of drinking and gambling as a way to forget those evils.

That Lennox and Helena will have a romantic relationship is a foregone conclusion, but the manner in which they fall in love is rather rushed. Nor does Lennox come across as particularly noble or courageous. He has lost Penelope, his fiancée, but he doesn’t spend too much time grieving for her.

On the contrary, I found Alex Jameson, in spite of his rakish image, far more compelling.

Helena is academically inclined and enjoys studying Maths and Geometry, pluses in my opinion, but she isn’t written with any sense of warmth.

I ended up warming more to Lady Persephone than to Helena. The former has suffered through a lot. It couldn’t have been easy living in those times on her own terms. The story written from her viewpoint would have been even better.

Also, it would have been better if the children had played a more active role in this book. None of the kids here have been endowed with personalities, making it hard for us as readers to invest in them. It is Lennox and Helena who are made to appear larger-than-life for their efforts to ‘save’ the children.

Even poor Lucy is given short shrift. Just because she is poor, it seems as if Helena is dismissive of her feelings for Luke, and tells Lucy that some other working class individual with a bland personality is better suited to her. And this when she and Luke have not yet acknowledged their feelings for each other.

On the whole, this book didn’t meet my expectations. I will not be awaiting Book 2 of this duology.

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Sun moor is one of those books that I think will haunt me for a while, literally. This creepy tale has the vibes of Crimson Peak and Rebecca, featuring all the hallmarks of the best gothic horror stories. The story revolves around Helena Winters as she decides to help a young man running an orphanage in the home of her missing husband. Following this she learns of mysterious deaths and creatures that haunt the halls, only something she and Mr. Lennox, might be able to solve.

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Thank you Net Galley and the publisher for a free ARC in exchange for a honest review! This book follows two POVs throughout the whole book which I really enjoyed. We got both Luke and Helenas perspective on the events that were occurring. Helena journeys to Luke's recently purchased orphanage to attend a Ball with her father and her best friend. Soon after the ball Helena's father gets sick which causes her to have to stay a little longer at the orphanage in Dunmoor. It just so happens that Helena's missing husband grew up in Dunmoor and has talked to Helena about the horrors that reside in Dunmoor.
Luke wishes to do good in peoples lives by opening up this orphanage however he soon realizes he is in over his head and that the living haunt Dunmoor just as much as the dead do. This book was captivating from the first page up until the last.

The only thing I struggled with a little bit in this book was the pacing of events it was confusing to keep track of the passing of time. But that didn't stop me from enjoying this book!

Rating 4.5/5

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Dunmoor is a beautiful, lush and absolutely gripping novel. Clarke perfectly conjures an evocative Gothic setting in Dunmoor House, and populates her story with nuanced, complex, and eminently likeable characters, from the willful and whipsmart Lady Helena to the thoughtful and earnest gentleman Luke Lennox and his rakish companion Alex. Its supernatural elements are effectively haunting, and several images stayed with me long after I read them. I'd recommend this enthusiastically to fans of Mexican Gothic and Crimson Peak.

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‘Dunmoor’ illustrates the problems of class systems and the abuses made by those seemingly higher up, but with a supernatural twist. Character names hint further at these issues – William Thackeray’s dislike of high society, hypocrisy, and even the institution of marriage is brought to mind by the naming of the housekeeper. The message is clear that education of the lower classes in imperative to improve their lives, yet a huge threat to those above them. The author is also adept at bringing forth the era-accurate feeling of dim, grey decay and some of their visceral descriptions bring even a horse walking through muck alive.

That said, I did not personally enjoy this book. It may just be a matter of personal taste. The characters’ reactions were hit and miss for me. Upon discovering something both haunting and disgusting, one character said “Blimey.” The author would tell the reader that a character was “rattled” – but they otherwise didn’t actually appear to be, and went on as if everything were fine and dandy. Another character was moments out of a tense scare, yet “sauntered to the window”. I also felt that the romantic aspects were unnecessary. Most of it read as simple lust rather than any actual affection, and the timing of the ‘romantic’ encounters and lustful thoughts came at odd moments during which I would have expected the characters to be otherwise occupied.

