Light On The Moor, A Paranormal Romance (On The Moors Book 1)

Read "Light On The Moor, A Paranormal Romance" by Rob Shelsky with Rakuten Kobo. Fleeing war-torn London, lonely Norah seeks peace upon the moors. Instead, she encounters No ratings yet. 0. 5 Stars 4 Stars 3 Stars 2 Stars 1 Stars.
Table of contents

A Midnight Breed Novella. An Unlikely Place for Love. Eye of the Beholder. The Wicked House of Rohan. Beyond the Highland Mist. Bid for a Bride. To Have And To Hold. Bride of Second Chances. A Most Unsuitable Earl. The Mail Order Bride's Deception. Rachel and the Hired Gun. A Christmas Regency Novella. The Sheriff and the Innocent Housekeeper. His Mail Order Mrs. Bound by Honor Bound by Love. To Enchant an Icy Earl. The Devil to Pay. Love by Secrets Book 1, Age of Innocence. A Lot Like A Lady. Maid for Scandal - A Regency Novelette.

The Accidental Mail Order Bride. The Earl's Scandalous Wife. Dear Diary, I used the book with S. I feel so powerful! Well, I suddenly really wanted to go swimming. So I decided to sneak out at night and go swimming in the lake. You wanted to go swimming in the lake? Without telling anyone what you were doing?

Do you have a death wish? Why would you do something so incredibly stupid? Do you have no sense of self-preservation? And he said that he wanted to know everything about me and that he had been waiting for me his whole life. His name is Sebastian. What a dreamy name. So you seem to like him. And we, just, like, connect. He wants to know about immortal truths. So what do you talk about? Why are we here? Why do we die? Why, if there is a God, He lets terrible things happen to innocent people? No, we talk about me.

About how he loves me and always wants to be with me and how beautiful and wonderful I am and how dark and mysterious he is. This is such a shallow and dull relationship.

Reward Yourself

He wants more power. The book says a male must have a coven to gain true power. I refuse to be part of S. I also keep seeing this strange girl who looks like me. I know that she is S. Even though I love him as well, I am oddly content with the idea that this queer girl is his destiny. Seriously, WHY do these diary entries keep appearing? What do they add? Why do you keep muttering strange things?

I bet he was just ashamed to show me to his family! We are meant to be together forever. Okay, this is just dragging on. The girls at school are mean, except for Sarah who is nice and Helen who is weird. The teachers are weird and mean. You go to class but never seem to do homework or learn anything. Get to the good stuff. The teachers are an evil coven! And Sebastian is immortal! Which is a family heirloom. Because Lady Agnes, is my great-great-great grandmother! She put all her power into the necklace to keep it from Sebastian!

Because Sebastian is S.! Who saw that coming?!?!? And Sebastian was the one to kill Lady Agnes. But it was an accident! And he feels bad about it now! Besides, he told me he never wants to hurt me. Though he might in the future when he becomes more of a demon and has to kill me to get the Talisman and become truly immortal. You say tragically romantic. I say miserably stupid. And the evil coven has been searching for the Talisman. Why do they wait for three demerits? This is beyond dumb. Go off and pine for your murderous demon boyfriend and fail to do anything useful ever and stop talking to me.

View all 68 comments. I admit that I liked this one. If you haven't noticed I am a sucker for the story of the somewhat lonley, misunderstood female lead who falls in love with the guy who is not quite what he first seems to be. View all 5 comments. Aug 27, Kat Hooper rated it did not like it Shelves: Surprisingly, there are some severe headmistresses there coiffed with scraped-back buns and a clique of mean rich girls. Needless to say, I was astonished when Evie started experiencing strange sensations and hallucinations when she arrived at school.

These visions are connected to the tragic deaths of two young ladies, one of whom grew up in the Victorian age and wisely kept a diary detailing her experimentation with witchcraft.

Immortal (Immortal, #1) by Gillian Shields

And so I will compare it. Immortal, however, has nothing going for it. Evie is an ineffective heroine. Likewise, the beautiful boy who falls in love with Evie has nothing to offer. The only tolerable person in Immortal is Sarah, the nice girl. Unfortunately, though the audio version performed by Emily Durante was otherwise well acted, the voice used for Sarah was so highly pitched sometimes becoming sharp and shrill that it made even Sarah intolerable. Jun 08, Briar's Reviews rated it liked it Shelves: Immortal by Gillian Shields is a fantasy YA novel focused on witches.

