Within these Wicked Walls was an enjoyable, unique read set in a lush, interesting world. With a castle plagued by evil manifestations, danger, romance, and complicated characters, the story had it all. I finished this one in a matter of days!

A delightfully spooky tale. I loved the style of writing. Very reminiscent of Jane Eyre. I basically loved everything about it. My one complaint was a little romance heavy and less on the horror but that is more of a preference than anything.

I was definitely thankful to have been introduced to this author. I look forward to reading more from her.

WTWW draws on Jane Eyre's themes, setting, and characters, but tells a haunted house story entirely its own. The horror images are visceral, and the threads of longing for romantic and familial love deeply colour the heroine's voice, but Blackwood keeps the overall tone surprisingly light. We shift swiftly from bloody chambers and severed limbs to blushing glances and quippy dialogue, while the banter-y romance remains centre stage throughout the novel. Because of this choice, I suspect the novel will resonate more with genre romance lovers than it will with those looking for a deeply atmospheric horror story, though elements will appeal to both readerships. Bronte fans will notice parallels in the scenes between the two leads, and in the heroine's struggle to believe she's worth love, despite her inner fire. Blackwood also takes the parental figure from the source material (the heartless Aunt Reed) and fleshes out the adoptive parent role in some truly unique ways that support the novel's themes on found family and forgiveness. It's a layered story, an unexpected blend of genres, and a tribute to the source material unlike anything I've ever read.

Unfortunately I think I will be giving up on this book at 41%. I hate to DNF an ARC but I just can't bring myself to keep reading. There's very little redeemable about this book.

I had extremely high hopes for this one. The description sounds wonderful and the first few chapters promise atmospheric creepiness that just never comes to fruition. The MC is a Bella Swan-like personality-less paper cut-out who's every waking thought is about the selfish rich boy she inexplicably and immediately falls for. Andi, the MC, *tells* us he is adorable and intriguing but all we actually see is a volatile, immature man-child. When Andromeda first arrived at the house, the book seemed to be hinting at a romance between Andi and the handsome lawyer character, which would have made so much more sense. Instead, she falls for the least charming person possible simply because he's attracted to her and she's too insecure to turn him away.

Speaking of the lawyer— this book would've been 4 or 5 stars with just a few minor changes, which makes it all the more frustrating, because it had great potential for setting, world building, magic system, and horror but it didn't deliver on any of that. If the lawyer had been the love interest with Magnus portrayed as the creepy, tantrum-throwing shut in that he was, and if the book had been written in 3rd person so we could get out of Andi's head with her exhausting, constant circular "he loves me, he loves me not" thoughts, this could have been so good. But alas.

On a final note: don't go into this book expecting horror. By 40% there was no horror at all, just some occasional, cookie cutter paranormal occurrences and the stakes are so low because Andromeda tells us over and over that the ghosts can't make physical contact. I just couldn't bring myself to care about the characters in any way and after 150 pages of boredom I'm admitting defeat.

I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own. I really enjoyed this story and I really enjoyed the fantasy aspect of this book. I did find a few of the scenes hard to follow. But, they didn't pop up often for me and I was able to quickly get past them.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Wednesday Books for giving me the chance to read this book ahead of its release in exchange for my honest opinions!

Within These Wicked Walls was a truly unique read, and an exciting breath of fresh air in the YA genre. This book, to me, was much more about the spooky, gothic atmosphere, than it ever was about the story itself. While I understand that this may not be for everyone, it's something I personally absolutely adore in literature. The constant sense of dread Blackwood managed to conjure onto the pages, the inherent weirdness and wrongness of the manor which our MC, Andromeda, is attempting to exorcise - it was beautifully written, and I was truly transported into the story.

That isn't to say that there was no plot to speak of - the story actually moved quite quickly, with high stakes and intense developments. It was abundantly clear that nobody was protected by plot armor: the manor had it out for everyone, and nobody was safe here.

