Book Review: Haunting Violet by Alyxandra Harvey

Goodreads Description

Violet Willoughby doesn't believe in ghosts. But they believe in her. After spending years participating in her mother's elaborate ruse as a fraudulent medium, Violet is about as skeptical as they come in all matters supernatural. Now that she is being visited by a very persistent ghost, one who suffered a violent death, Violet can no longer ignore her unique ability. She must figure out what this ghost is trying to communicate, and quickly because the killer is still on the loose.

Afraid of ruining her chance to escape her mother's scheming through an advantageous marriage, Violet must keep her ability secret. The only person who can help her is Colin, a friend she's known since childhood, and whom she has grown to love. He understands the true Violet, but helping her on this path means they might never be together. Can Violet find a way to help this ghost without ruining her own chance at a future free of lies?

My Review

I'm a huge fan of everything Victorian so when I heard that was the setting for Haunting Violet then it aroused my interest even though I usually avoid ghost and spirit stories because they're usually really not my thing. The Victorian setting is a perfect backdrop for the story of Violet Willoughby who is living the life of an upper class girl the daughter of a fraudelant medium because it gave it an intense and spooky gothic atmosphere. Apart from this, Harvey was able to use the fact that many people in the Victorian era were fascinated with the world of the supernatural and often those of the upper class became obsessed with it and it was clear that a lot of research had gone into the methods of mediums at the time. I think that the historical setting was meant as a backdrop so not everything was meant to be accurate but personally I would have enjoyed a bit more historical description of for example of Victorian London and I felt the dialogue seemed very modern.

The protagonist Violet was an easy character to sympathise with from the beginning because she has a tough life having to play her part in her mother's sham seances uncomfortably and she feels out of place in her fancy clothes and keeping rich company when her world could so easily be shattered from one small mistake in her mother's carefully planned deceptions. Despite the circumstances she finds herself in, Violet persevered and acted sensibly but she wasn't afraid to let her heart rule her mind when the time was right.  I also liked how she didn't seem out of place in the Victorian world whilst being easy for a modern reader to identify with but my favourite thing about her character is her relationship with her mother's assistant Collin whom she has been friends with all her childhood because they understood each other in a unique way. His Irish accent was so cute! Another of Violet's friends is Elizabeth, an upper class girl who was a loyal and funny friend.

I started Haunting Violet very wary of the ghost element of  it but I found it didn't bother me quite as much as I thought it would and it was chilly but not exactly scary. I enjoyed the suspense created by the murder mystery plot the setting of the large and haunted country manor house filled with the upper class gentry made it all the more mysterious. Harvey did a good job at keeping me guessing as to who the murderer was for at least part of the book because there were lots of twists and turns and this held my interest well. So if you love all things supernatural or are a murder mystery fan, then you'll be pleased to hear that this book will capture your imagination this way.

There's a dose of romance included too and I appreciated how there was no insta-love for once in a paranormal type book and the romance developed more slowly and won my approval because I felt it was justified and not just thrown in there for the sake of it. It was rather predictable which love interest Violet would eventually pick so it wasn't really a love triangle but I didn't mind this at all. I hear that Harvey has written a sequel waiting for publishing confirmation so I'd like to see more of the romance in the sequel because I'm a romantic at heart!

This is the first Alyxandra Harvey book I've read and I was happy to find that she has a lovely writing style because it's clean and precise without reams of description but there was some beautiful descriptive phrases and imagery used that really made this book work overall for me. Also, everything was so fast paced that when I finished I found it hard to believe that so much had been packed into it.

Verdict: Haunting Violet has an wonderfully eerie gothic atmosphere packed with suspense, drama and a smidgen of romance. I enjoyed Harvey's writing and the romance and would recommend it to paranormal and fantasy fans for something different from your typical shape-shifter plot. 

Rating: 4stars 

Thank you to Bloomsbury for sending me a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. Haunting Violet is released in the UK on the 9th July!

