Something in the Heir by Suzanne Enoch

Emmeline and William Pershing have enjoyed a perfectly convenient marriage for eight years. Their relationship is a seamless blend of their talents and goals. They’ve settled into separate, well-ordered lives beneath the same roof, and are content to stay that way—or so Emmeline thinks. And if William has secretly longed for a bit more from the woman he adores, he’s managed to be content with her supreme skills as a hostess and planner, which has helped him advance his career.

 

Then when Emmeline’s grandfather, the reclusive Duke of Welshire, summons them both for his birthday celebration and demands they bring their two little angelic children, William is stunned to discover that his very proper wife invented not one, but two heirs to fulfill the agreement for living at Winnover. But surely if Emmeline and William team up and borrow two cherubs to call their own, what could go wrong? Enter George, age 8, and Rose, 5—the two most unruly orphans in Britain.

 

As the insanity unfolds, their careful, professional arrangement takes some surprisingly intimate turns as well. Perhaps it takes a bit of madness to create the perfect happily ever after.

 Publisher: Griffin | Genre: Historical  | Source:  Publisher | Rating: 2.5

I’ve been back in my romance-reading groove lately and was craving something historical so I immediately reached for this Suzanne Enoch book, as I absolutely love her historical romances. While I had an okay time, it wasn’t what I was expecting.

To keep her childhood home, Emmeline must marry and she knows the perfect husband: Will Pershing, her best friend whom she’s agreed to help with his political career if he’ll help her with her housing dilemma. There’s only one little problem, they must produce an heir to keep Winnover. Emmeline has the perfect solution; she’s created two perfect children with her pen rather than the traditional way. Things have been going swimmingly until Emmeline’s grandfather, the Duke of Welshire, invites Emmeline and her perfect family to his birthday celebrations. To keep their home they have no choice but to ‘borrow’ two children from the orphanage and hope to rein in their unruly charges before they must appear before the Duke.

This was not what I was expecting when I picked this book up.

While Emmeline and Will have been married 8 years, there’s nothing between them other than a business arrangement. I couldn’t get past their friendship to find the chemistry with them as a couple. The romance and relationship between them was definitely on the backburner and when the author tried to introduce some sort of relationship, it just felt awkward.

I found the antics of George and Rose to be cute and charming. They were two little wild things set loose on a grand house and they get into some interesting situations.

What I didn’t like was the way Will and Emmeline handled the children. They were using them with the sole purpose of keeping their house and career. While I could see Will developing an attachment to the children and showing them affection as the plot progressed, Emmeline was cold, almost cruel at times as she tried to mold them into ‘proper’ children.  The fact that they were viewing this as ‘giving the children a holiday’ from the orphanage and ‘using them as part of a new scheme to train orphans for suitable jobs in the future’ was just cringe-worthy.

It would have made more sense if they just would have adopted the kids and actually showed them affection from the start of the book rather than just planning to borrow the children for a few weeks.

Then there’s whole middle of the book when the children’s older brother shows up and causes chaos that just felt out of place.

I have a few questions. In her letters to family, Emmeline stated that the children were too sickly to be out, which explained why their neighbors hadn’t seen them but what about her family? Given her station, the granddaughter of a duke, and the fact he had a career in politics, they would have had public christenings for both children, even if they were sickly. Did no one in her family question this, especially since it was obligatory that she have heirs in order to keep the house?

Overall, I’m a little conflicted about this book. Yes, it made for a comedic read at times. Was it a romance? Not at all. Was it historical? Yes. Was it believable? Nope. Did I enjoy it? Not really sure. Honestly, this could have been an okay novella, possibly even a short story thrown in the back of a book or in an anthology but it just didn’t work as a full-length novel. 

The End of Her by Shari Lapena

In upstate New York, Stephanie and Patrick are adjusting to life with their colicky twin babies. The girls are a handful, but Stephanie doesn't mind being a stay-at-home mom, taking care of them while Patrick does the nine to five to pay the bills.

 

When a woman from Patrick's past drops in on them unexpectedly, raising questions about his late first wife, Stephanie supports her husband wholeheartedly. She knows the car accident all those many years ago was just that--an accident. But Erica is persistent, and now she's threatening to go to the police.

