Peril at Thornywilde. By Jonni Rich, Narrator: Virginia Ferguson. 2020. Southeast Media Productions (ARC audiobook).

The author achieves a moody atmosphere that the narration helps solidify in this gothic romance.

"Peril at Thornywilde" was just not my cup of tea. It's a book with an interesting sounding premise that just didn't work for me. I don't think I enjoyed the narration or the writing style all that much.

I found this book a bit tough to get into. There seemed to be too many characters at times and too many genres put into one. The writing was good, but I don’t think it was necessarily for me. I’d give other books from this author a try in the future however.

I’m not a big fantasy person but I love to branch out here and there. This one was ok. I will keep trying fantasy but it’s just not my favorite so take that with a grain of salt

The premise to the story sounded interesting. However, I could not get into it. The story seemed very disjointed, and I could not connect with the characters. The narrator sounded monotonous. Still, I recommend this for fans of Victorian romance.

Sorry.... Missed this audiobook! The netgalley should really take down the archive date thing. Ugh! Or make it stay forever once you downloaded a book on netgalley bookshelf.

Thank you Netgalley for the audio copy. Not my usual genre but I enjoyed it. Murder, mystery, suspense and romance. This story has it all. When Lady Mariana Belmont meet Thomas O'Geary romance blossoms. Until he is accused of murder. Will they get a happy ending?

Thank you to NetGalley and Southeast Media Productions for kindly providing me with an audiobook copy of this book for review.
Unfortunately this book did not gel very well with me. I tried multiple times to get into the book before I finally managed to work my way through it.
On the surface it should be my ideal fit- I love Victorian historical fiction, especially with a mystery element but I really just failed to connect to any of the characters and it all felt a bit flat and I just wasn’t interested or motivated enough to keep picking it up.
I appreciate the chance to listen to this book but it just wasn’t the book for me.

I tried. Honestly, I tried to enjoy this book. I just could not get into it. The beginning is confusing and none of the characters are likable. I could excuse this, of course, if the plot had grabbed my attention. It did not.
I really hate to DNF a book and I hate even more to review a book that I did not finish. However, I felt that it was important to give my honest review since NetGalley had given me a free copy of this book.

I was hoping for something remniscent of Daphne Du Maurier.  While the book is solidly written, I really struggled with it.  It has such a slow start that I found it really easy to set the book aside and listen to something else.  In the end, the story has plenty of gothic mystery, adventure and twists, but it just didn't grab me.  Virginia Ferguson, however, did a great job narrating the book.

This book was a gothic romance/historical fiction/mystery cross-genre. I’m a fan of cross-genre fiction, so I was excited to listen to this. I found it a bit difficult to get into at first. I ended up liking it and getting caught up in the mystery, which was nice and twisty. I love gothic tales, so that part was fun, as well. It may have been just a tad too long, as I feel that it could have maybe been wrapped up a bit sooner, but overall it was a solid book and I would definitely read more from this author.

Too Cliche

Audiobook Review
This is supposed to be a gothic mystery and romance—which is a peculiar blend, but I was willing to give it a go as an audiobook. I was not really “wowed” by the initial scenes, unfortunately. But I think I literally rolled my eyes at the first scene told from the viewpoint of the would-be stepmother. She was revealed to be the stereotypical evil stepmom who started machinations against her would-be stepdaughter even before the marriage. I'm not particularly wild about villains who are so dark without a speck of light. That was not the only cliche in the story. Also, for a book that is supposed to have a romantic element, that part completely fell flat. I kept listening for a little while, but I felt like the story became convoluted and the characters never caught my interest; I just didn't enjoy it. I DNFed it around the 50% mark.

Peril at Thornywilde by Jonni Rich was a decent listen.

I found the beginning a bit slow and hard to get into, However, Virginia Ferguson's voice kept me engaged in the story. It was a mix of several genres I like (romance, mystery, historical fiction, and Gothic,) but I found the mystery the most exciting part of it.

I would most likely give this authour another read. If you like all of different genres I would give it a try. Just push through the beginning. I think the narrated version would help with that.

I received an advanced audiobook from Independent Book Publishers Association through NetGalley. All opinions are 100% my own.