This review is part of Review Appreciation Day
at The Cait Files.

Book Review: Mad Love by Suzanne Selfors

Amazon description:

When you're the daughter of the bestselling Queen of Romance, life should be pretty good. But 16-year-old Alice Amorous has been living a lie ever since her mother was secretly hospitalized for mental illness. After putting on a brave front for months, time is running out. The next book is overdue, and the Queen can't write it. Alice needs a story for her mother-and she needs one fast.

That's when she meets Errol, a strange boy who claims to be Cupid, who insists that Alice write about the greatest love story in history: his tragic relationship with Psyche. As Alice begins to hear Errol's voice in her head and see things she can't explain, she must face the truth-that she's either inherited her mother's madness, or Errol is for real.

Review

Alice Amarous the only daughter of a famous romance novel author is left to deal with her mother’s affairs when she is taken into a mental illness hospital because of her bipolar disorder, which leads to bouts of depression. The problem is no one apart from a few close friends know where her mother is, including the loyal fans of her books so Alice is forced to spin a web of lies in an attempt to keep the secret hidden including signing her mum’s books and even planning to write her next book that the publishes are demanding. If this isn’t enough stress to deal with, she meets a guy called Errol who thinks he’s Cupid and wants her to write the story of his life....

Alice is a very strong character and responsible with a fighting instinct because I’m sure many young girls facing the tough situations she was going through wouldn’t have been able to cope on their own as she did. Whilst being mature and independent might make her sound like a boring character, she also has a fun loving nature and a sense of humour that shines through. She seemed a realistic teenage girl with problems that she has to deal with and a real loyalty to her family so I was able to sympathise with her easily. I loved her relationship with  her crush Tony, the hot and adorable guy that she watches skate past her window every morning and their slowly budding romance uplifted the story by making it lighter hearted. There isn't much focus on this and I wish there had been more scenes including Alice and Tony featuring him as a more prominent character but Alice has a lot going on in her life so I understand why there wasn't.

There are several well written secondary characters in the story such as her friendly neighbours Mrs Bbot, Reverend Ruttles and Archibald who are always looking out for Alice’s well being and trying to help her in any way possible. Each of them bought something different to the story. Errol (Cupid) plays a big part in the book and his story is sad although I found his character very weird and creepy when I think he was meant to be portrayed as a bit of a mysterious sexy bad boy. The granddaughter of her neighbour Mrs Bobot called Realm was a particularly interesting character because she had a lot of self esteem issues and felt that she wasn't accepted or loved by her parents. She wasn't a very likable character but I'm glad she was a part of the story all the same.

Considering the bright pink cover adorned in hearts, you would have to be forgiven for thinking Mad Love is just a fluffy and cute romance. Whilst it does have elements of this, it surprised me that it has a much darker and deeper side to it too because it deals with mental illness and more specifically bipolar disorder. I thought that the author handled this really well because it was dealt with sensitively and formed a major part of the plot without weighing it down too much because it's still a fun book despite this. I know someone with bipolar disorder so it was interesting to find out more about the condition and I think others fascinated by mental illness and depression will like this aspect of the book.

This is the first Suzanne Selfor's book I've read and I have to say that I was pleasantly surprised about her writing and humour! The book grew on me the more I read of it and although I didn't know that much about the myth of Cupid and Physche before, I enjoyed learning about it and liked the different take on Cupid from the chubby cherub baby with the bow and arrow we all picture him as.

Verdict: Mad Love takes the classic mythological God Cupid and spins a unique and cute story around it that deals sensitively with issues such as bipolar disorder whilst remaining humorous and fun at the same time.  I really enjoyed it and it a great book to add to your summer reading list!

Rating: 3.5

To  find out more about Suzanne Selfors, visit her website here!

Suzanne Selfors

Thank you to Bloomsbury for providing me with a review copy of Mad Love in exchange for an honest review.

