Category: Gothic

#FuturisticFriday Review and Giveaway: Jane Steele

March 16, 2016 Fiction, Gothic, Re-telling 19 ★★★★★

#FuturisticFriday Review and Giveaway: Jane SteeleTitle: Jane Steele
Author: Lyndsay Faye
Links: Bookshop (affiliate link) |Goodreads
Rating:five-stars

Summary: Everything I had hoped for in a dark, exciting classic retelling!

“Like the heroine of the novel she adores, Jane Steele suffers cruelly at the hands of her aunt and schoolmaster. And like Jane Eyre, they call her wicked – but in her case, she fears the accusation is true. When she flees, she leaves behind the corpses of her tormentors. A fugitive navigating London’s underbelly, Jane rights wrongs on behalf of the have-nots whilst avoiding the noose. Until an advertisement catches her eye. Her aunt has died and the new master at Highgate House, Mr Thornfield, seeks a governess. Anxious to know if she is Highgate’s true heir, Jane takes the position and is soon caught up in the household’s strange spell. When she falls in love with the mysterious Charles Thornfield, she faces a terrible dilemma: can she possess him – body, soul and secrets – and what if he discovers her murderous past?” (source) Read more »

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Fiercombe Manor

March 26, 2015 Fiction, Gothic, Historical Fiction, Review, Women's Fiction 7 ★★★★

Fiercombe ManorTitle: Fiercombe Manor
Author: Kate Riordan
Links: Bookshop (affiliate link) |Goodreads
Rating:four-stars

Summary: This well-executed dual narrative was beautifully atmospheric and kept my interest all the way through.

Although Lady Elizabeth Stanton of Fiercombe appears well at her first public appearance in years, she and her husband both still have secrets to hide, from the world and from each other. After the tragic events following the birth of her first child and several subsequent miscarriages, Lady Elizabeth is fearful that her current pregnancy will also end in tragedy or at least disappoint her husband, who longs for a boy.  Thirty years later, when Alice is sent to Fiercombe to hide the fact that she is pregnant and unmarried, she becomes obsessed with learning the what tragedy befell Lady Elizabeth. In the gloomy, confined atmosphere at Fiercombe, Alice fears that tragedy will find her as well. Read more »

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More YA in Mini-Reviews

December 27, 2014 Fiction, Gothic, Re-telling 4 ★★★★

More YA in Mini-ReviewsTitle: Ironskin
Author: Tina Connolly
Links: Bookshop (affiliate link) |Goodreads
Rating:four-stars

Retellings are a trend that never gets old for me and I often especially love books like this, which are more inspired by the original than they are faithful retellings. The names are obviously inspired by Jane Eyre and there are some other close parallels – Jane Elliot as the governess of a child she’s uniquely qualified to understand, falling in love with her dark mysterious employer. My favorite parts are the less obvious inspiration this book takes from the original, turning the slight references to mystical activity in the first into a world in which the fey are very real for example. There are a few other less obvious connections which I can’t share without spoiling the story, but I will say that I found the whole thing a very fun and playful way to interact with the source material. The book was enjoyable on its own as well, with interesting characters and novel world-building. I enjoyed it and while I’d particularly recommend it to readers looking for a unique twist on Jane Eyre, I think most fans of YA will find something new to love here.
Read more »

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Season of Storms

September 8, 2014 Fiction, Gothic, Magical Realism, Review, Romance, Women's Fiction 8 ★★★★★

Season of StormsTitle: Season of Storms
Author: Susanna Kearsley
Source: from publisher for review
Links: Bookshop (affiliate link) |Goodreads
Rating:five-stars

Summary: A beautiful, atmospheric book with great characters, full of exciting romance and adventure.

Galeazzo D’Ascanio last play is known as his most brilliant, but it’s never been performed. Each attempt has been plagued by disaster, starting in the early 1900’s with the first performance when D’Ascanio’s muse and lover, Celia Sands, disappeared the night before she was to play the leading role. Decades later, a young actress named after Celia Sands is asked to take on the same role in the play being stated by D’Ascanio’s grandson. Both the mystery of the play and D’Ascanio’s handsome grandson intrigue Celia, but the relics of the play’s history may prove more dangerous than they first appear.
Read more »

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Beyond the Pale

September 1, 2014 Fantasy, Fiction, Gothic, Magical Realism, Urban Fantasy 4 ★★★★

Beyond the PaleTitle: Beyond the Pale: A Fantasy Anthology
Author: Gillian Philip, Heather Brewer, Jane Yolen, Jim Butcher, Kami Garcia, Nancy Holder, Peter Beagle, Saladin Ahmed
Source: from publisher for review
Links: Bookshop (affiliate link) |Goodreads
Rating:four-stars

Summary: I liked almost all of the stories included in the collection and loved the diversity of the mythologies on which the stories were based.

