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allingoodtime's review against another edition
hopeful
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
The beginning of this book reads like a classic gothic romance. I both loved and hated that. I enjoyed the feelings it evoked. The strange house, foggy grounds, eclectic residents, strange specters…all things that pulled me into the story. And while I enjoy the rhythm and sound of the ornamental words used in such stories, it got to be a bit too wordy at times. This author already gets wordy, so that’s saying a lot.
Of course, Vane Cynster is wonderful. Known for his cool head, Patience really tries his patience. The way this author uses character names I have no doubt her name was picked for a reason. I love Patience in many ways, but she’s a stubborn one!
There is heat between Vane and Patience, but it never really coalesced into fire. That was disappointing. The couple is meant for each other, yet something was missing to give it that final push to the passion I was expecting.
While I was invested in Patience and Vane finding their way to each other and learning to communicate their wants and needs, the conflict in this story is pretty low stakes for most of the book. The cast of characters is staying in the country in a huge house with ruins on the grounds. There is a writer, an artist, a widow and her teenage daughter, a scholar and his fanatically religious sister, etc. You get the picture. Someone has been stealing trinkets, nothing of value monetarily but sometimes of sentimental value. Minnie, Vane’s godmother and the estate owner is a collector of strays. She takes in people and enjoys having many personalities around her. But that makes the mystery all the more difficult to solve.
I felt it was too far into the book before Patience was able to meet the other Cynsters. I missed their easy camaraderie and witty banter. I wouldn’t say the book was a disappointment overall; it is still an interesting story and kept me engaged. I wasn’t fully happy with the story though. It remains to be seen if it will affect my reading of the series overall if this book is skipped since there isn’t a lot of Cynster interaction.
Content Warnings
Minor: Violence