I really enjoyed the first book in this series aka this book, Immortal. The take it has on witches was different than what I had read about before, and I enjoyed it's uniqueness. It wasn't on my top list of YA books I read years ago, but it's still a good book.

THE CREATOR CODE:

Gillian Shields is a skilled writer, and I really want to pick up more books from her. With so much potential, it's hard to believe she won't write an even better book in the future. I did think there was a pinch too much romance in this book.

Join Kobo & start eReading today

If there was more focus on the plot line and witches I think it could have peaked up to an even higher rating on my end. I'll have to pick up the rest of the books in the series again to see if it gets any better or if my ratings change from when I first read this series. It also features some cliche characters and plot lines So, for me, it's a little bit boring. It's still a sweet book, and I think there's lots of room to grow for Gillian. Her books are easy to read and move at a relatively fast paced! Three out of five stars.

Feb 11, Booknut rated it liked it Shelves: This female protagonist needs to watch a few episodes of Pretty Little Liars. Which is right before that other crucial rule: This girl either thinks she's been dipped in the River Styx and is invulnerable, or, is simply missing a few important pieces of her brain. Namely her Fight or Flight instinct! Sep 10, AH rated it did not like it Shelves: Free audio book from audiosync. Since I received this as a freebie, I thought I would try an experiment and try out an audio book. I think that this book ran about 7 or 8 hours, but it sure felt longer.

The reader wasn't bad, but the story was not for me. Immortal is the story of a young girl named Evie Johnson who is sent to the Wyldcliffe Abbey School for young women. She meets the handsome Sebastian James outside of the school and manages to see him often. Of course, Sebastian i Free audio book from audiosync. Of course, Sebastian is not really that good for her and there are glaring signs that perhaps Sebastian is not what he seems.

Evie ignores all the signs for love. There is something odd about the school as well, not to mention the gaggle of catty girls that have decided to torment Evie. So - boarding school, catty girls, mysterious boy, other strange things, a mystery journal - It could have been interesting, but the story fell flat for me. Perhaps it was Evie's total lack of self preservation that bothered me the most. If your boyfriend tells you that you can't see him in the daytime, he won't introduce you to his family, and that he might hurt you, wouldn't you run in the opposite direction?

I know I would. View all 8 comments. Sep 13, Kaitlyn rated it did not like it Shelves: This is one of those paranormal books that has every cliche you can think of. I really wanted to like this, but honestly, I couldn't think of anything I enjoyed. It's all just so unoriginal. These are just a few of the cliches in Immortal, and it got on my nerves to no end.

Plus, the romance was unbelievable. It seemed like we hardly knew anything about Sebastian, and in the few scenes that he was in, he did nothing but drone on about how he cared so much for Evie, but he couldn't tell her his secrets. Because, of course, he must have some way to retain his mysteriousness! Even though I totally guessed his "secret" right away. Then Evie, who is quite possibly one of the most boring narrators I've ever read.

She has no personality whatsoever. All I know about her is that she has red hair and gray eyes and she repeatedly calls herself "sane and sensible. It would've helped so much if we knew more about her - what subjects does she like? What does she do in her free time? What are her greatest fears? Her goal in life? Doesn't she ever do anything but pine after Sebastian and mope about how she hates boarding school?

If you've read many paranormal books, then I wouldn't recommend this, as sadly it's quite boring and unoriginal. I'm definitely not interested enough to continue the series. Evie Johnson is a sensible, responsible girl not much given over to fancy, but there's no denying her world is becoming increasingly strange - and she seems to be in the thick of it. Sent to the village of Wyldcliffe in Yorkshire to attend a boarding school her military father has found for her after her grandmother suffers a stroke, Evie's determined to make the best of things.

But on arriving in Wyldcliffe, Evie literally runs into a handsome, ill-looking young man on a horse who somehow manag Evie Johnson is a sensible, responsible girl not much given over to fancy, but there's no denying her world is becoming increasingly strange - and she seems to be in the thick of it. But on arriving in Wyldcliffe, Evie literally runs into a handsome, ill-looking young man on a horse who somehow managed to repair the broken glass in her picture frame as if it had never been damaged.

