I had high hopes for this one. The premise was eerie and atmospheric—exactly the kind of setup that immediately draws me in. As my first book in this genre, I went in curious and ready to be surprised.
The characters showed real potential, especially Lydia and Seraphine. Their story was genuinely heartfelt and tender, easily the strongest element of the entire book. Cyrus brought intellectual weight with his academic perspective, but his sections often felt weighed down by unnecessarily complex vocabulary that pulled me out of the story. Haydn balanced some of the heavier philosophical discussions well, but the constant switching between letters and Cyrus's POV kept breaking my immersion.
The language itself became a significant barrier. I don't mind looking up the occasional unfamiliar word, but having to pause every few paragraphs completely killed the atmosphere for me. While the complex vocabulary made sense for Cyrus as a university professor, I found myself wishing for footnotes or an appendix with definitions. This would be especially helpful for non-native readers who might find the experience more frustrating than engaging.
The story had moments that worked beautifully—Lydia and Seraphine's romance stands out as genuinely moving—but everything else felt like it needed more development to truly resonate. There were glimpses of something compelling, but they never quite came together into a cohesive whole.
This ended up being a mixed reading experience for me. While I appreciated certain elements, particularly the central relationship, the execution didn't leave the lasting impression I was hoping for.

“The past is never truly gone—it lingers in the shadows, waiting to be seen in the fault lines of our memories, where truth and illusion intertwine.”

Catherine Fearns’ The Fault Mirror is a beautifully haunting gothic novel that immerses readers in an eerie, atmospheric world rich with mystery, melancholy, and intellectual intrigue. Set between the opulent Belle Époque Paris of 1900 and a near-future Paris in 2035, the novel weaves two intertwined narratives that explore the nature of love, memory, and reality itself.

At the heart of the story is the tragic and passionate relationship between Lydia Temple, an American heiress, and Séraphine de Valleiry, an enigmatic French aristocrat. Their love is tender yet shadowed by societal constraints and secrets, set against the backdrop of a world on the brink of transformation. The lush, detailed descriptions of Parisian salons, mirrored ballrooms, and the remote, enigmatic Château des Miroirs create a gothic setting that feels almost alive—its reflections mirroring not just the characters’ faces, but their inner turmoil and desires.

Parallel to this historical tale is the story of Cyrus Field, a philosophy professor in 2035 who uncovers a collection of letters revealing a centuries-old mystery linked to the “fault mirror”—a metaphysical conundrum involving perception, identity, and truth. Cyrus’s journey is cerebral and introspective, providing a modern counterpoint to the passionate and sometimes tragic romance of Lydia and Séraphine. This dual timeline structure enriches the novel’s thematic complexity, asking profound questions about how memory shapes reality and whether the past can ever truly be understood.

Fearns’ prose is elegant and evocative, perfectly capturing the gothic ambiance with its interplay of light and shadow, beauty and decay. The pacing is deliberate, encouraging readers to savor each moment, each revelation, and to become fully immersed in the book’s layered narrative. While this slower pace may not appeal to everyone, it allows the emotional depth and philosophical underpinnings of the story to resonate more powerfully.

One of the novel’s greatest strengths lies in its character development. Lydia and Séraphine are richly drawn, their emotions raw and believable, their flaws making their love all the more poignant. Cyrus offers a thoughtful, contemplative presence, his academic quest grounding the ethereal romance in a modern framework. Together, these characters embody the tension between heart and mind, between feeling and understanding.

The gothic elements—haunted spaces, secrets lurking in mirrors, and a pervasive sense of melancholy—are woven seamlessly into the narrative. The château itself acts almost as a character, a place of reflection and revelation where the boundaries between reality and illusion blur. Themes of grief, identity, and the elusive nature of truth echo through the story, inviting readers to reflect on their own perceptions and the stories they tell themselves.

In conclusion, The Fault Mirror is a richly textured gothic novel that combines romance, mystery, and philosophy into a compelling whole. It’s a book for readers who appreciate atmospheric storytelling and don’t mind a slower, more introspective pace. With its haunting setting, complex characters, and thought-provoking themes, it’s a rewarding read that lingers long after the final page.

Gothic Romance — A brooding, atmospheric love story set in a mysterious, sometimes eerie setting.

Dual Timelines — Two stories unfolding in different time periods that are connected thematically or through characters.

Forbidden Love — A romance constrained by social norms, secrets, or external pressures.

