gothic feels

Review: Wildewood by Jessica Thorne

~ megs14malloy ~ Leave a comment

WildewoodWildewood by Jessica Thorne
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Wildewood follows Alex as she returns to her ancestral home, Wildewood, after the passing of her twin brother, Theo. Alex has made it a point to stay away from the family’s sprawling gothic estate, and this is her first visit in years.

She lost her father there, and now her brother, both in mysterious circumstances. She wants nothing to do with the property, and just plans to assess it and sell it. It would certainly be a desirable location for a luxury hotel.

Arriving at the property, she encounters Nick, the handsome groundskeeper and her late-brother’s best friend. Nick seems determined to stop Alex from selling the property, but what business is it of his anyway?

After Nick saves her from a near fatal fall, Alex begins to feel an unnatural pull towards the man. It’s like whispers in her ear, thoughts suddenly in her head, it’s overwhelming.

As Alex digs into her family history, and the history of the house, she makes some disturbing discoveries. She may be forced to face some dark truths, and will Nick end up being a help or a hindrance? Time will tell.

This is a good story. I don’t real a lot of Fantasy Romance, but I thought I would give this one a try because of how prominent it sounded like Wildewood, the property, was in the plot. I do love unsettling gothic stories where a place becomes a character unto itself.

This definitely checks that box.

The property itself was very well developed, and included a dark, mysterious forest surrounding the house. I loved the atmosphere and the way unsettling things start occurring during Alex’s stay, increasing as each day passes.

Alex started to feel unmoored, and she was anxious to figure out what was going on with this house, and I liked the mystery surrounding that. The aspect that lost me was unfortunately, the romance. It was okay initially, but then just got a bit heavy-handed for my tastes.

And I hear you, maybe I shouldn’t read Romantasy then, and while I mostly agree with you, I have found some Romantasy novels that I’ve loved, so I know it’s possible. I think it just all depends on the romance itself. Once it borders into cheesy territory, I’m out.

Nevertheless, I know a lot of people are going to love this. Particularly, if you’re more into Paranormal-type Romance stories. This property is very creepy, and Thorne does deliver that atmosphere and sense of uncertainty.

Thank you to the publisher, Bookouture Audio, for providing me with a copy to read and review. The audiobook is very well narrated. Aoife McMahon’s voice and style of narration was perfect for this story.

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Review: The Hill in the Dark Grove by Liam Higginson

~ megs14malloy

The Hill in the Dark GroveThe Hill in the Dark Grove by Liam Higginson
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

The Hill in the Dark Grove is a debut Folk Horror novel that has stuck with me long after I turned the last page. This story is deep, dark and honestly, sort of devastating.

We follow an older couple, Carwyn and Rhian, who’ve lived a quiet life as sheep farmers in the remote Welsh moutains. The land they live on, and work, is a family legacy, having been in Rhian’s family for generations.

Over the years, Carwyn and Rhian have found their social circle shrinking, as they’ve lost many friends and neighbors to old age and the pull of the city, and greater world. For the most part, they keep to themselves, grumbling about rising prices and the influx of English tourists.

Before you go thinking they’re just old people complaining about a changing world, they’re really not. For them, from their perspective, the changing world is threatening their way of life, and their land that they’ve poured blood, sweat and tears into over the decades.

Their world has become very small, but how long will they be able to maintain even that? And once they can no longer, what will become of them then?

When Carwyn finds a peculiar stone head in a little used corner of the farm, he believes he’s uncovered something remarkable. He soon realizes the artifact is just a small part of something much larger from deep history.

Even though Rhian urges him to leave it be, Carwyn becomes obsessed with uncovering the object, all while his daily farm chores go neglected. When sheep start falling ill, and an accident makes it even more challenging for the couple to survive, Carwyn insists uncovering the object and learning its original purpose could be the key to solving everything.

Something he didn’t consider though, is perhaps it’s buried and stayed that way for a reason. Perhaps the ancestors of the past have intended for it to be so. What’s gonna happen when he actually digs it up? What exactly is he unearthing?

