Unfortunately, this book did not work for me: I found the characters flat, world-building confusing, and the plot to be predictable and, if I am being honest, a little troublesome.
About the Book
Publisher: Dying Arts Press | Release Date: November 1, 2018 | Pages: 298
Genre: Young Adult, Paranormal, Mystery | Format: eARC | Source: Publisher
A dead father.
A missing Spirit.
An ancient manor with way too many locked doors.
But Abigail Crowe won’t let locked doors, corsets, or the straight-laced rules of Victorian society get in the way of finding the truth behind her father’s death. Of course, where illegal magic is involved, things are rarely as simple as they appear. Screams in the night, an insane gardener, and a murder blamed on her late father are only the beginning. Could her father actually be a murderer? What is Uncle Edward hiding in the attic? And perhaps most importantly—which family secrets are worth keeping locked up?
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My Review
I love me some strong female characters, so when Dying Arts Press reached out to me to offer me a chance to read this YA fantasy I jumped at the chance. Unfortunately, this book did not work for me: I found the characters flat, world-building confusing, and the plot to be predictable and, if I am being honest, a little troublesome.
“Rumours are nasty things. They lurk in the shadows and feed off people’s worst instincts.”
Abigail is 13 years old and her father just mysteriously died. Part of the burial process of loved ones is known as the Resting, where the spirit can say their final goodbyes to loved ones before crossing over. Unfortunately, something went wrong and her father’s soul wasn’t there, so they are left alone with their grief and questions without their chance to say goodbye. Within a couple of days, his estranged brother comes and invites the family (Abigail, her mother, and her brother) to stay with him at Ravenscourt for awhile. And then the mysteries really begin.
This could have been a fantastic story and the beginning was interesting to me, but unfortunately, once they move into Ravenscourt the entire plot can be summed up by my least favorite writing device: conflict that can be easily resolved if the characters merely spoke to one another. It is obvious that the adults are hiding things from the children. The kids are given a list of rules to “keep them safe” but no context as to what is going on, leading their minds to wander and in search of answers for their dad’s death and the spooky secrets behind Ravenscourt. Seriously, if Uncle Edward just told them why the rules were in place and maybe why they were there in the first place, there would have been no conflict in this book. The time could have been spent on strengthening the world-building, which I found interesting but confusingly developed. Honestly, there is enough of an interesting story and world here without the need for this ‘misunderstanding plot introductory book’.
While I found the story itself predictable, I also found it a little troublesome. The housekeeper at Ravenscourt is put in charge of looking after the children, and not only is their mother hardly present for them in the weeks following their father’s death but the housekeeper obviously has no love for children and her behavior is abusive. On more than one occasion does she yell, call them names, grab them roughly, lock them in rooms, and even lock the main character in a closet. There is really no reason for this, and while the mother challenged it early on, it continued unchallenged and made me uncomfortable. There is never an excuse for child abuse, but it does nothing for the plot other than torment our characters and the housekeeper’s reasoning is never given she just leaves at the end.
Overall I just wasn’t the right reader for this book, for a more positive review check out Kelsey’s review here. This is definitely a lower-YA story, which the market is sorely missing, but given the abuse, I hesitate to recommend this book to younger readers. It is worth noting that I had originally rated this book two stars, but after sitting with my thoughts and writing out my review I, unfortunately, have lowered it to one star.
CONTENT WARNINGS: grief, loss of a parent, abuse (the housekeeper and her penchant for punishing the children) and neglect (mother not putting her foot down more against the housekeeper)
Many thanks to the publisher, Dying Arts Press, for sending me an eARC for review. All opinions are my own. Quotations are taken from an uncorrected proof and may change upon publication.
Let’s go on another adventure together!
Oh, no. I’m sorry this book didn’t work out for you. I love the cover and I thought the premise sounded so intriguing. I’m not sure if I could read a book about parental loss, so thank you for adding the warning to your review.
Thank you for your comment, and I am so sad this didn’t work for me! The good thing is I see to be in the minority, so the book definitely has its audience. Loss is definitely hard to read sometimes though, so I am glad I could provide you that warning.
Sorry this wasn’t a good one for you!
Me too, I really wanted to adore it but it wasn’t for me. Thanks for reading!
I’m sorry this one was a disappointment to you. I hate when the conflict is based on the characters’ lack of communication, too. 😳
Honestly the “conflict that could be resolved by talking” device is my most hated, it drives me nuts and here it didn’t do the plot any justice for me.
I’ve been hating this kind of plot ever since I was a child, but it keeps being a popular one…
Great review! Sorry this one didn’t hit the mark. I agree about the child abuse thing . . . goodness
Thank you, Daniel! I was actually really bothered by all the abuse and neglect the kids were experiencing in the book, especially since their father had just died mysteriously. I am all for characters that go through tough times and come out stronger for it, but this just read like unnecessary torture to give the characters some conflict. It just didn’t work for me. 🙁
Opps! Sorry you didn’t like this one but I can skip it easily now!
Happy to have saved you the trouble, I don’t think you would like this one.
I received a copy of this book from the publisher too, but I haven’t yet got around to reading it. I’m a bit sad to hear that you didn’t enjoy it and that it had child abuse in it 🙁
Oh no, I am sorry! I am the only person to have mentioned the abuse, so maybe it isn’t as bad as I read it to be? It really bothered me though. I hope you give it a try and I sincerely hope you like it more than I did.
Still so bummed that this book didn’t work for you. But as always, I appreciate how thoughtful and articulate your review is, and thank you for linking mine! 😊
Your review also serves as a reminder that I need to be better about putting content warnings in my reviews (AKA, be more thoughtful about content warnings) – that is something I will work on this year.
Me too but I was really happy to see that you enjoyed it! I like to link to positive reviews when possible if I don’t enjoy a book.
Aww, thank you for deciding to try to add content warnings! I know they aren’t for everyone but I really feel they are important to help the reader avoid picking up a book they will not enjoy, especially with triggering topics.
Aww no I’m sorry you didn’t like it hope your next book is awesome! I also have a hate for the miscommunication trope.
Thank you so much, and glad I am not the only one that hates the miscommunication trope!