And it's not enough that the Wyldcliffe Abbey School for Young Ladies is a large, brooding building run along very traditional ideas of schooling; it's also a school for the precious daughters of some of the wealthiest people in the country, and a cursed place according to the people thereabouts. Which Evie can believe: On her first day Evie finds herself in trouble with the school's head mistress and her many rules. As an unwanted scholarship student, with nowhere else to go, Evie tries to keep her head down and even make a friend amongst the disdainful, elitist student body.

But at night she goes in secret to the lake to meet the man who so caught her attention on her first day: Sebastian, while by day she keeps seeing what may be a ghost, or may be a figment of her imagination - a girl with red hair like hers, in period dress, moving about the Abbey. Evie isn't going crazy. She's connected to Lady Agnes, whose home the Abbey once was in the 19th century, and who seems to be trying to tell Evie to stay away from Sebastian.

Sebastian himself, as close as they become, continues to be a mystery to Evie. But as she draws closer to the secret of Lady Agnes, the past and just who - or what - Sebastian really is, she will have to choose between the legacy of a long line of women, and her love for a man who could very well be her dearest enemy. Ultimately, this was a largely unsatisfying novel. With these books I very much get a lolly that fills the mouth with sweetness and rich flavour, pleases the taste buds, but leaves the body unnourished, the belly empty.

I'm starting to think that the entire YA industry needs an overhaul, and I would like to see YA authors going back and reading some of the older YA books, from twenty, thirty, eighty years ago, and reflect on why their own work is so Even the 90s was producing more satisfying YA work than the new releases I've been reading. Though, there are some good stuff coming out of current writers - just not so much in the paranormal section. And it's a real shame. Shields writes very competently, and employs none of the irritating little narrative devices that give me the shits, like constant reflection and anti-climactic sentences operating as paragraphs, though she does introduce some of her own.

The dual stories - of Evie in the present and Agnes, through diary entries, in the past - are woven together neatly, revealing new information to us that corresponds with what's happening in the other story, but leaving the dual protagonists ignorant. Shields would end one such chapter with a line that is then repeated, more or less, at the beginning of the next chapter - once you notice this device, it becomes a bit too pat , a bit too "ha ha yes that's cute moving on now. The atmosphere was rich, very gothic and quite heavy - the old-fashioned boarding school side of it reminded me of A Picnic at Hanging Rock , sort of.

I liked Evie - she's level-headed, not too stubborn, well, not until the end when she held on to her stubbornness a bit too long, and is ordinary and daggy enough to be a familiar, comforting protagonist. If she had been anything like the other girls in the school, it would have been alienating.

She was definitely out-of-place in the school, and made the whole situation at the school look rather absurd. In fact, if I follow through with that thought, the school was rather unbelievable, unrealistic - plausible, yes, but also over-the-top. It's not quite like the weirdness at the school in Isobelle Carmody's The Gathering , where the supernatural, magic side of things feels so organic and natural and the dark side of the story just right - by withholding details, the threat and looming danger becomes more tangible. Really, we're told too much here, and the mystery, the suspense, the threat of danger, dissolves.

There's too much detail here on things that reduce the novel, diminish it somehow, while those aspects that should have been dwelled on more - specially the relationship between Evie and Sebastian, but also the elemental magic side of things - where skimmed over too lightly.

Evie and Sebastian are the case in point: I didn't believe in their chemistry, as much as I wanted to, because there wasn't anything there for me to grasp hold of. Their growing relationship is dealt with almost in passing. What did Sebastian see in Evie beyond red hair that maybe reminded him of Agnes? What did Evie see in Sebastian beyond a pretty face? Without establishing a deep and lasting bond between the two, the whole point of the story falls apart, or at most wallows sluggishly in still water. Predictable water, too - we've figured out everything so far in advance of Evie that you're not left with all that much to keep you reading.