I haven’t stopped thinking about this novel since I finished it a couple of weeks ago. There’s something very The Tommyknockers about it, whilst also being completely its own thing. I really liked it, even though I’m confident I didn’t pick up on everything the author intended.

I’m in awe. It’s not really a complicated story, but there are layers, and there were moments that I was a little unclear on where we were in time, and who exactly I was following.

One thing that never changed though was the pace and rhythm of the story. The writing is lush and beautiful. Higginson is an artist with words and The Hill in the Dark Grove does feel like a work of art.

I loved the unsettling atmosphere of the story. The uncertainty in Carwyn and Rhian’s life channels through the pages directly to the Reader. I felt for them. They were isolated and facing some real daunting challenges, and at such a time in their lives. It was difficult to read at times.

Aging, and what happens to us as we age, the way a person’s world can shrink, these are real world horrors that I think can be scary for a lot of us to think about. Though there was more going on in this story than that, I did appreciate Higginson’s exploration of those topics.

The incorporation of Welsh folklore and the mystery surrounding this object, and it’s pull on Carwyn, were also so compelling. Overall, it’s a great story.

I feel like I need to get a hard copy for my collection, so I can read it again and annotate. I would recommend it for fans of Gothic Fiction, or Folk Horror, but really I feel like it’s a story that could enjoyed by Readers of any genre.

Thank you to the publisher, Hogarth, for providing me with a copy to read and review. I’m looking forward to more from Liam Higginson.

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Review: Adam, Mine. by K. Ancrum

~ megs14malloy

Adam, Mine.Adam, Mine. by K. Ancrum
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

**3.5-stars**

Adam, Mine. A love letter to Frankenstein. A Queer Romantic story following Victor Frankenstein, and the teen boy who would become his monster, his curse, Elias Hilfiker.

This story does incorporate many elements of the original source material, but Ancrum absolutely brings her own passion and spin to the story. I enjoyed the set-up, meeting Victor, and the events that brought him and Elias into contact, but after that it did start to lose me.

Don’t get me wrong. I liked it. The audiobook was well narrated, and I thought the story itself was good. K. Ancrum is a beautiful writer, I just think in this moment, it wasn’t the right book for me.

I wanted a bit more darkness and sinister vibes, but I should have known from the synopsis that it would lean more in the direction of seriousness and romance.

Because of the mismatch of my mood to the story, I ended up being bored by the 2nd-half in particular. It became something very one note for me. I felt no real variation in intensity, and it definitely lost my attention over time.

I have read from K. Ancrum in the past, The Wicker King, which I absolutely loved, and honestly, the tone of this is fairly similar. That’s why I’m confident that it’s a me problem, not a book problem.

I know that a lot of Readers will really enjoy this, but sadly, it just did work for me at the time that I read it. Additionally, it’s only been 4-days since I finished it, and I literally remember next to nothing. That’s never a good sign.

With this being said, please don’t let my lackluster review keep you from picking it up. If you love K. Ancrum, the story of Frankenstein, or think the synopsis sounds intriguing, you should absolutely give it a go. You could end up finding a new favorite.

Thank you to the publisher, Harper Collins Children’s Books, for providing me with a copy to read and review. I wish I would have picked this up in a different moment, I feel like it could have been a different experience.

Nevertheless, I have to be honest, and this one sort of missed the mark for me. I’ll absolutely be picking up more from K. Ancrum in the future though, so this doesn’t phase me a bit. We can’t love them all.

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Review: An Immaculate Deception by Isabela Livino

~ megs14malloy

An Immaculate DeceptionAn Immaculate Deception by Isabela Livino
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

**3.5-stars rounded up**

An Immaculate Deception is a debut Historical Horror novel from Isabela Livino. This book is set in 1870s-Brazil, where we meet and follow a woman named Madalena.

Madalena has fallen in love with a dashing young man, and as sometimes happens, finds herself pregnant, out of wedlock. Having been raised in a strict and religious household, Madalena fears her mother’s head could actually explode when she learns Madalena’s secret.