 

Patrick is afraid his job--and his reputation--will be at risk if he doesn't put an end to Erica's questioning immediately. And when the police start digging, Stephanie's trust in her husband begins to falter and Patrick is primed to lose everything he loves. As their marriage crumbles, Stephanie feels herself coming unglued, and soon she isn't sure what--or who--to believe. Now the most important thing is to protect her girls, but at what cost?

Publisher: Pamela Dorman Books | Genre: Mystery/Thriller  | Source: Publisher  | Rating: 2

This was my pull from the TBR jar for May and it wasn’t a favorite of mine, which was a bit of a disappointment as I’ve heard great things about Shari Lapena’s writing.

While Stephanie and Patrick adjust to life as parents to colicky twins, their lives are rocked when a person from Patrick’s pasts shows up and demands payment for her silence. Although there’s seemingly no proof that Patrick killed his last wife and unborn child that doesn’t stop Erica threatening to go to the police. Although Stephanie wants to support her husband, the fact he’s never mentioned he was previously married, let alone the fact his wife died, has her questioning if she even knows her husband. As Erica blows through their lives—and the lives of others—, leaving a path of destruction, Patrick realizes he’s in jeopardy of losing everything and Stephanie must figure out how to protect her twins.

While this was a quick read (two sittings) it wasn’t the best book that I’ve read and, honestly, felt like a waste of time.

I had so many questions.

-In the age of Google/Social Media, how did Stephanie not know about Patrick’s past marriage or the death of his wife? Didn’t she look him up before she married him?

-They spent so much time complaining about the sleep deprivation but never once thought of hiring the nanny even though they had the money to do so.

-Erica is blackmailing an alarming amount of people, why didn’t anyone go to cops? Yes, they had secrets but Erica definitely wasn’t on the straight and narrow so I’m fairly sure the cops could have sorted out what was going on.  

-Do they not carry out any type of forensic testing? At all?

It was a little hard to get past all the above and throw in the fact the entire middle of the book was just Stephanie complaining and going back and forth about did he or didn’t he murder his wife. Honestly, the guy was pretty shady, how did she not pick up on that? Then there was the trial, which was basically a waste of time, which perfectly sums up this book.

Let’s not forget the outrageous ending, which sealed the fate of this one for me.

Overall, I’m really hard-pressed to recommend this one, and feel like a 2.5 is a bit too high of a rating (I’ll probably rate it down to a 2) but it was a quick read and while it’s not my cup of tea, I do feel that certain readers will enjoy this one. 

A Death at the Party by Amy Stuart

Nadine Walsh’s summer garden party is in full swing. The neighbors all have cocktails, the catered food is exquisite—everything’s going according to plan.

 

But Nadine—devoted wife, loving mother, and doting daughter—finds herself standing over a dead body in her basement while her guests clink glasses upstairs. What happened? How did it come to this?

 

Rewind to that morning, when Nadine is in her kitchen, making last-minute preparations before she welcomes more than a hundred guests to her home to celebrate her mother’s birthday. But her husband is of little help to her, her two grown children are consumed with their own concerns, and her mother—only her mother knows that today isn’t just a birthday party. It marks another anniversary as well.

 

Still, Nadine will focus just on tonight. Everyone deserves a celebration after the year they’ve had. A chance for fun. A chance to forget. But it’s hard to forget when Nadine’s head is swirling with secrets, haunting memories, and concerns about what might happen when her guests unite.

  Publisher: Simon and Schuster |  Genre: Domestic Suspense/Thriller | Source: Purchased  | Rating: 3.5 (rated down to 3)

I’m not typically a fan of Amy Stuart’s writing style (I DNF’d her Still series) but I ended up picking this one up as part of a buy one get one half off sale as it was the only other book on the table that I hadn’t read. Knowing this was a title I probably wouldn’t pick up willingly, I popped the title in my TBR jar and it ended up being my pick for April. I have to say, I’m glad I gave this one a go.

The book starts with Nadine standing over a dead body in her basement while her mother’s 60^th birthday garden party is going on. We don’t know if she’s the killer, if the person was murdered, or who the person is. The book then rewinds Nadine’s day and shows the events leading up to the ordeal in the basement. As we’re shown the events of the day, we’re also treated to flashbacks of her aunt, who died tragically when she was teenager and Nadine was a child. Along the way, secrets are both concealed and revealed.