I needed the momentum of their passion to propel the story forward, and to really bring to life Evie's unenviable position at the end of the book. Instead, it slipped dangerously close to farce. It was also very fast-paced, rushing through the weeks and yet not really going anywhere. Again, it needed to slow down and really develop the characters and the story more fully. There were definitely elements that I liked, almost despite myself. The beginning, with Evie walking along the village road and the man on the horse coming straight for her, causing a bit of an accident after which the man berates her like it was her fault, is straight out of Jane Eyre , and made me very curious and expectant about seeing more Jane parallels.

There weren't any, or I stopped looking. There's a very nice British flavour to the novel that I really appreciated, despite the American spelling that looked so out-of-place, but if often felt like it was written by someone who hadn't spent much time there: I hate this nagging conviction that non-American authors feel they have to do this to make their books more palatable to Americans - I know, I'm cynical, but I feel it in my gut. I honestly don't know if I'll read more of the series. I was pleased and yet deeply disappointed by this book - pleased by what it did offer, disappointed by how much it held back.

My biggest complaint is about the poorly established love between Evie and Sebastian, and since the whole book - the whole series - hinges on this love, you definitely need to have it cemented so well I, the reader, feel every shard of pain Evie does, every moment of despair, passion, loneliness, and aching love. Don't tell me she loves Sebastian. I have to see it, feel it, know it for myself. Jun 12, Briana rated it really liked it Recommends it for: Fans of paranormal romance.

Immortal was a compelling and exciting story that kept me turning the pages until I had reached the end. I thoroughly enjoyed the characters. I felt they were well developed, realistic, and interesting. One of the only problems I had with this book was the writing style. Not that there was actually anything wrong with it. For the entire review visit my blog: Feb 05, Jessica rated it really liked it Shelves: It took me a while to actually get into the book. It has a really good, new, interesting plot.

It just never really caught my attention like some other books I've read have. It also kinda bugged me how quickly Evie and Sebastian 'fell in love'. To me it was all to fast. Maybe it was just because we don't get to see all the time they spend together. We just get to see some of the times they meet together. But, even through all that, as all the mysteries strengthen, the book get's a lot more excit It took me a while to actually get into the book.

But, even through all that, as all the mysteries strengthen, the book get's a lot more exciting. You start getting all these answers, and one of the answers you get was so obvious that I felt so stupid for not figuring it out to start with. You also start to believe Evie's and Sebastian's relationship a little more, which made it even better.


  • Click Start To Begin - Microsoft Windows XP Basics.
  • Dead Until Dark: A True Blood Novel (Sookie Stackhouse Book 1).
  • ROB SHELSKY -- Author: New Releases.
  • The Near Witch (The Near Witch, #1) by Victoria Schwab?
  • Gallium Nitride Processing for Electronics, Sensors and Spintronics (Engineering Materials and Proce.
  • William Atkins's top 10 books of the moor!

When I first started the book I wasn't sure if I was going to continue on with the series, but after the ending I have no doubt I will continue with this series. I have got to find out what all is going to happen! Jan 31, Laura rated it it was ok Shelves: I'm sure I've read this before Evie is a part-orphan no mother, father never home raised by her grandmother; when Frankie becomes to ill to care for Evie, her father sends her to Wyldcliffe Abbey School. It's clear from the very start that there's something Not Quite Right about the school, about Sebastian the boy she meets as she arrives and about who Evie really is.

No spoilers, but if you don't get the main plot twists well before they're revealed, yo I'm sure I've read this before No spoilers, but if you don't get the main plot twists well before they're revealed, you're just not reading the right kind of books. Aug 19, Misha Mathew rated it liked it Shelves: I am not sure what I feel about this book.

There is a kind of mixed reaction. I bought it because - 1. I had heard about it 2. I liked the cover 3. Main Reason - Melissa Marr's review on the cover describing the book as an "enticing paranormal romance. I can I am not sure what I feel about this book. I can stand it as a part of the story especially if its well done.

But no cheesy romances for me , please! Yes, I am a cynic! Yet I did like this book.. There were both good and bad things about Immortal. Sixteen year old Evie Johnson is forced to attend an elite all girls' school called Wyldcliffe Abbey School because her mother's dead , her father's in army and her grandmother is hospitalized. The school not only has a bad reputation with its secrets and tragic past but the students are rich snobbish brats too. One of them, Celeste takes it upon herself to torment Evie , who as a consequence is sad and lonely.

She starts having strange dreams and keeps on seeing things.