I would recommend this book to those keen on the late Edwardian / early Victorian era, paranormal and weird horror, but with trigger warnings to child abuse..

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My first gothic romance and it was a good one. Very spooky atmospheric and full of suspense

I received this book from netgallery in exchange for an honest review as given above.

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Thanks to NetGalley and to the author/publisher for providing me with this book!

Even if it is my first DNF of 2022, this book was absolutely not bad. The author is obviously very skilled in creating tensed and gothic atmospheres.

The first thing coming to my mind when I’m thinking about this book is dark. We find ourselves trapped with the characters in a crumbling mansion in the middle of the countryside, and strange events are soon happening. The grading I decided upon for this book is explained by the visible efforts that were made in the writing style in order to project us in the period of 1818 and the setting.

I didn’t get attached to any of the characters even if I recognise that they are well developed, as is their stories, even for the ones that are not present but just evoked by others.

However, I had to stop the book towards the end since it began to unsettle me a lot. Indeed, the author is dealing with heavy themes, the main one being sexual abuses (including on children). Even if they are evoked with talent, it evolves from allusions/short evocations to being very tangible, which was clearly too much for me.

So, if you’re seeking some chilling emotions and are not afraid of reading about heavy themes, I think you’ll like this book. However, I strongly recommend checking its trigger warnings before beginning it.

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What begins as a noble endeavour to open a home for orphans, turns into a tale of horror. This is a tale where Jane Austen-like ladies and gentlemen meet ghosts, and then some. But as the story unfolds, greater horrors come to light. A husband is missing, presumably galavanting with another woman. Or, perhaps he is not.

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Lady Helena Winters is besides herself as she has not seen her husband for a year. She doesn’t know if he is dead or alive. Not knowing what she should do, she decides to with her father to a fundraising ball to Dunmore House. It was her husband’s home but has been sold to a gentleman Luke Lennox who wishes to make the house into a foundling hospital. Lady Helena finds that to be a passion as when she discovers that he wants to educate them and have them get opportunities to become an apprentice to a trade. Unfortunately there are evildoers that have other plans. The Dunmoor House is supposedly cursed.

It’s spooky and scary at times. Besides the curse, there are ghosts plus evildoers galore. There are tunnels under the house. This adds to the gothic horror story that has a touch of romance in it. It was the mystery of the Dunmoor curse that kept me engaged. There is also a subject touched — the child trafficking that occurred in that time. The author gives a reference you may look at to find out more about child trafficking. The ending of the novel leaves me wanting the next book to be published as soon as possible!

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Thank you to Net Galley and the publishers for letting me read this book. SPOILERS AHEAD


Lady Helena Winters husband has left her for a teen actress and run away. Back living with her father she is persuaded to go to ball hosted by a business acquaintance of her father,at her absentee husband's ancestral home ; A place she had never been.

Luke Lennox is a philanthropist, who wishes to help poor young children to get an education and find a way out of poverty. He buys Dunmoor house to turn in to an orphanage. The house is run down and falling apart. Imagine the mansion from Women in black or Crimson Peeks.

Terrible things have happened in Dunmoor. Trigger warning for Child abuse.

I was hoping when it started to read this book that it would be a somewhat light Gothic romance. I couldn't of been more wrong. The book which leans heavily on over describing every aspect of the house and the emotions that the house should convey gets very dark. The story starts of very slow. It takes about halfway through for the story to start developing.

We know from he beginning that all is not well at Dunmoor but I was surprised at the depth of the dark turn it takes with child sacrifice and bloody tree creatures. It felt a little to dark, almost for shock value. We know the bad guys are bad. We could of went with out the detail.

The book also left it on a bit of a TBC cliff hanger finding out her husband is alive. So we know there is going to be a second book.

Overall he book was well written but I didnt really enjoy it and found it difficult to finish.

