Young woman with no home and no job prospects stumbles across an unusual private school in a remote area. She's offered a position for a trial period and begins a "will they or won't they" relationship with the enigmatic headmaster. There's also a ghostly presence roaming the grounds. Extremely slow pacing had me struggling to stay interested.

An amazing gothic romance with dark academia-vibes that will have you lighting candles and searching for ghosts at your old high school.

This is my tenth Tiffany Reisz book, and even 10 years later this story is still as fresh and relevant as ever.

The writing is so compelling, I couldn't stop turning the page to find out what happened next. All the characters are so well thought out, and used with a knife-like precision, exactly when and where they are needed. Nothing feels wasted.

For a gothic romance, the banter was light and fun. I fell in love with our MMC immediately, as does our FMC. While this is more of a plot-forward book, the spice is top tier.

The ending was so satisfying that it made me want to go back to the beginning and start again.

I love the idea of adding illustrations into the updated version. It's a trend I'm very excited about from other authors too.

Thank you to NetGalley and 8th Circle Press for the ARC.

This book is best read while searching for a hidden door in a gothic library.

On the road to Chicago, a chance encounter leads Gwen Ashby to the remote William Marshall Academy. Immediately charmed by the intelligent, boisterous students and attracted to the stern headmaster, Edwin Yorke, she convinces him to give her a one-week teaching trial. Little does she know, this quaint boarding school holds secrets beyond the classroom.

This book defied my expectations, which was both good and bad at times. I saw the cover for this 10th anniversary printing and fell in love with the Nancy Drew meets dark academia vibes. I was a bit surprised then that the tone of the writing was more or less what one would expect in any modern rom com novel. The setting is definitely academic, but the dark academia elements are mainly found only in the final chapters.

I was also surprised by the extensive references to and discussion of literature. Things feel pretty erudite at times for a novella billed as erotica.

Which brings us to the final thing that defied my expectations. I thought the the sex scenes in an erotica novel would be... sexier. The scenes were fine, but fairly vanilla and not particularly titillating.

This novella is an interesting choice for any romance reader looking for a little supernatural flavor for spooky season. This gorgeous cover will only be available in print, so look for it on bookstore shelves soon.

This review will be posted to Goodreads and Instagram (@goodquietkitty) on September 1, 2024.

‘The Headmaster’ by Tiffany Reisz is the gothic romance of my dreams. I absolutely love reading old-school gothic romances from the 60s & 70s, the ones that are like 200 pages long & cost $0.75 (according to the cover). You know the ones, with the painted covers featuring a stunning woman in distress running away from some large,looming building. While I had never read the original publishing of The Headmaster, I was immediately taken in by the cover, the summary, & the author (I was already a fan of Reisz’s writing). The vibes are perfect.

Y’all. I read this in one sitting.

It hits all of the standard beats for your classic gothic romance: mystery (definitely), ghosts (maybe?), a large stone building hidden in the forest (set in Appalachia???), a mysterious older man (bonus points for being British), & potential tragedy. But it also brings in contemporary themes & values & oh my god is it great to read something that isn’t just super outdated ideas rooted in Satanic Panic. It’s a perfect marriage of all the things & I would love to read at least 100 more books like this. And the addition of Andrew Shaffer’s illustrations only bring it to a higher level. (I cannot wait to get my hands on a print copy of this 10th edition.)

The story moves quickly & keeps you guessing. The romance is equally lovely & steamy. The characters are all so fleshed out, which is no small feat in a shorter book. Cover to cover, this manages to be an amazing homage to the classic gothic horror romance while also being an amazing contemporary story. Add this to your Autumn/Halloween reading list, save it for a stormy night, tuck in with some tea, & get swept away.

Thank you to NetGalley & 8th Circle Press for providing a digital advanced copy for review. All thoughts & opinions expressed are my own.

The Headmaster by Tiffany Reisz

A beautiful and unique short story that has been re-released for the 10th anniversary.

