Thank you to the author via NetGalley for the eARC of this book in exchange for my honest review.
Julia Bennet wrote an amazing love story between a strong-willed woman and sweet doctor. I loved the male main character, Will. I found him to be extremely lovable and easy to root for. I also appreciated his high morals and commitment to his duty as a doctor. While I enjoyed reading about him, I found the female main character, Helen, to be the star of the book. She is strong, intelligent, and kind. I especially liked how Bennet wrote her as a scheming actress who uses everything she has to better her situation. She is a great, multi-faceted character.
I have very few qualms with the book. My main one is I found the “spicy” scenes to be simultaneously unnecessary and not enough. I thought the book could have easily been fade to black/closed-door. On the other hand, if Bennet wants to write explicit scenes, they need more tension and passion.
My one note for potential readers is to be aware of the book’s contents. It is set at a poorly run and highly abusive mental asylum. There are descriptions of abuse inflicted by nurses. There is also quite a but of verbal abuse like slut-shaming thrown at the FMC. There is also nonconsensual kissing.
All in all, I found the plot and characters to be compelling and enjoyable to read. If the summary sounds interesting to you, then I highly recommend! I would not recommend this book if you’re only looking for something spicy to read.

The historical aspects of the book were very interesting, especially in that it featured both the frightening and corrupt aspects of 19th century mental health care and also, through one of the protagonists who was a caring and ethical practitioner, showed the seeds of modern psychology. I also enjoyed the class aspects of the story, which were well presented; as well as the casual and horrifying sexism that plagued the time period. The romance, however, really dragged the story down and, ultimately, ruined it for me.

Okay, so check it out: there's this FMC, right? She's in this crazy asylum, and then this new doc comes in, supposed to just watch over her. But plot twist: he catches feelings for her. Cue the forbidden romance vibes, with a touch of gothic and historical flair. When I heard about this book, I was all in. Like, I needed that ARC ASAP, no joke. I was refreshing my emails like crazy, hoping for that acceptance. And when it finally came through? Let's just say my phone nearly took flight across the room. So yeah, the book delivered on all fronts, but it didn't quite hit me as hard as I expected. I'll spill the deets on why in a bit.

Ugh, the first half of this book was a total slog. I mean, seriously, it was all over the place—the pacing, the characters, you name it. I legit thought about giving up on it so many times, but I powered through (at the expense of my sanity, let's be real). Then, finally, I hit the halfway mark and things started looking up. The plot kicked into gear, and suddenly, I wasn't bored to tears anymore. Plus, the characters actually grew on me. That second half? Total game-changer. I just wish the whole book had that vibe from start to finish.

Helen, huh? She's... Helen. I mean, she didn't exactly blow me away, you know? Not that I hated her or anything, but I couldn't quite connect with her either. There were moments when she did stuff that just left me scratching my head, like, what were you thinking? And don't even get me started on how she treated William in the first half of the book... But then, she'd turn around and be this total badass, which was kinda cool. So yeah, let's just say she's... cool. Cool enough, I guess.

OMG, let me tell you about my baby, William! <3 He's seriously the sweetest, like a total cinnamon roll. Pure, innocent, and just downright adorable. You can't help but fall for him, seriously. He's the kind of guy who'd do anything for the woman he loves, and I am all in for it. Like, I am absolutely head over heels for this guy.

Honestly, I'm not buying it. Their love? Nah, didn't feel real at all. There was zero growth, no real emotions—it all just fell flat. The whole romance felt dragged out at the start, then rushed towards the end, like, where's the chemistry? While I can see William maybe having feelings for Helen, I'm not convinced she feels the same. I mean, she says she does, but her actions don't really match up, you know? So yeah, I'm not exactly swooning over Helen and William's love story. They're just two people chilling together with some insane sexual tension.

So, in the end, the book wasn't as bad as I expected when I first dove in. But it kinda stayed on the surface, you know? I was hoping for a bit more depth. Still, it was a decent read, and I had a good time with it.

Thank you NetGalley, Xpresso Book Tours, and the author for sending me a copy of this e-arc. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

What an interesting idea! A young woman, Helen Grey, who is unjustly locked in the mental asylum for 10 years, is gonna try everything to get out. Even seducing a new doctor starting to work in the facility and destroying his career. The new doctor, William Carter, is not as naive as Helen imagines, seeing her manipulations immediately. Still, he sees her, knows she’s not mentally ill and does everything in his powers to help her get out of the private hospital that became her prison.
The story of Helen was really interesting, but it felt a bit overwhelming with the amount of hardships she went through. Like poor woman couldn’t catch a break! Trauma after trauma are not the best way to show character development, as well the progress of their feelings towards each other. They grow tiresome by the end of the novel, where one could feel the happy ending within the arm’s reach, yet it doesn’t happen there because of more trauma and villains.
Characters are written well though, they feel relatable and interesting.
The language of the novel is also quite nice, feels era appropriate, but not overwhelming and difficult to understand.
3,5/5 rounded down.

"The Madness of Miss Grey" is a delightful, dark romance story that truly entertains the reader.

Miss Grey has spent the last ten years in an asylum under false pretenses and no one, except the new doctor on staff, believes her innocence.

Determined to help her gain her freedom, Dr. Carter and Helen become an electric and unified team, all the while sparks fly as they learn more about one another's past and fall in love with each other's personalities.

Set against a bleak backdrop of an asylum with dark themes throughout, there is an element of hope and light through the connection of these two characters.

I would recommend this historical romance novel to anyone who enjoys a twist on a 'boy meets girl' theme.

Here's the deal with The Madness of Miss Grey: Helen Grey has been institutionalized in an asylum for over ten years. She's willing to do practically anything to get out. Luckily her new doctor, Will, believes she's not mad, and he wants to help her escape, too.⁠
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If you're going to write a romance where one member of the couple has total and complete power over the other (as Will does as Helen's doctor), you've got to do it right. We think Julia Bennet does, and if we had any issues with the book, they do not lie with the relationship. This is a major triumph and we applaud the author! That said, the book is pretty dark (as you might expect from the setting), and if you're not in the best headspace you might want to put this on your TBR list for when you're surrounded by friends and family.⁠

Was this a well-written, affecting exploration of an incredibly difficult situation? Yes! Is it a love story? Also yes! Is it a feel-good read? ....Maybe not. But it's worth checking out for sure!

This objective review is based on a complimentary copy of the novel.