An imposing Irish castle, filled with dasrk secrets of the past and even more imposing descendants in the present. A murder decades unsolved. And ghosts lingering - waiting - for just the right person to put the past to rest.
Carragh Ryan took the job of cataloging the Deeprath Castle library without a second thought. Finding herself between temp jobs, she jumped at the chance to find one that landed her in the middle of the living history of one of her favorite writers, the renowned Evan Chase. She had no way of knowing the ghosts of the past she'd be dredging up, or that she would end up just as unwelcome before the truth could be brought to light.
This dark mystery, told in alternating chapters from the present and past is a deliciously chilling read. The past and present come crashing together as family secrets long- buried are brought to light. The story is engaging and kept me turning pages. The ending is well- plotted, and most of all, I thank the writer for doing it all without bad language or graphic content.

3.5 Stars for me. A Gothicky read about the Gallagher family who have owned Deeprath Castle and the sinister secrets the castle seems to hold. After much contemplation Aidan Gallagher has come back home to sell his birth right (Deeprath Castle), his parents having been murdered in the castle when he was a child and the case never solved brings forth a new young detective wanting to solve the murders. In a connected storyline there was another mystery surrounding young bride, Jenny Gallagher who died in the late 1800's at the castle as well. As Aidan begins tying up loose ends with the castle his elderly and tyrannical aunt hires Carragh Ryan to archive the family's extensive library when she begins to experience odd happenings as she looks into the case of Jenny Gallagher's death as well as the deaths of Aidan's parents. I liked the gothic feel of this read but about 3/4 of the way I felt it lagged a bit and was losing it's momentum for me but all in all this a good read for those who like gothic, mysterious reads.

Thanks to NetGalley and author Laura Anderson for providing me a copy for my review.

Nestled within the wild mountains of Wicklow, Ireland lies Deeprath Castle, ancestral home to the Gallagher family for centuries. The brooding, ancient keep holds many secrets, and has seen many deaths. When Carragh Ryan is hired by the family’s stern matriarch, Lady Nessa, to catalogue the castle library before the current Viscount donates the property to the National Trust, she finds herself drawn into mysteries both modern an ancient. Ghostly legends and shadowy menace stalk the halls of Deeprath Castle, and death isn’t far behind.

This was an entertaining modern gothic mystery, complete with everything your heart could desire. Andersen gives us an ancient, brooding pile of a castle, complete with a young, handsome (and brooding, obviously) viscount. We have a ghostly “Darkling Bride” said to haunt the castle and grounds, and mysterious deaths from the 1890s and 1990s. Objectively satisfying is the fact that our heroine, Carragh, is no wilting violet, but a smart, bold woman, and certainly up for the challenge of unravelling the Deeprath mystery.

The narrative is split into three parts, following Carragh in the modern day, Lily Gallagher (murdered mother of the current viscount) in the 1990s, and Evan Chase, a writer who marries the troubled Jenny Gallagher in the 1890s. The split narrative can be fraught with peril, but Andersen does well with it, slowly revealing bits and pieces of the central mystery.

If you’re looking for a gothic mystery with modern-day trappings, this is an excellent choice. Fans of historical mysteries, ghost stories, and anything Irish will find a lot to like in this book.

An advance copy of this book was provided by the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

"And then... disaster. In the shape - as so often in men's recounting of history - a woman."

The Darkling Bride is a glorious romp through Irish myth and legend, and I really couldn't put it down. It's not my usual cup o' tea, so to speak, but I am so glad that I requested a review copy and had that request granted! I have no doubt it will be the best Adult fiction title I read this year. Who wouldn't be sucked in by a generations-old myth come to life in an ancient castle in the middle of nowhere Ireland? Especially when you throw in a heavy dose of family secrets and covered-up scandals, and then sprinkle in a dash (or two) of slow burning Victorian romance?

Like I said, it'll hook you.

"And that's what crimes were: stories. Of lust and love and anger and hate, of boredom and alcohol and principle."

I am a sucker for a bookworm, and Carragh was no exception to that rule. I found her to be an engaging protagonist and I couldn't blame her at all for taking a job at a supposedly haunted castle in order to try to hunt down a long lost manuscript by her favorite author (formerly a resident and victim of a terrible scandal that prevented him from ever finishing the book he was writing while there). I would have done the same. And, of course, she gets quite a bit more than she bargained for because Deeprath Castle has secrets woven into its' very bones, secrets that are begging to be uncovered. But there is someone out there who will do anything to stop those secrets from seeing the light of day.

There is quite a bit of mystery here, but it's not as scary as I was afraid it would be, something I'm grateful for as I like to be able to sleep at not. Instead, the mystery is more unnerving than terrifying, I appreciated that.