The characterization and interpersonal relationships between the cast of characters was stunning. All of them were inherently flawed human beings (...for the most part), and the way they found solace and hope in each other in a world that, in one way or another, had it out for all of them was incredibly moving to read about.

So, if you're a fan of dark, atmospheric, character-focussed stories - definitely go and check this one out!

Oh My God!! This book was so fantastic. I was really excited going into the reading of this one, because Wednesday books is probably my favorite publisher/imprint. And let me tell you, this did not disappoint. Interesting, layered characters, atmospheric vibes, fully realized and developed world just WOW. I cannot recommend this book enough. Definitely one of my favorite reads of the year, what a perfect Jane Eyre retelling with a twist. I'm not going to stop ranting about this book to friends :)

A terrifically mystical Ethiopian inspired YA retelling of Jane Eyre. Now don’t think for a moment this is a traditional retelling. Instead go in prepared for even better. More a Jane Eyre inspired fantasy that mixes together The Mummy, Exorcist, and a claustrophobic mansion/ castle vibe with the classic Jane Eyre feel.

This book met my expectations and exceeded them flawlessly. I have to admit I was a little weary going in thinking “retelling” far too much. Not all classics need altering and not many retellings even turn out well done. But this book is BEAUTIFULLY HORRIFIC in all the best ways.

This YA book will be the next big thing and I feel so blessed to have been given the opportunity to read and review this. Thank you NetGalley for this ARC!

Very well done for an author’s debut. It could have used some additional polishing, especially surrounding the interactions between Magnus and Andi. Looking forward to future books from Blackwood.

This was an interesting read. I was drawn in by the idea that is loosely based on Jane Eyre. There were definitely a few scenes that stood out to me that reminded me of Jane Eyre, but it wasn't an overwhelmingly obvious retelling.

My favorite elements were Andi's character and the world building. Andi's voice was strong and even though I was annoyed at her sometimes, I cared about what happened to her. The world building drew me in as well. A cursed mansion in the middle of the desert? And sometimes the walls bleed? An intriguing situation.

One of the issues I had was with Jember's character (Andi's father figure). With how toxic and abusive Andi's childhood seemed to have been, it concerned me at how the ending seemed to justify his actions. Some of it made sense, but overall it felt like he was gaslighting Andi and her experiences. So at the end I was conflicted about whether I liked Jember or not.

I also didn't know how to feel about Magnus or the apparent romance between him and Andi. Magnus came across to me as spoiled and dramatic. While I could understand Andi wanting to take care of him, it would have made sense in the way of wanting to protect a vulnerable child, not as a potential lover. The romance between Andi and Magnus wasn't very believable to me. He honestly didn't seem like someone Andi would fall for. In fact, I kept waiting for more scenes with Esjay because I liked his character more.

That being said, I appreciated the creativity of the curse and how it manifested itself in the house and through Magnus. Saba's character was fascinating, and she was probably my favorite after Andi. The tone matches up pretty well with the darker, ominous feel of the original Jane Eyre. If readers are looking for moody read with some dark fantasy thrown in, this story is a good choice.

Here's how I rated certain elements:
Characters: 6/10
Emotion: 5/10
Writing Style: 7/10
Pacing: 7/10
Immersion: 7/10
Overall Enjoyment: 7/10

Within These Wicked Walls is an interesting novel based on one of Jane Eyre's works. I'm about 40% of the way through and I'm really enjoying WTWW!! Lauren Blackwood slowly reveals the truth about Magnus' house, and Andromeda is a compelling narrator. I love her and Magnus' relationship. Magnus is cursed, but so far, he hasn't revealed his curse to Andromeda. Andromeda only knows that the house is hiding something. I love how Lauren Blackwood writes the witty banter between Andromeda and Magnus. This mysterious tale involves love and Andromeda taking control of her own life, which I love to see.

*Review will be posted on my blog on 10/11/21**

Forgive me for not knowing right away that this is an Ethiopian inspired, Jane Eyre reimagined story. The NetGalley blurb gave no indication of it but when I went to Goodreads after I read the book, I was surprised. In a way, I liked not knowing it was Jane Eyre inspired because as I read the book I kept wondering why it kept reminding me of one of my favorite books! So in that instance, it did it’s job in capturing the classic story.

