If I were to describe this book in one word, it would be intense. Marvelously so. Michelle Griep has taken her writing to new levels in this gothic romance that leaves characters battling the monsters within . . . and without. Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein had nothing on this story where the famed author makes several appearances. The story of Amelia Balfour, Graham Lambart, Colin Balfour, and Dr. Peckwood is sure to have your angst ratcheting tight all the way to the spell-binding ending, that while holding to magnificent gothic tradition, leaves the reader with hope for the future.
This was the most intense book from Michelle Griep that I have ever read, and to be honest, I was glad that I was listening to it as an audiobook and was forced to do thirty or fewer minute increments. The tension was so deep, so constant that my heart couldn’t take it all at once. I’m looking forward to reading it again soon, this time in one fell swoop. This is an unforgettable tale that will sweep readers away to a different time to face monsters that they might even see reflected in themselves.
I recommend this book for fans of Gothic romances, Frankenstein, obscure history, and deep truths discovered during trying circumstances.
*While I’ve purchased an additional copy myself, a copy of this book was provided to me by the publisher and the review above is my honest opinion of the book and was not influenced in any way.*
Genre: Historical Romance, Regency Era, England
Plot Overview:
Even if there be monsters, there is none so fierce as that which resides in man’s own heart.
Amelia Balfour has one dream . . . to tour Egypt as a travel writer. But when her wish is finally within reach, her father dies, and her malformed brother, Colin, depends on her to arrange for a revolutionary surgery. Amelia returns home, hoping he’ll recover before the ship sails for Cairo.
Former Navy surgeon Graham Lambert is sick–of traveling, loneliness, and especially the injustice of the world. Leaving behind the military, he partners with a renowned surgeon, the man who promises new life to Amelia’s brother.
But just as the operation begins, Graham suspects the surgeon is a fraud. After a botched procedure, Colin goes mad and escapes, terrorizing their neighbor, author Mary Godwin–planting the seed for her greatest creation, Frankenstein.
Can Amelia and Graham stop Colin before he destroys everyone in his path and find the tender soul still trapped inside . . . or will they be too late?
What I loved:Â The storyline that so well reflected Frankenstein while bringing spiritual depth that it will long live in my mind.
Favorite Character and Why: There was such a fantastic cast of characters that it is so hard to tell. Aside from Amelia and Graham, I loved Nemo and Mrs. Bap. Nemo was an adorable child, and Mrs. Bap’s wisdom and positive outlook were the perfect addition to the story.
Who would like this? I recommend this book for fans of Gothic romances, Frankenstein, obscure history, and deep truths discovered during trying circumstances.
Rating and Why: Five stars. This story was amazingly written, intense, and impactful. It will live in my mind for a long time to come, and I will be rereading it when I have some free time in my reading schedule.
The House at the End of the Moor by Michelle Griep
This has been one of the hardest reviews I’ve ever written and thus will be a little different than normal.
I have been a long-time fanatical fan of Michelle Griep and couldn’t wait to read this book. However, when I received it, I discovered she’d changed up her writing style, which for most people doesn’t matter, but for me made it impossible to fully enjoy. The heroine is written in first person present. I struggle with first-person in general, add in the present tense, and no matter how many times I tried, I couldn’t sink into the story. I spent several months revisiting and retrying, but in the end, I just gave up.
If first person present doesn’t bother you, this story will be another one of Michelle Griep’s great reads. Her depth of character, storyline, and spiritual aspect seemed spot on. (I did skim through the story to get an idea of the plot and understand all the praise that was being given for it.) I will always recommend Michelle Griep’s books, and she will remain my favorite author as far as her previous books go, and I will keep watching her new releases in hopes of the day she returns to the third person style I loved.
Because I bought an extra copy beside my ARC, I am doing a giveaway of the extra print copy so that you might have the chance to read the book and enjoy it. Just because it wasn’t my favorite doesn’t mean you won’t love it. 🙂 To enter, you must be a contiguous United States resident, leave a comment here on the blog (see the question below), and provide your email. I recommend using this format: name (at) someplace (dot) com. This giveaway will end Sunday, September 13th at midnight Eastern Standard Time. Winner will be announced on Tuesday’s blog post and contacted by email. 🙂
I apologize to my international readers, I promise another give away will be coming soon that will open to you as well.