I was first intrigued by the stunning old fashioned cover ( yeah yeah we all judge by covers) and I wasn’t disappointed.
An unusual story with twists and turns that I didn’t get right until the end . An intriguing quick read , that’s definitely worth picking up .

🧍‍♂️🧍🏻‍♀️friendship
👻a spooky mystery
❤️ love story
🥰found family
🌲mystery and intrigue

Thank you so much to NetGalley and Tiffany Reisz for providing me with a complimentary digital ARC for The Headmaster coming out September 3, 2024. The honest opinions expressed in this review are my own.

This is the first book I’ve read by this author. I was drawn to the cover because I thought it was a gothic story from the 60s or 70s. I didn’t realize it was came out in 2014. But it definitely felt like a gothic story. It was a quick read, but it had a lot going on. I loved the plot! I was definitely waiting for some kind of mysterious twist with the fired teacher, but then the actual twist was a big surprise. I loved it! I would definitely read more books by this author!

I would recommend this book to anyone who enjoys twisty gothic tales!

*3.5

I love a gothic dark academia novel and the cover artwork for the 10th anniversary edition of this book is gorgeous! I’m not a huge fan of insta-love so I did find it a bit cringey that the FMC immediately started throwing herself at the headmaster (who is also her new boss). The mysterious woman in the white dress who walks the school grounds at night added an extra creep factor and there was one illustration in the book that almost made me jump 😭 I suspected the plot twist about halfway through the book and I wished there was just a little more suspense. Smut was nice and sweet.

Thank you to netgalley for the ARC! ✨

I read this book when it was first published 10 years ago, and I couldn't resist reading the updated version, especially with that gorgeous gothic cover! From what I could tell, the revisions mostly include updated references to technology, etc. A solid gothic thriller. It's still not my all-time favorite of Tiffany Reisz's books, but I enjoyed reading it again.

"Nestled in the shadow of the Appalachians is where Gwen Ashby stumbles upon the William Marshall Academy, and she's given a trial position as a literature teacher. The gothic boarding school seems trapped in time yet it feels like home the moment Gwen arrives.

She's charmed by the lovely buildings, bewitched by the eager students...and utterly seduced by the headmaster. Edwin Yorke is noble, handsome and infuriatingly proper. But his tweedy exterior and courtly manners conceal a raw sensual power that Gwen longs to unleash.

It's strangely thrilling to be the only woman on campus - save one other. An eerie white-clad figure roams the grounds by night. She never speaks. She leaves no trace. But this ghostly blight on Gwen's new dream life is the key to the Marshall Academy's mysterious allure.

This 10th Anniversary expanded print edition of Tiffany Reisz's gothic romance The Headmaster is newly updated and expanded, with revised text and black-and-white illustrations throughout."

I mean, just look at the perfection of that cover. Why can't we have more covers like this?

Gwen is on her way to make a change in her life when she crashes into William Marshal Academy what follows is a fast pace short story with a twist ending.

I knew something wasn't what it seemed but the ending wasn't what I expected.

This book was such a good time! It was so fast paced and easy to read! Such a bingeable story and the ending truly blew my mind!

This book was gripping and hard to put down. It didn't feel like everything else you see out there, it felt very fresh. I really enjoyed this book!

Unfortunately I do not really have anything good to say about this book other than it was a book. I did not enjoy the story or the myriad of issues the story had. I was expecting one thing and got something so different it ruined my enjoyment of reading.

This book originally came out in 2014, but it got an upgrade in the edition that I read. Photos were added to the story. I didn't realize this was an erotic romance, I chose it under the thriller & mystery section on Netgalley, so I was surprised when things took a spicy turn. It's also labeled as "horror" and I don't think it's a horror at all. There was a little paranormal mystery and an overall eerie feeling of the school, but nothing very scary or thrilling. I thought the characters were good, and I liked the setting of an all boys boarding school. It's a teacher and headmaster love affair, I was just glad it wasn't teacher and student...👀

Overall, I would recommend if you want to read a quick spicy romance with a little paranormal.