After Madalena confesses, her Mom’s head doesn’t explode, but she does put up a forceful ultimatum: marry, or surrender the baby.

Madalena feels confident that the baby’s daddy, Leandro, will do the right thing when he hears the news. He’s bound to propose. He loves her. Yeah, yeah, he loves her.

She picks a night to tell him, and just as she’s about to share the news, a terrible storm sweeps in and causes the carriage they’re traveling in to careen off the road.

Awakening after the accident, Madalena finds herself in a bed at Leandro’s secluded estate. She’s being looked over by a Doctor Lobo, and she let’s him know she’s pregnant, to which he’s surprised.

Leandro is also there, but he doesn’t seem the same since the accident. His personality has completely changed. No longer the charming and affectionate lover she once knew, he’s now glowering and always watching.

It’s not just Leandro though, the house itself sets Madalena on edge. She fears it’s haunted. There’s phantom smells, things disappearing, a startling lack of mirrors. She begins to fear Leandro and Doctor Lobo as well. She doesn’t trust them at all. She feels trapped.

She’s got to figure out what’s happening here and get away before it’s too late. It’s not just herself she needs to think about, but also her unborn child. It’s a race against the clock for Madalena; one girl against the world.

This was good. I enjoyed my time with it, and while it didn’t necessarily blow me away, I feel like it’s a strong debut novel. I was particularly intrigued in the 1st-half. It was mysterious and I enjoyed the descriptions of Leandro’s house and the things going on there.

Additionally, there was shift at one point that really surprised me, and I loved that the author chose to set the narrative up the way that she did. It made the reveals more impactful, IMO.

There were some aspects that I found odd and slightly-confusing, but for the most part it had a solid premise, good characters and lightly-creepy vibes.

I would recommend this to fans of The Hacienda, or Mexican Gothic. I think if you like those sort of Gothic Historical Horror stories, this could work for you as well.

I will say, I do feel a little weird about the cover. Speaking of The Hacienda. I feel like perhaps they hit a little to close to Isabel Cañas’s cover style. As soon as I saw this, I thought, does Isabel Cañas have a book coming out that I don’t know about?

I feel like it’s sort of her thing now to have this beautiful, artistic covers with a lone woman in a red dress, especially outside, with some sort of weather brewing, and that’s exactly what this is. I just wish they would have gone in a different direction, as it feels a little copy-catty.

With this being said, this isn’t a review of the Publisher’s choice of cover, it’s a review of the story itself, and that’s what I’ve based my rating on.

Thank you to the publisher, Dutton, for providing me with a copy to read and review. I would definitely pick up more from Isabela Livino in the future.

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Review: A Penance for Crows by Shannon Morgan

~ megs14malloy

A Penance for CrowsA Penance for Crows by Shannon Morgan
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

**4.5-stars**

A Penance for Crows is a modern Gothic Horror novel that feels like it’s been torn from the past. The novel takes place on the Irish island of Beanna Dubh, set off the Southern tip of the Beara Peninsula. The community is quite insular. They like to keep to themselves.

In fact, there are many on the island who have never even been to the mainland. Untouched by modern technology, the islanders live under strict rule of the church.

As a people, they adhere to many superstitions. The island is also home to thousands of crows, so that fact only enhances those creepy vibes, with the islanders believing the crows are harbingers of coming disaster.

Our MC, Grizela, fled to the island 40-years ago, leaving her native-Glasgow, and her unsettling past well behind her. Though Grizela has been on the island for decades, she’s still considered an outsider by many.

She has been able to forge some strong connections with the young folks on the island though, who she treats as her own. Many of them confide in her things they wouldn’t trust telling their parents, or other elders.

Our action kicks off when Grizela discovers the dead body of the island’s young priest with a diabolical symbol drawn on his chest. Crows darken the sky, and Grizela fears there’s a different kind of darkness now among them.

