I absolutely love a good gothic romance and magical house.

The world Bea Northwick has created is rich with curses, intrigue, and dark secrets.

Eleanora Blackwicket has spent years running from her past and hiding what she can do.

The death of her sister sends her back to Blackwicket House, in a small town full of corruption, somewhere she never wanted to return to.

An enjoyable Gothic Romance. I found the world and magic system engaging and wouldn't mind seeing more explored in future books. As is right and proper for a Inheriting A Cursed House book, there are a couple of late-book twists that reframe everything and set up further mysteries to potentially be explored. The romance didn't really hold my interest but it was fine.

I struggled!

The book offered an enjoyable, dark, and scary setting. The magical world with its curse eating was impressive, different, and threatening.

The romance started too slowly for my taste and was more of a lust especially at the beginning than a love affair. However, the rest of the book, about 40%, was a dense narrative with twists and turns and action.

Thanks to Victory Editing and NetGalley for the early review copy!

Thanks to Victory Editing Netgalley Co-op for the arc.

I really wanted to love this one. I'm such a fan of her first book A Cruel Dar, but this one was harder to follow.

I wanted more from the curse eating magic system. It's truly so unique in that sense. When Eleanora uses her magic, it seems like it's rare but not really explained. I also feel like the cuts between scenes would work in a TV show or movie, but the story moves along with characters and settings so jarringly I found it hard to stay invested.

Northwick's writing is so good though. I love that she really knows the era vibes, and how to sell the atmosphere.

The history between Eleanore and her fam felt very complicated. I know this is a series, but I almost wish it started and stayed at Blackwicket house and established that history before jumping into the future. The house vibes would have been a larger impact, same with establishing that relationship between Eleanora, her mom and sister.

Pick this up if you want fall, spooky magic vibes.

rating: 3.5⭐

Thank you so much Victory Editing NetGalley for the arc!

"What we can do, most people forgot how to. It hurts them too much to remember."

- Prohibited magic
- Magical syndicate
- Slow-burn
- 1920s/30s setting
- Family legacies

What I liked:
- I loved the worldbuilding right away. It reminded me of a classic film noir but with added roaring 20s vibes! Department stores with enchanted displays, gloomy towns with velvety nightclubs and the biggest magical syndicate is selling a forbidden kind of twisted magic! Soo good! Additionally there’s also a creepy gothic cliffside mansion the town’s children make rhymes about.

What I didn’t like:
- The magic system was unique and complex but unfortunately it was never explained enough. Especially in the beginning terms like Dark Hall, Curse Eater, Drudge were constantly used, never explained, yet you were expected to grasp the dire situation the main character was in. My constant questions unfortunately distracted me from enjoying the story the as much as I could have.

Writing style: 2,5/5
Characters: 3/5
Story & Plot: 3/5
Vibes: 4/5

I loved everything about Blackwicket and couldn't put this book down! This book gave me everything I desired and more from dark and twisty forces to undeniable chemistry. As the first book in a new series, I can't wait for the next book to be released!! Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an advance copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

This was such a unique, captivating story that sucked me right in from the very first chapter. I loved pretty much everything about it. From the old fifties feel, to the magic and mystery. The romance was a nice added bonus that I was not expecting. Overall, this was just such a fun yet dark story that kept me turning the pages and coming back for more.

Blackwicket is one of my fave reads of 2025 and I devoured it like I was a Drudge in Blackwicket Manor looking for my next victim.
This novel had lovely descriptive prose with gothic undertones that brought the dark, haunting story to life. Note that since the writing was descriptive and, at times, flowery, the pacing was definitely slower than a lot of Romantasy novels out today. This was not a bad thing! I really loved being able to sit in and enjoy the characters, setting, and story a little longer. For fans of supernatural realism, light gothic stories, mysteries, and slow burn romances.

I will be honest, having read the entirety of Blackwicket, I'm not completely sure that I could describe the various supernatural creatures. But I am totally sure that it doesn't matter. In addition to incredibly compelling characters - our hero, Eleanora, her allies Victor and Thea and antagonist William - this is a book which knows how to vibe. The perfect read for the Halloween season, I felt like I could take a turn of the Mass Pike from Salem to the 1950s seaside town of Nightglass. From abandoned seaside mansions to smoky nightclubs, this book has ALL the spooky gothic romantic vibes.

