Wonderful Gothic horror novel. A really atmospheric book. This story takes place at Blackthorn Manor which is located on the moores. I couldn't help but think of a scary version of the manor from The Secret Garden full of cold servants and ghosts at every turn.

The secrets of Blackthorn House is a horror/gothic story set in England, which gave me very 'classic' book vibes. It starts when Evelyn, the main protagonist, gets married to Peter Black. She is so enamored with him and can't wait to start her life with her new husband. Peter looks like the perfect man: he dotes on Evelyn, defends her when someone says something bad about her, and is sweet. But soon, Evelyn finds out that all that glitters isn't gold. After they move to his ancestral home, Blackthorn House, the mask Peter had worn in order to charm her is quickly shed. Evelyn finds herself captured in a house which holds a secret and even more than meets the eye.

There wasn't a quiet moment in Evelyn's life, and the literal horrors she goes through were described nicely and made me feel as I was there observing the scene. This book may trigger some readers because it contains abuse, manipulation, violence and death (some of these off screen), so I suggest to thread carefully.

Evelyn reminded me of a gothic heroine. She is young and romantic, and her ideals are soon destroyed after she moves into Blackthorn House. The house itself is a main character of the book and Evelyn must be resilient and courageous and strong in order to survive. I really liked her friendship with Lilly and their strength to go on and never give up until the end, to make it for the other women who didn't.

The story unraveled quickly and had the right pace. The blurb promised horror and it delivered.

This book starts with a quote that hooks you and a prologue worth its real estate.

The story starts with newlywed Evelyn and her dashing husband Peter Black, on the start of their life of balls, society, family and a wonderful future. After the death of Lord Black, she becomes the new Lady Black of Blackthorn House…there, the extent of her new life hits her like a locomotive.

This is a great gothic horror. Although 20% through to 40% in, I found the ‘all narration, no dialogue’ waned a bit and nearly lost me. There after, it picked up, right back to how it started and finished on a gripping, non cliche ending.
Dear Author…the last sentence!! A worthy Epilogue.
(Don’t do yourself a disservice by reading it first, it won’t make sense unless you read the book).

Sometimes, the natural world proves far more terrifying than the supernatural one.

This novel constantly has you questioning what it is that you should be really afraid of. At first, you’re jumping at every bump in the night along with Evelyn. But as the story unfolds, it becomes clear that there’s something even more unsettling happening at Blackthorn.

The writing is atmospheric and immersive. There were moments where I felt like I was out there in the dense fog, trying to make out the shapes of gnarled, dead trees in the distance or creeping down a dark, opulent hallway with just the smallest bit of flickering candlelight guiding my way.

I also really enjoyed how Norse mythology was woven in throughout. It was something I was not anticipating but found it added so much to the story.

That said, I do wish we got a bit more depth from Lilly. Her development felt a little under explored compared to the richness of the setting and atmosphere, as well as how much we got to know Evelyn.

Overall I really enjoyed this novel, and would love to read more from this author!

*3.5*

This felt like a really refreshing read for me. From the jump the reader kinda knows whats going on which I liked in some ways because there was no beating around the bush who was and was not evil or evil-adjacent. However it did get a little bit old in the back half of the book because a few chapters before the end felt a bit redundant and stagnant in comparison to the beginning. I also wanted more exploration of the family lore especially since the author made it all for the most part subtextual until the big reveal at the end of the book where my suspicions were confirmed. Like if the Lavender Lady had led Evelyn to like a hidden diary or something similar I feel like things would have gotten more interesting specifically in the last like 20-30% of the book. I also think that the switch that the husband has happens really quickly which I understand is meant to replicate abusive relationships but I think for the plot it would have been better for pacing if he had a more gradual character reveal (this is also the way some abusive relationships evolve too). Even if the husband was trying to fight against the family secrets but ended up not changing a thing and valuing power and prestige more than his wife would have also worked well for this. The final chapter of this book though were so good and truly made the book for me. It felt a lot like the ending of Crimson Peake were the main character is running through the house. Overall I really liked the book even though their are some things I would change I would be interested in seeing what else this author produces.

This was an interesting read.
I liked the atmospheric historial horror setting, and I love me a good creepy manor.
However, the onslaught of information from characters really served to break the flow of the text and took me out of it a bit.
That, alongside the characters feeling a bit too flat, with nothing really making them stand out for me, made me give it only three stars.

The Secrets of Blackthorn House weaves an atmospheric and suspenseful tale that evokes the eerie psychological undertones of The Haunting of Hill House and the gothic tension of Rebecca, with an added layer of chilling horror.