As the mysterious symbols continue popping up randomly, and more residents meet terrible ends, the islanders’ suspicious fall on Grizela. She’s the outsider, after all.

Mass hysteria quickly takes over and Grizela is scrambling to prove her innocence. During her investigations into these disturbing happenings, she begins to learn new, and startling, information about a group of young women she has previously taken under her wings.

If you follow my reviews at all, you may know that I’m an Atmosphere Girlie through and through. I read to escape, and I particularly love remote settings with an overriding ominous air about them. IMO, this novel delivered that to me exactly as I wanted.

I was so invested in A Penance for Crows. This Occult Horror novel with strong Gothic atmosphere swept me up in the drama of the small island of Beanna Dubh.

I loved the MC, Grizela, who is in her early-60s, which in and of itself was refreshing. I also related to her experience on the island, as far as ‘being from away’ and no matter how long she’s there, she’s still considered an outsider. As an island girl myself, I get it.

Morgan created a great cast of characters in this noveal and the intrigue is excellent. Things keep happening and there’s an awesome feeling of ‘is it supernatural, is it not supernatural’ about it that I always appreciate it.

There were so many twists and turns, and as soon as I thought I knew who, or what, was behind all the mysterious happenings on the island, something new would occur that would blow my theory out of the water.

I loved the Occult elements that Morgan included. I feel like those made the novel so much more beguiling. That type of element rarely gets executed like it was here, in a fully believable, non-cheesy, way and I was living for it.

I highly recommend this to any Gothic, or Atmosphere, Girlies in the crowd. If you’re looking for that atmosphere, this is absolutely going to deliver it to you.

Thank you to the publisher, Kensington, for providing me a copy to read and review. I’m so impressed by this and cannot wait to read more from Shannon Morgan. I really hope she stays in this lane, because it’s fabulous!

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Review: The House Saphir by Marissa Meyer

~ megs14malloy

The House SaphirThe House Saphir by Marissa Meyer
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

**4.5-stars**

The House Saphir follows Mallory Fontaine and is set in historical, and also a wee bit magical, France. The atmosphere is steeped in occult elements and we love to see that. Mallory comes from a long-line of witches, but her one actual power is being able to see ghosts.

Mallory makes her living giving tours of an infamous mansion where the first of the Saphir murders took place. She’s considered a bit of an expert on the murderer, Count Bastien Saphir, aka. Monsieur Le Bleu, who murdered three of his wives over a century ago.

Mallory is shocked when she ends up meeting Bastien’s great-great grandson, Armand, on one of her tours. The heir to the Saphir estate, Armand offers Mallory and her sister a large sum of money to rid his estate of Le Bleu’s ghost.

He believes the sisters are as talented as their reputations purport them to be when it comes to dealing with spirits. To him, they’re the perfect solution. To them, he’s the perfect mark. A deal is made.

The two women travel to the palatial country manor expecting their same ole’ smoke and mirrors routine. However, when murder once again comes to the House Saphir, their ghost investigation turns into a real-life murder investigation. Will they be able to solve the crime and banish the ghost before more lives are lost?

I knew nothing about The House Saphir prior to picking it up except for the fact that it was written by Marissa Meyer. I’ve had nothing but great success with Meyer’s works in the past and I love picking up her latest releases.

I had the pleasure of Buddy Reading this one with a friend and we both had so much fun with it. I actually read it in a day, which surprised me because it’s over 400-pages. I was completed invested the entire way through though. I couldn’t put it down once I started.

Apparently, it’s a Bluebeard retelling, but I didn’t go into it knowing anything about that lore, so can’t attest to this novel as a retelling one way or another. I have looked up information on Bluebeard since, and it does seem like it would be a fun ride for fans of that story.

What I do know is how consumable Meyer’s writing is. I always love her quirky characters, and she brings just the right amount of humor to her stories for my tastes.

