I received a copy from William Morrow Paperbacks through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
Emaline Fitzpatrick is ready to escape her guardians and marry the handsome man who has captured her heart. Unfortunately, Emaline learns the hard way that when someone keeps you a secret, they’re not actually that into you. Now that she’s the face of a scandal, she has two choices: settle into life at a convent or marry Captain Graves. Emaline finds herself in quite the pickle when she arrives at Faraday. Captain Graves described himself as a widower, but it turns out his second wife is still holding on for dear life! Now Emaline finds herself trying to save Mrs. Graves from her impending death all trying to figure out if the place is really haunted.
We follow Emaline, a young woman who was raised by a judge and his wife after being orphaned. All she wants is to escape the controlling and restricted life she has with a husband of her choosing. Instead, she finds herself wedged into a corner. Emaline is not the smartest of people, but I think she just needs everyone to give her a chance even if her first step is to fall flat on her face. While she does some pretty dumb things, she also makes some pretty good discoveries, so I think she was always told that the only thing she had was her looks. One of the things I like about the book is that we get to see her slowly find her strength along the way.
This book has mystery, ghosts, and a house full of people who are not what they seem to be. Emaline is my favorite character. She’s nice, caring, and has a heart. She’s extremely naïve and isn’t always holding the braincell, but she’s fun to follow and has some excellent character growth. There is a little bit of romance in the book, and it’s easy to tell who she will ultimately end up with right away, so I wouldn’t pick this up if you’re looking for a romance.
There’s also a really interesting cast of characters. They all have their secrets. The only difference is we know what Emaline’s secrets are, so we have to watch her slowly discover everyone else’s. I think there’s only two characters who are pretty straight forward. The rest are two-faced to different degrees and everyone has a different motive. It was really interesting to see how the characters slowly reveal what they’ve really been up to.
All in all, this was an excellent read. I was fully absorbed in the story from the moment I opened the page and was actually shocked by the way a few things played out. I’m excited to read some of the author’s other books because this was truly excellent from beginning to end. I do have a few questions about the ending because Emaline’s guardians are suddenly loving saints and everyone is besties, but I think those are the only things that just appeared out of nowhere.
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