It's a gothic novel, reminiscent of mystery romances and historical fictions. At first it's a bit hard to read as the development of the story is slow but as soon as the mystery hits you, you will find yourself bound to it.
If you choose to listen to the audiobook, be aware as the narrator as the most hipnotizing of voices.

Peril at Thornywilde by Jonni Rich is a historical fiction filled with romance and mystery. I listened to this story on audiobook and I really wish I had read it because I was not a fan of the narrator. The book was good with a few twists and a surprise ending that I did not see coming. The plot was a bit out there and was a little too long, but the setting was beautiful, and I enjoyed the character development. All in all, a good story that I would recommend.

***** I received an ARC from NetGalley, the publisher, and the author for my honest review. *****

The voices on the audiobook drew me into the storyline. I found myself caring about the characters. My only complaint, I was frustrated that the audiobook kept skipping chapters. I'd have to stop playback, go back to chapter list, choose the chapter, and replay the chapter.

Peril at Thornywilde audiobook explores Lady Mariana Belmont in a historical fiction tale set in Ireland. Lady Mariana is a single women in her twenties set to inherit an estate and fortune when she turns thirty or marries. However, there are rumors and people who want to see otherwise. Mariana's father is set to marry a dislikable, conniving woman, with an even more dislikable son. Both of whom seem to be up to no good. There is also the handsome artist who is an apprentice of her father's, Thomas O'Geary. This story is full of twists and turns, murder, highway ribbon men, and era gone by. Perhaps too full..... at 58 chapters. This story was longer than it needed to be (never a good sign when you are ready for a book to get on with it already), and while it may be true to the age seems unnecessarily derogatory towards the servants. Lady Mariana herself at times can be quite frustrating too. All in all it was interesting enough to keep me listening, but just barely. 2.5 stars.

I thank Netgalley for the audiobook ARC in return for an honest review.

Thank you NetGalley for a free copy in exchange for an honest review!

Peril at Thornywilde is historical fiction with elements of romance, and mystery. This book is slow; as you read further through it, it becomes more interesting.

I read this via audio book. The narrator, Virginia Ferguson, has a beautiful voice. If it weren't for how nice her voice and accent are I might not have made it through the first few chapters of this.

3.5/5

Peril at Thornywilde is a Gothic tale which follows Lady Mariana as she arrives at her father's large estate mansion, only to find that he is not there when she arrives. Instead, she runs into other discourteous characters that she has to deal with.

As the tale unwinds, there are all kinds of characters involved. Each one has interesting personalities and perspectives that add to this diabolical and sometimes sinister mystery. She finds out that her father is engaged to a terrible person that will be her stepmother (that she quickly dislikes.) As things progress, this tale has all the epic makings of a suspense, murder mystery, entwined with betrayal, and a historical gothic romance that you have been anticipating since the beginning. I love books with twists and turns and this one is filled with them which adds to an interesting read that was enjoyable.

I would like to thank the publisher Southeast Media Productions and #NetGalley for an advanced eARC audiobook of #PerilatThornywilde in exchange for my honest review. All opinions are my own.

Peril at Thornywilde follows Lady Mariana, as she attempts to uncover the truths of her past, solve mysteries in her present, and protect her own future.

When Lady Mariana showed at her father's estate in Dublin, the last thing she expected was to pretend to be a model, meet her father's fiance, and then being forced to return to Thornywilde because her father has lost this estate.
Needless to say that when she witnesses a murder on Thornywilde's ground things only get more complicated.

To be honest, the blurb of this book misled me, but in order not to spoiler anything I didn't add anything. This book was supposed to be a historical mystery romance, but unfortunately in my opinion the mystery was flat, and the romance didn't exist.
The murder Mariana witnesses is not the mystery Mariana she then tries to uncover, but in my opinion, only a plot twist.
In addition, there is an emotional loss in this book and the plot continued as if it never happened, without any emotional consequences.
Lastly, I didn't feel any chemistry between Marian and Tomas (her love interest) and there was no real romance in the book.
With that being said, the resolution of real mystery did surprise me, and I enjoyed Mariana's independent spirit.

Overall although I enjoyed it, I feel like this book didn't live up to my expectations.