ANSWER: What has been your favorite read this year? (Don’t forget to include your email.)
The House at the End of the Moor by Michelle Griep
What Can a London Opera Star and an Escaped Dartmoor Prisoner Have in Common?
Opera star Maggie Lee escapes her opulent lifestyle when threatened by a powerful politician who aims to ruin her life. She runs off to the wilds of the moors to live in anonymity. All that changes the day she discovers a half-dead man near her house. Escaped convict Oliver Ward is on the run to prove his innocence, until he gets hurt and is taken in by Maggie. He discovers some jewels in her possession—the very same jewels that got him convicted. Together they hatch a plan to return the jewels, clearing Oliver’s name and hopefully maintaining Maggie’s anonymity.
This has been a hard month for me to get any reading done. Not only did I miss posting last week, but this week I’m still not finished with the book I’m reading, simply because I haven’t had the time.
So I thought I’d do a e-book giveaway of my FAVORITE series by Michelle Griep. It’s a trilogy full of adventure, love, danger, and history. It’s truly a series I go back to over and over again.
Here is the entry information, and you can read about the books and click the link to my reviews below.
The winner will receive an e-book copy of Brentwood’s Ward (#1), The Innkeeper’s Daughter (#2), and The Noble Guardian (#3).
This contest is open to all over the age of 18. If you want to join my mailing list to follow my writing journey, it is greatly appreciated but NOT required. I just want to share this fantastic series with others.
Entries open from Tuesday, October 29 (10 am EST) to Friday, November 8 (11:59 pm EST).
*Entering your email DOES NOT sign you up for anything other than an entry. The information is used only to contact the winner and is not kept beyond the duration of the giveaway.
For fun, share who your favorite author is or a book you are enjoying in the comments.
It takes a criminal to catch one, and Nicholas Brentwood is just the man for the job. Reformed in more ways than one, the rough-around-the-edges Brentwood is a member of the Bow Street Runners, London’s early nineteenth-century fledgling police force. There’s none better than Brentwood at catching the felons who ravage the city’s streets, and there’s nothing he loves more than seeing justice served. Beautiful and beguiling, Miss Emily Payne is not the sort of miscreant Brentwood usually hunts down. When he is assigned as her bodyguard, he vows to protect her from her father’s enemies, who will stop at nothing to carry out their mission fueled by greed and revenge.
All her life, Emily has longed for love, but it remains beyond her grasp. This season she’s determined to find a husband, which is quite the undertaking with a hound-dog guardian like Brentwood watching her every step. If he would just give her some measure of freedom, she is sure she could win the heart of society’s most eligible bachelor.
Emily’s headstrong persistence challenges Nicholas in ways he doesn’t expect but of one thing he’s certain—of all the cunning criminals he’s dealt with in the past, this time he’s met his match.
Dover, England, 1808: Officer Alexander Moore goes undercover as a gambling gentleman to expose a high-stakes plot against the king—and he’s a master of disguise, for Johanna Langley believes him to be quite the rogue. . .until she can no longer fight against his unrelenting charm.
All Johanna wants is to keep the family inn afloat, but when the rent and the hearth payment are due at the same time, where will she find the extra funds? If she doesn’t come up with the money, there will be nowhere to go other than the workhouse—where she’ll be separated from her ailing mother and ten-year-old brother.
Alex desperately wants to help Johanna, especially when she confides in him, but his mission—finding and bringing to justice a traitor to the crown—must come first, or they could all end up dead.
The must-read conclusion to Michelle Griep’s Bow Street Runners Trilogy: Life couldn’t be better for Abigail Gilbert—but it’s been a long time coming. Having lived with a family who hated her, love is finally within reach. Abby sets off on a journey across England to marry one of the most prestigious gentleman bachelors in the land—until highwaymen upset her plans and threaten her life.
Horse patrol captain Samuel Thatcher arrives just in time to save Abby. But to him she’s simply another victim in a job he’s come to despise. Tired of the dark side of humanity, he intends to buy land and retire.
Abby pleads with him to escort her on the rest of her journey. He refuses until she offers him the thing he desperately needs to achieve his goal: money. Delivering her safely will earn him more than enough to settle into a quiet life.
So begins an impossible trek for the cynical lawman and the proper lady. Each will be indelibly changed by the time they reach her betrothed, if they don’t kill one another first—or fall in love.