There’s a lot going on in the book and there’s a lot of characters—and secrets—to keep track of, which I didn’t mind as I feel it gave the book a bit of depth.

The story is told stream of conscience style through Nadine’s POV and that woman has a lot on her plate. Not only is she keeping her own secrets, she’s keeping the secrets of others as well as planning a grand birthday party for her mother. She also has all eyes on her, as her mother is a famous author. While I’m not a fan of Nadine (she had an affair with a neighbor who happens to be one of her husband’s best friends and while she claims it’s over she’s upset by the fact he’s now married with a child) I do feel sorry for her as she has a lot of emotional weight she has to carry.

Obviously there’s a mystery—the dead person in basement—but there’s also a few other mysteries intertwined. Nadine’s trying to remember/discover what happened to her aunt on the same night 30 years ago. There’s also a bit of a mystery surrounding the hospitalization of River (Nadine’s daughters friend). Even though the book takes place in one day, I felt that great attention was paid to each and every detail as the puzzle pieces came together.  

I’m generally a fan of these types of books where the death is in the beginning then the previous events unfold as the book progresses but this one was a bit different as it takes place in one day and told through one person’s POV. Think Mrs. Dalloway but with murder. While this one was a bit slow in places (did we really need to know every little detail of her day right down to which cheeses she ordered for the party?), I found it to be a quick read (two sittings, would have been one if I hadn’t had to leave for an event).

I rated this one a 3.5 but I would have to round down to a 3 for the simple fact I wanted more from the ending. There’s a few strings of the plot that seemed out of place and while they didn’t pull me out of the story, they did bog the plot down in places.

Overall, if you’re looking for a domestic suspense/thriller I do recommend this one. It’s not one of the best that I’ve read but it was still a decent read.

The House at Sea’s End (Ruth Galloway Mystery #3) by Elly Griffiths

Just back from maternity leave, Ruth is finding it hard to juggle motherhood and work. The presence of DCI Harry Nelson—the married father of her daughter, Kate—does not help. The bones turn out to be about seventy years old, which leads Nelson and Ruth to the war years, a desperate time on this stretch of coastland. Home Guard veteran Archie Whitcliffe reveals the existence of a secret that the old soldiers have vowed to protect with their lives. But then Archie is killed and a German journalist arrives, asking questions about Operation Lucifer, a plan to stop a German invasion, and a possible British war crime. What was Operation Lucifer? And who is prepared to kill to keep its secret?

 Series: Ruth Galloway Mystery #3 | Publisher: Mariner | Genre: Mystery | Source: Publisher | Rating: 3

This is the third installment in the Ruth Galloway Mysteries and, while it was a good read, it wasn’t one of my favorites in the series.

When bones are discovered in the side of a cliff on a Norfolk beach, Ruth is the first person that’s called in to excavate and examine the bones. While she’s struggling to balance work and motherhood, things are made complicated by how close she’ll be to DCI Nelson (the father of her daughter) as they work this case together. When it’s discovered that the bones date to WWII, they find themselves trying to unravel the secrets of the past from local lore. When a German journalist arrives in Norfolk asking questions about Operation Lucifer and a member of the Home Guard is found dead, they find themselves with more questions than answers.

The House at Sea’s End was a quick read, I had read over half the book before I realized it, but it didn’t captivate me.

Like the previous books, this one dives straight into the mystery as the bones are discovered within the first few pages. The mystery is layered and it takes a while to unravel as they sort between local lore, old newspaper clippings, and past recollections. There’s a lot of research that’s needed as there’s few locals who are still alive that had an affiliation with the Home Guard. They also need to sort out the death of Archie Whitcliffe, which is tricky as his grandson is Nelson’s boss.

While the mysteries were intriguing, they didn’t capture my attention as the previous books had and I think that’s to do with the fact this book deals with a more modern mystery. The previous books dealt with ancient discoveries mixed with modern mysteries and I think that’s more my cup of tea. I also wasn’t a fan of the addition of Tatjana (Ruth’s friend from her time spent working in Bosnia). While I do understand the way this storyline was used, I just felt it bogged down the plot rather than enhance the story.

