This was my first Keri Lake book and I was really excited about this read. I went in kinda blindly; I knew it was a dark romance with gothic themes- but that’s it.
I enjoyed the first part of this book. I was captured from the first page and I was intrigued about where this was going. The mystery and secrecy around Lucian and the manor itself was captivating.
Unfortunately as I got more into the story, the secrecy and mystery, I felt like it was underwhelming. The secret society was just cringe and honestly, I don’t see the true purpose behind it. I think the story could have worked without it as well.
When it comes to Isa and Lucian they both have traumas and experiences in life that were absolutely heartbreaking. They definitely trauma bonded and the forbidden elements of their relationship was exciting and taboo, but I also saw it as fueled by lust. I didn’t really see or feel rather the “all consuming love” part. Lucian was definitely protective and obsessed with her, but I missed more love between the two of them.
The thing that was supposed to make Lucian mysterious and dangerous didn’t really convince me. The allure of Lucian ended up being a bit disappointing, but yeah, I guess he was a bit scary, but I mostly just felt bad for him about what he went through.
I liked Isa as a character. There was growth and I feel like she learned a lot and was a well rounded person. There was also revelations about her that I didn’t see coming, which was surprising add-ons to her character.
Overall I liked the gothic parts, some of the reveals were creepy and some I saw coming a mile away. The biggest reveal, the one I didn’t see coming was interesting and I enjoyed that twist. There was a lot of stuff happening and they kinda wove together in the end.