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I cannot recall when I first became enamored with gothic literature and films and whatnot. I was probably quite young and I have a strong suspicion that on the film end, at least, WPIX had a lot to do with it thanks to weekend airings of Rebecca and The Ghost and Mrs Muir and such. My mother and grandmother, of course, each had shelves upon shelves of books and I was given free reign to just grab at random. When most of my friends were oohing and aahing over things like The Babysitters Club, I was losing myself in the pages of Agatha Christie and Edgar Allan Poe and Nathaniel Hawthorne.

I was having a severe book slump this weekend. I went through multiple chapters of multiple books and absolutely nothing was clicking for me. I decided it would probably be best if I just went with something more reliable .... and gothic. My first thought, of course, was to grab my next Hester Fox. Unfortunately, I remembered that I was being forced into going to a mandatory holiday social thing at work and carrying around a paperback was probably going to be frowned upon. However, I could carry my phone as everyone else probably would be ... so I went snooping around Netgalley's Read it Now to see if anything would possibly satisfy the urge.

Then I saw Dunmoor.

Oooooh that cover.

It clicked and I clicked the button before I even read the description. In fact, it wasn't until I started putting this post together that I bothered with silly nonsense like finding out what it's supposed to be about. That cover was enough to get me. It gets even better when the cover gets swiped to the left and the story begins. I still have a bit to go until I'm finished, but as of yet it's eerie and dark and spooky and mysterious with just enough romance to be able to say that it's there.

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"They consume the blood of little boys. They eat the flesh of young girls. That is how they live."

"I too was meant to be a sacrifice to the demons of the forest."

London Clarke is a fantastic writer. Anyone that likes dark, historical, and suspense filled books will devour this book. This is the first book in the gothic/mystery genre I have ever read and I enjoyed it. It took a bit for the story to get started. The first 40% of the book provided some background information pertinent to the development of the story. The remaining 60% was full of action, suspense, darkness, and mystery. The story was interesting to read. I did not connect with the characters so I wasn't captivated by the story but but there was character development throughout the book Overall it was an interesting read with great writing.

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It was okaaaaaaay.

Steady paced.
Interesting enough plot.
Gothic fantasy.
I didn’t want to DNF it but I also wasn’t captivated.

Thanks to #netgalley and the author for this ARC and the opportunity to review.

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I received a free copy of this book from NetGalley and this is my freely given review.

I definitely feel that lush is a great way of describing this gothic suspense novel.

Lady Helena Winters is the female protagonist. She is 24 years old, and living with her father in Kent, after a scandalous separation from her husband. Lord Winters, after a couple of years of marriage, evicted his wife from their home, and is engaged in a love affair with a teenaged actress. He is missing, and presumed to have taken off to the Continent. Helena is broken-hearted, and appears at a loss for what to do with her life, being still married to him.

Mr. Luke Lennox had recently purchased the rundown house and estate of Dunmoor, from Lord Winters, with the intention of turning it into a foundling hospital. Dunmoor was Winter's childhood home. Lennox has high ideals of taking in young male and female foundlings and giving them a better life and future through education and a stable home. Some of the locals are not happy with his purchase and plans for it, especially relatives of the Winters family, as Dunmoor has been a part of their family for hundreds of years. Lennox is made aware that there is also a CURSE upon Dunmoor as well. From the beginning, Lennox, his cousin, his staff, the children are aware of strange happenings, and the children are afraid of the ghosts. Lennox himself has seen some suspicious things, including strange figures in robes wandering about. But not enough to give up on his endeavour. Part of his plans also include a ball to help raise funds to continue the renovations and fund the hospital.

The father of Lady Winters is a business associate of Lennox, and he and his daughter travel to the region, to stay with friends, and attend the ball. Lady Winters was curious about Dunmoor, not having been there, and is encouraged by her father to get out more, rather than hide at home after her husband's abandonment.

Because of some unexpected events, she and her father are forced to stay for a prolonged period at Dunmoor itself, and Lady Winters stays in the region for months, and becomes more involved in the hospital. She, and the others around Dunmoor continue to experience various nefarious events and sitings, and evidence of the curse and Dunmoor's evil history, until things are forced to come to a head. She also learns more about her husband's past and his childhood at Dunmoor.