Within These Wicked Walls is a mash-up of everything I was craving! It is set in a very unique location where the cleansing takes place in a castle, but in a desert landscape and our main character Andromeda is a debtera. She is trained to exorcise households cursed by the Evil Eye. The house she is currently exorcising has walls that bleed and a Librarian demon that threatens people by leaving books open to a certain quote. Be still my heart! Then there is Andromeda’s conflicted relationship with the man who raised her and of course the new young man in her life, her employer – an eccentric, sometimes sweet, sometimes oblivious guy named Magnus. Put this altogether and for me, at least, it was a match made in light horror heaven.

I found the debtera and exorcisms unique. I liked how they used amulets for protection. I liked how the house is a horror show (and I’m a wimp with horror) with staff disappearing and residents getting hurt. Andromeda was trained to be a debtera by the man who raised her, Jember. Andromeda is a great character. She is tough and independent because how she was raised but still good at heart. A secondary character I loved as well was Saba who showed Andromeda love through action.

It’s because of Jember, Andromeda finds herself in a challenging spot with Magnus and this job to cleanse his house. She didn’t finish her training and is unlicensed, so patronage through Magnus is her best bet to make a living. It’s that or survive on the streets. Eventually she realizes cleansing the house would mean more to her than a patronage, it would mean helping the people she has come to care about.

I realized it was a Jane Eyre retelling when Andromeda and Magnus would interact. The banter between them is so good, and the longing made me swoon. They balanced each other out, Magnus trying to open Andromeda to fun and affection, and Andromeda grounding Magnus when he was losing himself.


Triggers: abuse, depression, blood, violence, death, gore, toxic relationships, kidnapped

I think some people will have a problem with the insta-love between Magnus and Andromeda. But I didn’t mind because it’s a Jane Eyre retelling, and the reason I love Jane Eyre was because of Jane and Mr. Rochester. So yes, give me the insta-love.

The abusive relationship is hard to swallow but Andromeda confronts Jember about it and makes her peace with him in the end. Could I be as forgiving as Andromeda? I don’t think I could but who knows if I were in her shoes?


I’ve been looking for something different to read and this was unique and familiar at the same time so it checked all the boxes for me! I read this book in one sitting. I loved how it was creepy enough but it didn’t scare me, it had a lot of action and the story was filled with all the romance drama I was craving. I love this reimagined story of Jane Eyre.

This book was SO GOOD. I didn’t even realize it was a Jane Eyre retelling until halfway through and that makes me love it even more.

This has to be one of the most unique concepts for a book I’ve ever read. Magnus is the most adorable cinnamon roll, Andi is such a badass while still having her own flaws that make her human and Jember is such a complex, intriguing character I found myself just as interested in his story as I was Andi’s! Read this book if you love creepy, mysteries/thrillers with a little bit of gothic romance and a whole lot of grit and heart.

Thank you so much to Wednesday Books for supplying me with an ARC! All opinions are my own.

**Thank you to St. Martin’s Press and NetGalley for providing me with an eARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.**

“Your vicious honestly sustains me, Andromeda. Never change.”

YALL. THIS BOOK. I absolutely adore this story. It made me stupidly giddy when I read. Andromeda and Magnus are beyond precious. My only complaint is that there are a few moments where the story is a little jumbley. So much happens so fast and you feel like you missed something, and even going back and rereading the scene doesn’t help much. If these moments are tightened up prior to publishing it would be a solid 5 star read for me!

I really enjoyed this Jane Eyre retelling. There were a few scenes that were hard to follow and the romance was very YA. It was a quick read that was light and fun.

Wish there had been more of an explanation on the magic and the importance of threading the amulets.

I’d give this 4 stars.

Exorcising a house haunted & ruled by Evil.