This is the perfect Halloween read. I'd recommend to fans of RuNyx and Karina Halle. Thanks to Bea Northwick for the early copy.

Blackwicket is one of those books that lingers long after you’ve turned the final page. Dark, atmospheric, and relentlessly original, it takes the reader deep into a world that feels equal parts dark academia and noir, with a magical system unlike anything I’ve encountered before. The author weaves horror, magic, and mystery into a complex narrative that demands and rewards close attention.

The setting itself feels almost cinematic, reminiscent of L.A. Noire with its undercurrents of mafia intrigue and bleak elegance. It creates a backdrop that is both unsettling and fascinating, giving the story a distinctive identity within the fantasy genre.

The FMC is written with such raw intensity that I found myself uncomfortably identifying with her at times. This book doesn’t shy away from dark themes, especially death, and while I personally appreciated the unflinching approach, I would caution more sensitive readers to proceed with care.

The magical system is one of the strongest aspects of the book: intricate, well-researched, and, as I said, unlike anything I’ve seen before. I genuinely enjoyed exploring its depth and originality. That said, there were moments where the complexity felt slightly confusing, but never to the point of taking away from the overall experience.

The romance thread is present but not the only driving force of the story and while I personally didn’t feel enough chemistry between the two characters as I would like to, I actually appreciated that the novel prioritized its worldbuilding and layered plot over a conventional love story.

The book ends on a cliffhanger, which left me eager to see where this saga is headed. If the first installment is anything to go by, the series promises to be ambitious, immersive, and unlike anything else in the current fantasy landscape.

★★★★★


Thank you so much to NetGalley for the ARC!

I just finished this and I can't believe it. I devoured this book! As soon as I saw the cover and read the description, I knew I had to read it, and it did not disappoint!!

I loved the dark, gothic atmosphere and the incredibly unique magic system. The concept with curse eaters was so cool and unlike anything I've read before! I also absolutely adored the characters, and Bea's writing completely pulled me in and would not let go!! Honestly the perfect read to get into the spooky fall season!

If you're into spooky, gothic vibes and morally grey characters, this one is definitely for you!!

3.5 stars

For those who love diving into an immersive and slower paced novel with gloomy gothic atmospheres and unique magic systems, Blackwicket is the perfect edition to your spooky season tbr!

While I enjoyed the story and the magic system, I would have liked a more in-depth explanation of it and it's terminology as it does get a bit confusing to keep up with throughout the book. The pacing was also a bit slower than I would have liked, but I know that's probably someone's cup of tea lol.

Overall though, really enjoyed and cannot wait for more from Northwick!

This was a beautiful and atmospheric read with unique and strange magic, a delicious enemies-to-lovers romance, slowish pacing, and a vintage setting.

Dark magic, family curses, and a house that remembers—Blackwicket is gothic fantasy at its most deliciously haunted. Bea Northwick conjures a world where legacy is both a burden and a weapon, and where the past refuses to stay politely buried.

Eleanora Blackwicket is a heroine stitched from secrets and survival. Called back to her crumbling ancestral home after her sister’s death, she’s not just facing grief—she’s facing the monsters her family left behind. The house itself is a character: brooding, cursed, and quietly watching. And as the Brom—a black-market magic syndicate—and the enigmatic Inspector Harrow close in, Eleanora must decide whether to run, resist, or embrace the dangerous magic within her.

Northwick’s prose is lush but sharp, with moments of eerie beauty and emotional grit. The romance simmers with tension, the mystery twists like ivy, and the magic system—curse-eating, no less—is as original as it is unsettling. It’s a story of inheritance, identity, and the kind of love that claws its way through the dark.

Perfect for fans of The Atlas Six and House of Hunger, this is a moody, magnetic read that lingers like candle smoke and old grief.

With thanks to Bea Northwick, the publisher and NetGalley for the ARC.

Thanks to Netgalley and the author for this ARC!

This is a beautifully written gothic fantasy novel. The vibes are perfect for autumn. However, the magic system was never fully explained and there were magical terms were similarly never explained /defined. It kept pulling me out of the story.