clozzersaurusrex's review against another edition
4.0
4⭐️ A thrilling, unsettling and all too real gothic tale that’s perfect for fans of The Mad Women’s Ball.
Happy Release Day and thank you so much to @hqstories for sending me a #gifted copy of this book in return for an honest review✨
As a fan of historical romances, especially the female characters who are spinsters that behave scandalously by the standards of society (the ones who have ambition and want to be more than just a mother and wife), Violet was all too familiar and likeable- definitely no ‘shrinking violet’.
What struck me most about this book was the realisation that Violet represents the sinister reality of what those romanticised heroines, the ‘obstinate headstrong’ girls that refused to conform, could have faced if they weren’t fictional creations.
O’Reilly did a great job of portraying Hillwood Grange as a dark and claustrophobic prison that was basically its own entity, governed by the law of Dr Rastrick and I could feel Violet’s panic as though I was committed in Hillwood Grange myself! Dr Rastrick was the most unsettling kind of villain and he felt real to me - he literally made my skin crawl and made me anxious as to what he would do next. The most terrifying thing about him was that his beliefs and the treatments he administered were all things that patients were subjected to in the real world and I felt like Dr Rastrick was really well written!
If you like gothic and historical fiction or enjoyed The Mad Women’s Ball i’d definitely recommend you give this a read.
Happy Release Day and thank you so much to @hqstories for sending me a #gifted copy of this book in return for an honest review✨
As a fan of historical romances, especially the female characters who are spinsters that behave scandalously by the standards of society (the ones who have ambition and want to be more than just a mother and wife), Violet was all too familiar and likeable- definitely no ‘shrinking violet’.
What struck me most about this book was the realisation that Violet represents the sinister reality of what those romanticised heroines, the ‘obstinate headstrong’ girls that refused to conform, could have faced if they weren’t fictional creations.
O’Reilly did a great job of portraying Hillwood Grange as a dark and claustrophobic prison that was basically its own entity, governed by the law of Dr Rastrick and I could feel Violet’s panic as though I was committed in Hillwood Grange myself! Dr Rastrick was the most unsettling kind of villain and he felt real to me - he literally made my skin crawl and made me anxious as to what he would do next. The most terrifying thing about him was that his beliefs and the treatments he administered were all things that patients were subjected to in the real world and I felt like Dr Rastrick was really well written!
If you like gothic and historical fiction or enjoyed The Mad Women’s Ball i’d definitely recommend you give this a read.
riseclare's review against another edition
3.0
3.5 stars ⭐️ I enjoyed it. I expected it to end one way (the way others wanted it to end) so I liked that it was unexpected. Interesting reading but would have liked more details on the asylum/darlings and what was the dr up to?
emily_bg's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
thebooktrail88's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
I was intrigued by the title and when I found out who the darlings were and why they were called that, my heart went out to them.
Anyway I digress. This is a fine novel that delves into the daily routines and torture of an asylum. Even if this one is fictional, you get the idea of what women of that time could have faced. Violet Pring is one such woman. She gets sent to the asylum for wanting to be an artist and for rejecting a marriage suitor. Her family send her – her mother is involved – and that for me seemed worse than just the husband. I had realised husbands usually sent their wives or female relatives to these places but I didn’t realise the parents would be involved somehow.
There’s a lot of the book which is set in the asylum and it’s dark to read this. However, before Violet gets there, she’s seen as a vibrant and modern woman and I enjoyed getting to know her. Her art is seen as subversive and challenging for the society of the time. What right does a woman have to want to be free like this to express herself? Why does she not want a man, and a rich one at that?
There’s plenty of social commentary, letters and conversations that show you just what things must have been like at that time. I liked fellow artist, Wilf Lilley, who praises Violet’s style of painting. At last, an ally of sorts! Maybe Violet would be understood. However, I was soon disabused of that notion.
Once in the asylum, we meet Dr. Harold Rastrick, who appears to have been resurrected in real life many years later as a member of the Nazi party working in eugenics. The experiments he carries out are more than inhumane. I couldn’t believe anyone would even think of these things let alone carry them out. People with any kind of ‘disorder’ or ‘condition’ are deemed to be unfit for the human race.