I also really liked the use of magical realism (I won't go into it because I don't want to spoil anything) and I was absolutely shocked by some of the discoveries made along the way to this book's conclusion. And not just the ones pertaining to The Infamous Gallagher Family, either. Carragh's got some interesting nuggets hidden away as well.

Overall, excellently executed mystery, in a lush setting, and abounding in gorgeous prose.

Rating: 5/5 stars

This novel starts in the present with our protagonist Carragh Ryan as she is hired to inventory an old Irish family, the Gallagher's, estate library. Though taking the job partly out of necessity, Carragh is hoping to solve a literary mystery surrounding a Victorian writer. This writer, Evan Chase, went to said estate to research a book about he Darkling Bride folklore but never published the manuscript due to his wife's untimely death, hearsay suggests his wife was mad and committed suicide. Fast forward to the 1970s the current Mr. and Mrs. Gallagher are found dead. Either they were murdered in a home invasion robbery or the lovely Lily Gallagher murdered her husband before taking her own life. Thus, besides the literary mystery of the lost manuscript, Carragh stumbles into the hornets' nest of the dysfunctional Gallagher family that combines elitist bickering and propriety with the trauma of family member murders.

Okay, did you stick with me through that? The basic premise of this book becomes convoluted with so many time periods and story lines within story lines.

I liked this book a lot but at times I felt like there was too much going on. With multiple mysteries, time periods, and characters it took a little time to sink my teeth into the story because as a reader I had to become invested in all of the story lines and all of the characters. Additionally, at times I felt like I was getting smacked over the head with "Look how Irish this is!" Every sweatshirt worn was a Boston College jacket, the Ryan family wasn't just Irish they were a law enforcement police family, etc. at times it was too much and I felt myself eye rolling.

Moreover, there were several tropes in the book and strong allusions to Jane Eyre among other classic works of fiction. Most noticeably was the dashing young Aiden Gallagher, the viscount who inherited the house: he's wealthy, smart, mischievous and of course knows just how handsome he is. However, I did appreciate that Andersen seemed well aware that she was using the trope and even made some jokes about it via the character Carragh.

One point that I particularly applaud the author for is making Carragh half Caucasian and half Chinese. Her mixed race ancestry plays into the character dynamics and I appreciated that it was included. Many times historical fiction does not include a lot of diversity, especially in the protagonists of the book. I won't say more about it because I think it is developed nicely in the book so you can read her story for yourself!

Of course, the Gothic touches throughout the book were my favorite! I honestly would have liked more of the story and characters from the 1880s as well as more of the actual Darkling Bride story and folklore.

Overall, I enjoyed this book, especially if you're in the mood for a cozy mystery!

ARC provided by NetGalley for an honest review. I requested this book as it was listed as historical fiction, but it turned out to be Gothic romance. As this is not a genre I normally read, I'm unsure if I'm qualified to write a review. I thought the setting was quite good, and the writing descriptive.

I normally don’t read a lot of historical fiction, but I really enjoyed The Darkling Bride! It was full of gothic romance and mystery! It was an intriguing and entertaining read! I would recommend this book.

The Darkling Bride is the story of an Irish family trying to sort through their family's sordid past. The story is told in alternating points of view between the past and present. Needless to say, this family has more than a few skeletons in their closet. At time, the book had elements of a gothic ghost story. Overall, I found the pace to be quite slow and I had a hard time connecting with the characters. Very little character development. I did appreciate the details provided regarding the setting of Deeprath castle and its surrounding lands and felt the author captured the challenges of growing up in an aristocratic family.

I love historial novels and enjoyed that this book took us between current times and the past. It is a murder mystery, but also about family and the many relationships that exist within a family. There were so many elements woven into this book—mystery, romance, family histories/tragedies, even ghosts and legends. I loved that part of the mystery involved an author and the disturbed (ill) wife he so deeply loved. The current murder being investigated took place many years earlier (a cold case) and also involved a couple that had a strong, loving relationship as well. All in all, this was a great book and I highly recommend it! (I was given a copy of this book for my honest review.)

DNF after reading 33%. I never grew to care about the characters, who were underdeveloped overall, and the writing style wasn't my favorite. While I'm still curious about how the mystery ends those two factors just made it too difficult to finish. This wasn't necessarily a bad book; it just wasn't for me.