What I did enjoy in this book were the characters. There’s a lot going in the personal lives of the characters and I’ve been enjoying watching the devolvement’s they’re making. Ruth’s learning the ropes of motherhood and she’s getting out of her comfort zone and making friends with some of the women in the police force. Nelson is bonding with Kate, which was nice to see. We’re also learning more about Shona, Judy, and Cathbad. There’s a lot of connections being made and that allows for so many layers to come into play within the plot.

The one thing that I’m not a fan of in this series is the amount of affairs that goes on in each book. While I don’t condone cheating, I could see how the events that occurred in the first book led to Ruth and Nelson sleeping together and the connection that they made. What I don’t understand is the random affairs that happen in every book. At this point, it’s starting to feel like a poorly done plot device used to make something seem more interesting or fill in a spot. While I’m not a fan of cheating in books, I can overlook it in this series.

Overall, I had a feeling going into this book that this one wasn’t going to be my favorite and I ended up being right. I found the conclusion to the mystery to be a little lacking and a bit farfetched. While I did have some problems with this one, I still found that I enjoyed the character development and think that it was a worthy addition to the series. 

The Janus Stone (Ruth Galloway Mystery #2) by Elly Griffiths

When a child’s remains are found at a demolition site—a former children’s home in Norwich—forensic archaeologist Ruth Galloway is called in to examine the bones. She quickly notes that the skull is missing. Is this a Roman-era ritual sacrifice, or is the killer closer at hand?

 

Ruth and DCI Nelson seek out the priest who served as the home’s operator. Father Hennessey reports that two children had gone missing there, about forty years earlier. They were never found. Is this one of them, finally unearthed? Or another child altogether? Ruth is drawn into the case, but soon it becomes clear that someone is trying very hard to put her off the trail by frightening her, and her unborn child, half to death.

 Series: Ruth Galloway Mysteries #2 | Publisher: Mariner | Genre: Mystery  | Source: Publisher  | Rating: 3.5

Roman artifacts, headless skeletons, and mysterious disappearances take center stage in the second installment in the Ruth Galloway Mysteries.  

When the skeleton of a child is found on a demolition site, DCI Nelson is called in to investigate and Ruth Galloway has been called into examine the bones. Upon research, it’s soon discovered the site housed a former children’s home founded and operated by Father Hennessey, who had two of his young residents go missing. As Ruth tires to determine the age of the bones and excavate the site, she becomes the target of someone with a vast knowledge of the Roman Empire. With herself and her unborn child in danger—and a possible romance on the rise—Nelson needs to figure out how to protect Ruth as well as forge some sort of roll in her life and that of their child.

I picked this one up as part of my personal finish-the-series challenge. It’s been on my shelf for what seems like ages and I’ve been eager to get back into this series. I started this one then had to go back and re-read the first book as I couldn’t recall the details and felt like I needed a refresher before moving forward. Once I finished my re-read, I was able to jump straight into this one and found myself enjoying the mystery.

The mystery—or mysteries, rather—were intriguing. There’s three, there’s the headless skeleton found under the door jam, which could possibly be an ancient sacrifice to Janus. Then there’s the mystery of the two missing children (a brother and sister). We also have a Roman Empire fanatic targeting Ruth.

It was very easy to get swept up into the investigation as well as the archaeological dig that was unearthing both evidence and historical finds. What I found a little irksome was the ease in which I could sort out the mysteries. I don’t want to say too much as I’m afraid that I’ll give it away but I would have liked a bit more ambiguity.

The characters in the series are fantastic. Ruth is trying to come to terms with her pregnancy as well as the fact Nelson, the father of her child, is married. She’s determined to do this on her own and she’s not about to ask for help. While Nelson’s married, and seemingly not wanting to rock the boat in regards to his marriage, there’s something between him and Ruth and he’s wanting to support Ruth and his child he’s just not sure how to go about do so.

Max, an archaeologist on the dig, is a new addition to team and seems to have taken a shine to Ruth. While there’s something a bit mysterious about him, there’s an attraction that they both share and I was a bit sad this wasn’t developed further as they were so good together and had so much in common.

Overall, I enjoyed this one even though the mysteries were a bit obvious. I enjoyed the history that was combined with the mystery. There’s also the craziness that comes in the form a hippie/druid Cathbath that adds an interesting layer to the story. I’m eager to see where the characters end up as the series progresses.

Hero Next Door by Lara Swann

Ex-marine. Ex-wife. Ex-hausted.

