Title: Within These Wicked Walls
Author: Lauren Blackwood
Genre: Young Adult, Fantasy
Published On: October 19, 2021
Publisher: Wednesday Books
Source: ebook
Pages: 336
Synopsis:
What the heart desires, the house destroys…
Andromeda is a debtera—an exorcist hired to cleanse households of the Evil Eye. When a handsome young heir named Magnus Rochester reaches out to hire her, Andromeda quickly realizes this is a job like no other, with horrifying manifestations at every turn, and that Magnus is hiding far more than she has been trained for. Death is the most likely outcome if she stays, but leaving Magnus to live out his curse alone isn’t an option. Evil may roam the castle’s halls, but so does a burning desire.
Kiersten White meets Tomi Adeyemi in this Ethiopian-inspired debut fantasy retelling of Jane Eyre.
My thoughts
(Spoiler free)
When I originally heard Lauren Blackwood’s YA debut would be a Jane Eyre-inspired retelling, I was very much on board. It sounded like the perfect creepy house tale I needed for my fall reading. But after I read a third of the novel, I couldn’t seem to get into it and decided to give up, mark it DNF (did-not-finish), and move on. It wasn’t a decision I came to lightly as it would be my first DNF of the year. Of course as soon as I did that, all the positive reviews started coming in from my fellow bloggers and Reese Witherspoon chose it as her YA fall pick. I decided to give it another chance, and I’m happy to report I read the rest of the book in one day.
“The wind. The stinging cold. Those violent hands. Everything had felt so real, now all reduced to the memory of a nightmare.”
Lauren Blackwood, Within These Wicked Walls
I think my failed first attempt was a combination of things: I was distracted with wrapping up my yearly reading challenge (and this book was not one that would fulfill a prompt), the book wasn’t as creepy as I expected, and the romance was feeling a little too insta-love for me.
I still feel like the romance felt too instant, but as soon as I picked the book back up, there was a scene in the library that won me over to the story and the romance.
What I most enjoyed about this book was the world building and the characters that occupied that world. Andromeda is a fascinating character: her upbringing, her abilities, and her weaknesses. While I thought the romance was fast, I did enjoy their banter and chemistry. I think something that might have hindered my initial enjoyment of the book was my expectations for the Rochester character. I expected him to be like his namesake. But really the name was primarily all they had in common.
While the book didn’t start as creepy as I’d hoped, the second half did not disappoint. I was fully invested, unable to set the book down until the climatic end.
But go into this one with an open mind, not expecting a faithful retelling of Jane Eyre.
Within These Wicked Walls is well-written, has unique and engaging characters, and a creative plot unlike anything I’ve read before. And possibly one of my top five favorite titles for the year.
Thank you to the publisher, Wednesday Books, and Netgalley for providing me with an advance copy.
(All quotes are taken from the advance copy and are subject to change in final print.)
Rating:
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About the Author
A Song For A Book
I’ve chosen “The Heart of the Darkness” by Tommee Profitt (featuring Sam Tinnesz) as my song for Within These Wicked Walls. It has that trapped-in-a-haunted-house feeling I was looking for. 😉
Golden eyes
Watching our every move
Losing time
Without the sun or moon
Shadows, they can’t even touch the ground
The staircase is spiraling deeper down
Here we are in the heart of the darkness
Here we are in the heart of the darkness
You feel your body shake
Fear like a phantom waits
Here we are in the heart of the darkness
Here we are in the heart of the darkness
Hold fast, we must be brave…
Have you read Within These Wicked Walls? Or did you add it to your tbr? Let me know in the comments!
Happy Wandering!
I’ve seen many mixed reviews of this book, so I’m not surprised you initially DNFed this, Dedra! But I am glad you had a good read the second time around!
Yes! I’m happy I gave it another chance. 🙂