This collection of short stories includes those I would categorize as paranormal, urban fantasy, magical realism, and a few bordering on horror. All stick relatively close to reality but step “beyond the pale”, including some mythical element. Several previously published authors contribute short stories related to their published series, but all of the stories can easily be read on their own.
Read more »

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While Beauty Slept

February 22, 2014 Fantasy, Fiction, Gothic, Historical Fiction, Re-telling 23

18079665Title: While Beauty Slept
Author: Elizabeth Blackwell
Source: from publisher for review
Rating: ★★★★★
Summary: This was exactly what a grown-up fairy tale should be – dark, hauntingly beautiful, emotional, complex, but still with a fairy tale ending.

We all know the fairy tale story of sleeping beauty, but have you have ever wondered what that story would have looked like in real life? What would cause the king and queen to avoid inviting a powerful woman to their daughter’s baptism? Was the woman who cursed the princess really a fairy, a witch, or just a very bitter woman? And if not by magic, how was the princess cursed and then saved? Elise is able to tell a tale to answer all those questions from her time as a servant in the castle. She’ll also tell a tale of her own, including love she won and lost and the sacrifices her loyalty to the princess demanded. Read more »

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The Medea Complex

February 15, 2014 Fiction, Gothic, Historical Fiction, Thriller 10

18685624Title: The Medea Complex
Author: Rachel Florence Roberts
Source: from author for review
Rating: ★★★☆☆
Review Summary: This book was a haunting psychological thriller that kept me quickly turning pages, but it was also great historical fiction with a plot that perfectly fit the time period.

Lady Anne has been committed to Bethlem insane asylum, declared unfit to stand trial for a crime she doesn’t seem to remember. Her husband is unsure whether to love her or hate her and may harbor dangerous secrets of his own. Dr. George Savage simply wants to restore Lady Anne to her sanity and return her to her husband. However, when events spiral out of control both Dr. Savage and the reader will be forced to question everything they’ve learned about Lady Anne and her husband. Read more »

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Hollow’s End

November 1, 2013 Fiction, Gothic, Romance, Urban Fantasy, Young Adult 8

18478892Title: Hollow’s End
Author: Marianne Morea
Source: from publisher for review
Rating: ★★★★★
Review Summary: This book had some of the most believable YA characters I’ve encountered and with a new ending the author wrote, I loved it.

Hollow’s End is inspired by both the legend of Sleepy Hollow and the history of the town where the legend is set. Events from the Revolutionary War  pitted the town’s inhabitants against each other, leaving lingering animosity that leads to paranormal activities as Halloween approaches. Although Rowen is from a family of witches, she’s never wanted to do anything with such things. Unfortunately, her relationships and her powers leave her little choice but to deal with visions sparked by ancestors of the towns current inhabitants… Read more »

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Bookends About Jane Eyre

June 15, 2013 Classics, Fiction, Gothic, Historical Fiction 4

11016Title: Jane Eyre
Author: Charlotte Brontë
Source: library
Rating: ★★★★☆
Review Summary: The plot was a little boring and unbelievable but the writing was so gorgeous I didn’t even mind!

Today I’m going to be sharing with you the goodreads summary of the book because I think it does a great job explaining not just the action of the plot, but the character development that is the most exciting part of the story. Orphaned into the household of her Aunt Reed at Gateshead, subject to the cruel regime at Lowood charity school, Jane Eyre nonetheless emerges unbroken in spirit and integrity.  She takes up the post of governess at Thornfield, falls in love with Mr. Rochester, and discovers the impediment to their lawful marriage in a story that transcends melodrama to portray a woman’s passionate search for a wider and richer life than Victorian society traditionally allowed.
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Bookends About The Vampire Diaries

March 17, 2012 Fiction, Gothic, Young Adult 0

This week, I finished the last book of the original Vampire Diaries quartet and also started watching the corresponding TV show for the Book to Movie challenge hosted by Parajunkee.  The book definitely did not disappoint.  I missed having Elena as narrator – a testament to the character development which took place, given my initial dislike of Elena! And the ending was a little deus ex machina, with an improbable rescue and inadequately explained happy ending.  However, the ending was such a marvelously dramatic showdown, I really couldn’t feel upset about it.  In fact, I think it would make an awesome scene to watch and hope the TV show gets there and does it justice or a movie happens too.  Other than those few complaints, it had all the same strengths as the other books.  There were some plot twists I didn’t anticipate, strong female leads, and the writing was at least acceptable. Read more »

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