I am immediately out when a man sexually assaults a woman (a man kissing a woman without her consent, which is exactly what happens in this book) and it is treated as desirable.

Author, Jonni Rich, brings to life mystery and intrigue surrounding the Castle of Thornywilde. The castle has a history of unfortunate events that have caused unrest in the family. Lady Mariana feels an unsettling foreboding towards her soon to be stepmother and John, her son. Thwarting John’s unwanted advances, she feels trapped in the castle following the demise of her father. Her heart is filled with longing for her father’s protégé, Thomas O’Geary, as she faces the evil that awaits.
Secrets kept, danger awaiting and romance ensues….

I could not get into this book. I usually love historical fiction, but I felt something was missing. I didn't like the narrator. I felt like she was trying to hard. I got through 25 % and had to stop.

Thank you to the author, publisher, and Net Galley for an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest opinion

Peril at Thornywilde is a brilliantly written tale set in Dublin. It is filled with suspense and twists that pull you in from the beginning to the end.

The thrills and romance are well woven into the complex murders and horrors in the story.

I did not want it to end. Excellent narration.👌🏽

This story is just not for me. Hung in there for about a quarter of the book and I was done. It had interesting characters, but I never cared about any of them. Not sure why, maybe just too long, too over explained …I just don’t know.

I can’t recommend this story, though I wish I could. I received the opportunity to review this story for Net Galley.

I listened to the audiobook of Peril at Thornywilde. The narrator did a good job of creating a gothic feeling to the story. I found the plot to be scattered. I was never sure what was going on and at times I struggled to finish it.

Peril at Thornywilde harks back to the great gothic romance novels of 100 years ago. The heroine is a gentile lady who finds herself in a horrible situation with the death of her father and her inheritance snatched from under her. There are several sinister characters and a parade of horribles that never seem to end. Thankfully her love interest seems to be an honorable sort, albeit of a lower class. Thankfully there is a happily ever after that took its sweet ol' time getting there. The narration was good by Virginia Ferguson and I would listen this narrator again. I received a copy of this audiobook free of charge from NetGalley and leave this review willingly and in my own words.

This audiobook is well produced and the narrator does well to bring life to the characters, but unfortunately for me the problem is the characters are a bit flat. Peril at Thornywilde is a gothic romance that isn't sure if it really wants to be a romance. I did not feel invested in Marianna and her romance with Thomas. Even harder for me to swallow was the caricature that was the evil stepmother. She is overdrawn to the point of being unbelievable and kept pulling me out of the novel as I was listening because I was too busy finding it ridiculous.

*received for free from netgalley for honest review* Not bad but very long, seem like it could have been shorter lol but not in a boring way just in a lot of that was a lot of running around way

While overall this book is ok, it definitely needs some heavy editing before I could recommend. The pacing is slow and the narrator of the ebook had a heavy accent, that was so hard to understand.

This book wasn't for me. I listened halfway through the book but still the story wasn't able to hold my interest. The description in the stories were vivid which I liked a lot but that's it, instead of that I didn't find any point which was likeable.

Thank you #netgalley for giving me the chance to read the book.

Peril at Thornywilde is a book published in 2020 that harkens back to the lost genre of Gothic Romance. The Gothic Romances have a bit of mystery and a bit of romance but don't go overboard on either. We always have a heroine and then there is a man involved, sometimes he is the hero, sometimes he is the dastardly villain. Our heroine has a lot of things going on in her life. Being mixed up as a model by her father's painter protege, finding out she is going to have a surprise stepmother, witnessing a crime, and many others. If you are expecting a true mystery or a bodice ripping romance you won't get either with this book, but if you sit back and enjoy the unique format of a gothic romance you will enjoy this book.

I listened to this book's audio version, I wasn't thrilled with the narrator, but once I sped it up, it was much better. If you are struggling with her narration, you might try adjusting the speed.

Thank you #NetGalley for allowing me to read and give my honest review on #PerilAtThornywilde, it was a pleasure to read.

Great characters and an eerie setting. Enjoyed the interaction between Mariana and Thomas. At times I could hear the wind howl as the descriptions are so vivid. Some of the mystery is lacking but I did enjoy the characters

Marianna travels from Thornywilde to visit her father in Dublin to discover that not only is he not there, but he is engaged to a horrid woman who likewise did not know that Marianna existed. There is a rumor that Marianna is not actually a lady at all and is a bastard of a servant. Her stepmother to be is a conniving woman who bears Marianna nothing but ill will.

This one was not for me. I listened to about 20% of it before I had to bow out. The characters are caricatures: the innocent young Lady, the evil stepmother, the wicked stepbrother, the secretive father, the poor dead mother. The setting was fine, but the plot was overdone. When I find that I don't care what happens to the characters, that it is time for me to abandon the book.

I wouldn't recommend this one. It's trying too hard.

Thanks to Netgalley for the opportunity to listen to this book.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for providing me with a copy of this novel in exchange for an honest review. It has been published in July 2020.

"Peril at Thornywilde" by Jonni Rich tries to mix mystery with romance and ends up not living up to the either of these genres.
The mystery is not really there: what happened is fairly obvious since pretty early in the story.
The romance is there (sort of), but it's such a flat, stereotypical charade that as a reader I never managed to get invested in it. The motivations of the characters are unclear: why does Mariana fall in love with Thomas? Just because of that one kiss? They don't know each other at all, and she's putting herself in danger just to help him escape from prison? Come on!
Overall, the plot advances too slowly, there's not enough action, the dialogues and inner monologues are interminable and repetitive.
On a technical note, the narrator of the audiobook has a dry mouth that is awful to listen to for over 11 hours!
To top it all off, there's a nauseatingly chauvinistic streak through the narration, that mostly stays latent, but does poke its ugly head out in a memorable quote delivered right after Mariana, the protagonist, has been sexually harassed by her stepbrother-to-be:

"It occurred to her that perhaps her unorthodox dress had emboldened John Desmond to approach her as he had in the barn."

For whoever is wondering, the "unorthodox dress" in question is a riding suit.
Thanks, but no thanks. The world doesn't need any more of this victim-blaming, sexual predator-justifying rubbish.