Reviews with content warning for Murder - Maddalena and the Dark

Addie LaRue meets The Last Tale of The Flower Bride in this decadently rich and atmospheric tale of desire, ambition, obsession and betrayal that slow-burn, gothic fantasy lovers are sure to enjoy.

If you’ve followed my reviews for a while, you’ll know that I’m a sucker for a good gothic (or gothic adjacent) novel , so couldn’t pass up the chance to read Maddalena and The Dark—especially when the setting is as lush, and darkly lyrical as this was.

Set against the opulent backdrop of 18th C Venice, we follow the lives (and alternating POVs) of two fifteen year old girls Maddalena, the charismatic daughter of a Venetian nobleman, and Luisa, an orphan and longtime resident of convent and famed music conservatory, Ospedale della Pietà.

After Maddalena’s legitimacy is called into question, her family send her off to the infamous conservatory in an effort to bolster her marriage prospects. Yet from the moment she arrives, Maddalena finds herself drawn to in the shy but extremely talented Luisa.

And before long, the girls are the best of friends, leading Maddalena to reveal her greatest secret: the sea can grant all of her desires—as long as she keeps making offerings to it. But it’s after Maddalena encourages Luisa to make an offering of her own, when things really start to get interesting.

I really enjoyed this! The slow burn intensity and evocative nuance that we explore through Madeline and Luisa’s relationship, and the imbalance of power that we see slowly shift between them was intoxicatingly gripping.

Maddalena, our spoilt and calculating noble was probably the most fascinating of our protagonists. Flawed, motivated by selfishness, and eager to preserve the trappings of her incredibly privileged life— I absolutely adored the morally grey pragmatism of her initial schemes, and for a time was actually rooting for her.

Ultimately, though it was the naïve and far too trusting Luisa that I came to love the most. As an Orphan who’s lived at the conservatory for most of her life, Luisa’s ambitions are small: to gain the first violin spot and train with Vivaldi. But thanks to Maddalena’s influence, we see Luisa finally grow into her own confidence and self worth, and finally strive for something she’s never dreamed of before—her own happiness. Making the aftermath that results from their magical bargains even more poignant.

Overall, a satisfyingly eerie read with sapphic undertones that’s perfect for fans of historical fiction and magical realism—just don’t go into this expecting a happy ending.

Also, a huge thank you to Headline for the finished copy.

Content Warnings

breeoxd's review

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dark mysterious sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

People say this is too flowery and overwritten, but it suited me just fine. Fit the baroque Venetian setting and dark academia tone.

Content Warnings

melissa_b_67's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark mysterious reflective sad tense slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.25

Content Warnings

maaikereadsbooks_'s review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

Many thanks to Headline and Julia Fine for the advanced copy of Maddalena and the Dark via NetGalley, in return for my honest and unbiased review. Quick note: I don’t recap plots in my reviews, as it’s easy enough to read the book’s synopsis and blurbs, I purely focus on my feelings & opinions of how the books makes me feel.

This is a tale of longing and horror. Of lust and jealousy.

I do wish book blurbs would stop comparing books to other, already-published books. This can unfairly set a book up to fail if it is compared to a particular favourite if it does not quite meet the standards of the mentioned book in the reader’s mind.

Maddalena and the Dark is well written and is a sapphic tale of unrequited, jealous love. The strong and, at times rather terrifying, emotions come through well on the page, and Julia Fine is obviously an accomplished writer.

However, somehow the book just didn’t quite do it for me. It just fell flat for me. Maybe it’s a lack of detail surrounding some of the more important aspects, a convenient ability for the characters to do what they like to make the story work, when it would not really work that way. Maybe it’s a lack of depth that would have added too many pages to this novel. I’m not sure.

Overall, this is a good book and well written and I do recommend it. I just can’t say it’s a great book. And that’s fine!

Themes: forbidden love, ‘If I can’t have you, nobody will’, LGBTQ+, oblivious to love, orphan, peril, unrequited love

Spice: 0.5/5

Trigger warnings: Death, Misogyny, Physical or mental abuse, Sexism

Content Warnings

behindpaperbacks's review

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challenging dark mysterious reflective slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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