At the heart of the novel is Evelyn, a meek, well-mannered woman whose quiet strength is underestimated by those around her—especially her husband, Peter. What begins as a romantic fantasy of married life quickly crumbles as Evelyn assumes her new role as "Lady Black" at the ominous Blackthorn House. Supported by her loyal lady-in-waiting, Lilly, Evelyn’s arc from passive to empowered is both satisfying and compelling.

This was a really good Victorian horror novel. At first I was expecting it to be predictable and was pleasantly surprised to find how it unfolded. It is bit more gory ane violent than I would typically go for but it was very well done.

This book was so creepy and eerie and I mean that in the best way possible. Evelyn was a cool character to get to follow along with. Lilly was awesome too! Definitely recommend this one to those who love a bit of mystery and horror sprinkled together!

Overall, I really enjoyed this book! I did not expect to run into a kind of magic I'm particularly familiar with! It had an eerie and unsettling tone, which I love. The Dracula and The Turn of the Screw references were well placed, and helped establish the tone and what year the story is set. The author definitely knows their spooky story history!

Some possible spoilers ahead:

I also have a couple gripes, which are mostly based on my own preferences. I love the description, but at some points I was ready for it to end. Five pages of describing rooms we never see again had me dying. In that same vein, Evelyn's long thoughts and feelings on everything slows the story down greatly in my opinion. At one point, there was a page of Evelyn's thoughts between a line of dialog and the next. Again, this is mostly preference.

One thing that got me was the violent and abrupt change in Peter's personality. I believe it was to show how awful he was the whole time, but talk about whiplash. Speaking of Peter, I believe he was described as “robotic” at one point in chapter 7. “Robot” wasn't used until the 1920s.

One last thing, I promise. I believe the description of runes is lacking. "An X without lifting their pen" sounds more like Dagaz than Othala to me. Since the book Evelyn is reading has what the runes are, perhaps the reader would benefit from knowing, too. The reader could at least look them up for reference.

I know this is an unedited copy, so I wasn't to be as thorough as I could in case anything could be helpful. I had notes on a few other minor things, but that's just me being a nitpick.

I have to mention, I always love a wonderful depiction of death. Not evil or malicious, but just a woman doing her job.

Felt all the emotions when reading this book. Really good underlying themes while also great horror and writing.

The Secrets of Blackthorn House gave me combined vibes of both The Haunting of Hill House along with Rebecca with an eerie additional horror twist.
The character of Evelyn, being meek, respectful and well mannered (which was construed for weakness and fragility) by her husband really came into her own throughout the course of the story as a whole along with her lady in waiting and true friend Lilly. Evelyn started out having a fantasy about what her married life was going to entail which soon fell to pieces during her habitation at Blackthorn House (as a wife and the new "Lady Black").
During the progression of the story it was plainly obvious that there was something "off and abnormal" about Blackthorn House along with her husband Peter and its occupants which unnerved Evelyn and led to her investigating the ghostly apparitions and strange rituals taking place in the house (in particular in her husbands study which was off limits to everyone in the house including Evelyn). The inclusion of blood magic by Peter (who was evil and clinically insane as well as the staff at Blackthorn House) combined with Norse Mythology, greed and cruelty made for a suspenseful and immersive read. However, had the pacing been a bit more polished and less descriptive of characters feelings and emotions and more plot centric this would have definitely added extra depth to the story and, in turn, would have made it a 5 star read.
This is my second foray into the works of Marie McWilliams (a book tube friend of mine and fellow horror enthusiast) and it certainly won't be my last.
A huge thankyou to Net galley, Quill and Crow Publishing and the lovely Marie herself for the opportunity to be able to read and review this ARC book.

I really enjoyed this creepy, Gothic novel about our heroine, Evelyn, and her trials and tribulations with the Black family. The story flowed at a decent pace and was able to keep the tension ratcheted to a high degree. It was somewhat predictable by times, but this didn't hinder my enjoyment of the novel.

This book has vibes for days. Gloomy manor on the Yorkshire moors? Check. Creepy fog that never lifts? Check. Whispers in the dark, ghost children, and a husband who might be more haunted than the house itself? Big check. It leans all the way into the gothic horror atmosphere, and I really loved how well the tone fit the time period. It felt like reading something from another era in the best way.

But for me, the plot moved at a crawl. I kept waiting for something big to happen, and while we do get some reveals and spooky scenes, it started to feel repetitive. Evelyn hears something scary, investigates, gets brushed off, repeat. There’s definitely a creeping sense of dread, but I needed a little more variety and momentum to stay fully invested.