Book Review: Tess Of The D'Urbivilles by Thomas Hardy

Amazon Synopsis:



Cover to go with the BBC adaptation



When the beautiful and innocent Tess Durbeyfield is driven by family poverty to claim kinship with the wealthy D'Urbervilles and seek a portion of their family fortune, meeting the manipulative Alec proves to be her downfall. A very different man, Angel Clare, seems to offer her love and salvation, but Tess must choose whether to reveal her past or remain silent...

My review/thoughts

Seventeen year old Tess Durbeyfield is the eldest daughter of an impoverished country haggler whose fortunes turn for the better when he discovers they are the last surviving branch of an ancient and distinguished family called the D'urbivilles. Sent off her family to work on the estate of their new relations, Tess is manipulated by her cousin Alec and is haunted by the implications of her encounter there for long afterwards. Then she meets another man called Angel Clare who seems to offer her an escape from her past but only if she can tell him her shameful secret....

Tess Of The D'urbivilles was my first Hardy read (I was encouraged to read it by my English teacher) and I was interested to see what I made of this famous author and one of his most well known works. I wasn't quite sure what to expect because a lot of the descriptions online were unclear but I'm glad I chose to read it.


It is such a tragic and sorrowful tale that left me saddened as I turned the last page after the unfolding of dramatic events. However, I found Hardy’s writing turns it into a beautiful and poignant story and it helps to evoke the emotions in the book. From the beginning imagery of the English countryside of Tess’s home village in the last chapter to that of the rugged rocks of Stonehenge, the personification throughout really brings the English countryside to life and makes it an important part of the book. However, it took me a while to get used to the hard-going lyrical and descriptive writing and I found that parts of the writing in the book was unnecessary and too long winded, for example Angel’s courtship of Tess at the dairy seemed long and worn out. This sometimes caused me to get distracted from the story and lose interest in it but I did come to appreciate the beauty of the language eventually.

One of my favourite things about the book is the very human and believable flaws of the characters and the way that I was able to sympathise with them so deeply. Tess is a heroine that can show bravery and courage at times whilst sometimes appearing to be weak, ignorant and foolish. This was sometimes a little frustrating but I kept in mind that Tess was a Victorian young women and that is why she is portrayed that way. Though, most of all Tess keeps true to herself and learns from the mistakes she has made. Also, even at the most testing times when she had to make difficult decisions, she goes through life without making a fuss, remaining a loyal friend, making an honest living and staying true to her one love. That is why I found myself feeling Tess’s pain, love, anguish, hope, joy and despair.

Angel Clare was a character that I had very mixed feelings about because I liked him at first when he seemed to offer Tess an escape from her troubled past and he seemed to be a caring, thoughtful and faithful young man. My opinion of him changed later for the worse and you can highlight the text below to find out more if you know the story because it's very spoliery (sorry, the white shows up on the pink a bit so just skip over): Angel's betrayal of Tess after she told him her terrible secret after they were married came as a shock to me because I thought he would understand and forgive her after an initial shock, especially since he also did the same thing when he was drunk.
END SPOILER
Despite this, I still believe him to be an honest and good man at heart who just made a big mistake.

The situations that Tess finds herself in are often devestating but there are moments of warm heartedness and hope that shine through the darker scenes such as her friendship with the other girls at the dairy and the brief time of blissful and complete happiness that she spent with Clare. I found the other's girls working at the dairy's constant mooning over Tess' love was amusing and bought a lighter touch to the novel.                                                                                                                                                    

 Verdict: Tess’s fateful journey is infused with raw human emotion that tugged at my heartstrings and left me with a lot to think about.

Rating: 4

I've got the 2008 BBC adaption of Tess Of The D'urbivilles out now and I'm part way through watching it. It's really helping to bring the book alive and help me undertsand it more so I think I would appreciate and enjoy it much more if I read it again now, which I hope to do in the future.