I was SO ambivalent about this book, which I found on a few different Top Gothic Romance lists. It had some very good qualities but also some very hard to ignore problems and they just kept piling up as I counted reading.

The writing for the most part was very good, descriptive/dialogue wise. The beginning was engaging and had a cinematic quality and really atmospheric (ex. I felt like I was really on the docks with the sisters when they arrived in England; I could imagine standing and looking up at Malcom's home when Eliza first sees it).

But just too many issues:
- Eliza is an "independent" woman but she goes from being independent to wishy-washy and kind of annoying. The honeymoon period of her marriage to Malcom lasts literally days. The book really bogs down in the middle of the book and I actually left it for weeks, mostly frustrated with Eliza. Her husband become more mercurial and Miss Independent puts up with it and tries to placate him or seduce him or has tantrums and storms off, shutting him out of her bedroom. Once maybe. Several times? Now it's just irritating. And when she becomes scared of the house and possibly him, what does she do? She stays....for a VERY long time. Because she loves the house? When she finally gets some sense and leaves, she goes back. What??? Her behavior was almost as erratic as Malcolm's.
- I had the main twist about 60% in the book Ok so the big reveal is that Gabriel is alive and he and Malcolm are taking turns being Malcolm (aka Lord of the Manor, aka Eliza's husband). Why switch off at all? This is 6 years later. Why isn't Malcolm living in secret in Scotland with his mother while Gabriel pretends to be Malcolm? A sure-fire way to make your wife suspicious and question everything and try to investigate is to have two different men pretend to be the same person but do it badly. I get it. If Malcolm stayed hidden, then we wouldn't have this "mystery." But it just went on WAY too long and was frustrating and unbelievable (mostly that Eliza didn't notice anything different about them except some memory lapses and personality changes? Come on even identical twins have differences). And frankly, when Gabriel was worried about Eliza, does he immediately take her somewhere safe? No. He writes a letter to Mommy and then takes her home to his crazy brother!! And this was why I ultimately chose 2 stars. but thought ok let's see how this works out - well, unbelievably for many reasons. And honestly, even after the big reveal and sort of explanations I'm dissatisfied with why.
- EVERY female character in this book (except Lydia?) is bi-sexual or has had lesbian experiences. Seriously?
- Eliza believes Una and Eastleigh's stories, knowing they're both vipers and manipulative. Not once, but several times. I'm not saying she should believe Malcolm either, who keeps secrets, although she does that, too. But it's just ridiculous. And I don't care how mad she is at Malcolm, her considering going off with Eastleigh is patently ridiculous - revenge? need? No - neither if she is supposed to be strong and resourceful. She had SO MANY other options (like seeking out Lydia's beau, like staying in her own house, like asking Sarah for help) that fit better with her supposed "strong woman" personality.
- the "mystery" - the mystery for the first 2/3 of the book was unfolding relatively well and then somewhere it just went off the rails and more characters and subplots were interwoven, I guess to throw the reader off - and it did, just not in a good way.
-The ghosts - they're there, then they're not. Then they're back. The "malevolent" one does something bad thing ONCE. And then nothing else? Why not? The "good" one can actually appear and is helpful - ONCE - pointing something out. Why couldn't she do that before? Or again? Shrug.
- the hero is concerned for Eliza's safety and has a chance to take her away from the house. Don't go home. Just get in the carriage and leave. Does he do that? Nope. Let's go home first. And Eliza does the same thing later. She's finally afraid at one point - but wait, let me pack a bag and waste time and wa. What?!!! No - you just leave. (I get why this was done - to ensure that everything else that happened would happen but there were other, more believable ways to accomplish this).
- Sarah - ugh. The one character who was supposed to be Eliza's friend. Keeps secrets, too. With a lame explanation why.
- the ending - the last five or so chapters. I wanted to see some groveling and reconciliation - not be told briefly in the epilogue.
- I wouldn't normally focus on this, except the author goes out of her way to explain, in detail, her research for authenticity in this book. There are modern words and phrases used and other details that just wouldn't happen in 1899. I appreciate that she did some research and tried to include that to create a good atmosphere, but some of it was just wrong.

I really wanted to like this book and it's sad because there was a lot of potential here. Maybe if it hadn't been praised as such an awesome example of Gothic Romance, I would have had less expectations. I would say it's more Gothic fiction with hints of romance and some sex scenes.

Parting the Veil - Likewise Book Reviews

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