That said, I can totally see this being a five-star read for other readers who are more patient with the slow unravel. If you like your horror elegant, eerie, and soaked in gothic gloom, this one is worth checking out. Just go in knowing it’s more vibes than jump scares, more slow burn than rollercoaster. Still glad I read it, even if I didn’t fully love it.

This is an amazing twist on the classic, historic Gothic horror story. The whole thing was filled with bumps in the night and glimpses of specter. Check the trigger warnings because it is heavy. But the plot successfully uses womens issues and social roles to mold the horror. The writing is eloquent but is very detailed so I would consider this a heavier read. It also had some great descriptive gore. Overall i would recommend this to anyone looking for a macabre ghost story.

This is going to be a good book to start spooky book season. If you're just looking to start out in the horror genre, this is a great place to start because it's not too intense, but you definitely get some creepy vibes. I enjoy an early 1900s Gothic setting and this was definitely it with the house being out in the middle of nowhere amongst foggy mysterious moors. I thought the atmosphere was great, I thought the details were great for the settings, I could have used a little more dialogue between the characters and maybe a little more insight into some of the supporting characters, but I had a wonderful time reading this and the ending was very satisfying. Thank you very much for letting me check this out!

The Secrets of Blackthorn House is an enjoyable book: it has all the elements for being a very good Gothic horror novel, starting from the frail but resolutive heroine, the magnificent and creepy manor, up to the eerie whispering in the night. The narration is well paced and the story itself is quite entertaining. The last 50 pages or so were probably the most interesting part and I can admit they really had me hooked to the book, I felt quite invested in the story.

However, my main concern was that I could not find anything else apart from what I had expected to read since the beginning, as there are no elements of real novelty. Characters ( as well as settings) are just one cliché after the other, everyone doing exactly what they were supposed to do in all circumstances, and they feel bi-dimensional. With the exception of the protagonist, I feel like they were not given the space to be fully explored as they maybe could have deserved. This feeling was also underlined by the writing style of the author, which goes from trying too much (unnecessary articulated sentence and word choices) to not trying enough.

Nevertheless, as I stated at the beginning of this short review, I still enjoyed the book and I believe it could be a great choice for a non-undemanding and yet engaging reading.

The Secrets of Blackthorn House had all the right ingredients for a moody gothic read—remote manor, a cold husband, eerie whispers in the night—but the execution just didn’t land for me.

The story felt like a patchwork of familiar gothic tropes, almost a copy-paste of several existing works without much to make it stand out. There were moments that hinted at something deeper, but it never quite found its own voice, and I struggled to feel truly invested.

The pacing was also off—dragging in places, then lurching forward suddenly in ways that felt more like whiplash than suspense. The atmosphere didn’t build the dread I was hoping for, and the supernatural elements never fully paid off.

Evelyn and Peter’s relationship lacked depth, and the supporting characters remained vague and underutilized. Even the “big” reveals felt predictable or oddly muted.

A promising premise, but it needed more originality, better pacing, and stronger character development to really work.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC.

The Secrets of Blackthorn House by Marie McWilliams is a tantalizing mix of atmospheric chills and family secrets that will keep your lantern flickering through the foggy moors. Evelyn’s journey from love to lurking dread is a wild ride — think cozy romance meets ghostly mystery, with just enough eerie moments to make you double-check the locks. While the story delivers some creepy visuals—children's laughter echoing down shadowy halls and spectral wails swirling in the fog—the plot sometimes drifts into familiar territory. The haunted manor trope? Check. The distant, brooding husband? Check. But don’t worry; the secrets buried beneath Blackthorn House have enough twists to keep your candle burning until the very last page. If you’re craving a spooky read with a dash of romance and a splash of Yorkshire fog, this book might just be your cup of tea — or perhaps, your steaming mug of ghostly brew. Three stars for a haunting atmosphere and intriguing secrets, but it leaves a bit of room to grow in the originality department. Still, an enjoyable ghostly romp you’ll remember long after the fog lifts!

Thank you NetGalley and the publishers for a copy of The Secrets of Blackthorn House by Marie McWilliams

This book is a gothic horror novel set in a haunting manor called Blackthorn. Evelyn moves there with her new husband, only to find it is nothing like she expected. From her first step onto the property, she feels a dark presence that she can’t quite place. Suspicions continue to rise as she notices the strange behavior of manor staff and a sudden change in the way her husband treats her. She spends her time in the manor piecing together facts about her husband and his families dark past, while fearing her life may be in danger. This book is fast paced, intense, gory, and just everything you’d look for in a horror novel. I’m giving this book a 4/5 star rating.

I’d recommend this book to anyone interested in horror fiction, but definitely check the trigger warnings before reading. Release date is August 22nd!