 

I left my brothers in the marines to start a family. I left my ex-wife when that family drove her to drink and drugs. Now all I have left is my son - and he's all I care about.

 

I can't afford to make another mistake. And the girl who moved in next door? Mistake written all over her. She's got the sweetest smile, the hottest damn curves, and behind it all...a haunted look. I can't take my damn eyes off her.

 

My powerful body and coarse attitude make her nervous - and as she tries to start a new life away from her abusive ex, she has her own reasons to stay away. But we can't help it. We're f--king drawn to each other. And when she tells me how much she wants a baby...I make every mistake in the book. Because I want a family again.

 

I want her. My son. And a baby. And when her past comes calling...I'll fight to hell and back to keep it.

Publisher: Tantor Audio | Narrators: John Lane, Veronica Worthington | Length: 8h 18 m | Genre: Contemporary Romance |  Source: Audible Plus  | Rating: 3

I was scrolling the Audible Plus catalogue looking for a light, contemporary romance to listen to while I was doing a spot of decluttering and came across Lara Swan. She’s been on my authors to check out list for a minute so I decided to give Hero Next Door a go.

Here’s what’s going on. When Mack and his adorable son help Naomi move a hutch into her new house, she can’t help but to be a little smitten. While they’re both hesitant to start something due to their own personal baggage and responsibilities, there’s no denying the attraction and chemistry between Naomi and Mack and soon they find themselves acting on their feelings. They feel that this could be the start of something real, if their past relationships don’t get in the way.

This was quick, cute, and a little spicy. It was the perfect book that I could listen to and enjoy while focusing on a different task.

Mack and Naomi were great. She’s running from an abusive ex so she’s a bit cautious and hesitant. Mack ended his military career at the insistence of his wife so they could start a family and she ended up walking away from their family when their son was born. They’re both a little damaged and not sure if they want to risk a relationship. I really enjoyed watching as they took the time to build their trust in each other and build a foundation for their relationship. They also allowed each other to heal and that took character growth on both of their parts.

I’m such a sucker for a single daddy romance and found the relationship between Mack and Tyler to be adorable but I don’t feel as though the book as whole lived up to its full potential. It was rushed in spots and I feel as though the internal dialogue gobble up the majority of the story. While I don’t feel as though it was lacking, I still would have liked a bit more communication between the characters.

As this was my first introduction to Lara Swann’s writing, I think it went well. I liked her writing style and enjoyed the British terminology that was sprinkled throughout. I do think I’ll check out more from this author.

Both narrators were new-to-me and I enjoyed their narration of the story.

Overall, this was a nice romance and a perfect break from the meatier stories I’ve been reading. 

Foxglove by Adalyn Grace

The captivating sequel to the Gothic-infused Belladonna, in which Signa and Death face a supernatural foe determined to tear them apart.

 

A duke has been murdered. The lord of Thorn Grove has been framed. And Fate, the elusive brother of Death, has taken up residence in a sumptuous estate nearby. He's hellbent on revenge after Death took the life of the woman he loved many years ago...and now he's determined to have Signa for himself, no matter the cost.

 

Signa and her cousin Blythe are certain that Fate can save Elijah Hawthorne from prison if they will entertain his presence. But the more time the girls spend with Fate, the more frightening their reality becomes as Signa exhibits dramatic new powers that link her to Fate's past. With mysteries and danger around every corner, the cousins must decide if they can trust one another as they navigate their futures in high society, unravel the murders that haunt their family, and play Fate's unexpected games—all with their destinies hanging in the balance.

 

Dangerous, suspenseful, and seductive, this sequel to Signa and Death's story is as utterly romantic as it is perfectly deadly.

Series: Belladonna #2 | Publisher: Little, Brown |  Genre: Romantasy | Source: Purchased | Rating: 4.5 

A Duke has been falsely accused of murder and Fate has shown up with a few party games. Foxglove was loaded. There was so much going on and it all came together beautifully.

Here’s what’s going on. When Elijah Hawthorne, Signa’s cousin and Blythe’s father, is wrongly accused of murder and arrested on the spot, it’s up to Signa and her cousin to clear his name. Although the arrival of Fate, Death’s disgruntled brother, makes things more complicated. He is responsible for their destinies, after all, and while he has the power to change things, he’s not about to let Signa off the hook, especially since she reminds him of someone he once knew. Even though she’s in love with Death, there’s something about her newly discovered powers that link her to Fate. Will she play Fate’s game to save Elijah or will her love for Death win out over her allegiance to family.

