Greythorne by L.M. Merrington is a variation on the theme of a young woman from an orphanage becoming a governesses to a motherless child in an imposing gothic house owned by a master with issues. The master of the house is a scientist so focused on his work that he has little time for his single girl child. At first our governess finds him attractive and amiable, but soon finds a darker side. In many ways it’s really just a different take on Jane Eyre I can’t really say more about the story without giving things away that are best left for the reader to discover, so I’ll just say that the book reads well, is well-crafted and that the ending is superb—a lovely twist that leaves you thinking. If you enjoy Gothic tales with mysteries, and don’t require them to be original, then you’ll no doubt enjoy this. 4 stars. Buy Now. … [Read more...]
Review: White Forest by Adam McOmber
Title: White Forest Author: Adam McOmber Publisher: Simon & Schuster Genre: Historical fantasy This is a difficult review to write, because the prose is beautifully written and I’d like to like the story, but for me, White Forest misses the mark conceptually and in its overall mood. Though some will love its dark pagan undercurrents and fuzzy mysticism, I think the story is unnecessarily confusing. The story needed more thought given to it during the structural editing phase. The story WhiteForest is set on the edge of Hampstead Heath just after the Crimean war. The main character, a young woman called Jane Silverlake, can hear the souls of man-made objects (we’re already on shaky conceptual ground here.) Of course, all the noise is rather annoying which is why she likes the peaceful silence she hears from nature. Her ‘talent’ can be experienced by others when she touches them, and when her friend Nathan Ashe discovers this, he undertakes a series of experiments with Jane to … [Read more...]
