The Cruel Dark
by Bea Northwick
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Pub Date Oct 31 2023 | Archive Date Aug 17 2024
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Description
"Northwick presents a dark love story that sparkles with elements of gothic horror and more modern romance." - Kirkus Reviews
Millicent Foxboro is haunted.
Not by ghosts, but by the anguish of her past and the uncertainty of her future. After all, even in the progressive year of 1928, most people would balk at hiring a woman who’d spent two months in a mental ward for traumatic amnesia. So when an uncommon assistantship to a reclusive Professor of mythology falls into her lap with an ungodly salary attached, her desperation for stability overrides her cautious nature.
To Millie’s dismay, the widowed Professor Callum Hughes and his estate, Willowfield, are more than she bargained for. The once magnificent home, known for its sprawling gardens and dazzling parties, is falling to pieces after the death of the professor’s fragile wife. What’s more, the staff has been reduced to the only three people not frightened away by rumors of ghosts, leaving the halls empty and languishing in bitter memories.
The professor himself is a grim, intense man with unclear expectations, unpredictable moods, and hungry eyes that ignite Millie’s own dormant passions. The closer she finds herself drawn to Professor Hughes and his strange world of flowers and folklore, the more the house closes in, threatening to reveal her secrets. But the professor is keeping secrets of his own and the most dangerous of all is hers to discover.
Advance Praise
"A haunting and atmospheric work that's likely to captivate genre fans...Northwick presents a dark love story that sparkles with elements of gothic horror and more modern romance." - Kirkus Reviews
"Northwick conjures a compelling mystery in the classic gothic mode, with intriguing characters and a crumbling estate brought to vivid life by the assured prose...sumptuous, jolting, and occasionally—like Willowfield's gardens—blooming with hope." - Publisher's Weekly BookLife
"Northwick delivers a superb work that blends romance, mystery, and the supernatural...with twists and turns that hold the reader captive and wanting more." - BookLife Prize
"Blending themes from both Rebecca and My Cousin Rachel (Daphne du Maurier), the author delivers the pervasive suspense that grips readers of Gothic fiction." - Regency Chronicle
Available Editions
| EDITION | Ebook |
| ISBN | 9198988473800 |
| PRICE | $3.99 (USD) |
| PAGES | 255 |
Links
Available on NetGalley
Featured Reviews
Lauren K, Librarian
The genre of this is hard to pin down. It is undoubtedly romance and gothic historical fiction, but there are other vibes: some thriller, some horror, and a feeling of the paranormal. The twists and turns kept me guessing, and while I had figured out pieces, I was still surprised at how masterfully it all came together.
I am not a huge thriller fan, but one of my book clubs loves thrillers, and I think this would be an excellent book for them! Although the spice level may change our typical discussions...
This book had intense Beauty and the Beast vibes, with a bit of Jane Eyre and Rebecca thrown in for good measure.
I am excited to read whatever Bea Northwick puts out next!
Thank you to Victory Editing Net Galley Co-op and Net Galley for the eARC! All opinions are my own.
Kristie W, Reviewer
This book was haunting, terrifying, and completely exciting. I was drawn in from the very start, and brought to Willowfield with Millie as she embarked upon this new chapter. The darkness was done so well in this book, hidden secrets and motives. Hidden character traits and agendas. I loved watching Callum fall for Millie, and her for him. The entire house made everything feel so sinister, and I couldn't decide whether to root for Calllum or not. I did not expect things to unfold the way they did in the end, holy wow!!! So good though!!!
