A quick, easy read. Nothing groundbreaking, but good for fans of Jane Eyre or Mexican Gothic. It lacked development of the relationship between the two MCs so it felt very rushed when things escalated. That can be somewhat explained away with the ending, but it would have been nice to see the relationship grow a little on the page.

I loved this one! Especially for a debut novel this is truly amazing and very well executed. The world building is very interesting and atmospheric and I’m a huge fan of the mystery part! The book took so many twists and turns and I didn’t expect all of them, which made it even better. Truly great, go read it!

Wow I never expected the book to take such a turn!
For a debut book it was amazing, the twists and turns and all the mystery was astonishing! It reminded me a bit of a “haunting of hill house” with some romantic twist to it.
The hauntings and stories of ghosts are what kept me really going, are they real? Are they the main characters imagination? Is she going crazy? Guess you’ll have to read and find out for yourself the truth.

I LOVED THIS BOOK.

A little bit spooky. Gorgeous prose. An exhilarating romance. Amazing tension. Unexpected twists. A spooky manor house. An FMC who loves books and fairytales.

It was phenomenal.

The scene setting had me melting throughout. The descriptions of Willowfield were soothing for my soul (even with the minor horror element throughout). The plot unravels in a way I never saw coming, and I love how the author incorporates so many possibilities that it keeps you guessing.

I'm going to try to keep this review short because I think you should just read this book. If you love suspense, romance, some great spice, and/or gothic fiction, this is a wonderful read.

"𝓘 𝓵𝓲𝓴𝓮 𝓼𝓽𝓸𝓻𝓲𝓮𝓼 𝔀𝓲𝓽𝓱 𝓪𝓷 𝓮𝓵𝓮𝓶𝓮𝓷𝓽 𝓸𝓯 𝓽𝓱𝓻𝓲𝓵𝓵, 𝓮𝓿𝓮𝓷 𝓪 𝓫𝓲𝓽 𝓸𝓯 𝓱𝓸𝓻𝓻𝓸𝓻. 𝓕𝓪𝓲𝓻𝔂 𝓽𝓪𝓵𝓮𝓼 𝓱𝓪𝓿𝓮 𝓹𝓵𝓮𝓷𝓽𝔂 𝓸𝓯 𝓫𝓸𝓽𝓱 𝓾𝓼𝓾𝓪𝓵𝓵𝔂. 𝓘𝓽'𝓼 𝓮𝓪𝓼𝔂 𝓽𝓸 𝓮𝓷𝓳𝓸𝔂 𝓽𝓱𝓲𝓷𝓰𝓼 𝓵𝓲𝓴𝓮 𝓽𝓱𝓪𝓽 𝔀𝓱𝓮𝓷 𝔂𝓸𝓾 𝓬𝓪𝓷 𝓳𝓾𝓼𝓽 𝓬𝓵𝓸𝓼𝓮 𝓽𝓱𝓮 𝓬𝓸𝓿𝓮𝓻 𝓪𝓷𝔂𝓽𝓲𝓶𝓮 𝓪𝓷𝓭 𝓫𝓮 𝓼𝓪𝓯𝓮."

"You don't know the dangers of this game you're playing,
Millie."

"You shine a light in this dark house, Miss Foxboro. I pray you let nothing extinguish it."

What a wonderful book! Dark and complicated and gothic and spicy and addicting!! So so good!! I loved it!!! I don’t know if I loved the dark gothic vibes more of the complex shape the characters took while they were acting in the story. A young woman who becomes the assistant of a professor in an old house hunted by who knows which spirits inspired by the Gaelic folklore! This book was full of darkness, trauma, pain, suffering and also romance with some of my favourite tropes: forced proximity, enemies to lovers, constant banter and undeniable attraction that won’t be easy to fight off. Millie was such a sweet and caring character and I instantly loved her and could emphasise with her. I honestly would have fallen for him too, in her shoes. And Callum … I don’t know if I liked him more as the “professor” or as the man who lost a wife he loved desperately and he has some secrets I can’t wait to unfold !! And the spicy scenes !!! Oh goodness me, how good they were !!! I have had the best time getting through this book and I honestly wish I could read more !!!

"I warned you not to start a war with me." He guided his thumb in an achingly slow arch. "I should stop right now to punish you for being impertinent."

"Keep watching, kitten."

"I've been trying my best not to give in to my worst impulses and defile you to within an inch of your life despite the many opportunities you've offered, and you're angry with me?"

Holy shit this was incredible. I love a mysterious, gothic romance, and this just might be one of my favorites. The twist at the end!! Some other reviewers said they saw it coming but I definitely did not. Also, the writing was absolutely phenomenal. I never would've guessed this was the authors debut. Easy 5 stars. Thank you Netgalley for the ARC!

What a wild ride! This story had me absolutely captivated from beginning to end.