Urban Fantasy vs. Paranormal Romance

She finds solace in a mysterious young boy called Sebastian. Sebastian has dark secrets of his own which he wants to protect Evie from. It is an utterly romantic book - one of those stories where flowers bloom and A haunting book written by a voice that's as different as they come. It is an utterly romantic book - one of those stories where flowers bloom and hope is painted over a dark, bloody canvas. Reading this novel will take you through a range of emotions - pain, regret, disillusionment, fear, hate, love, sadness, grief, happiness, expectation.

That's what a good story should do. Pick up this story if you love the 19th century classics. I like stories with class - this is one of them. Don't let the categorization as "gothic romance" or "gothic horror" fool you. If any of this is not your cup of tea, try it anyway. There's much more to this story than meets the eye. The House on Blackstone Moor is a fantastic read. It is filled with suspense, there are unexpected plot twists and turns around every corner.

I absolutely love the style of this book, the first person POV really makes the story way more interesting and exciting. It is very much in literary fashion, and reminded me in a lot of ways of Susanna Kaysen's "Girl, Interrupted". The author hints at many different possibilities throughout the story, creating twists and turns that truly keep you on the ed The House on Blackstone Moor is a fantastic read.

Get A Copy

The author hints at many different possibilities throughout the story, creating twists and turns that truly keep you on the edge of your seat and begging for more. It's hard to say much about the actual plot without giving away key details, but if you're looking for a unique twist on the story of vampires, this is it!!! There is absolutely nothing typical here, and nothing sparkly, either. Just a super great read! There was nothing ethereal about the dark movie playing in the recesses of my imagination as I rapidly clicked through the pages on my kindle; the images that were invoked in my mind were substantive, very well-formed and often gruesome.

This is truly an outstanding horror tale that provokes deeper thought even as it scares you out of your wits. Review of the House on Blackstone Moor Rating 3 stars www. After coming home to find her family dead, she is whisked off to an asylum, where Doctor Bannion takes her under his wing and secures a job for at the house on Blackstone Moor. Half way through the book you get the idea that something sinister is happening at the house, but once you reach the half-way point the book goes into full throttle. I have spent all day trying to think of how to explain this book, as I have never read one quite like it.

It reminds me of the taker, but on a much heavier scale. Perfectly written, the story held my interest but when it was gruesome, it was gruesome.


  1. See a Problem?.
  2. William Atkins's top 10 books of the moor | Books | The Guardian.
  3. The Near Witch.
  4. Once Upon A Haunted Moor (Tyack & Frayne, #1) by Harper Fox!
  5. The House on Blackstone Moor.
  6. Understanding Foodservice Redistribution:A Guide for Manufacturers & Distributors;

    7. Carole Gill Reviewed By: Crystal Trent Dotson Rose Baines ia a pretty nineteen year old , that finds her father has murdered her family including himself , after finding this tragic scene she is taken to Marsh , a lunatic asylum. She is taken in by Dr. Bannion, who she learns to trust. He offers her to live with him before becoming a governess to his friends children. She takes the job and moves to the House on BlackStone Moor.

    Darton seem nice enough, but as time goes on , Rose By: Darton seem nice enough, but as time goes on , Rose soon begins to notice odd happenings, she trys to pass it off as dreams, until she is face to face with the evil that lives in the house. She never imagined the man she was falling in love with was also undead, but once that secret is unveiled, all Hell breaks loose. Rose endures being raped , bitten , tore , and losing so many she dearly loved. No one is who she thought they was and she finds that no one can be trusted. While trying to figure out Good and Evil , demons attack her and try to drag her through the gates of Hell.

    She is forced to make the decision to sacrifice herself , her blood , to save the ones she loves , and leave the world forever , or watch them die. This is a terrifying and evil filled book. Rose endures so much pain her 19 years of life that most don't experience in a lifetime. Full of demons , spirits , fallen angels , and Satan himself. This novel starts out with Rose. Rose was abused for years by her father and while away carrying for a sick aunt her father murders her mother, two sisters and a brother.

    The family doctor took her to a hospital and it was there she was taken under the wing of Dr. He placed her at Marsh asylum. Here she tried to heal and even had a job of sewing, one day she was offered a job as a governess at Blackstone. Excited and hopeful of a new life Rose has no idea what lies behind the doors of Blackstone. Vampires and demons OH MY! While reading this I pictured it to be a black and white and only when they talked about the garden at Blackstone did I even see color.

