There are monsters in the world.
–GoodReads
My Review
I was super excited for this book, I had super high hopes for it…and it didn’t quite make the mark for me. Did I still enjoy it? Yes! Was it what I was expecting? Not necessarily.
I thought there would be more monsters, I thought it would be darker in general and it actually wasn’t. Turns out this was more based off the Secret Garden -which I don’t think I would have immediately picked up on without the Author saying, and that’s not a bad thing- than the Gothic vibes one expects when reading the synopsis.
I adore the Secret Garden but I was truly hoping for some dark gothic vibes. The house was there, the broody boy was there, but everything else was lacking. Not to mention this broody boy was more cinnamon roll which I did super like but again it detracted from the darker aesthetic I was hoping for.
The story is also a little lacking in depth. I wanted to feel this darkness that was seeping through the house, I wanted to know Violeta was struggling more. Instead we only really got to see her on a very shallow level. I don’t mean to say that she’s shallow and vain, she’s obviously got depth to her but we don’t get to peel any of those layers back. We just know she’s no stranger to sacrifice and is a bit of a martyr which works considering who she lives with. Her brother felt more like a plot device and I almost felt the mother was unnecessary, that the trauma that they had from her probably could have been done another way in some instances because she was so disconnected and essentially useless.
I think in the end I was slightly disappointed and that’s reflected in my rating. If I sound harsh in this review it’s only because I felt it could have been a brilliant novel and I saw so much potential in it. Clipstone’s writing voice is engaging and flows so well and the little lore we get on the monsters really hooks me in. I will definitely still be picking up the sequel to this.
3/5 Cups of coffee. Still a worthy read to add to a slightly spooky tbr for those looking for such!
The Caffeinated Reader 