Haunted House / Mansion — The Château des Miroirs acts as a symbolic and literal haunted setting, filled with secrets.

Philosophical Mystery — Exploration of deep questions about reality, identity, and perception woven into the plot.

Slow Burn Romance — A gradual development of emotional connection and intimacy between characters.

Unreliable Memory — Characters struggle to trust their own recollections, blurring the line between truth and illusion.

Atmospheric Setting — A richly described environment that almost becomes a character itself.

Tragic Romance — Love that faces significant hardships, often ending in loss or sacrifice.

Intellectual Protagonist — Characters who approach problems with thoughtful, philosophical introspection.

This was a bit too academic for me and not enough plot to keep me engaged. I found myself dreading to pick it back up just because I thought I had to finish it. Instalove isn't exactly a trope I like either. However, if you adore academia stories that are really thought out, this is for you!

The Fault Mirror is an intriguing mystery centred on a castle built in the early 1900s which has seemed to appear and disappear throughout history. At the heart of the story is Cyrus, an 80-year-old philosophy professor who has a personal tie to the castle and has spent the past 50 years mulling over its inexplicability. When he receives a series of letters written by American heiress Lydia Temple, the castle’s original owner, he initially doubts Lydia’s existence — yet as the novel unfolds, we see how Lydia seems to have been deliberately erased from historical records. As Fearns so poetically puts it, her glaring “absence proves her existence”. This paradox drives the mystery: who was Lydia, why was she erased, and where exactly is this elusive castle of mirrors?

Fearns laces the story with thought-provoking reflections. She invites readers to consider the transience of life, to savour each moment, to cherish those around them, and to take risks in pursuing their dreams. The idea of a “race against time to live our lives” resonates with readers as something both universal and deeply human.

This novel combines beautiful scenic descriptions with an enthralling mystery, but perhaps its greatest achievement lies in its emotional impact. Beyond its puzzles, The Fault Mirror leaves the reader with a renewed appreciation for what they have and an urge to live life more fully.

Thank you NetGalley for the ARC. #TheFaultMirror #NetGalley

3.75 STARS
An incredibly captivating story about unconditional love and the human nature of yearning through the perspective of an old philosophy professor who's slowly going blind.

This book was a relatively quick read but there are many quotes and scenes from it that I'll never forget. We are introduced to the mystery of the Disappearing House from the very first chapter and as intriguing as it was, I found myself so much more captivated by the characters and their journeys.

A particular aspect of this book that I really liked was it involving philosophy and physics related topics without being overly confusing. I found myself actually thinking about the questions posed throughout this book and it's discussions about love, yearning and human curiousity.

For such a short book, I also found myself missing the characters in the end and wanting more even though I knew their story was done. I think it's a solid depiction of the story's biggest theme regarding curiosity and yearning. Overall such a solid read that I'd recommend to others.

Thank you to Quill & Crow Publishing House and NetGalley for providing me with an ARC.

This book reads like a big meandering philosophical tale, which, in my opinion, meanders a bit too much. It certainly would have profited from being more concise in some places. At times I was bored, wanting to DNF this, other times I was so taken with the story (especially in the second half of the book) that I just wanted to continue reading it well into the night, because I wanted to find out how it would end. Kathryn was my favourite character and it's a shame that she only got introduced in the last quarter of the book. The story certainly would have profited from her being there since the beginning. I couldn't connect well to Hadyn and although I thought Cyrus was okay, I didn't particularly root for him all that much. The conclusion was not entirely unsatisfactory, but I had expected more, especially since the build-up in the last quarter of the book was very intriguing. I feel like the plot was very little and the book instead got filled with, what I already mentioned in the beginning, philosophical meandering. All in all, I enjoyed myself at times and was bored at other times; 3/5 stars.

2.25 ⭐ rounded down.

This is one of those books that feels rich in potential but ultimately falls flat! There are moments of brilliance here, particularly in the philosophical undertones and subtle apocalyptic worldbuilding.

Lydia and Seraphine's love story was genuinely touching. The way Lydia writes about Seraphine is romantic goals; however, the epistolary format held this back so much. Her letters would have been more impactful as diary entries.

Cyrus and Haydn's philosophical discussions are where the novel truly shines. Their dynamic, both together and with others, is engaging and thought-provoking. I also worried initially that their narrative might veer into an uncomfortable age-gap student/teacher romance, but thankfully, it didn't go there. Still, I wish that had been made more explicitly clear early on.

