The Secrets of Hartwood Hall by Katie Lumsden

The Secrets of Hartwood Hall
by Katie Lumsden

ISBN-13: 9780593186923
Hardcover: 352 pages
Publisher: Berkley
Released: February 28th 2023

Source: ebook review copy from the publisher through NetGalley.

Book Description, Modified from Goodreads:
It's 1852 and Margaret Lennox, a young widow, attempts to escape the shadows of her past by taking a position as governess to an only child, Louis, at an isolated country house in the west of England. But Margaret soon starts to feel that something isn't quite right. There are strange figures in the dark, tensions between servants, and an abandoned east wing. Even stranger is the local gossip surrounding Mrs. Eversham, Louis's widowed mother, who is deeply distrusted in the village. Lonely and unsure whom to trust, Margaret finds distraction in a forbidden relationship with the gardener, Paul. But as Margaret's history threatens to catch up with her, it isn't long before she learns the truth behind the secrets of Hartwood Hall.


My Review:
The Secrets of Hartwood Hall is a gothic historical set in 1852 in England. It had some very modern attitudes among the main characters, including Margaret having casual sex with a younger man and two lesbian women living together without comment by the staff who knew about it. Margaret's offered marriage by the young man but refused because of how controlling and abusive her husband had been. She liked sex and wanted children but wanted no commitments to a man.

I had expected a mystery novel, but it's not. It's just odd things happening around the Hall and Margaret getting very jumpy despite being reassured by a long-time servant that there's no danger there. Frankly, I got bored after a while of how cowardly Margaret acted. Her way of dealing with fear and stress seemed to be to run to her lover and have sex rather than really trying to fix things. The characters also were very stiff and stilted. We're rarely told why people acted the way they did, and even Margaret's motivating past was only very, very slowly revealed. Since the characters didn't come across as real, I didn't really care about what happened to them. Sorry, but this book wasn't for me.

There were many intense kissing scenes followed by fade-to-black sex, then fond thoughts of it afterwards. There were only a few uses of bad language.


If you've read this book, what do you think about it? I'd be honored if you wrote your own opinion of the book in the comments.