This is a fun read if you like your mysteries accompanied by ghosts, haunted houses, and a little splash of romance. I wasn't blown away by the writing (one too many cliches along with awkward and unrealistic dialogue at times), but I was hooked by the multiple mysteries of the story. I love me a good haunted house and the setting is right in this book, but this is not the book for you if you want to actually be scared. The focus is on the cold case, and I was sufficiently drawn in by this and the interesting characters to keep reading. Overall it was a very satisfying mystery, but sometimes I think the author was trying to do too many different things at once. I would recommend this to readers who enjoy mysteries that aren't too gory but have a little more bite than a cozy. Also, the chapters that take place in the 1880's give the book a little extra historical fiction/gothic flavor and were my favorite chapters to read. I would have loved to have more of Jenny's diary, but I think we missed out on that since the author was trying to cover so many story-lines and subplots.

Switching between the present day and the late 1800s, Laura Andersen brings to life the story of the Darkling Bride (who we don't actually learn that much about), a woman who very much identified with her, and the contemporary researcher who is learning more about them both.

When Carragh Ryan gets the chance to help catalog the library of the Gallaghers before the current lord gives the castle to a public trust, she jumps. Though she is not Irish by blood, her adoptive and incredibly loving family was, her grandmother even leaving her Dublin house to Carragh. But the castle is dark and creepy and the family is not exactly welcoming. Great-aunt Nessa hires Carragh but continually looks down on her, the present lord's sister seems high-strung and passionately unhappy, and then there's the lord himself, Aidan. At ten, Aidan was the one who discovered his father dead in the library. And, though ruled a murder-suicide (his mother being found dead soon after), the investigation seemed rushed, to say the least.

This story is interspersed with that of Jenny Gallagher and the handsome writer, Evan Chase. Though Evan and Jenny seemed to have a great love, he never wrote another book after her death.

An interesting story that kept me reading. The romance between Carragh and Aidan didn't need to be there. It was almost tucked in at the end as if someone told the author it needed to be a love story. I didn't get a sense of them truly being in love.



Three and a half stars

This book comes out March 6

I have previously read Ms. Andersen's alternate history books, and loved them. I was worried that I wouldn't like this one as much. I loved it just as much. This book perfectly combines the noir/mystery categories with historical fiction. I was immersed in this book, as I have been with Ms. Andersen's previous books.

3.5 Stars rounded to 4

The Gallagher family has called Deeprath Castle home for seven hundred years. Nestled in the Wicklow Mountains of Ireland, the estate is now slated to become a public trust, and book lover and scholar Carragh Ryan is hired to take inventory of its historic library.

I finished this book a couple of days ago and have been stewing over how to review. How do you review a book that you just didn’t connect to, but yet I couldn’t put it down?

While, very much lacking in character development, except Carragh, it was a nice read full of mystery, a complex family, a little romance and a castle with a ghost or two. There are three times lines 1879, 1972 and current day, a little much but not confusing. I think what didn’t work for me, is that I was hoping for more romance than what I got. The mystery, or should I say mysteries, took front and center. Which normally is my preference but in this instance I wanted that romance.

So, while a very enjoyable read it was just not for me.

Thank you NetGalley, Ballentine Books and author for a free advanced e-book copy for an honest review.

I was determined to figure out the ending of this well-crafted mystery with the clues the author slowly doled out, and I have to say that I got it completely wrong! There is no shortage possible suspects and likely scenarios. Each time I thought I had it figured out, I realized I was way off. I thoroughly enjoyed this book and would highly recommend it!

Here is the best way I can describe this modern day “who done it”. There are several unsolved mysteries involving Deeprath Castle in Ireland. Aidan a gorgeous yet brooding aristocrat turned cop is forced to travel to the place of his birth. He must deal with his drunken sister, Kyla whose husband has more than a wandering eye and his elegant yet aloof Aunt Nessa who tries to keep their façade together.

Aidan and Kyla continue to cope with their parent’s murder suicide. Aidan can’t wait to rid himself of the castle which has become an albatross and his sister is determined to keep it. Their parent’s unsolved murder is being reinvestigated and new clues are turning up.

Carragh Ryan is hired by Nessa to review the contents of the castle’s library. She gets tangled up in the family’s history, their current drama and someone keeps trying to scare her. Carragh quietly searches for the unpublished manuscript of a famous author who married into this cursed family years ago.
And yes, the story just gets better from there!

I received an advance review copy of this book from Netgalley. All opinions are my own.

I received a digital copy of this book from Random House Publishing and Net Galley to facilitate my review. #TheDarklingBride #NetGalley
The legend of the Darkling Bride has been synonymous with Ireland's Deeprath Castle and the Gallagher family for centuries. Through flashbacks we see its effects on Jenny Gallagher, her husband and son in the 1880's and Jenny's tragic death. Two more mysterious deaths, those of the 17th Viscount Cillian Gallagher and his wife Lily, occur in the 1990''s. When the current Viscount, Detective Aidan Gallagher, decides to donate the castle to the Public Trust, Carragh Ryan is hired to help catalog the family library. She quickly is drawn in to the Castle's mysteries. Add in a cold-case detective assigned to re=examine the most recent deaths, and the castle seems to fight to keep its secrets. All 3 eras of the story were well-written and engaging. I recommend this book to those who enjoy mysteries and romance novels.