The real heartbreak of this was the final 10% imo. The ending felt completely disjointed and unsatisfying. I came <i>this</i> close to rage DNF'ing at 98%.

Worth noting: this is tagged as "Historical Fiction | LGBTQIAP+ | Sci Fi & Fantasy" on NetGalley, but there is nothing Sci-Fi/Fantasy about this until the very end. It's more of a speculative fiction/historical fiction with a sapphic romance.

Overall, this has a lot going on for it, but the execution doesn't quite deliver imo. Maybe this is a case of "it's not you, it's me"? Maybe it just started off on the wrong foot, and then everything else just built upon that? Idk the answers here, but I won't be recommending this.

Thank you to Netgalley, the author, and Quill & Crow for providing an ARC for my honest review.

This is such a heartwarming love story. I was so invested from start to finish. Sobbing. We need more sapphic fantasy like this.

I LOVED THIS BOOK.
I don't want to delve too much into the plot, as I think it's best to just get into it with as little knowledge as possible, but I just want to say that it is probably going to be one of my favorite books of all time. There's a lot I loved about this book: the setting, characters, pace, writing... I don't know much about physics or philosophy, but everything felt either extremely well-documented or too well-written, as it makes you believe it's all facts.
Here are a few keywords for what you can find in this book:
- Sapphic Representation
- Historical fiction (Belle Époque)
- Different timelines and POVs (intertwined)
- Magic? Science? Philosophy? Who knows...?
- Blind and elderly main character.
I read this as an ARC, but I will buy myself a copy as soon as it comes out. I'm not one for annotating books, but this one deserves a reread and annotation since there's so much I'd like to revisit.
Also, I'd like to recommend this book to people who have read and liked The Lost Bookshop by Evie Woods and The Lost Apothecary by Sarah Penner. If you read The Fault Mirror and enjoyed it, maybe you'd like to check out those, too.
I truly hope this book gets the recognition it deserves.

As the world approaches its end, an elderly professor of philosophy is confronted by one of his new students, who proposes a solution to the riddle that has confounded him his whole life: how can a house exist and not exist at the same time? Part **Stoner** by John Williams, part apocalyptic sci-fi, and part epistolary novel, **The Fault Mirror** is a strange blend of atmosphere and mystery that’s sure to keep you guessing until the very end.

First up: If, like me, you were worried about a potential romance between the 20-year-old student and the 80-year-old professor, rest assured, the book thankfully doesn’t go there! Still, I spent half the book clenching my butt in fear, so I wish it had been less subtle about their dynamic early on and thrown in more “granddaughter-like” comments.

The novel truly shines in its future timeline, set in 2035. Those scenes were my favorites, mostly because they focus on philosophical debates and quantum theories that are genuinely fascinating (and make for some great arguments between characters). They also made me nostalgic for my own university days, when knowledge was so specialized it sometimes felt totally pointless. I, too, spent hours arguing about the finer details of a bunch of nothing, and felt very clever doing it. The “food for thought” aspect of the book was hands-down my favorite part.

That said, I do have two major complaints. First, the writing starts off kind of overworked: it feels thesaurus-heavy and, at times, a bit try-hard. Second (and worse), the letters just didn’t work for me. It feels strange to choose an epistolary format and then write novel-like prose in the supposed correspondence between friends. For example, there are entire portions of verbatim dialogue written out in these letters (eg. *"Foo," someone said, looking like so. Then they moved like so. "Bar," I replied, breath hitching*). This felt unnatural and made it hard for me to connect with the characters or the past timeline. I wish these sections had been part of a diary instead, it would have felt much more believable, I think.

That said, I really enjoyed the book’s buildup to the climax. Things picked up for me in the final section, once the letters were out of the way, and the mystery just kept getting more complex and interesting. I didn’t completely love the resolution (SPOILERS FOR THE END) this is my third reincarnation book in a month, so I might just be tired of that trope. I’m also on the fence about the Akashic Records/Archivists twist. But what really frustrated me were the last-minute shifts in POV. The book establishes early on that each chapter uses a third-person limited POV and is titled after the POV character, so suddenly jumping between heads in the final chapters felt like cheating. I had to do a double-take in chapter 16 to make sure my eyes weren't deceiving me. Those two extra POVs in this chapter could easily have been their own short chapters instead...