Emily O, Reviewer
ℝ𝕒𝕥𝕚𝕟𝕘: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ | 𝔽𝕠𝕣𝕞𝕒𝕥: 𝐸-𝐵𝑜𝑜𝓀 & 𝒜𝓊𝒹𝒾𝑜𝒷𝑜𝑜𝓀
ℝ𝕖𝕧𝕚𝕖𝕨: 𝐓𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐛𝐨𝐨𝐤 𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐚 𝐭𝐚𝐝 𝐬𝐥𝐨𝐰 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐦𝐞 𝐛𝐮𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐧 𝐛𝐞𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐈 𝐤𝐧𝐞𝐰 𝐢𝐭, 𝐈 𝐜𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝𝐧’𝐭 𝐩𝐮𝐭 𝐢𝐭 𝐝𝐨𝐰𝐧! 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐲𝐭𝐞𝐥𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐢𝐬 𝐭𝐫𝐮𝐥𝐲 𝐰𝐞𝐥𝐥 𝐝𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐨𝐧𝐞, 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐝𝐞𝐬𝐜𝐫𝐢𝐩𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬, 𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐫𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐬, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐬𝐞𝐭𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐠𝐢𝐯𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐦𝐞 𝐚 𝐦𝐨𝐝𝐞𝐫𝐧𝐢𝐳𝐞𝐝 𝐉𝐚𝐧𝐞 𝐀𝐮𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐧 𝐯𝐢𝐛𝐞.
𝐈’𝐦 𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐬𝐮𝐫𝐞 𝐡𝐨𝐰 𝐭𝐨 𝐜𝐥𝐚𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐟𝐲 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐛𝐨𝐨𝐤—𝐢𝐭’𝐬 𝐚 𝐛𝐥𝐞𝐧𝐝 𝐨𝐟 𝐝𝐚𝐫𝐤 𝐚𝐜𝐚𝐝𝐞𝐦𝐢𝐚, 𝐫𝐨𝐦𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐞, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐩𝐚𝐫𝐚𝐧𝐨𝐫𝐦𝐚𝐥—𝐚 𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐟𝐞𝐜𝐭 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐝 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐩𝐨𝐨𝐤𝐲 𝐬𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐨𝐧! 𝐀𝐟𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐟𝐢𝐧𝐢𝐬𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐢𝐭, 𝐈 𝐢𝐦𝐦𝐞𝐝𝐢𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐥𝐲 𝐰𝐚𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐨 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐝 𝐦𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐛𝐲 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐚𝐮𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐫 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐰𝐚𝐬 𝐬𝐮𝐫𝐩𝐫𝐢𝐬𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐨 𝐬𝐞𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐥𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐚𝐬 𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐟𝐢𝐫𝐬𝐭 𝐛𝐨𝐨𝐤 𝐨𝐧 𝐆𝐨𝐨𝐝𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐬. 𝐓𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐢𝐬 𝐚 𝐠𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐭 𝐬𝐩𝐢𝐜𝐲 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐝 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐬𝐞 𝐰𝐡𝐨 𝐰𝐚𝐧𝐭 𝐦𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐧 𝐫𝐨𝐦𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐨𝐟 𝐚 𝐬𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐲—𝐈 𝐟𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐮𝐬𝐩𝐞𝐧𝐬𝐞 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐬𝐩𝐨𝐨𝐤𝐲 𝐬𝐢𝐝𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐛𝐨𝐨𝐤 𝐦𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐩𝐞𝐥𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐫𝐨𝐦𝐚𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐜 𝐬𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐲𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐞.
𝐀𝐧 𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐫𝐢𝐠𝐮𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐝𝐞𝐛𝐮𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐈 𝐫𝐞𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐝! 𝐈 𝐞𝐧𝐣𝐨𝐲𝐞𝐝 𝐡𝐨𝐰 𝐢𝐭 𝐰𝐚𝐬 𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐲 𝐝𝐢𝐟𝐟𝐞𝐫𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐧 𝐚𝐧𝐲𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐞𝐥𝐬𝐞 𝐈’𝐯𝐞 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐝 𝐫𝐞𝐜𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐥𝐲.
𝐻𝓊𝑔𝑒 𝓉𝒽𝒶𝓃𝓀 𝓎𝑜𝓊 𝓉𝑜 𝐵𝑒𝒶 𝒩𝑜𝓇𝓉𝒽𝓌𝒾𝒸𝓀, 𝒱𝒾𝒸𝓉𝑜𝓇𝓎 𝐸𝒹𝒾𝓉𝒾𝓃𝑔, 𝒶𝓃𝒹 𝒩𝑒𝓉𝒢𝒶𝓁𝓁𝑒𝓎 𝒻𝑜𝓇 𝓉𝒽𝑒 𝒜𝑅𝒞! 𝒜𝓁𝓁 𝑜𝓅𝒾𝓃𝒾𝑜𝓃𝓈 𝒶𝓇𝑒 𝓂𝓎 𝑜𝓌𝓃.
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