This one picks up right where Belladonna leaves off (read my review HERE) and it doesn’t stop until the very end. I have to say, this one was very easy to get sucked into and I didn’t realize I had read the majority of the book in one sitting.

Signa’s finally out in society and although she still figuring out who she is power-wise, she’s starting to realize she doesn’t need to conform to the societal norms. She is freer in her actions, which allows her to be more of who she was meant to be. She’s also just unlocked these strange new powers that she’s not sure about and she’s afraid that they will draw her away from Death. Fate’s arrival has really thrown a spanner in the works and she’s not really sure how to proceed because she is madly in love with Death.

Blythe has also entered the picture more as a main character and, to be honest, I wasn’t a massive fan of her. I struggled with her in the first book but put it down to her youth and the fact she was ill. Sadly, I still found her extremely annoying in this book. Several times, I found myself questioning her actions and hoping that Signa would put her in her place. She does have some character growth by the time the book ends.

Fate’s a new edition and, my goodness, he made things interesting. We get Fate’s backstory, which surprised me seeing as there was nothing on Death in the first book, and while he made some questionable choices, I found myself feeling empathy for him. Thanks to Fate’s arrival, we also get a more in-depth view of Death in this book, which I appreciated. Fate and Death’s long-standing feud was so complex they could have had their own thrilling novella. There’s more than just sibling rivalry going on and more than just competing for Signa. I really enjoyed how fleshed out these two brother become.

Unlike the first book, the romance is woven into the plot a bit more tightly. Signa and Death are an established couple, regardless of who can see them together. I really enjoyed Signa and Death together and loved how protective he was of her. Fate is wanting to claim Signa and Blythe (as well as a few secondary characters) is husband hunting. I feel like there was more focus on the development of the relationships and it helped strengthen the plot.

This was still a mystery but rather than being mystery-driven, the mystery was used to enhance the characters and reveal more about them. Honestly, I think the mystery was weak in this one and, by the end, I was so wrapped up in Fate, Signa, and Death that I didn’t really care about the mystery and I didn’t mind. The mystery, with the arrest of Elijah started off strong but the direction it ended was lackluster. I feel like there were several directions it could have gone and she picked the wrong one.

There’s been a series arc focusing on the mystery regarding the death of Signa’s parents and while it was touched upon a little more in this book, I’m hoping that there’s more of a conclusion in the next book rather than the vagueness that was in this book.

I was a little hesitant when I discovered Wisteria (book 3) was going to feature Blythe as the main character as she wasn’t my favorite. However, the events that occurred in the last part of Foxglove have me rather intrigued to see how things are going to playout so I immediately preordered Wisteria.

While this is labeled ‘fantasy’, I feel that this falls more into the category of mythology. We’ve also moved away from the Gothic atmosphere that was in the first book and entered into a Regency mystery feel.

Overall, while this book had some wobbles, mainly with the mystery, it was still a solid read and I hope to see more of Death and Signa in future books. 

Belladonna by Adalyn Grace

Orphaned as a baby, nineteen-year-old Signa has been raised by a string of guardians, each one more interested in her wealth than her well-being—and each has met an untimely end. Her remaining relatives are the elusive Hawthornes, an eccentric family living at Thorn Grove, an estate both glittering and gloomy. Its patriarch mourns his late wife through wild parties, while his son grapples for control of the family’s waning reputation, and his daughter suffers from a mysterious illness. But when their mother’s restless spirit appears claiming she was poisoned, Signa realizes that the family she depends on could be in grave danger and enlists the help of a surly stable boy to hunt down the killer.

 

However, Signa’s best chance of uncovering the murderer is an alliance with Death himself, a fascinating, dangerous shadow who has never been far from her side. Though he’s made her life a living hell, Death shows Signa that their growing connection may be more powerful—and more irresistible—than she ever dared imagine.

 

Series: Belladonna #1 | Publisher: Little, Brown, and Company | Genre: Historical Mystery, Fantasy | Source: Purchased | Rating: 4

I’ll admit it, I was swayed by the gorgeous cover and the name of the book. I walked by this book several times before I finally picked this one (and the second) up. They sat in my TBR pile for a minute while I was deciding if I actually wanted to read them but, in the end, the synopsis intrigued me. And while I’m generally not one for this genre, I have to say, I was not disappointed.