Mallory is such an incredible MC to follow, and I loved the banter between her and Armand. She’s extremely witty and fast-thinking. You can tell she’s had to take care of herself. It shows, she’s tough and willing to do whatever it takes to survive. She’s a hustler. LOL

The murder mystery was such a bonus for me. It definitely added another layer of enjoyment. In that regard, it reminded me a bit of Belladonna. I do think Readers who enjoyed that, would enjoy this as well.

I also loved how many ghosties and monsters there were. I wasn’t expecting all that. Where I could see some Readers being disappointed, is if you go in expecting Romantasy. I don’t read a ton of Romantasy, but to me the Romance is very much a secondary-plot point compared to everything else that’s happening.

If you go in expecting big romance, you make walk away feeling let down. It exists in here, but yeah, it’s certainly not the star of the show, IMO.

I think this novel will hit best with Gothic Readers, or Readers who enjoy witches, ghosts, murder and other paranormal things, but also love humor and compelling characters. The setting of this gothic manor is super well done and it’s certainly action-packed.

Finally, I would recommend the audiobook. The narration from Rebecca Soler, unsurprisingly, was perfection. She brought Mallory to life and made me love her even more!

Thank you to the publisher, Feiwel & Friends and Macmillan Audio, for providing me with a copy to read and review. Marissa Meyer is just so freaking talented!

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Review: Japanese Gothic by Kylie Lee Baker

~ megs14malloy

Japanese GothicJapanese Gothic by Kylie Lee Baker
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

My first 5-star read of 2026!!!

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Wow, okay. Japanese Gothic. Is this going to be for everyone? No, most likely not. Was it for me though? Hell yes!

I am blown away by how unique, beautiful and creative this story is. It’s tragic. It’s challenging and captivating. It hurt my head a little and my heart a lot.

I finished this novel close to a month ago, and have been sitting with it in my mind ever since. As it turns out, this is going to be one of those cases for me that I love a book so much, I really don’t know how to review it.

There’s only so many ways one can say, this is amazing.

Kylie Lee Baker is so versatile in her writing, and this is a clear example of her tremendous talent. I think maybe for Readers who have only read Bat Eater and Other Names for Cora Zeng from her, they might be surprised by this one.

For Readers who have read her earlier works, such as The Keeper of the Night, or The Scarlet Alchemist duologies, both of which I recommend, this may be less of a surprise.

Those Horror Fantasy duologies both leaned heavily into more historical settings. In The Keeper of the Night duology, we also had the incorporation of Japanese folklore and mythology explored through a Horror lens.

In Japanese Gothic, it feels like KLB is blending both her earlier works with Bat Eater, and I mean this style-wise, as we have two main characters, Lee, living in our modern world in 2026, and Sen, living in historic Japan in 1877.

After Lee flees New York under distressing circumstances, he goes to stay in his father’s new home in Japan. A house with a haunting aura and history.

It’s in this location that Lee’s and Sen’s worlds end up colliding. So there’s this beautiful blend of the modern with the historical. It’s a story of two times, two worlds, but how are they connected, and why?

This book is such a journey, such a ride. I was so curious about how KLB was going to work these two perspectives and I loved how it was done. The way we learn about the characters through their experiences with one another, it unfolded in such a natural way.

I definitely crept up on me. I didn’t know how invested I was until the events began to escalate and become higher stakes. I loved the mystery of it as well. There’s no info dumping as to what is going on here, or why, it just evolves.

The revelations at the end, the truth of what’s going on with these characters and the connection, it was jaw-dropping and incredible. I was in awe of what KLB did here.

I could see this one going either way with Readers. It takes its time. It’s truly a slow burn, but I loved the Horror imagery and dark content KLB included, while also making it heartfelt and thought-provoking.

I think for the Readers it hits with, it’s really going to hit, and I fall into that camp. For me, this is Kylie Lee Baker’s best work yet, and I’ve really enjoyed everything I’ve read from her. I just feel like the complexity the story, the themes explored and it’s construction, is all next level.

I would absolutely recommend this to anyone who feels like the premise sounds intriguing. I think if you go in knowing it’s going to unfold in a slow, meticulous way, you’ll have a better shot connecting with it. Be willing to take the time.

