I loved every second of this!! I could not breathe until I finished reading it, I stayed up all night! Gothic romance is usually one of my top genres, and this really out did itself.

I said it once, but It needs to be said two or three times more. This story is beautiful, the imagery is stunning, the characters are demential.

Thank you NetGalley for the ARC.

Thank you Netgalley and the publisher for this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

I think this would have been more of a 4 star read for me but the pacing felt off and for this type of book I did not need such a slowly developed character build.

Definite Gothic fantasy, spooky October, rainy day season vibes.

The first 50% of this book was difficult for me to read, there were weird spelling moments, and the pacing was super slow.

I did feel the suspense though which is good!

Wow what a twist! I completely went into this expecting one ending and was left so surpised at what we got!

I personally found the first 70% this book hard to read, especially when on the first the FMC calls someone "the stoopid owner" in exactly that spelling - and it just lost me.
I do understand however that this book is set in the 1920s and that maybe this was international to relate to the time period?
I also found the pacing itself and the character building to be very slow - like there was just no personal attachment to anyone in this book at all and although this is clarified eventually, it did make it a slow read for me. I just didn't find myself reaching for this book.

I did really enjoy the mystery and the paranormal aspects to the story however! And this isn't typically a genre I'd read so I was pleasantly surprised to enjoy a little bit of it this time.

I definitely think that this would be a 5 star read for me with a little change of pace and more depth to the characters - if you enjoyed Verity, then this gives off those vibes!

Thanks to netgalley and Bea Northwick for this ARC in exchange for my honest feedback

3.5/4

I actually really enjoyed this book. I went in partially blind as it had been a while since I read the blurb and I was pleasantly surprised.

Perfect book for those who like to read specific books around Halloween or once the dark, cold and rainy nights are here thanks to its gothic vibes.

Whilst I enjoyed the plot, mystery and the twists and turns, I can't say I completely fell in love with the characters and it did take me a little while to get into but overall, I liked it and would probably read it again.

Thank you to Victory Editing NetGalley Co-Op for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I really liked this book!

I thought that the book had a great storyline and it had me hooked.

There is suspense, drama, romance and it is a sexy story too.

The book had everything I look for in this genre - twists and turns - just brilliant!

It is 5 stars from me for this one - very highly recommended!

The Cruel Dark is a dark fantasy with beautiful Victorian gothic languange that paints a picture as you read. Whereas I loved this book's writing style, and found the descriptions/prose poetic, eerie and fantastical - all attributes that I devour in gothic literature, I did find by 50% of the book, when the plot had not progressed, that this was not enough alone to hold my interest.

However, that is not to say that this wouldn't appeal to other readers. I can imagine reading it on a cold stormy night, warm drink next to me, a roaring fire if I was lucky, and be swept away with this novel. It needs the time to be savoured. I, I'm afraid, am a devourer, and it just wasn't quick enough paced for my tastes.

If you've got the time to snuggle up with a Gothic fantasy this spooky season, I would say give this one a go! However, if you were looking for something with a bit more of a snappy bite that takes you by the throat, than this isn't the type of gothic novel for you.

This book was... kind of a rollercoaster. I liked the beginning a lot. The book did the whole "creepy house, eerie vibes" thing really well and I liked the horror scenes. The romance, not so much. It felt like their relationship was only physical, just lust between them. And then they just both basically expected the other to want more than that, with no indication whatsoever.

I was ready to dislike the book, and I did, somewhere in the middle. But the end managed to change my mind, because I enjoyed the whole last part a lot. Looking at the other reviews, it seems I'm the only one who didn't guess the conclusion, haha. So 3 stars it is. In the end, I did enjoy reading this book, I just wish the romance was written more in a way where I feel like they're actually falling in love with each other.

So when I read the blurb was this I was like yes absolutely, sounds very Crimson Peak inspired! And on that it delivered, perhaps a little too much. I felt like I had already read the story as it unraveled. I’d picked out parts of the ending but I’m glad some parts felt a bit different but all in all it just felt too similar for me.

I liked the relationship with Millie and Callum and how all the pieces fit together in the end to finish the story. The gothic tone was there and the spook factor was great. I think if I didn’t already know Crimson Peak this would have absolutely hit the mark for me!

Thanks to NetGalley and Victory Editing NetGalley Co-op for the arc! All opinions are my own honest ones.

Millicent Foxboro is ensnared by her past and the looming shadows of her future, not by spectral apparitions. In the progressive year of 1928, the stigma of her two-month stay in a mental institution for traumatic amnesia makes job prospects bleak. When an unusual assistantship with a reclusive Professor of mythology, complete with an enticing salary, presents itself, her need for stability pushes her to take the plunge. However, she quickly realizes that the widowed Professor Callum Hughes and his decaying estate, Willowfield, are far more complex than she anticipated. Once a vibrant hub of life and laughter, the grand home now languishes in disrepair, haunted by the memory of the professor's late wife. With only three staff members remaining, the atmosphere is thick with unease, and the professor himself is a brooding figure, his intense gaze stirring feelings within Millie that she thought were long buried. As she delves deeper into his enigmatic world of flora and folklore, the walls of Willowfield seem to close in, threatening to unearth her hidden truths, while the professor harbors secrets of his own, the most perilous of which is hers to uncover.