Andromeda, or Andi, is an unlicensed curse breaker. She creates amulets that fight and cleanses places infested and cursed by the Evil Eye. When she's hired by a rich reclusive to cleanse his extremely cursed castle, Andi jumps at the opportunity for a patronage, despite the near impossibility of the task.

This was meant to be a Jane Eyre retelling, but aside from the male protagonist sharing the name Magnus, this book felt too different and distinct to make such a claim. There were some small similar moments, especially towards the beginning, But this book quickly veered off the path.

Andi (alternate Jane) is nineteen years old and Rochester is about the same age. There were several awkward first romance moments that's common in YA books. Magnus had a rough personality, as he had in Jane Eyre, but here it was mixed with youthful awkwardness, shyness, and some other social issues. Sometimes he carried the original Rochester's tough personality, but at other & more often moments, he switched into a soft socially awkward teen. I found that off-putting. The romance didn't speak to me at all, and I skimmed through all the painfully awkward moments. There were way too many times where they overanalyzed and over enunciated their feelings and it kept putting me off.

While I found the romance to be too awkward, shallow, and very YA, I enjoyed the dark fantasy parts a lot more. The castle Andi was hired to cleanse was severely cursed. This manifested in numerous ways the castle tried to kill Andi and its other inhabitants, from dark monsters and flying murderous books to possessed servants. Andi's complicated relationship with her old mentor was another intriguing subplot. That relationship was a whole lot more fascinating and better developed than the stupid romance. It was a rough mix of years of hatred and violence and abuse mixed with mutual concern they felt for each other. It was deep and complex and twisted, and so I loved it.

This was also supposed to have an Ethiopian related cultural setting, but aside from a oblique reference or two towards the beginning, this book could've been set anywhere in the world in any culture. If anything, it felt pretty much the same as any western based fantasy book setting. Yes, there happened to be a desert with sand in it. Wow, that really makes it feel African and Ethiopian, right?

I gave this three stars because it had a mix of great and awful parts. The writing flowed nice and smoothly. I would've enjoyed it a lot more if Andi and Magnus' relationship had felt more mature than two teens with an insta love.

“Eventually I got used to monsters. Eventually I learned that the world was scarier than anything the Evil Eye could manifest…”

TITLE—Within These Wicked Walls
AUTHOR—Lauren Blackwood
PUBLISHED—November 2021 (read as an eARC from @NetGalley)

GENRE—YA fantasy; retelling
SETTING—a haunted castle in the desert of Ethiopia
MAIN THEMES/SUBJECTS—haunted castle, possession, childhood trauma, Coptic Christianity, romance/love, found family

WRITING STYLE—⭐️⭐️⭐️—typical YA style but funnier than most 😂; very strong Mexican Gothic vibes too!
CHARACTERS—⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
PLOT—⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
BONUS ELEMENT/S—I loved the inspiration drawn from Coptic Christianity in this story and the religiousness of the MC felt really natural and unforced and it was nice to see a Christian represented in a story with none of the religiousness-related flaws—which is similar to Jane Eyre, but I felt that Jane’s religiousness felt a bit forced and came across as moralizing which Andromeda’s never did.
PHILOSOPHY—⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

This book was a really cute and interesting retelling of Jane Eyre. I think the author did a great job of reimagining the main themes as well as the characters from the original while putting a completely different spin on the plot of her retelling. In particular I loved how she mirrored the banter between Mr. R. and Jane in the interactions between Magnus and Andromeda and I actually thought her banter was funnier and more clever—their conversations were some of my favorite parts of the book for sure.

Something I thought was interesting, and may have just been a projection of my own interpretation / opinion of Jane Eyre, was that I think Blackwood split the character of Mr. R. into two characters—Magnus and his father—and all the positive qualities of Mr. R. were in Magnus, while the villainous tendencies (i.e. Mr. R.’s treatment towards Bertha—who I think was supposed to be [REDACTED SPOILER] in this book) were attributed to his father. I actually really liked that and think it worked very well to address the problematic aspects of the original book.

