Genre: Historical/Fantasy/Gothic
Release Date: April 4th, 2023
Pages: 320
My Rating: ⭐⭐⭐
Synopsis:
Set in London, in 1927, the world is suffering in the aftermath of the Great War, with the poor, dilapidated state of things. Ivy is alone in the world, after both her father and brother died fighting in the war and her mother succumbed to influenza. Grieving the loss of her family, she has all but given up hope for making a life for herself, or for finding someone to love when her generation of men has suffered devastating losses of life, or for finding a job that accepts women now that the men have returned home. She receives news that she is the sole remaining heir, although distantly related, to the Hayworth family, including the old Blackwood Abbey.
Review:
The atmosphere is my favorite part of this story, with its truly gothic setting. Who doesn’t love a story that features an ancient, sentient library? It’s a cozy kind of spooky, with eerie events that are supernatural. And there are some sinister turns towards the end that I wasn’t expecting.
The plot is a little light in the beginning. It has a rather slow start, there isn’t a whole lot going on for the first hundred pages or so. It feels lackadaisical, lacking in momentum to push or pull me forwards. About halfway through things start to pick up and by the climax of events I was invested in the outcome. The memory lapses create an unreliable narrator and I found that an interesting nuance with the plot.
I wasn’t immediately taken with Ivy, and I don’t know that I have any specific reason for this. It’s just my personal experience with the story that I didn’t find her to be the most endearing or relatable character.
However, I do love her propensity for breaking gender boundaries during a time when female propriety was everything. I like that she also worked to break class boundaries as well, with sharing her books and knowledge with the masses.
I also didn’t feel like any of the other characters had any real depth or backstory to them. They all feel very one dimensional, making it difficult to care for them. There is a cute, subtle romance that happens and I like that it is handled delicately with his protectiveness of Ivy.
I would’ve really loved for this story to be dual timelines, with half of it told from Matilda’s perspective. I think fleshing out the connections between her and Ivy would have added more depth to the characters. And I also think that this may have bolstered the plot some as well.
The prologue is the most intriguing portion within the first act. I think learning more about the events that occurred during the Black Death, how that relates to what happens within the abbey, and experiencing those events occurring as the mysteries are unraveled simultaneously would’ve made this story come to life even more.
In theory and conceptually, this book has all the things I should love. But the execution just isn’t compelling enough. I kind of had to force myself to keep going with this one at times. I didn’t hate it, I didn’t love it. It’s just ok for me. There are parts that I like, but equally parts that I struggled with.
I do still think there is an audience out there for this one. This is my first read by this author, and I would read other books by her in the future. Even though this particular story isn’t my favorite, I liked the writing style and world-building and the conclusion of events. I had to sit with my thoughts on this one for a bit to decide how I feel and consider what lasting impressions it left on me. I’m settling on three stars for this one (probably 3.5).
Disclaimers:
Huge thank you to Netgalley and Graydon House for gifting me an early copy of this amazing story! I voluntarily read and reviewed this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
This post may contain affiliate links that I may earn a small commission from with no additional cost to you. Thank you for your support 🙂
Have you read this book? Planning to add it to your TBR?
Let me know your thoughts in the comments below!
I love a good book discussion. 🙂
Leave a Reply