Thank you 8th Circle Press for an advanced copy of this ebook in exchange for an honest review.

This was not my cup of tea ☕

While tea is a multi-meaning term in this story, in my case it was simply not to my liking. This was a very short read that kept me (mostly) occupied for its 125 pages but the writing came off as sophomoric and, for something shelved as erotica, all of the sex scenes seemed to blend into one repetitive, tedious amalgamation.

There are lacking attempts at inclusion, cringey hetero insta love, and a "twist" ending that I sussed out and impatiently waited to come to light.

I picked this eARC up because I was really in the mood for something Gothic, and was drawn to the cover art which is reminiscent of those vintage romance novels with beautiful, gowned, windswept woman with a castle, manor or moor behind them.

I don't usually review books I rate under 3 stars, because I typically DNF books I am not enjoying, but this is an ARC that I requested & read so here we are. I give The Headmaster by Tiffany Reisz 2 stars ⭐⭐

This book may not have worked for me, but after looking at the other reviews on Goodreads and NetGalley it would seem that I am in the minority so please don't let my opinion of this deter you from giving it a go if it is of interest to you.

Thank you 8th Circle Press & NetGalley for this 10th Anniversary Illustrated Edition eARC!

2.5 stars rounded up. This was fine for a quick read with spooky elements and a supernatural twist, but as a romance it was too insta-love/insta-lust for my taste. I was expecting there to be more tension/drama from the dynamics of the relationship (employer/employee, headmaster/new teacher, slight age gap), but Gwen was ready to jump Edwin from the start and Edwin didn't really resist much. Gwen also takes the Gothic heroine to the extreme by making one ridiculous decision after another and missing the glaring red flags about what's actually going on. Overall, not what I would usually expect from a Tiffany Reisz book, but still worth a read if you're willing to suspend disbelief and want a fast, atmospheric read.

Thank you to 8th Circle Press and Netgalley for providing a review copy!

This was a really fun read! I initially requested the arc because of the nostalgic book cover art and the description. It really is such a fun, suspenseful, gothic romance. There was some heat and spice as a bonus!
The story was so unique and the ending caught me be complete surprise. When I finished the book, I was left thinking about the story for days after.
I highly recommend this story!

I've read this book twice now and even on the reread, it still holds up.

This little gothic novella packs such a punch, I swear, I spent a good 10 minutes after finishing it the first time around just staring off into space. I don't know how Tiffany Reisz managed to craft something so beautiful and funny and moving in so few pages, but she has and I'm obsessed.

Gwen is plucky, clever, and confident. The titular headmaster, Edwin, is your stereotypical British hero - prim and proper on the surface, but still waters run deep with that one. The extent of his honor is both a strength and a source of much frustration, but if anything, it just makes him all the more endearing. The boys of the academy are excellently portrayed and each engaging and distinctive in their own right.

And that climax... that last chapter leaves me stunned and in tears every single time.

If you're in the market for a gothic romance that's a quick read with grumpy/sunshine dynamics and dark academia vibes for days, The Headmaster is for you.

Firstly thank you so much Netgalley for gifting this book in exchange for an honest review.

This was a fun little read, I'm unfortunately pretty good at predicting endings and I did so within the first 20% of the book, the details of the ending though did unravel without me predicting them which was nice.
I felt the writing style was easy to read and the spice was a welcome addition. I kind of wish something else was happening at times or there was more spookiness/creepy goings on.

Whew, what a spicy, fun little novella!

I read this 10th anniversary rerelease of The Headmaster, which I believe has a bit more story in it than the original did. Feels very much like modern gothic romance, with maybe a ghost? I enjoyed all the elements, and even though I'm not much for the erotica/romance genres, I found this to be a fun, digestible, paranormal-style read, with some sexy scenes that had me reaching for a glass of ice water a couple times. And even though I was pretty sure I knew what the twist ending was early on, those last couple pages really had me hooked.

Thanks to NetGalley, author Tiffany Reisz, and 8th Circle Press for access to the digital ARC of the book. All opinions are my own.