DNF @ 20%

I just wasn't really feeling this book. I really wanted to like it; I loved the concept and the writing was smooth and easy. I thought there were some really clever ideas in it and I was intrigued by it. However, I just found the whole thing way too slow, and it just didn't capture my attention well enough. I don't think this is a bad book however, and I think a lot of readers would enjoy it. It just wasn't for me, I'm afraid.

I voluntarily read and reviewed a copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own. Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for providing a free copy of this book.

Thorne Hall has a secret. Within its crumbling walls full of past splendor live not just the few remaining members of the Thorne family, there are also fifteen restless spirits bound to the Thorne line. Much to the current Thorne patriarch's disappointment, Elegy is the only heir and it will be up to her to control the more destructive and delay impulses of the spirits after he passes. Elegy has no other choice than to live as if she is another one of those spirits and has accepted that this will be her life. Until a handsome stranger walks into her home and makes her start to question is her doomed fate truly is the only way forward.

It took me a bit to fully get into the story because Thomas does too good a job of highlighting how incredibly hopeless Elegy's life is. She is trapped by the collection in a house with an emotionally abusive father, his bitterly crazy second wife, and spirits who (mostly) have no goodwill toward her. Unable to even leave the house for more than a few hours at a time or to at least have someone to talk to about it.

It takes a lot to get Elegy interested in even considering more in life and it's a testament to the writing that you believe she's been conditioned to think that way. The relationships she has are all complex in how even the people who know the truth and should be there to support her are mostly just accepting that she's out of luck. This is why Atticus is such a perfect match for her despite being her complete opposite. Even beyond the romantic way that they're pulled toward each other, the way he's set on supporting and helping her no matter what is fantastic.

I would have rated this a full 5 stars and loved it if it weren't for that bleak beginning, acknowledging that it's so good once we get past the depressing bits and it wouldn't be as enthralling if it weren't for those. It does become completely unputdownable somewhere around the halfway point and provides some excellently memorable scenes, it's just that getting past the bleakness took an effort.

Very happy thanks to NetGalley and Alcove Press for the enthralling read!

This book felt more like a gothic romantic mystery than a horror novel. That being said, the story was entertaining with a great cast of characters, including the main character Elegy and the many spirits bound to Thorne Hall and the Thorne family. This was a fabulous ghost story laced with the family curse and magic, and the author did a great job narrating her story.

If you can get past the very slow beginning you might enjoy this book, I personally did not. It was definitely gothic and had some romance but other than that I really didn't care for it. I was bored and confused during the first half and then the second half started to pick up but it wasn't enough for me to say it was a good book. The only thing this book had going for it was how atmospheric it was.

I really loved this gothic historical fantasy debut about Elegy Thorne who has been trapped living in her family's estate and tasked with keeping the 15 spirits collected there over the years happy and contained. When a young spirit causes enough mischief that an outsider needs to be called in to restore areas of the house, Elegy meets his son, Atticus and starts to long for a life of love and freedom. This was a haunting story of love, magic, family secrets and love triumphing over evil and I gobbled it up. It was great on audio and I can't wait to read more from this author! Highly recommended for fans of authors like Hester Fox. Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an early digital and audio copy in exchange for my honest review!

**I was provided an electronic ARC from the publisher through NetGalley.**

J Ann Thomas presents The Spirit Collection of Thorne Hall, a gothic fantasy where ghosts are the burden of the Thorne family. Elegy Thorne is the most recent Thorne to be named heir to the family curse, trapped in Thorne Hall to keep the spirits compliant and calm. Some of the spirits are more whimsical where others could be potentially deadly. When Elegy finds herself falling into a forbidden love, she becomes desperate to escape her cursed fate.

This book is slow. It has a contemporary setting, but everything within the confines of Thorne Hall is deliberately kept as it was in the 1890s. The phrase "frozen in time" has come up, and, unfortunately for me, also describes the pacing. I waited to be able to listen to the audiobook (narrated by the author) and was able to proceed forward more happily that way. Otherwise, I may have DNFed due to sheer impatience.

I don't know that I realized that most of the story would have a contemporary setting, and found myself wishing for the historical one. This story was likened to Starling House, and I agree. In that same vein, I will compare it to A Study in Drowning, though I will emphasize this book is not intended for a young adult demographic. All of these books happened to achieve the same rating from me, in part because I can recognize that they're good, but were somewhat of a mismatch with me personally. I did not particularly like Elegy as a character, as I found her a bit docile and meek for my personal preferences. Even as Atticus brought out her desire for more... well, I'm not a huge fan of that aspect of her character either. Yes, she always wanted a change, but her blossoming relationship seemed to be the push for action. I can absolutely see where people would enjoy these characters, but it was a miss for me.