All in all, while a few parts annoyed me, I genuinely enjoyed the 2035 sections and had a lot of fun with this book. I loved the characters (Kathryn!!), the carefully constructed mirroring between timelines, and the thrill of those mundane scholarly debates. The apocalyptic background was developed just enough to feel real without taking over the story. **The Fault Mirror** definitely stands out for a multitude of reasons; I’d recommend it wholeheartedly to philosophy nerds and lovers of speculative literary fiction.

Thank you NetGalley and Quill & Crow Publishing House for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

The imagery throughout was incredibly written. At times however, it got a little slow. The ending was satisfying and tied everything together very well.

Out November 8th, 2025
So haunting. Set across three haunting timelines—Belle Époque Paris, a postmodern Oxford, and the shadowed interwar years—the novel conjures the elusive Château des Miroirs, a house that may never have existed, yet shapes the lives of those who seek it. Lydia Temple’s love for Séraphine de Valleiry births a castle of dreams, only for it to be swallowed by war and whispers. Decades later, Cyrus Field, nearly blind and broken, is handed letters that may hold the key to his life’s philosophical obsession. But as the past bleeds into the present, the question lingers: is truth ever truly visible, or merely reflected in the fault lines of our desires?

Thank you to NetGalley and Quill & Crow Publishing House for this ARC!

Thank you, NetGalley and Quill & Crow Publishing House, for the absolute privilege to review this ARC.

Can I just say I'm writing my review through tears, and it makes it very hard to actually think straight? This review is going to be short because I don't think words accurately describe my genuine shock and happiness to be SHOCKED that I loved this so much. I have read very few novels in the horror-ish genre, so I was skeptical. I think this was a perfect jumping-off point because it was horror-lite. It was so much more than the genre, so much more than the gorgeous book cover, and the atmospheric, gorgeously gothic descriptions and environments. It was emotionally profound, moving, philosophical (without being pretentious), welcoming, unique, and a book that really just stays with you for a long while after.

Read it.

I finished reading The Fault Mirror a few days ago, but I still can't stop thinking about its characters and story. I loved the characters, all of them so beautifully written and multi-faceted. The writing is fluid, and the mystery surrounding the house pulls you in even more. It's all so beautiful and emotionally moving.

🖤 ‘Nothing is possible without love… for love puts one in the mood to risk everything.’ 🖤

I would rate this book 4.5 ⭐️

This book had so much depth- it was both an emotional story but also incredibly interesting and philosophical. This is unlike any book I have read before and I would definitely recommend that people read it. Especially if you are someone that has questions about the world and the universe and the questions that we as people have not, and probably never will be able to answer. This is an incredibly well written book! ✨

🖤 ‘We are surrounded by space, time, and death for a reason- otherwise, we would not give our actions the same importance. It is the very limited nature of our life, the fleetingness, that makes it so precious. That’s why I try to seize moments- those moments would be meaningless if they were infinite.’ 🖤

In The Fault Mirror, we follow Professor Cyrus Field, an 80 year old philosophy professor at Oxford university. He has spent his life’s career dedicated to solving one problem, a study called The Disappearing House. He tells his students that this is based on theory, just a case study to explain philosophical concepts. But in reality, it is based on his own experience. On his honeymoon in Geneva, his wife Daphne lead him to a cliff face overlooking the ocean, claiming to see a beautiful, fairytale-esque home on the very edge, that she believes she has seen before. A house that he could not see.

On the trip, Daphne later returns alone to see this house, and never returns. Cyrus has spent his life trying to figure out the mystery of the Disappearing House, and his wife’s disappearance, to no avail. Until one day, a student called Haydn comes to him with a stack of old letters from 1900’s, where an American heiress Lydia Temple writes to a friend discussing that she has fallen in love with an ethereal aristocrat Séraphine de Valleir. She also talks about their whimsical castle they built in the Swiss Mountains, called The Chateau des Miroirs, which sounds awfully like the house that Cyrus’s wife saw that he believes never existed. Cyrus has to decide whether he wants to uncover the real truth about the house and his wife’s disappearance- with war closing in and his vision depleting, it really is now or never for him to get his answers. 🩶

🖤 ‘They didn’t invent the nuclear bomb to stop a war, to save the world from evil. A bomb to stop a war is a contradiction in terms. Men invented the bomb to see if they could. The vaulting ambition to know. They wanted to believe they could. So it’s all about what we are prepared to believe.’ 🖤

