Quick Synopsis – At Thorne Hall, a grand estate nestled in the Berkshires, fifteen restless spirits roam, bound within the mansion’s walls since the Gilded Age. Elegy Thorne bears the weight of her family’s curse to preserve the mansion as it was in the 1890s, using ancient folk songs to keep the spirits secret and silent in order to avoid deadly consequences.

Torn between her desire to follow her heart and her duty to her family and its legacy, Elegy begins searching for a way to release the spirit collection back to the afterlife and set both herself and the ghosts free.

Song This Reminds Me Of – Walking With a Ghost by Tegan and Sara

Publication Date – Feb. 11, 2025

Content Notes – This is a ghost story with body gore, ghost children, and overall horror elements. I wouldn’t say the book is scary, but if you don’t like ghosts, you wouldn’t like this. There is a lot of misogyny and homophobia, mostly implied or off page. The is death in childbirth and mentions of multiple miscarriages. There is also some blood and self-inflicted wounds.

Steamy Rating – 🌶️🌶️🌶️👻

Overall Rating – ⭐⭐⭐ out of 5

Review – Look, I love a good gothic story, and this had so many great elements. A young woman who lives in a haunted mansion with her emotionally distant, abusive father, and insane stepmother who lives in the attic, check. A marriage contract with a man she doesn’t love and a new suitor who is an outsider, check. Ghosts who are rotting away and have nefarious plans, also check. But too many of the elements didn’t actually fit for me.

I love love love the ghosts in this story. I actually wish there had been more backstory for the ghosts and how they died. The Mourning (one of the ghosts) didn’t even have a name which was a shame. Easily the saddest part of the story was how Elegy was basically raised by ghosts and forced to behave as a woman in the Gilded Age. Even Elegy’s clothes were from the Gilded Age, she couldn’t even wear sweatpants in the comfort of her own room. Even though Elegy is clearly stilted because of her limited interactions with living people, she’s such a real character.

The two big issues I had with this story were the location and the songs. At the beginning of the story, the setup makes it seem like it’s taking place in England or the UK. I know that if I would have just read the back of the book more than once it would have stuck in my head that this was in New England, but for some reason I kept getting distracted. The second is the songs, I loved their inclusion, but I felt like the explanation for them was flimsy. I felt like the lore should have been built out more around the songs, the ghosts, and the overall mystery of Thorn Hall.

Also I liked the romance, but I don’t think it was necessary. I feel like building out the relationships and friendships Elegy had could have been a meatier story, especially with the third act twist.

This was a fun read, but could have been better developed.

Thanks to NetGalley and Alcove Press for the advanced copy, all opinions are my own.