    The author's descriptive writing was excellent. You felt like you were there, seeing and hearing all that is going on, which will leave you a little shaken! It was a book that I would not start late at night, due to you not wanting to put it down! There is a mystery and even a love story around every corner! Wende Sheets stars - 4 complimentary book given for a free review juliesbookreview.

    I relaxed in my chair Christmas Day after all the excitement of presents had calmed down and started The House on Blackstone Moor. I couldn't put it down. The story is told in the first person by Rose, who after the death of her family and a stay in a mental hospital in what I assume is turn of the century England, becomes the governess of the children of the house on Blackstone Moor.

    From here a mystery unravels. Who is this strange family and what is Rose's true role? The story had a tone like I relaxed in my chair Christmas Day after all the excitement of presents had calmed down and started The House on Blackstone Moor. The story had a tone like a Sherlock Holmes tale, or even of Sarah Waters's The Stranger, but turned completely different from either of those when vampires and ghosts and vampire hunters appear. Gill's book has romance and light erotic parts mixed with the horror and made for a great read on Christmas afternoon!

    The book started out well. I was enthralled by the gothic style of writing. The author did well at setting the mood and atmosphere. Unfortunately for me about half way through I struggled with the plot. It became too dark and morose for me. In my opinion this book is NOT appropriate for minors. Scenes include demonic sacrifice and rape. I add the min The book started out well. I add the minor information, just as a heads up for parents if you have a teen who was like me.

    The parts I didn't like was the parts where Rose was talking about herself or the story was being prolong for some reason. This was really dark Rose was sexually abused too many times in this story. The gates of hell opens up in this book If you like gothic romance, loss, darkness, heaven and hell then you will love this story. Check out our review here! I don't usually like romance with my horror, but Carole combined the two beautifully so that they did not diminish each other. Jun 27, J. Brennan rated it really liked it Shelves: Pain, depravity, love, tragedy, and evil combine to create an entrancing, dark, emotional drama.

    The story of Rose Baines, her tragic life, her love, her hate, is an emotional upheaval of turmoil and fury. Even in love, Rose find the fire and frenzy that is, in essence, real passion. This is a story vampires, unsettled, evil spirits, demons, and gypsies is as unique as it is captivatingly twisted and disturbingly dark. The author has created a story that both terrifies the read but also tantaliz Pain, depravity, love, tragedy, and evil combine to create an entrancing, dark, emotional drama.

    The author has created a story that both terrifies the read but also tantalizes the love story in us all. Yes, a dark and unnerving love story, but a love story just the same. You know that wasn't half bad I have to admit. My review I feel should be very simple, as I am still contemplating the events in this story.

    The author has definatley thrown caution to the wind, and went flat out full blast. Best hang on because you are going for a ride! I received a copy of this book for free from Carole. It was a gift with no mention of review. Just one sick twisted mind sharing their deviance with another kindred soul: The House on Blackstone Moor is a treat to read.

    Told in the old fashioned style of literary greats like Mary Shelly, Gill builds the characters, tension and ambiance which is often lost in modern writing. We're told to go for the hook, start with action, get your reader in the first page or you're toast as a writer. In The House on Blackstone Moor you will be captivated from the very first sentence but not because anything explodes, but because this dark and twisted story is well crafted and engaging.

    In the beginning of the book we are introduced to our protagonist, Rose, who has lived through an incredible trauma. Her father, driven insane after a brain injury, had killed her mother and siblings. A young woman living alone and grieving she is sent to one of the only places available for her to recoup, an insane asylum. I can't even begin to tell you how much I enjoyed reading the passages from her time there, and without giving anything away, I can tell you that in the tradition of Gothic Horror literature, evil follows Rose everywhere she goes.

    You are well into the book by the time the vampire lore is introduced. Usually this would bother me. I mean I bought a vampire book after all, where are the goddamn vampires? In The House on Blackstone Moor however this is not a problem as the tone of the book has already set the stage for any supernatural being or horror the author can dream up.