This story follows Millie Foxboro a quiet assistant bookseller with a mysterious past as she ventures to the enchanting but near abandoned Willowfield Manor to help Professor Callum Hughes with his work on the malevolent fae. When the stories of the deceased mistress of the manor begin to haunt Millie as well it's up to her to determine what's real and who can be trusted.

My first foray into gothic romance there were some parts that were a little spooky and I had to put the book down while reading alone at night. I couldn't help picking it right back up the next morning however!

I really enjoyed the writing style and storyline, there were so many twists and turns, and I can't wait to read the book again.

Thank you Net Galley for the eARC in exchange for an honest review.

𝓣𝓱𝓮 𝓒𝓻𝓾𝓮𝓵 𝓓𝓪𝓻𝓴
𝒷𝓎: 𝐵𝑒𝒶 𝒩𝑜𝓇𝓉𝒽𝓌𝒾𝒸𝓀

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5
🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️

“𝐼 𝓉𝒽𝒾𝓃𝓀 𝒶𝓁𝓁 𝑜𝒻 𝓊𝓈 𝓌𝒽𝑜 𝒽𝒶𝓋𝑒 𝒽𝒶𝒹 𝒹𝑒𝑒𝓅 𝒽𝓊𝓇𝓉𝓈 𝒾𝓃 𝑜𝓊𝓇 𝓁𝒾𝒻𝑒 𝓃𝑒𝓋𝑒𝓇 𝑒𝓈𝒸𝒶𝓅𝑒 𝓉𝒽𝑒 𝒶𝓃𝑔𝑒𝓇 𝒾𝓉 𝒾𝓃𝓈𝓅𝒾𝓇𝑒𝓈. 𝐼𝓉 𝓈𝒾𝓂𝓅𝓁𝓎 𝓂𝑒𝓁𝒹𝓈 𝒾𝓃𝓉𝑜 𝓉𝒽𝑒 𝓅𝑒𝑜𝓅𝓁𝑒 𝓌𝑒 𝒷𝑒𝒸𝑜𝓂𝑒, 𝒶𝓃𝒹 𝓈𝑜𝓂𝑒𝓉𝒾𝓂𝑒𝓈 𝓉𝒶𝓀𝑒𝓈 𝓉𝒽𝑒 𝓈𝒽𝒶𝓅𝑒 𝑜𝒻 𝓈𝑜𝓂𝑒𝓉𝒽𝒾𝓃𝑔 𝓃𝑒𝓌 𝒶𝓃𝒹 𝓊𝓃𝑒𝓍𝓅𝑒𝒸𝓉𝑒𝒹, 𝓁𝒾𝓀𝑒 𝒸𝑜𝓊𝓇𝒶𝑔𝑒.”

This review is a little different because I simply cannot choose my favorite character! Once I finished the book it changed, and so I just don’t want to pick 🤷🏼‍♀️

I had no IDEA what was coming in this book! I thought we were dealing with all kinds of supernatural, and I truly could not pin point what it was.

The twists were fantastic, and I’m truly obsessed!

The flow of the writing, the mystery, the spice!!! I can’t wait to read more from this author!

Thank you NetGalley for this EARC!

Posting this review on Instagram, Amazon, Goodreads, and anywhere else I can. Reviews linked now.

Thank you NetGalley and Bea Northwick for the ARC of “The Cruel Dark”!! I loved everything about this book!! From the beauty and the beast feel to the gothic overlay!! You’ll find mystery, slow burn romance, Spicceeee, tragic death and more in this book!! It is one I’d highly recommend to add to your TBR!!!

Okay, now this ARC is something I can totally get on board with! This book was absolutely fantastic, and I owe a big thank you to Net Galley for hooking me up with this ARC, even though the book is also on Kindle Unlimited! It has everything I look for in a book - it's dark, spicy, a slow burn, thrilling, and a bit of horror to top it off. My goodness, Bea Northwick really knocked it out of the park with this one. I felt like I was aimlessly wandering the halls of Willowfield, soaking in its spooky vibes. I was completely mesmerized by the dark and tantalizing atmosphere of Willowfield. And that twist at the end? Mind-blowing! Who would've seen that coming, right? Let me just say, this will definitely not be the last book I pick up by Bea Northwick. I can't wait to dive into more of her work. What a stellar debut! And, let's be honest, even though Professor Callum is a fictional character, I couldn't help but be drawn to him. He's just so enchanting! (I think "enchanting" is my new favorite word now). He might just be my new book crush! I'll definitely read this book again in the fall, during the haunting month of October, because it really gives me those cozy yet spooky vibes. If you're a fan of gothic romance with an extra kick, I highly suggest adding this book to your to-be-read list, folks.

This digital ARC was obtainable via NetGalley for an honest review.