Thank you to the publisher, Hanover Square Press, for providing me with a copy to read and review. I know it’s early, but I can say with confidence that this will be on my Best Books of 2026 list!

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Review: House of Beth by Kerry Cullen

~ megs14malloy

House of BethHouse of Beth by Kerry Cullen
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

**3.5-stars rounded up**

After a rough break-up and an upsetting incident at her job, Cassie, an overworked assistant at a literary agency, decides to take a break. She needs some space from her life.

She retreats to her hometown in New Jersey, where she ends up running into her high school best friend, Eli, now a widowed father of two young children.

Their relationship quickly takes a turn, and before she knows it, Cassie is giving up her high-octane life in the city for homeschooling Eli’s children, exploring nature, and perhaps forming a new friendship with the eccentric next-door neighbor, Joan.

While on the outside, it may appear Cassie has truly moved on, on the inside she’s not so sure. She has misgivings about the whole situation, but it’s more than that.

Cassie suffers from harm OCD, where her thoughts are frequently plagued by graphic and gory images. Her thoughts scare her, but she can’t run from them. She’s constantly on edge.

Her violent thoughts aren’t the only thing haunting her though. There’s also the shadow of Eli’s deceased wife, Beth, looming over her every day.

As Cassie starts to hear the voice of the house, narrating the family’s secrets from before her arrival, Cassie can’t help but wonder what really happened to Beth?

House of Beth is an unsettling and unique little story. I enjoyed the overall tone. It felt ominous, even when I wasn’t sure why. It went in a direction I wasn’t expecting as well, and for that I give it extra props.

It came across as a bit of a toned-down version of Maeve Fly for me. There’s something in the delivery of Cassie’s narrative voice that reminded me so much of the way Maeve Fly would relay what was going on around her.

It also felt a bit Jayne Eyre but, obviously much more modern. The circumstances aren’t the same, just the overall feel. If that’s a tone you enjoy, you should definitely check this one out. I think it’s worth the read, just to see the new feel that the author has brought to that type of tale.

At the end of the day, I’m not quite sure I got out of this what the author intended though. I’m left with lingering questions on what kind of story this was truly trying to be.

I’m seeing some bigger picture things, but I don’t know if that is intentional, or if my mind is just trying to find logic amidst the greater puzzle. Nevertheless, I enjoyed the journey and am looking forward to more from Kerry Cullen.

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Review: The Devil in Oxford (Ruby Vaughn #3) by Jess Armstrong

~ megs14malloy

The Devil in Oxford (Ruby Vaughn, #3)The Devil in Oxford by Jess Armstrong
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

The Devil in Oxford is the 3rd-release in Jess Armstrong’s Ruby Vaughn series. These adventurous Gothic Mysteries have truly captured my heart.

This installment finds Ruby accompanying her employer, Mr. Owen, to Oxford while he attends an annual meeting of the Antiquarian Society of which he is a part.

Ruby is looking at the time in Oxford to serve as a bit of a holiday for her. She’s brought her housemaid, her cat and she’s excited to spend time with her old friend, Leona, who works in Oxford. As you may know, however, trouble tends to find Ruby wherever she goes.

That trouble arrives on a night out at an exhibition of artifacts amassed by the disgraced scholar, Julius Harker. How could an event like that possibly bring on trouble, you may ask? A bunch of stuffy old scholars, you may say.

Well, when Harker’s dead body is discovered amongst the collection, his business partner is quickly arrested. Ruby gets drawn in, mainly by her friend, Leona, who is close with all parties involved. The last thing Ruby wants, really, is to get dragged into another dangerous investigation, yet, that’s exactly what happens.

As all of this is happening, Ruan Kivell, the Cornish Pellar, Ruby is battling feelings for, arrives in town as well, insisting upon seeing her. Well, that’s just fine. They work great together. He can only aide in Ruby’s investigation, she just wishes he’d stop reading her thoughts.