Wishing J Ann Thomas much success with the release and hoping this book finds its audience.

An updated and unique twist on your classic haunted house. I must say I thoroughly enjoyed getting to know all the spirits and their quirks.
I was not expecting the twist at then at all which was a pleasant surprise.
This book really does have it all: romance, horror, mystery, found family and magical realism all rolled in to one story of a woman becoming who she was meant to be.
4.5/5 stare for me.
I received an arc of this title, all opinions are my own.

the opening scene of this was really good--fun, mysterious, and haunting. these elements carried throughout the rest of the book, but i think the 'romance' aspect of this gothic romance was significantly less interesting than the actual spirit collection of thorne hall. i liked the variety of ghosts, and i liked elegy's anachronisms, and i liked thomas's prose [very witty, very fun] but all of the interesting complexities of thorne hall meant that the romance just paled in comparison. atticus was a very convenient, neat bundle of solutions to all of elegy's problems--even though she has a lot of agency in her story, and he exists as "handsome support", i couldn't help but feel like he was a little too perfect in the end. honestly, he felt like a cozy fantasy protag slotted into a gothic plot--a little out of place in this book against other extremely flawed characters. i am also not the biggest fan of when a love interest is the only one sticking up for the main character against their friends and family, who have wronged the mc or misunderstood them for years [only because i feel like it plays into the exact scenario mentioned towards the end of this book, where a character only falls in love with the first person they meet who's new to their environment and it gets into this whole born sexy yesterday thing]. after a whirlwind of undead murder victims and this big rotting house, i didn't really find the same comfort in atticus's cozy sweaters and floral-decorated reading sessions that elegy did--i just felt kind of bored. i hope j ann thomas writes books leaning more towards the gothic side of things in the future. 2.75/5 stars.

J.Ann Thomas’ The Spirit Collection of Thorne Hall is an atmospheric novel following a young woman named Elegy who lives in a mansion occupied with ghosts—The Collection and is the future mistress of Thorne Hall.

The biggest downfall of the novel would be the opening of the book. It was a struggle to get immersed in the narrative. However, I pursued on and enjoyed the story more once the plot had gotten moving.

As for the characters, most of them are well-rounded in the sense of understanding their motivations and what they want out of it. The romance between Elegy and Atticus is sweet and is written well.

[Thanks to NetGalley and Alcove Press for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.]

At the turn of a century, Jasper Thorne employed a family of mediums to conduct a ceremony to collect and trap ghosts, resulting in, over the years, fifteen ghosts haunting the halls of the large house in the Berkshires. Along with the fifteen ghosts came a responsibility to control them, which each Thorne patriarch through the years has had to learn to do and pass on the responsibility to the succeeding generation.

In the present day, Elegy Thorne lives her days in the house, learning to live with the ghosts, and waiting to take on the family legacy. One strange quirk of the Thorne legacy also entails preserving the house in its early 1900s look and feel, including the lack of present day garb and technology.

Elegy's father Thaddeus is ailing, and Elegy is anxious and worried for when he dies, and passes the ghosts' management on to her. While successful at keeping most at bay, the oldest of the ghosts constantly threatens her with what he'll do once she's responsible for the lot of them.

After one of the ghosts causes a flood on the main floor of the house with consequent damage, Elegy hires contractors, one of whom she is immediately attracted to, Atticus. The attraction is mutual, and despite restrictions necessitated by the family responsibility, Elegy finds herself pursuing the man, and considering another, different course for her life.

I loved the tone of this book, and the audiobook (I went back and forth between text and audio), which felt a little like reading and listening to a story with the heightened feel of a 1930 or 1940s Hollywood movie. Elegy's formal phrasing, and the omniscient narration only reinforced this idea in my head.

The pacing is a little slow, but not annoyingly so. In fact, I liked the way author J. Ann Thomas built up the gothic, claustrophobic feel of Thorne Hall, and the fear of what will happen once Thaddeus dies.

Elegy is well characterized, with everything about her seemingly set in the early part of the 1900s, even while she looks forward and hopes for a different life. I loved her love of gardens, and the idea of growing things, working in the dirt, and visceral pleasure this gives her, something her constrained and frankly rather horrifying life does not provide.