    In a rare show of courage Gill has reworked the Vampire mythology in an extremely unique way that I haven't seen before. This is a real variation from the mythos we take for granted but it is close enough to the monsters we love to feel familiar. She has also taken full advantage of the other supernatural themes at her disposal. Satan worshiping, fallen angels, gypsies, good vs. I had a minor frustrations reading this. One is that the character of Eve isn't explored further, nor is her sexuality. Another is that the Doctor who cares for Rose in the asylum is relatively schizophrenic.

    I could not get a clear hold on his character. If the intention was to have him be mysterious and confusing, fine, but there was no consistency to his character or foreshadowing to connect the various divergent behaviors. Also, there were a few editing issues, specifically around quotes, dialogue that didn't have end quotes or where quotes did not separate the descriptions from what was said.

    All in all these are negligible and I still heartily recommend The House on Blackstone Moor to anyone who enjoys vampires, horror, gothica, literature, or any combination there-in. This is one you'll want to curl up under a blanket with late at night and really let your imagination fly!

    This book is for readers over December 17th, Paperback release May Publisher: Fragile and damaged by the tragedy, fate sends her to a desolate house on the haunted moors where demons dwell. The house and the moors have hideous secrets, yet there is love too; deep, abiding, eternal, but it comes with a price: Unpredictability and sweeping romance excite in this emotional and action-packed Gothic horror novel. I am charmed by illusion of it all; English Rose, whose entire family is brutally murdered by her father's hand, is sent to an asylum for her own safekeeping, the doctors tell her , where she for the first time, encounters insanity at its finest.

    Here is where she begins to ponder upon the blurry line between dementia and evil, and later, unfortunately discovers what and how thin that line is. Luckily, she is saved from having to live in the appalling lunatic ward, by the generosity of a doctor who offers her a job at an obscure club, owned by an eerily beautiful couple, the Dartons.

    What this club is for, and how it functions, Rose does not know. But she does know that the Dartons have two peculiarly smart, beautiful children -- her job is to be their governess -- and live in a house near the creepy and deserted dock that contains a black stone: The stone is rumored to have attained its color from blood stains; the children explain that it is an ancient sacrificial stone.

    Rose does not believe them. How foolish she is. Rose, nineteen and fresh-faced, is lovable and rather smart for her degree of innocence. Her whole life before her father's madness had been pure and plain, or at least we are led to believe. Her observant eye allows her to follow along quickly to the dangers and frights that approach her, but that doesn't mean she copes with them well.

    Hysteria blooms from an unforeseen part of her, in reaction to the unimaginably gruesome secrets that are revealed at the Blackstone House. Soon, this hysteria is diagnosed as none other, than the paranormal absurdity she's experienced with the Dartons all along. Usually, I find sub-plotted love stories within horror or crime novels white virgin falls in love with handsome brooding hero annoying, but Gill concocts such an unconventional, yet surprisingly enchanting, attraction between Rose and an unavailable party, that I can't help but swoon over their relationship.

    Rose's story is an adversity of sorts, because in the end, her fall of innocence leads to her emotional death. She does however, get an eternal happy ending, at least alongside her lover, which sparks the smallest of hope within me. That, and the fact that she speaks in the past tense throughout the story, gives me a sense of security, knowing Rose will end up okay. It means Rose has a story to tell. It means she survived to let her story be told. Dread is beyond fear, I think. Dread knows fear was correct in the first place. Dread just intends to sit and wait for the worst to happen, which will happen, because dread, if nothing else, is sure of itself.

    I found the book to be a fast read and easy to get through. Many times I was left from chapter to chapter completely unsure of what was going to happen next. This novel, however, obtained that. The dialogue is fantastic. As I read about Rose and what she was going through, the story she was telling, I could clearly hear her voice and accent in my mind.

    The very beginning of the novel was surprising and I had no idea where the book would go next. It was graphic and shocking to have a character, right at the start of the book, walk in to find her entire family dead. As mentioned in the synopsis Rose is brought to an insane asylum, which is an experience in itself. Each character that enters a scene I was unsure if I could trust or not.

    For some, my instincts proved to be accurate. For others, I was wrong. Either way I was always left wondering what would happen next rather than figuring it out; I hate when I can figure out what is going to happen to a book before it happens so this received double thumbs up from me.