All of this was good and very compelling but the language, the prose seemed to be too ‘light’ for the subject matter. The writing was very good, flowed well and was enjoyable to read – but the friendly prose and the almost comedy moments with Violet and her thoughts and the balls and marriage talk seemed a bit out of place. Even when we get to the asylum, the feel of the novel stayed ‘ safe’ and a dark spot but one in an almost regency themed novel.
I’d still recommend though. Fascinating subject matter.
bookishreadsandme's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
4.0
I recommend you pick this up if you love a dark, atmospheric piece of historical fiction.
It has that unsettling psychological thriller side to it which works well, especially in a setting like a lunatic asylum. You follow Violet Pring who is sent away to one when she refuses to marry as she would rather be an independent artist. Of course, as this is set in the Victorian period, her family find this idea horrifying and worry about their family reputation. Also they are constantly embarrassed of Violet’s opinionated views, especially when she voices them in social occasions and decide for her own good to send her to Hillwood Grange Lunatic Asylum.
I found myself completely engrossed throughout, especially when there are a few twists. What I really liked about this book is how Violet is an unreliable narrator and you start to wonder if she really does have some mental health problems.
The staff treat the patients in the asylum terribly and it really made me feel so much emotion towards these poor women locked up with no hope of getting out. Doctor Rastrick, the main doctor there who treats Violet was awful and his treatment was basically just drug the patients and confining them to a room if they had any fight in them. You cannot help but root for Violet and pray she escapes.
The Darlings of the Asylum is a chilling gothic story that is packed with lies, secrets and betrayal that I thoroughly enjoyed.
It has that unsettling psychological thriller side to it which works well, especially in a setting like a lunatic asylum. You follow Violet Pring who is sent away to one when she refuses to marry as she would rather be an independent artist. Of course, as this is set in the Victorian period, her family find this idea horrifying and worry about their family reputation. Also they are constantly embarrassed of Violet’s opinionated views, especially when she voices them in social occasions and decide for her own good to send her to Hillwood Grange Lunatic Asylum.
I found myself completely engrossed throughout, especially when there are a few twists. What I really liked about this book is how Violet is an unreliable narrator and you start to wonder if she really does have some mental health problems.
The staff treat the patients in the asylum terribly and it really made me feel so much emotion towards these poor women locked up with no hope of getting out. Doctor Rastrick, the main doctor there who treats Violet was awful and his treatment was basically just drug the patients and confining them to a room if they had any fight in them. You cannot help but root for Violet and pray she escapes.
The Darlings of the Asylum is a chilling gothic story that is packed with lies, secrets and betrayal that I thoroughly enjoyed.
wayward's review against another edition
Nothing wrong with this book; it just didn't grab me, and came up due at the library. Maybe I'll give it another go another time.
reading_ani's review against another edition
dark
emotional
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
3.75
I found this book quite interesting. I’ve spent quite a lot of time studying the phenomena of the “angel of the house” that was prevalent during the 19th century and that’s also why the premise of this book drew me in, but I have to say that the plot twist in a sort of way “destroyed” a good chunk of the amusement of the book. When the plot twist happened, I fully expected the rest of the book to revolve around that and ESPECIALLY that it would be more implemented and a recurring theme, but unfortunately it was only mentioned once and then never used again?! Considering how the book ended and the feministic approach it took with THAT ending, I’m disappointed as the book could’ve 100% functioned without that twist. And actually, if one were to remove it, there would have been no change in the story (which is a clear indicator for it being unnecessary!), on the contrary, it would have even made the book’s message much more powerful.
littlemisselvis's review against another edition
3.0
Not sure about the pacing - there seemed to be long periods where very little happened that was relevant to the plot. Though maybe that was the point and reinforced the pointlessness of the time spent in the asylum. I liked the ending!
megmoore123's review against another edition
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
1.0
I hated this more than I can even explain. Men writing about women as one dimensional and needing to be saved by men from men, a big nope from me. Violet was a loose attempt at feminism that massively missed the mark - it’s 2023, I thought we were pasted men writing women like this?