The characters in this book were very enjoyable to read about. I really enjoyed the switch between reading about Cyrus and his life in his present day, and reading the letters from Lydia about her and Séraphine, and piecing together how they link together. Love was described in a very beautiful way by Lydia in her letters- you feel you can really connect with and understand her and her feelings. You also get a picture into what it was like for a woman in the 1900’s and the hardships they would have experienced, especially with the relationship she had with Séraphine, who was also a woman. I also really liked the topics that Cyrus, Haydn and the other professors discuss- particularly about the mysteries of life and questions we cannot answer. I found all of the philosophical theories the author talks about and mentions very interesting. 🩶

I also found it very interesting what was said about the impending war, both in the letters in the 1900’s and by Cyrus in 2035. It feels a lot like the conversations that society has about war in our present day society. It also shows that things like that never really change even as time goes on- that war has seemed an unfortunate inevitability, possibly because of our nature as humans.

🖤 ‘Do you want to know something else funny? Here we are at the end of the world, and I have never been this happy.’ 🖤

The Fault Mirror was an incredibly interesting and unique book, full of emotions and philosophical questions- I highly recommend it! 🌙

Thank you to Netgalley and Quill and Crow for approving me for this ARC! I loved it 🩶🐦‍⬛

5 stars! ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

This book was interesting, atmospheric, chilling and so beautiful. It is a gentle horror story but it’s also so much more than that, it’s a story about love and what it means to be running out of time.

What I loved in particular:
- the author took the idea of mirrors and masterfully dispersed them through the story. Lydia and her friends and preparing for the onset of the First World War and in 2035 the characters are preparing for an apocalyptic war. Cyrus’s life in 2035 is almost a mirror of his life in the 1980s, right down to his academic rivalries and love interest. By the end of the book I was trying to find plot reflections everywhere.
- the setting, I went to uni in Geneva and Catherine Fearns has perfectly captured the beauty and the appeal of the city and its surrounds.
- I liked the detailed scientific theories that were put forward by the characters to explain the supernatural. I also loved the use of Haydn’s essay to explain potential plot holes because I too was wondering why extensive correspondence with Carl Jung wouldn’t have been discovered before.
- the ending, I don’t include spoilers in my reviews so all I can say is that it was both chilling, sad and beautiful.

The Fault Mirror is one of those books that I will still be thinking about years after finishing.

Thank you so much to NetGalley and Quill and Crow Publishing House for the opportunity to read this ARC.

I just finished this book and I am crying. That was such a beautiful love story. The way this story unfolds sucks you in and keeps you locked in from beginning to end. The whole concept is interesting and the way the imagery and sensory hits you is incredible. I truly imagined myself in Cyrus' shoes, and his increasing blindness. I almost wish it didn't end because I want more, but its truly perfect as it is.


In letters to her friend and doctor, Lydia details how she's fallen in love with Seraphine and becomes inspired to build a fairytale mansion on a mountain with another mountain that reflects like a mirror next to it. As they settle in and start hosting friends, strange things start happening and changing around them.

Cyrus is given these letters by a mysterious student and challenged to find out why Lydia seems to have been erased from history.


(I received this as a arc)

This is the story of a house seen by three perspectives.
Lydia Temple, an American heiress that builds a fairy tail castle for her lover Séraphine de Valleiry that she met in 1900 in Paris.
Daphne, a woman who in 1980 seeks the house.
Cyrus Field, a philosophy teacher that in 2035 has made the study of the despairing house his main point of study.
This is the story of a house… or is it?

“Perhaps man is destined never to be satisfied. There must always be a yearning for more, more.”

“The Fault Mirror” marries philosophy, science fiction and fantasy, creating a perfect blend of wonder, mystery and feeling.
You do not need to be an expert of thought problems and scientific theories to easily follow and get completely sucked in the story that Catherine Fearns masterfully woven with her beautiful prose. What starts reading like a love story soon turns into a mystery to be pondered on, turning back into a love story, then an exploration of ideas and all of it always with the shadow of disaster growing over it. Dread permeates the page and yet I dare you to stop reading.

This is a book that was clearly a product of our age, yet it reads like a piece of literature that could fittingly have been written by someone, somewhere else in time.
Would you dare to look for the house yourself?

I tried reading this but after I couldn’t get into this. The author did a good job of writing it but it just wasn't for me.