But you definitely don’t need to have read Jane Eyre to read this book though—this book works perfectly well as its own fantasy novel. The magic system was really interesting and I loved Blackwood’s use of Coptic Christianity and the Ethiopian setting as the foundations for her worldbuilding—especially the reimagining of silver Coptic crosses as magical amulets—which is actually what they kind of are in real life so that overlap is really cool.

The second half of the book felt a bit sluggish to me though and I had trouble with the pacing of some of the events but the ending was excellent and I love how everything wrapped up. I would definitely read another book by Blackwood, especially if she continues with more retellings!

“But there was nothing to fear here . . . only memories. Those could only hurt you if you let them.”

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

TW // blood, gore, scary supernatural events, childhood trauma, homelessness,

Further Reading—
- Mexican Gothic, by Silvia Moreno-Garcia
- the Dead Djinn series, by P. Djèlí Clark
- The Haunting of Hill House, by Shirley Jackson

If you like adaptations of classic novels and want to try one that is unique, check out “Within These Wicked Walls” by Lauren Blackwood. The book is an adaptation of Jane Eyre and there is a Mr. Rochester, but the story is set in Ethiopia. The Jane character is named Andromeda and she is a debtera (exorcist, artisan, healer, spiritualist) who has been hired to cleanse the castle owned Magnus Rochester; a task that ten previous debtera failed to complete. Magnus has been cursed by the Evil Eye and the curse affects the castle as well -- the walls bleed at times, the castle is chronically cold (out of place in the Ethiopian desert), and there are strange creatures in the house, the most terrifying and dangerous of which is the hyena.

Andromeda gets rid of the manifestations by crafting amulets particular to the manifestation. However, while cleansing some parts of the castle is not particularly difficult, defeating the Evil Eye is a much greater challenge than anything she has ever experienced or witnessed. It was delightful reading about her using a welding pen to carve a silver disk to match the pattern in her mind specific to the manifestation she was cleansing. The interactions between Andromeda and Magnus (Mr. Rochester) are quite enjoyable, as are those involving Saba (whose role I will leave the reader to discover) and Jember (Andromeda's mentor/father figure). Andromeda has had a rough and challenging upbringing that has left her with a fierceness and determination, but yet she also has an optimism that belies her circumstances (and annoys Jember). The manifestations are almost all nameless entities, but one of the more powerful, challenging, and amusing manifestations is "The Librarian." Among her activities is throwing books at people and leaving books open to specific passages -- including on one occasion a passage from "Jane Eyre." "Within These Wicked Walls" was a fun and interesting read; I would definitely recommend it.

I received a copy of the e-book via NetGalley in exchange for a review.

4.5 stars. I loved this Ethiopian-inspired fantasy retelling of Jane Eyre. It has gore, romance, rooms filled with blood, books that attack, everything you could ask for.

Andromeda is desperate to make a living after having been kicked out of her home by the abusive man that raised her. She is a debtera, someone who cleanses homes from the Evil Eye. She takes on an impossible job that no one else has dared to touch. When she meets her handsome new employer, she slowly learns that her task is much harder than she imagined and that her boss is hiding more than he let on.

I loved Andromeda’s character. She’s tough, funny, and very determined. Magnus was great too, slow to recognize how spoiled he is, but ready to charm Andi’s socks off. Their relationship was very insta-lovey, which is probably my only critique of this novel. Otherwise, I loved it!

I also liked that the reader is eased into the story, rather than provided with lots of info-dumping and world-building. The world-building is there, but it’s gradual.

I will read anything else that Lauren Blackwood decides to write!

Thanks to Netgalley and St. Martin’s Press for this amazing digital ARC.

This was a delight to read! I picked it up and could not put it down until I finished! The fantasy aspects with the amulets were so interesting and I loved the moments between Jember and Andromeda! However, most of the characters felt very one-dimensional and honestly fell very flat for me. I enjoyed the Andromeda and Magnus moments because I'm a sucker for cute romance, but it felt very insta-love which is not great. In the end, it's fun, quick read that'll pick you right out of a reading slump!