When Emile’s aunt declares he must marry or be disowned for being gay—he runs away to hide as a servant in Count Montoni’s mansion. In their service, Emile tends to the family who all suffer a strange affliction on the full moon. And after overhearing suspicious family arguments, he finds a body on the estate, drawing the attention of a handsome doctor as well as the count’s charismatic nephew, Henri.
Before Emile can sort out his affections or unravel the growing Montoni family mystery, his identity is revealed and his aunt comes to collect him.
When she arrives, Count Montoni forces everyone to depart to the remote Udolpho Castle—where there are no witnesses and no chance of escape. There, Emile realizes that he will have to risk his life to find the love he deserves—and survive the Montoni family.
THE FACTS
📕 love triangle
📘 fantasy
📙 a bit of a mystery
📗 some twists
THE GOOD BITS
I was first drawn in by this book’s cover! What a beautiful piece of art. Now that I’ve read the book, I think it gives the reader a good sense of what is coming without giving too much away.
This book is Young Adult, although at times I would say it reads a bit younger. It’s also billed as a gothic, fantasy romance. The fantasy is definitely covered! Don’t read ahead if you don’t want spoilers!
This story being when Emile is in hiding. After his father’s death, he was basically driven away from his inheritance by his Aunt because he is gay. He has landed as a servant in the house of Count Montoni. While it’s a big step down from his previous station in life, he won’t be forced into a loveless marriage for the sake of his inheritance.
While with the Montoni family, Emile makes a couple of acquaintances that have the potential to alter his life greatly. He meets Bram who is a local doctor and sees past Emile’s role and treats him as an equal and friend from the moment they first meet. He also becomes more acquainted with Henri. The nephew of the count is a handful. He’s used to getting what he wants and he wants Emile.
In addition to Emile’s deliberation over his feuding love interests, he discovers that there is something nefarious going on. Bodies are found, spooky encounters in the dark, secret passages, and whispering.
There are some twists and turns you won’t see coming and the story is solid.
DIDN’T WORK FOR ME
This didn’t quite hit the “gothic” mark for me. I can’t really put my finger on it except to say that Gothic is much more than a spooky setting. In my mind, gothic is the state of mind of the characters, the entire setting, the foreboding, and the dread. I’m prepared to accept that this may just be my personal idea about the genre.
Bran and Henri were great characters, but I felt that Emile was less developed for some reason. Other than being really conflicted about his love for two people, I don’t feel as though I got to know him very well beyond the conflict he was having with his family.
I’m not sure I read much chemistry between the characters, and therefore the ending felt a bit forced and fast for me.
Kinzie Things 