4 out of 5 Magical Coffee Cups
From goodreads:
Eleanor Zarrin has been estranged from her wild family for years. When she flees boarding school after a horrifying incident, she goes to the only place she thinks is safe: the home she left behind. But when she gets there, she struggles to fit in with her monstrous relatives, who prowl the woods around the family estate and read fortunes in the guts of birds.
Eleanor finds herself desperately trying to hold the family together — in order to save them all, Eleanor must learn to embrace her family of monsters and tame the darkness inside her.
Exquisitely terrifying, beautiful, and strange, this fierce gothic fantasy will sink its teeth into you and never let go.
My review:
I know I have always enjoyed gothic literature – especially gothic horror/gothic fantasy, but I didn’t really know what that meant.
People would ask: “What do you like to read?”
Me: “Oh, I love gothic literature, especially gothic fantasy/horror.” (along with listing a bunch of other genres)
Random person: “What is gothic fantasy?”
Me: … It’s… gothic…
So I did a quick search and found a pretty good explanation from Hannah VanVels on the site Book Riot.
“Take the rundown country manor, combine with a bleak foreboding environment, add a dreadful atmosphere, throw in some high emotions and passions, then add a dash of magic and you’ve got a recipe for gothic fantasy.”
https://bookriot.com/gothic-fantasy/
Yes, this is perfect! This quote perfectly describes this book. Eleanor comes home to her old country manor. (I swear I kept forgetting what era we were in!) There were no phones, no TV, no computers! What year is it!! She is trying to fit in with this family she hasn’t seen in years. Then it just gets darker and creepier. Monsters, ghosts, watchful townspeople, and mysteries for days! Poor Eleanor needs to figure out where she belongs, and the more she learns about her family, the more questions arise, and the darker the story becomes. And I loved every spooky and disturbing minute!
I am excited to keep a lookout for more by this author.
Literary Coffee 