Here’s what’s going on: As an infant, Signa survived the murder of her parents and has since been through a string of guardians, each meeting an untimely death. Now living with her last remaining relatives, the Hawthornes, Signa finds herself in the middle of a mystery but to hunt down the killer, she’s going to need help. She finds herself with two unlikely allies: Sylas, the equerry that collected her from her previous home, and Death.

I’ve been wanting something a bit different lately, reading wise, and I think this was just what I needed. It had enough of the familiar (gothic atmosphere, mystery) that made me interested and enough of the different (fantasy) that gave me the sense of reading something new.

Signa’s an interesting character. She’s unable to die although she is able to go into this death-like state where she is able to communicate with Death personified. There’s an interesting dynamic between Signa and Death and it has several layers. She’s the only human that Death is able to communicate with, the only person that his touch won’t kill and it makes for an interesting connection between the two. Death is very captivated by her.

As someone death follows, Signa has a bit of a stigma attached to her, which has made her entrance into society a bit trying. She has also put upon herself a particular way she has to behave due to what she has read in one of her late mother’s books. There’s a lot of things that Signa has to figure out but the most important one is who she is and not who she thinks she has to be to please society. I do feel that we get a good sense of Signa but I think a little more backstory, especially regarding her previous guardians, would have been beneficial. Unfortunately, we don’t get a lot of depth into the character of Death, which was a bit disappointing.

The romance in this one was interesting. There’s an attraction between Signa and Death. I know that this isn’t going to be everyone’s cup of tea seeing as he basically watched her grow up but I decided to look at it as Death is ageless and treated it as I would with a vampire romance. There’s also some interesting, yet mild, shadowy sex scenes and while it does come off as a bit out there, the author made it and the relationship seem realistic. While it worked, I still would have liked more on-page development and more interaction to see their connection develop. When a book starts with characters already having a history (or having been introduced off the page), I think that authors occasionally forget the readers are just now meeting the characters and have no clue about their past interactions.

I know that this was/is categorized as ‘romantasy’ and we do have a romance of sorts, and a love triangle, in the book but this leans heavily into the mystery. I didn’t mind that seeing as I came into the book expecting a mystery with a side of romance per the synopsis. I think that if you go into the book expecting a heavy side of romance, you’ll be disappointed, which is why this should, in my opinion, be categorized as a ‘fantasy mystery’.  

The mystery was solid and grounded. I do feel that the particulars of the mystery was appropriate for the era (Regency) in which it was set. I feel as though someone sitting down to their morning tea would have read about a mystery of this type in the broadsheets. I did find it rather obvious, both the identity of the person and their motives, even though there were a few red herrings. It came down to connecting characters and paying attention to what they were and weren’t saying.

This book was filled with secondary characters and I found the majority of them to be likable. There were a few characters that I found to be annoying but I feel as though they were representing the new world Signa found herself in. What I liked was the way the Hawthorne family accepted Signa into their family. I also liked that someone from Signa’s past is now amongst her friend group, it allowed more insight to Signa’s life before Thorn Grove.

I’ve seen this book referred to as ‘Gothic’ more times than I can count and, while I’m not disagreeing, I’m not agreeing to the way in which the term ‘Gothic’ is being used. This book is not ‘Gothic’ in theme or tone but it does have a Gothic atmosphere/aesthetic. The horror genre is subjective but, in my opinion, I would not classify this as a ‘horror’ novel. Yes, it does contain some graphic imagery but, again, the tone is not that of a ‘horror’ novel.

With this being a book that features Death personified, it does touch on the subject of death and grief. While the subject of grief isn’t heavily dwelled upon, there were some touching passages and I felt like they gave a realness and depth to the story.

This one does end, not so much on a cliffhanger, but with an event that starts the next book. I was glad I had Foxglove on hand because I was eager to see how things played out.

Overall, while I enjoyed this one, I would have liked a bit more depth in certain aspects: more of Signa’s backstory, a more in-depth look at Death, more development with the relationship. While I wanted more development, I wasn’t expecting it going in as this is more mystery oriented. I feel like I enjoyed the book because I knew this was going to be more historical mystery than romance when I started reading.