I was a little less certain of Atticus, likeable though he is. We see everything from Elegy's point of view, so her attraction and its reasons are credible, and though she's pretty, I was not 100% certain why he fell for her. But, their romance is the impetus Elegy needs to begin searching for a way out of her legacy.

The ghosts vary from kind of cute and tragic, to terrifying, and Thaddeus never feels anything but controlling and cruel, much like the oldest ghost in the house.

There are sufficient twists to keep things interesting right to the end, and the epilogue provides a satisfying wrap up, though it has a different feel to the rest of the story, primarily as it feels so sun drenched compared to the darkness of Thorne Hall. Not a problem, just a totally different, and necessary tone.

I totally enjoyed the author's narration in the audiobook, as she captured the feel of the past century for a story set mostly in the present day.

Thank you to Netgalley, Alcove Press and Dreamscape Media for these ARCs in exchange for my review.

I LOVED this book.
We follow Elegy, who lives in a mansion with many ghosts and she has to adapt to the ghosts in her personal life in the way she dresses etc.

The atmosphere is wonderfully creepy, and the ghosts themselves even more so. They all have their own personalities and quirks and whilst I found some charming in a creepy and eerie sort of way others were terrifying.

The plot and pacing felt perfect, and I loved the writing style.

I would recommend this to anyone who enjoys Gothic ghost stories with well developed characters and mystery.

Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for the Arc. All opinions are my own and I am leaving a review voluntarily.

A young woman, Elegy, is forced to live with ghosts in her crumbling family mansion. Crumbling and frozen in time, the macabre staging post of a collection of spirits unable to move beyond. Elegy must face her inherited legacy and decide between a modern love and the price of a future she only dares to dream of.

I struggled getting into this book. I would say, stay with the book close to the halfway mark. The world building is lavish and the use of flowery sentences, rich in era-appropriate language choices contributed to the overall Gothic atmosphere. The juxtaposition of Edwardian expectations and modernity at the gates was tricky however, it is very cleverly done. I took a good couple of chapters figuring out who was a spirit and who was “real” and how this would all pull together.

I don’t think this fits neatly into a horror genre. Yes, it is spooky, creepy, paranormal and romantic. The love interest, Atticus, provides a vehicle for Elegy to grasp what she wants from life. He certainly reads between the lines and allows Elegy to feel safe and whole. Elegy herself has such a steep character growth she left all others in her shadow. I reminded myself time and again that this is a story of not only inheritance, but of forging your own future free of the weight of legacy.

I found Thaddeus grotesque. The abusive nature of his relationship with the women in the house was abhorrent.

3.5-4*
With thanks to the author, J. Ann Thomas, Alcove Press and Netgalley for an eARC to read ahead of publication.

The spirits were the best part of this gothic and eerie read!

The pace of the book felt a bit off/inconsistent and despite the intriguing characters and fantastic world building, it was just missing something for me. I do however feel like the vibe of this during the fall/halloween season may hit different. I did enjoy it and would read more in the world or from the author.

The Spirit Collection of Thorne Hall was a quirky read.

Thorne Hall is host to the “Collection”. A collection of 14 lost souls that haunt the manor and the Thorne family. Elegy Thorne is the latest “caretaker” of the collection, reluctant caretaker that is. Elegy has been raised by her emotionally distant father to take over the home and the collection of ghosts that inhabit the manor. Keeping the ghosts in line is a herculean task. Due to the constraints of the family trust, Elegy is required to live life like it is the early 1900’s when the collection was first summoned, she had to dress in late 19th cerntury, early 20th century clothing, She has to run the house as if it is still that time period with a skeleton staff that refuses to spend the night. Her entre future is laid out before in endless servitude to the Collection, or is it? Can Elegy find the means to break away from her inheritance at Thorne Hall and make a meaningful life for herself?

This book to me felt like a cross between 13 Ghosts and the Haunting of Hill House, though the ghosts overall were not as homicidal, (though some could be).

Thanks to Netgalley, Alcove Press and the author for the chance to read and review this ARC.

I thought this book was really enthralling. At first I wasn’t sure as it seemed to take place in an earlier time (it said present day but I think the isolation of the main character and the house made everything feel centuries old). This isn’t an issue you just not something I was expecting when I first picked up the book. However I was hooked when we were introduced to the “collection”.

