I'd like to thank Netgalley and the publisher for an advance listener copy of the audiobook. In exchange, this is my honest review.

Really, I'd like to give this book a 2.5, but Goodreads insists I do nothing by halves.

I love a good gothic novel. They are usually marked with beautiful descriptions and are very atmospheric. They're like a warm blanket I love to cocoon myself in and wile away the hours. This book did not lack in that department. Brooks has a beautiful writing style, and her words created a visual feast for my mind.

Unfortunately, her characters and plot did not hold up to the strength of her writing style. Freya, our main character, describes herself as feeling very teenaged, and it shows with all of her actions in the story. She behaves as someone stuck in an arrested development, unable to become the adult she needs to be. Her decisions and motives lacked sense, and she became frustrating.

The plot itself dragged. The beginning was promising, and I was brought back in at the end, but the middle was long, dull, and it didn't engage me. I think either more needed to happen, or more needed to be edited out. But, unfortunately, it didn't hold my interest.

Thank you Netgalley and the publisher for providing me with an advanced release copy of the audiobook in exchange for my honest review.

Let me start by saying that I enjoyed the audio book from the perspective of the narrator. Her voice had a very pleasing tone and she was very dynamic in her reading of the novel. She actually gives more life to the story then what is there on the pages.

The book did have a very addictive Gothic feel. The author does an amazing job of describing this and truly making you feel like you were in the location. Unfortunately, that is about where the positives end. There are very little details to develop the actual story outside of the descriptions of Byrne Hall and its surroundings. The characters are not well developed and there is little to no back story for either of the sisters. It really makes it difficult to decide whether you like the main character (or at least want to route for her), or if she is truly is as annoying and clueless as she seems. The story was also very lacking in action. There was very little tension or build-up and twists were nonexistent. The murderer was very obvious early on.

If you are looking for a binge read with a gothic feel, you will find this moderately entertaining. Otherwise I think I will leave this In the "not really worth your time" category.

A gothic mystery that is just creepy enough. I stayed up all night listening to this audio. LoL
This was a different book than I normally read. I kinda wished the narrator was a different voice! But still a good read!
I felt this was a slow burn..... But soon took off! Overall good quick haunting book for sure

I received a copy of this audiobook from the publisher and netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

This is my first book by Elizabeth Brooks and honestly I feel like it just didn’t hit the Mark for me. The premise was there for a great novel and it had me from the first few chapters, and then it fell off.

I feel like the main character Freya really had potential and she was always just right there with greatness but never fully filled her potential.

There were great parts though and the author really made the atmosphere of the house and of the story pop off the pages (or in my case my ears).

I received a copy of this audio in return for an honest review.

I found this to be a long, tedious slow burn. The narrator got on my nerves. I think I fell asleep 12 times while listening. I don't know if this was the writing, the narration or just my mindset at the time but I did not enjoy the story. I found it impossible to care about the characters and, in fact, I sped it up to just get it over. I am rounding my 2 star rating to 3 because I am sure it's more my issue than that of the book.

Advanced Reader’s Copy provided by NetGalley and HighBridge Audio in exchange for an honest review.

This was almost the gothic novel I wanted it to be, almost. Unfortunately it never quite got there and the climax felt like it came out of nowhere so it was somewhat disjointed and confusing. Every aspect was there for this to be a great gothic novel, but it felt like a rough sketch version of gothic tropes rather than fully fleshed out characters.

While the audio production was of good quality, the text itself doesn’t provide listeners with proper cues to make them aware that the narrator has changed which made some parts a bit confusing until you figured out who was talking.

Beautifully haunting, poetic, Gothic thriller by Elizabeth Brooks. It was hard to not fully visualize due to Brooks exceptional prose and story-telling. I had to keep reminding myself that this was taking place in the near past because it had such a dark Victorian feel.

Byrne Hall, itself, was an equally important (maybe more so) main character, as Freya. So much of the book feels surreal. Ghostly Stella, Diana and peculiar Cory fill the reader with unworldly nuances that still fill the senses, even with the balance of Freya's father and friend.

The story is mesmerizing and chilling, just like a great Gothic novel should be. I though the narration was perfect. I really enjoyed this!

I received a copy from the publisher through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

This book was full of gothic atmosphere, and I felt like there were really good descriptions that brought you right into the creepy world. I just didn't connect with the characters, and I didn't really find anything happening throughout the story. There were not twists and turns to really keep you guessing at what was happening. It felt a bit flat for me. The writing really brought the creepy location to life, and I think that was a huge highlight while reading!

I was provided a gifted copy of this book for free. I am leaving my review voluntarily.

I really struggled with this book. I couldn't connect with the main character. Finally when I got into it. Then it was just done. Overall I rate this as ok.

The tension in this story comes more from a slowly creeping sense of dread than from many scary moments. Freya finds a painting of her dead sister in an old mansion and she comes back to search for it but when she looks again, it’s gone. She starts a relationship with the owner of the house and moves in. As per the Gothic genre, things go bump in the night and there seem to be many, many secrets hidden in Byrne Hall. The author does a nice job of leaving the reader in the dark about who is really not well here, because Freya is an unreliable narrator and I wasn’t sure what was really happening. I loved the descriptions of the house and its surroundings. I enjoyed the twists and turns. My only problem was with Freya, why would she just not leave or at least buy a big flashlight? Then again, I seem to have this problem with every Gothic heroine. The audiobook performance by Elizabeth Klett gives the story an extra layer, since she creates distinctive voices for all the characters. The audio version is also great because it’s like telling scary stories in the dark on Halloween.
I chose to listen to this audiobook and all opinions in this review are my own and completely unbiased. Thank you, NetGalley/ HighBridge Audio!

Brooks’s novel centers around Byrne Hall, a stately old manor house on the English coast. Protagonist Freya is drawn to the strictly off limits home during a drunken wedding reception. When she sneaks inside, she sees a portrait of a woman who looks suspiciously like her sister; her dead sister. Unable to get the house and the man she saw on the ground out of her mind, Freya spontaneously decides to go back there a few weeks later, escaping her over protective, ever present father. Once in town, Freya meets enigmatic artist Cory, who live at Byrne Hall, caring for his sickly mother and finds herself drawn into their web. Unable to make herself leave, Freya gets more entangled with the strange duo and begins to search for answers about how her sister died nearby and why. A delicious Gothic novel that will be just as welcome on a cold winter day under the covers or on the beach on a summer day