Tag: Gothic Lit

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Review: Sweet Damage by Rebecca James

by The Lit BitchLeave a Comment on Review: Sweet Damage by Rebecca James

This is a modern Gothic thriller to put on your radar!

Tim Ellison has been in a rut lately. He has spent his time sleeping on his ex-girlfriend’s couch, working in a restaurant, and surfing.

Life isn’t quite what he expected. But he does know one thing….it’s time to move out of his ex’s house.

Tim finds a cheap room rental at Fairview, when he shows up he is expecting to see a heap but instead he finds a mansion.

Built in 1890, Fairview is a beautiful mansion boasting some of the best views in Sydney. It’s owned by Anna London who inherited the house after her parents’ deaths.

In exchange for the cheap rent, Tim has one job: to look after Anna. Though she is in her twenties, she acts more like an elderly woman. She also never leaves her house as she suffers from a severe anxiety disorder. But it seems like a fair gig to Tim so he takes the post.

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Review: The Witch of Painted Sorrows by M.J. Rose

by The Lit Bitch3 Comments on Review: The Witch of Painted Sorrows by M.J. Rose

Sandrine Salome is running away to France. Her father has just died and her husband most likely had a hand in it.

She cannot continue to be in his house so she flees to Paris where her grandmother lives.

Sandrine used to live with her grandmother when she was younger but then she was whisked away when she was caught in a compromising situation with a boy.

Since then she has only seen her grandmother a handful of times but it’s almost like Paris is calling her home from America. When she arrives, her grandmother’s home is empty.

Her grandmother claims its due to renovations but Sandrine feels like she is hiding something. When she follows her grandmother one morning to the house, she meets a dashing architect….Julien.

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Review: The Secret Woman by Victoria Holt

by The Lit Bitch4 Comments on Review: The Secret Woman by Victoria Holt

Anna Brett was born abroad in India but was sent to live in England with her spinster aunt, Charlotte, where she would be educated.

Anna’s parents promise that it will be a short stay only but when tragic circumstances occur, Anna finds herself stuck in England indefinitely.

Anna’s Aunt Charlotte is we well known antiques dealer in the busy port town of Langmouth.

There the wealthy Crediton family runs the town. They live in a ‘fake castle’ on the hill and the family is the talk of the town.

When Anna and her aunt visit the castle to purchase some antiques, Anna meets the dashing Captain Redvers “Red” Stretton. Though she is a child, she can’t help but feel a special connection to the Captain.

As the years pass, Anna grows up but has not forgotten the dashing Red. But she begins to hear gossip about him being a notorious philanderer. She tries to put him out of her mind, but then he suddenly calls on her unexpectedly.

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Review: Mistress of Mellyn by Victoria Holt

by The Lit Bitch13 Comments on Review: Mistress of Mellyn by Victoria Holt

On the storm coastline of Cornwall lies Mount Mellyn, a magnificent old family home. The Mount is home to the TreMellyn family, Connan and his daughter Alvean.

Connan is recently widowed and looking for a governess for Alvean, who seems to go through governess’ at an alarming rate. Martha Leigh has agreed to take the governess post at the house, and she is dreading it.

Having had her season she has not obtained what every Victorian woman dreams of–a husband. So after a couple of unsuccessful seasons her only option is to find a position.

When she arrives at Mount Mellyn the house is imposing, dark, and basically all around creepy! When she meets the lord of the manor, Connan, she is not impressed. He is arrogant and pays little attention to his daughter.

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Review: Bhalla Strand by Sarah Maine

by The Lit Bitch4 Comments on Review: Bhalla Strand by Sarah Maine

On the scarcely populated islands of Scotland’s Outer Hebrides islands, lies the deserted remains of a once great house–Bhalla House.

Hetty is grieving the loss of her parents as well as her grandmother and is toying with taking Bhalla House, which she just inherited, and turning it into a hotel.

But before she can make any decisions, she travels to the remote island looking for something, though she doesn’t quite know what. Something right perhaps?

When she arrives things are worse than she imagined. Hetty thought she would find an Edwardian era mansion that needed little more than some updating. What she found was a crumbling ruin that would cost millions to repair.

While tending to the house, contractor and caretaker, James Cameron, stumbled upon human remains under the floorboards of the house. It appears the body came to sinister end, but quite some time ago.

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