This will hit the spot for your modern gothic romance needs! Landry inherits her aunt's large estate and aims to renovate before selling. Little does she know that there's a door tucked away leading to a version of the house filled with memories past and a creature curiously linked to them. Hadrian, a yellow-eyed eloquent beast harbors a curse of sorts and Landry and he begin to bond and look for the secret to his freedom. Both these characters throughout the story begin to unlock pains of their past, some quite dark. But I the darkness, they find understanding, and for Landry especially, she finds healing with Hadrian's help.

The magic elements and rules of his condition I did find confusing at times. Though, I enjoyed the visuals immensely, particularly with the varying visages of his form. Landry and Hadrian's late night talks are some of my favorite pieces, real scenes with a beauty and beast-type learning about each other and opening up in a way the other never has. Hadrian being self aware and vulnerable of his form with her were especially heart clenching moments. Two broken, lonely souls that we truly root for.

Once I reached the end, I wished there was a bit more to the epilogue, it felt it ended too fast and wanted to see their wrap up a bit more explained. I really didn't want to leave them. Hadrian in particular was just that perfect t gothic romantic hero, he had faults, but also pain and transformation and I LOVED him. Very much anxious to read more from this debut author and highly reccomend this for modern gothic lovers.

This is both adorable and haunting. We have traumatized characters, a house full of monsters in a world full of worse monsters, and a love that shouldn’t be but works magically.

Sometimes the “monsters” are the only ones who really understand the way that you feel, and in this case, the “monster” is the one that makes Landry feel heard and seen.

The reason for my three star review is because this book wasn’t really for me. It was cute yet haunting, and full of surprises, which was just enough to keep me entertained. However, it was not my favorite read of the year.

Thank you very much to Alcove Press for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.