It was a bit over the top in terms the plot and storyline as there are so many different layers and elements. But it was so grandly descriptive and compelling that I was drawn in and completely enjoyed the entire story. London Clarke had a wonderful way of setting the atmosphere - maybe some may find it florid, and a bit heavy handed at times, but she did a great job setting a suspenseful, gothic atmosphere. Spine tingling - it did not help that I spent a lot of time reading this in the dark, during a miserable wet windstorm, with lots of blowing branches against the house.

Here is and example:
"A cold and forceful wind blew at their backs and didn’t let up until they’d entered the house. A flock of dead leaves followed them, tumbling inside the foyer as Luke trampled them underfoot.

He was overwhelmed with the oppressive, breathless gloom that greeted him. A cloak of stale air. But it was so present, as though someone lay a cold, wet death shroud over his nose and mouth."

If Guillermo del Toro got his hands on this, well, imagine the graphic imagery coupled with his creative imagination, attention to detail, and vision. This brought to my mind his gothic movie Crimson Peak (2015, starring Tom Hiddleston, Mia Wasikowska, Jessica Chastain). Dunmoor, the house and history, was just as much a character in the story as Lady Winters, and Mr. Lennox. The descriptions of the encroaching forest and vines sound like they would have been perfect for his creative/artistic imagery.

I absolutely enjoyed reading this and give it a 4.5 out of 5 stars. The only issue I have is the ending... in that it truly is not an ending; it is a "to be continued" and there is not happily ever after... but definitely there is a book 2...

In the meantime, I am off to re-watch Crimson Peak, since I have the urge to immerse myself in some more gothic spookiness. The movie, btw, was largely filmed in the Toronto Pinewood studios, and in locations in and around Toronto, and Southern Ontario - my stomping grounds :)

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Last night, I sat up reading this book, doing the “just one more chapter” thing until it was well past midnight. I’m a huge fan of gothic horror/suspense/ghost stories and this one was right up my alley.

I was drawn quickly into this book, into every character and their lives. I love Helena’s strength, charisma, intelligence and compassion. I totally fell for Luke and his wanting to save the world attitude. His friend, Alex, provided comic relief as well as that reckless hero figure. The backstory was wonderful, filled with curses and folklore. I love when folklore is written in such a way that it gives life to inanimate objects. The trees were totally terrifying!

The settings were very well written. I love when a scene in a story’s setting is cold, damn and chilly and I find myself reaching for a cup of tea and a blanket. It’s the perfect marriage between setting and suspense that leaves me wondering if the chill running down my spine is from terror or from the cold.

Here’s what I didn’t like. I understood the folklore to be very dark, very tragic, and very sinister. However, some the human suffering factors, especially where the children were concerned, were a bit much. It’s not a hidden fact that orphans in the 1800’s were treated horribly but I guess it felt a little too triggering and I come from a safe and secure childhood.

That being said, I understand the author is also trying to bring attention to the very real modern day problem of sex trafficking.. Kudos to her for doing that so well with this story.

And that ending!! Woah! I’m already there for the next book and new adventures with Helena and Luke.

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I am writing this review for Net Galley.

I would say this story is a historical fiction fantasy novel. There are trigger warnings for abused children.

We follow a woman named Lady Winters whom was married a short time to a man named Drake. Drake disappears leaving Lady Winters living with her father and sister Lucy. A man named Luke Lennox buys the place next door to make it into a place to take care of orphans. What Luke doesn't know is the place is haunted and not suitable for children to live.

Lady Winters meets Luke and ends up helping him out with the children. One day she disappears finds herself in a tunnel underground. No one found her until she was able to find her way out. Luke and Lady Winters start seeing some weird crazy things. Eventually this leads them to doing some investigating. Will Luke and Lady Winters be able to figure out the secret to all the weird things going on?

I rated this a 3 because the story line at the beginning towards the middle was the best part for me. The middle leading to the end was not as good and took me longer than I felt it should to finish. Historical Fiction is my favorite genre however I felt like there was a little bit of fantasy added in. I have nothing against fantasy but I wasn't too keen on this kind. I also had a hard time reading about the children being abused. This was still a well written novel just not one for me.

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