This book was captivating and I couldn’t put it down.

What a perfect, spooky read to get ready for fall! This reminded me of Rebecca mixed with Crimson Peak. The setting and atmosphere was everything! (I was not expecting the spice given the era this book was set in.) The only negative thing for me was the ending left a few gray areas.

*ARC received from Netgalley - all opinions are my own*

TL;DR: An intriguing blend of genres that will stir your mind, send chills down your spine, and perhaps even bring a flush to your cheeks! The Cruel Dark is ideal for those seeking a slower-paced story centred on dark romance with a touch of horror. Highly recommended!

| 3.5-stars

Review:
I picked up The Cruel Dark without fully knowing what to expect, and I'm glad I did! This novel is an intriguing blend of dark romance, paranormal elements, and horror—a mix I didn't anticipate but thoroughly enjoyed, especially as someone who typically avoids horror or thriller type genres.

The story starts off a bit slow, but I can see why; it does a good job of establishing the atmosphere and setting the pace for what's to come. There were moments in the middle where things got a bit confusing, but it all comes together by the end, with the author skillfully pulling you into the protagonist's mindset and having you second guessing your own thoughts and realities of what’s real and what’s not.

For a debut novel, I think it's impressive! While it didn’t completely captivate me, I enjoyed it enough that I’m looking forward to seeing Nothwick’s future releases!

Excellent book absolutely awesome full of suspense action intrigue and emotion, very intense pressure, great reading loved the characters. I recommend to everyone to read this book its awesome.

This book is a huge yes for me! I love all aspects about the book, it’s got spicy romance and a haunted manor full of secrets and lots of stories to tell. This book had be so enthralled that I didn’t even see the twist at the end coming! I highly recommend!

This book was terrifying exciting and engaging. It was a hunted and quick reading that drawn me in from the start. The atmosphere, the secrets and the motives were all so well done that I felt hunted too, and like millie, I fallen for Callum too!

I am utterly floored that this is a debut novel. I devoured this in less than a day, I literally could not put it down. The writing is gripping, while still beautiful. Tense and creepy but still good-humored when needed.

This book was enjoyable, super short and easy to get through. But I did find that it fell a bit flat, maybe because it was so short (and that didn’t give me enough time to care about these characters).

There’s a spooky house, cool folklore, dark academia vibes, mysterious secrets…all the ingredients to make something really cool and spooky.

And some scenes felt very out of nowhere, mainly because the two main characters felt very insta-love/insta-lust. Their relationship felt very random to me.

Jane Eyre or Rebecca vibes.

Unfortunately, the plot twists weren’t that twisty because I could guess them pretty accurately.

The murder mystery mixed with the gothic folklore was a really cool combination that could’ve been used to push this book to a whole other level. The volume just needed to be turned up a bit.

Thanks to NetGalley for a digital copy of this book in exchange for my honest review! My review is up on Goodreads and my TikTok (Zoe_Lipman) review will be up at the end of the month with my monthly wrap-up.

Not my usual type of read but still enjoyed. Gothic horror doesn’t normally grab my attention but this book did!

4.5/5

When I requested this book, I only saw the month and day of the publishing date...
And apparently it's 2024, not 2023, so this book has long been published. Even better, it was already on my tbr on Amazon.
But thank you NetGalley for letting me read it anyway.

So here we are, on to my review.
I just jumped in, not knowing what I was going in to. And I am glad. I don't normally do mystery/thrillers but I really loved this one.

Callum going all feral over Millie didn't seem weird to me, I mean, I've read shorter timeliness for that so I just went with it.

I think *because* I don't typically read the genre, I didn't see the twists and turns as well as others who do. So naturally I was constantly "looking around the corners" trying to figure it all out.

I would reread this book again, looking for clues that have to be there that I might have missed. I also just loved the overall vibe.
I'll definitely be recommending this book to friends who are into the genre. (Or maybe not even into it.)

I enjoyed this book.
I will admit I kinda guessed what was going on in the beginning, but it still made a good read.
The twists were done well, and added another layer to the mystery.
I do wish there had been a bit more of our two main lovers but it makes sense why too much was not given away.
I really like the portrayal of Professor Callum, he’s too dreamy! Part of me wanted to see more of him being an asshole.
The darkness is done quite well too. I found myself picturing these scenes and feeling like I was there witnessing everything first hand.

Rated 3.5 because it’s something that’s been done before and it’s easy to predict.