Wow. When I say I am shocked I truly am! "The Cruel Dark" began as a haunted, gothic, slow burn romance (what a mouthful) but it's true form is being a good ole mystery. Towards the end I started to make some guesses. I was very close however I did not predict the most important part and I am so surprised. Now, I feel like I have to reread this story all over.

Dark, brooding, and Gothic mystery - shades of Jane Eyre hover, but just enough to whet the appetite for the tangled and dark tale. Quite the twists you may not see coming, makes for a gripping read with a satisfying end.

Thank you to @netgalley and @victoryeditingngc for giving me a free copy of this book in exchange for my honest thoughts.

This book is a little out of the norm for what I like to read. I tend to stick with fantasy and contemporary romance over the darker more gothic vibes. But this book seemed too good to pass up and I’m so glad I gave it a chance.

This book is gothic and dark, it has Dark Academia and is filled with many mysteries that are begging to be solved. Not only do you not know what happened to the previous lady of the household, but our FMC has lost chunks of her life, memories that have vanished.

She gets a temporary job by working with a reclusive professor and helping him organize his notes and research on fae creatures, benevolent and malevolent alike. He is mourning his lost love, and yet sparks fly as his new assistant starts to challenge him.

Spirits haunt the halls of the manor and refuse to leave our FMC alone, trying to chase her out of the house and prevent her from unraveling the threads of the household.

This book had so many twists and turns and I didn’t see them coming! My jaw dropped at the end of the book as everything came to a head and I’m smacking myself for not catching some of those plot points sooner. The author did well at weaving in hints without spoiling anything.

The chemistry between our MCs was magnetic and I loved watching them grow closer to each other.

Overall, such a great read and I even listened to the audiobook version narrated by @theo_and_madi and let’s just say Madi’s voice saying “Yes Professor” was FABULOUS.

I did enjoy this book. At first, it seemed like a very conventional story but it had some interesting twists and turns. The house seemed like a character in the book. Overall, I enjoyed the book.

Millie Foxboro works in a bookshop in 1920s east coast America, she has a troubled past with traumatic amnesia with time spent in a mental institution. The bookshop owner is thinking about retiring and she's offered a short term job with a collegiate Professor Callum Hughes to help him sort his paperwork on various mythological characters and stories from Ireland essentially. The salary is very attractive. She turns up at the once magnificent estate, Willowfield, now going to rack and ruin. three staff only to find Hughes is not the grumpy elderly widower she expected but a reclusive, virile widower in his 30s. OK we know some of what will now happen, and it does, in spades. The house is gothic, built by his grandfather and the descriptions live up to this. The staff are spooky, of course. The death of Callum's wife is haunting him although doesn't stop him chasing after Millie in some decidedly raunchy scenes. Millie keeps seeing apparitions and the whole story becomes even more spooky. Can't really say much more without releasing spoilers! Well written with excellent descriptions, characters a bit predictable though, definitively raunchy scenes which might be too much for some readers and didn't always feel 1920s but who really knows now. 3.5* rounded up. Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an advance copy.

Oh my goodness, the twists and turns! 😱

Millie gets a job assisting a professor in organizing his research in his dilapidated estate. As time goes on, she learns more about his and the home's past. What is real? What is in her mind?

I had zero idea how this would end. Just as you think you're on to things, there's a curveball. Wow! So much in a relatively short book. The writing is descriptive and allows you to feel like you are watching things unfold.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an eARC of this book for an honest review.

This took a little while to get going and the beginning of the book felt a bit like a slog but once it got going it really flew.

This was a perfectly gothic story that had such vivid imagery throughout that I found myself holding my breath at points.

The last 15% of this book really surprised me, it took some twists and turns that I really didn’t see coming and kept me feverishly reading until I reached the end.

This book had a great plot with intriguing characters. I’ll definitely be looking out for more from this author.

Gladly I have to ask.. What did I read?? I love it so so much, the book really surprised and it was so interesting, the story really was hard to let go and all the mystery involving Millie and Callum and the house and the characters.. Some parts were predictable but not others and the chemistry between them was amazing obviously that the end also bring all the answers we needed and the ghosts were just her mind working to help her.. But I liked the mystic part or at least the mentioned of it

Millie Foxboro is haunted, she doesn’t remember the last few years of her life after her parent’s deaths.
Professor Hughes is a widower, living out on his large estate.
Dr Hannigan met Millie in the bookshop in Boston where she was working.
Little did Millie know he already knew who she was. Both Millie and Professor Hughes have many secrets! Time to find out what they are!

This book kept me up reading all night! I had to put it down only because I needed sleep for work. Otherwise I would have finished it in one go!
The journey of Millie kept me on my toes from beginning to end and it was not the ending I expected.
It was easy to fall in love with the characters from Willowfield estate.

Even the most loveable characters have some interesting secrets they are hiding!

I would highly recommend this book, the writing was seamless! Be mindful though if you are not open to spicy scenes as there are quite a few! Well written, suspenseful, mysterious and a little bit spicy!