Thus, Ruby sets out to discover the truth about what happened to Julius Harker, because she’s definitely not buying the story they’re being sold.

I think it’s fair to say that I’m really invested in this series at this point. I love how each installment feels like a completely new adventure. One of my favorite aspects is discovering where Ruby is going in each new book.

I also just love Ruby as a protagonist. She has such an interesting backstory, which I still don’t feel we know the true depths of. She’s stubborn as a mule, but so quick and determined. She’s like that friend you just want to shake sometimes, but you know what, she gets stuff done.

I was so happy at the start of this, just to be returning to this world and cast of characters, and of course, I squealed when Ruan entered the chat.

I liked how tense this mystery got. There was like this dark, seedy underbelly of Oxford that Ruby and Ruan were having to dig into. It felt dangerous, and since we didn’t know a lot of these cast of side characters from the previous books, I had no idea who to trust.

I’m glad that Ruan did end up showing up in the story, not just for the romance vibes he always brings, but also for the safety and steadiness he provides Ruby. Their personalities compliment each other well, and they do work well together.

I would recommend this series to anyone who enjoys historical mysteries, particularly if you enjoy those with occult elements and gothic atmosphere.

Thank you to the publisher, Minotaur Books, for providing me with a copy to read and review. I cannot wait for the next book. I’m really hoping we get to learn even more about Ruby’s past!

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Review: The House of Quiet by Kiersten White

~ megs14malloy

The House of Quiet is a YA Dystopian-Fantasy novel that follows Birdie, as she tries to rescue her sister from the infamous House of Quiet.

The House is a place where children can go after Procedures they’ve entailed have triggered powers that leave them unable to live in regular society. Think Miss Peregrine’s, or Eleanor West’s Home for Wayward Children, but in this story the children feel more like indentured hostages.

Birdie blackmails her way into admission at the house under the guise that she’s a housemaid. She figures once she’s there, she can easily locate her sister, Magpie, and they’ll be able to escape somehow; hopefully.

Unfortunately, once she’s at the house, Birdie sees no signs of Magpie having been there. Instead what she finds is a house steeped in mysteries, that functions nothing like she thought it would.

Though she hoped to keep her head down and focus solely on her mission, Birdie can’t help but be drawn into the lives of the other residents and staff. It’s after she forges some surprising new relationships, that Birdie begins to unravel the truth of the House of Quiet.

This was good, but I wouldn’t say it will be a very memorable story for me. It felt in the same wheelhouse as The Hunger Games, or [book:The Good Luck Girls|36381842], and it has some interesting concepts, but at the end of the day, it felt sort of forgettable.

I am left wanting more exploration of the world, though, which isn’t a bad thing. I’m wondering if this will be developed into a series, or maybe a duology?

I read this one with a friend, and I feel like we both had the same feelings as far as the world-building. We had a lot of questions. I wish it would be explored further, it just felt very opaque.

It has some popular dystopian-features, the way the society is divided, and the stark landscape and rather bleak life prospects of the characters. It is tagged as Gothic, and I get that, but to me this felt much more Dystopian, even bordering a little on Steampunk. That’s more the vibe in my experience.

I did get pulled in pretty quickly. I found it all quite puzzling, and initially I did enjoy trying to figure it all out, but I felt like the author could have answered more.

There’s a lot of different aspects to follow here, including an underground resistance, which I enjoy, I just didn’t feel like I learned enough about the one in this story to care.

As mentioned above, after finishing, I walked away feeling like it wasn’t that memorable and wondering what the point was. It feels unfinished. I had a hard time deciding how to rate it, so ultimately ended up giving it a 3-star. It’s good, but not great.

However, with all of this being said, if there was a sequel, I would pick it up, because I have a lot of questions I still want answers for. We’ll see if that happens.

Thank you to the publisher, Delacorte Press, for providing me with a copy to read and review. I’ve read so many books from White, and always appreciate her creative concepts and willingness to take risks with her writing.

I’ll definitely be picking up whatever she writes next!