Member Review
Review by
E M, Reviewer
Thank you NetGalley, Allison & Busby, Jody Cooksley, my mother, the stars alignment, God, etc for this book and it's e-ARC.
Already such high praise for a book I *didn't* rate 5 stars? That'll come later...
The Good: I love love love historical fiction, but a dark, gothic mystery in a historical setting?! Delicious. The concept of this was so perfect to me. I loved the tone of voice in the writing. I loved the often visceral descriptions. I loved the characterisations of all the key characters. There were parts that felt caricaturistic, like the initial descriptions of Grace and occasionally Rebecca, but to me this isn't a bad thing and reminded me of countless murder mystery novels, films, games, that came before this one.
The Bad: I have so many questions!! I wish I could have rated this book a 5 star, but I do feel the ending was quite rushed, I felt myself thinking "surely this can't be wrapped up in the next 10 pages?" and to me, it wasn't. [Spoilers incoming! Skip to the next paragraph to avoid!] I made the assumption from the very first few chapters that Lucius and Grace were pulling a Lannister, with how unnaturally close they seemed, how Lucius delivered her children, how Grace would be at the home in his room with them 'arguing' until the early hours of the morning. Maddie even saw Grace fleeing Lucius' room in nightclothes! So to have this relationship not acknowledged left me bereft. Were they involved?! Also, who was leaving things in Maddie's room? It's insinuated that it was Lucius, but he responds with anger when he finds out things have been appearing in her room, so it obviously wasn't him, at least for some of them. Who was it?!? Was it Annie? Was it really the ghost of Lucius' mother? Final question (for now), how did they set Maddie up? They build a story that she killed her child and was spotted carrying it through the house, but multiple witnesses were there for the birth (from outside the house, surely?) and saw Lucius declare it stillborn. After that whole fiasco, I assumed Maddie was going to have a second child, and that was the one who she was seen carrying. It's never cleared up distinctly that Lucius and Grace's story of lies got as far as it did because of x, y, z. How did they frame her for the murder when there wasn't a body? Did they really just say, "someone saw her carrying a child and now we can't find said child so she killed him" and that was it?! GOD PLEASE I NEED TO KNOW.
At times, the descriptions were confusing, and I had trouble visualising what was being laid out, such as Evergreen House, or something as simple as the sea horse. Clarity and simplification would be beneficial to appeal to a wider audience.
The Ugly: I'm not a fan of non-linear storytelling, and I was SO confused for the first few chapters where we hopped not only from a different time but also from a different POV. The first two chapters were particularly jarring given the lack of initial character introductions. The choice of font for Maddie's POV chapters was also a struggle to read, I liked the use of script but this font in particular was occasionally a bit of a strain to understand.
All being said, please for the love of God release a special edition of this book with some beautiful sprayed edges. I need it more than air. I also need a film adaption, so keep checking your inboxes.
4/5
Already such high praise for a book I *didn't* rate 5 stars? That'll come later...
The Good: I love love love historical fiction, but a dark, gothic mystery in a historical setting?! Delicious. The concept of this was so perfect to me. I loved the tone of voice in the writing. I loved the often visceral descriptions. I loved the characterisations of all the key characters. There were parts that felt caricaturistic, like the initial descriptions of Grace and occasionally Rebecca, but to me this isn't a bad thing and reminded me of countless murder mystery novels, films, games, that came before this one.
The Bad: I have so many questions!! I wish I could have rated this book a 5 star, but I do feel the ending was quite rushed, I felt myself thinking "surely this can't be wrapped up in the next 10 pages?" and to me, it wasn't. [Spoilers incoming! Skip to the next paragraph to avoid!] I made the assumption from the very first few chapters that Lucius and Grace were pulling a Lannister, with how unnaturally close they seemed, how Lucius delivered her children, how Grace would be at the home in his room with them 'arguing' until the early hours of the morning. Maddie even saw Grace fleeing Lucius' room in nightclothes! So to have this relationship not acknowledged left me bereft. Were they involved?! Also, who was leaving things in Maddie's room? It's insinuated that it was Lucius, but he responds with anger when he finds out things have been appearing in her room, so it obviously wasn't him, at least for some of them. Who was it?!? Was it Annie? Was it really the ghost of Lucius' mother? Final question (for now), how did they set Maddie up? They build a story that she killed her child and was spotted carrying it through the house, but multiple witnesses were there for the birth (from outside the house, surely?) and saw Lucius declare it stillborn. After that whole fiasco, I assumed Maddie was going to have a second child, and that was the one who she was seen carrying. It's never cleared up distinctly that Lucius and Grace's story of lies got as far as it did because of x, y, z. How did they frame her for the murder when there wasn't a body? Did they really just say, "someone saw her carrying a child and now we can't find said child so she killed him" and that was it?! GOD PLEASE I NEED TO KNOW.
At times, the descriptions were confusing, and I had trouble visualising what was being laid out, such as Evergreen House, or something as simple as the sea horse. Clarity and simplification would be beneficial to appeal to a wider audience.
The Ugly: I'm not a fan of non-linear storytelling, and I was SO confused for the first few chapters where we hopped not only from a different time but also from a different POV. The first two chapters were particularly jarring given the lack of initial character introductions. The choice of font for Maddie's POV chapters was also a struggle to read, I liked the use of script but this font in particular was occasionally a bit of a strain to understand.
All being said, please for the love of God release a special edition of this book with some beautiful sprayed edges. I need it more than air. I also need a film adaption, so keep checking your inboxes.
4/5
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