I went in blind, just heard that the story was inspired by Jane Eyre (Thorne Hall, Lowood, "the madwoman in the attic") before requesting it. So I was surprised, expecting a historical novel - which it was, kind of, but found the beginning to be slow. In fact, the author took her time introducing us to this world, and that wasn't bad. Then the pace picked up.
The atmosphere is very well done : the house turning into something different at night, the ghosts - some good, some bad, the dread, the pressure upon Elegy.
The characters were... normally done, if I may say, except Elegy : she shines. The evolution of her personality throughout the novel, her psychology, it's well worth reading the book just for her.
The language was also very good : Thorne Hall lives like a bubble of past in a modern era. So Elegy, who was brought up in it, speaks as her grandmother might have done. I really enjoyed that.

This is a good story, perfect for Halloween reads, atmospheric, with characters that can be reliable or not, with the weight of heritage, with a quest that may or may not lead to a complete change of life, with a passing from death to life, from night to sunshine.
The only drawback I could pinpoint : a list of characters and who they are might have been useful at the beginning of the book - there are many ghosts !

In this book, we follow Elegy, a young woman trapped in a gothic mansion full of ghosts, as she unexpectedly falls in life and begins to dream of another life.

I absolutely loved this book and devoured it in a day! The gothic mansion is so beautifully described that it almost becomes a main character. The main character is relatable and the love interest is what every book boyfriend should be. It's a quick, compelling witchy read.

A recommended read for fans of Jane Eyre and Wendy Webb's gothic novels.

Thank you to NetGalley and Alcove Press for providing me with a digital copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Overall, an okay, slow-paced read, that didn’t completely blow me away.
I won’t lie, I did struggle to finish this one, even if in the end I was glad I persevered through.
However, I think if you love romantasy, but are looking for a book with more horror elements, this book might be the one for you.
Recommend checking this one out for lovers of paranormal romance, dark romance, and romantasy.

Side-note: Definitely check the content warnings if you plan on picking this book up.

2.75 stars rounded up to 3.

Thomas’ ghost story reminded me strongly of a horror movie with a similar plot from quite few years ago. While I liked the overarching story line and the characters (for the most part), I wasn’t really wowed with the book. This haunted house tale started strong but finished with quite a bit of disappointment.

Down to even the runic elements restricting the movement of the ghosts and the connection between some of the visitors to Thorne Hall and its ghostly inhabitants, The Spirit Collection of Thorne Hall perhaps too closely resembles the horror movie 13 Ghosts from 1960 and a remake from 2001. I like a good haunted house story, but I’d like to read one with some original elements in it.

Characters and narrative structure suffered a bit as well. The opener really hooked me, but the beginning does not connect to any elements in the story until the end, and even then, the points of connection have no allusions throughout the body of the story. I liked the reveal at the end, but it really needed some more interweaving in order be a seamless element. I did like the romantic story line; the romance and main plot just about shared the spotlight with a good balance.

Heads up for folks who don’t like reading explicit content—this book contains explicit language and sexual content as well as descriptive gore, with victims including children.

Thank you to Alcove Press, Penguin Random House Canada, and Netgalley for the DRC, for which I give my own, honest opinion.

The idea of a spirit collection trapped in a house was what appealed me to this book. Ghosts, spirits and what not is the most appealing about this book. I wish there was a little more.

This book starts us with the point of view of a character we only see once and with how the collection gets started. It's certainly a captivating start. After that we meet Elegy in our modern times. She is required to keep up with the old times of when the collection started and it has kept her fairly naive. When one of the spirit wrecks the hall a contractor and his son have to come and fix it. It is the start of a change that Elegy needed.

The pace of The Spirit Collection is a slow trudge that stays very true to the historical feel it wants to achieve. Sometimes perhaps a bit too much since technically it does take place in our modern times. It very rarely feels like that. Which is the point, but even when she comes into our modern world, there should have been more contrast. That wasn't there. There was a lot of room for description of the old mansion and other things to set the vibe. But I would have liked there to have been more room for the relationships. She grew up with these spirits but I sometimes missed the connections.

This also holds true for the romance of the book. It was pretty much an insta love and they were willing to do a whole lot for each other after only having known each other for a very short amount of time. I could potentially get that from her side. She doesn't have a whole lot in her life and so she latches onto him. But from his side, it doesn't really make sense. It just didn't really feel believeable.

Having said all that, it doesn't make this a bad book. I think because of the historical vibe and the spirts this can be a great book to read during October. Elegy also really grows into herself which is a good thing to see. She slowly leaves that naive girl, who cowers infront of her father, behind.