I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book, and although I had the mystery figured out early on, it didn't diminish my fun. The characters were well-drawn, the atmosphere was appropriately spooky, and the story was engaging.

If you like ghosts, creepy mansions, and complicated families, this is definitely the book for you.

The Darkling Bride is an incredibly enjoyable dark tale about the Gallaghers and their ancestral home of Deeprath in Ireland. Fans of Gothic fiction would love every bit of this read, as well as bibliophiles and historical fiction fans. The story jumps between three time periods (the present, the 1970s-80s, and the 1880s) but the author does it so seamlessly that it doesn’t feel jarring. The prose is haunting but beautiful, much like the setting itself, and the pacing stays both suspenseful and measured throughout the book. I found the ending to be very satisfying as well.

I enjoyed all of the characters. Each is flawed in their own way but I think that adds to them being more complex. Carragh was a great protagonist but I was a big fan of Nessa and the inspector as well. I appreciated the fact that there was a smidgen of romance in the present story line so that it didn’t overwhelm the focal point of the mystery. The mansion itself is a character too, watching over the events as they unfold. That moment when Carragh goes into Bride Tower, talk about goosebumps!

I really look forward to reading more books from the author. It’s so easy to lose balance within the elements of between historical fiction, mystery, and paranormal but Andersen does it expertly.


Note: I received a free Kindle edition of this book via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. I would like to thank NetGalley, the publisher Random House - Ballantine, and the author Laura Andersen for the opportunity to do so.

The Darkling Bride by Laura Andersen
Source: Netgalley
My Rating: 5/5 stars

Tucked away in the Wicklow Mountains of Ireland, Deeprath Castle has a long, sad history of love, legend, blood, and myths. The most pervasive of the myths revolves around a beautiful and doomed woman whose legend has been so strong as to survives centuries and seemingly impact the lives of her descendants.


Several centuries later . . . .

Aidan Gallagher’s family has lived under a curse for the entirety of his life. As a child, his parents were violently murdered, he and his sister were raised by their cold and tremendously proud aunt, and as an adult all are separated and distant. With the family manor, Deeprath Castle being the common denominator, Aidan feels he has no choice but to unload the castle on the state as an historic/heritage site. Before the transfer can happen, however, Aidan and his aunt want the family library catalogued with the intent of donating the contents with the exception of personal/family documents.

Carragh Ryan has spent the vast majority of her young life in the service of books. When the opportunity to catalogue the famed Gallagher/Deeprath Castle collection presents itself, she jumps at the chance! According to her contract, Carragh is to reside in the castle for the duration of the job and confine her activities to the library. With no objections, Carragh packs her bags and gets to work within hours of her arrival. The library is vast, her employers are standoffish at best, and Carragh is absolutely certain the castle is haunted. Within days of her arrival, the double portrait of the Darkling Bride in her bedroom has been moved leaving Carragh with a great sense of unease and more than a few questions.

Though Carragh finds Aidan attractive, he isn’t the easiest of men to approach. Her questions relate directly to his family, but not her job so broaching certain subjects seems somewhat risky. As it happens, Aidan quite likes Carragh and as they begin to work together, Aidan becomes more willing to open up and share stories of his family’s past and the myths and legend surrounding Deeprath Castle and the Wicklow Mountains.

With each conversation, Carragh becomes more attached to Aidan and even more involved in the mystery surrounding Deeprath Castle and her Darkling Bride. What’s more, with each new bit of evidence uncovered, Carragh becomes convinced the ancient legend is, in fact tied to the death of Aidan’s parents. With each step closer to the truth, Carragh finds herself in danger. Her safety and her freedom are threatened before all is said and done with her only ally being Aidan Gallagher.

The Bottom Line: What a wonderfully dark read is Lauren Andersen’s The Darkling Bride. From start to finish I was absolutely and thoroughly invested in this read. The legend of the Darkling Bride is woven into every aspect of the story, from the setting, to the characters, to the mystery. She is always present and truly feeds the entirety of the story which makes it all the more entertaining. I didn’t want to put this book down and was heartbroken in the best possible way by the resolution to the rather Gothic tale. This is an early favorite for 2018 and one I heartily recommend. 0

A gorgeous Irish family drama that truly compels you forward! I lost myself for hours in this world and when I finally emerged I was sad to see it end!