An excellent debut! This had everything I love: gothic atmosphere, sapphic tension, female rage, and of course ravens. Told through dual POVs: We follow Eve, a servant newly hired at Greythorne Manor. She is immediately drawn to Saskia, the daughter of the powerful Rennard family. What begins as awe at the wealth and opulence quickly curdles into unease as Eve realizes the family is hiding something far darker. As she fights to survive the manor’s secrets, her forbidden love for Saskia is pushed to its breaking point.

Love, ambition, and survival collide, leaving everything precarious and charged. Dark, moody, and simmering with unrest, this story leans fully into gothic tragedy and feminine fury.

Thank you to NetGalley for providing a free copy of Pearl Bound. As a longtime fan of Gothic horror, I was eager to dive into this novel, and it did not disappoint. The story opens with real momentum and steadily builds toward a powerful midpoint climax. I genuinely couldn’t put it down after the major twist.
The characters are well crafted and multi dimensional, adding depth and emotional weight. One of the elements that resonated most with me was the novel’s exploration of wealth and power, and how easily privilege can shield people from consequences. That theme felt especially timely and reminded me of recent high profile scandals in the news. This is a fantastic debut, and I’m very much looking forward to reading more from this author.

Pearl Bound is a haunting, sapphic gothic horror that leans fully into atmosphere, obsession, and the sharp edge where love and terror meet.

Eve arrives already carrying grief and unease, but the crumbling coastal estate she finds herself in seems determined to hollow her out completely. The house is damp with secrets — salt-stung air, locked doors, pearls threaded through its history like a curse. Bergman’s setting feels alive, almost sentient, pressing in on Eve from all sides.

And then there’s Rennard.

Rennard is not a safe harbor — she’s the storm. Magnetic, unreadable, and unsettlingly intimate, she moves through the shadows of the manor like she belongs to them. The tension between her and Eve is immediate but restrained, built on lingering glances and conversations that feel like confessions wrapped in threats. Their attraction simmers beneath layers of mistrust and buried truths.

What makes this novel stand out is how inseparable the romance and horror are. The sapphic longing isn’t decorative — it’s central. Desire becomes dangerous. Touch becomes transformation. The body horror elements, particularly the imagery surrounding pearls and what they represent, are visceral without being gratuitous. There’s a constant sense that love here may require sacrifice — of innocence, of safety, maybe even of humanity.

Eve’s arc is especially compelling. She begins uncertain, reactive, caught in currents she doesn’t fully understand. By the final act, she is making choices — terrifying, powerful ones — that reshape both her fate and Rennard’s. Their relationship feels raw and feral by the end, forged in blood and truth rather than fantasy.

Moody, unsettling, and achingly romantic, Pearl Bound is perfect for readers who crave gothic settings, morally ambiguous sapphic relationships, and horror that lingers long after the last page.

This is a Gothic tale of magic, love and paranormal evil. I fell in love with Eve's story. I got sucked in from page 1 . The erriness of this book was superb. The author has such a way of writing that just makes the story come to life. Don't miss the incredible Gothic story

The Highlights:
Cinematic Atmosphere: Bergman’s background as a screenwriter shines through in the eerie, lush descriptions of the Rennard family’s estate.
Electric Chemistry: The forbidden connection between Eve and the rebellious heiress Saskia is intense and deeply compelling.

The Caveat:
The pacing slows significantly in the middle as the social drama takes over the horror. Some secondary characters also lack the depth found in the two protagonists.

I love a book about feminism, even when it’s not likely to be historically accurate.

This is a book about female power that we all need right now.

4 ⭐️

First of all, thank you very much to Natalie G. Bergman, Victory Editing and NetGalley for giving me the access to the arc. All the opinions expressed in this review are my own.

Whoa...That’s exactly how I felt after finishing this book! I mean such a perfect way to write a gothic horror story that embraces historical vibes! The dark atmosphere associated with the tension marks that embraces the full story created the most perfect scenario to promote women empowerment, to show how strong and capable women can be.

I liked Eve, the fmc, since page one. Her tragic history and the way she always thinks that things can get better, the way she keeps trying, not allowing her mother to change the way she envisions life and how she reacts to the adversities it’s mesmerizing.

I adored the author’s writing, her rich details and descriptions crafted the perfect environment for the final story plot, which absolutely surprised me and definitely higher my rating for the book itself. Liked the way that all the characters matter for the story and all of them were different, which made me think about diversity and the way people can be or act according to their life and personal interests.

Highly recommend giving the book a go, because it’s well written and the dark gothic horror ambience is so rich and vivid…at some point the reader might feel “inside the book”. I had a great time 🖤

Overall, I liked it due to the gothic atmospheric and historical themes. At first, I thought the story was heading into a very cliched direction, but it did not and went towards female rage which was surprising and welcomed. I am glad it did not play into specific tropes and had a female MC who was independent. I felt the story was disjointed somewhat and felt the flow was slightly off. I seem to be in the minority here as most people loved it.

I really enjoyed reading this book. It is an historical gothic set during the gilded age. Eve and her mother have arrived at the estate as servants. They are hiding some secrets, the family lives there have some dark secrets as well. The book is very well written and moves quickly. I loved the ending. Enjoy dark gothic novel.