Michelle Posted July 23, 2015 Share Posted July 23, 2015 A castle. A curse. One dangerous holiday … Kate and her friends are spending the summer at Darkmere Castle in Devon which she thinks will be a perfect opportunity for her to get together with Leo. But instead, she s drawn into the dark story of an nineteenth-century girl who haunts the tunnels and towers of the house … and whose curse now hangs over them all. Darkmere is described by the publisher as ‘Heart-stopping, gothic and dangerous’ and I would certainly agree. I was sent a review copy prior to YALC (YA Literature Convention) and by about halfway I was searching through amazon to find out what else the author had written. I was certainly surprised to find out that this is her first book! I don’t want to give away much of the plot, but there are two cleverly intertwined stories. The first is a very modern one, with a group of teens taking a holiday in an inherited castle. The castle has been inherited by Leo, and he is very much in charge of the group. Kate has always felt an outsider, but hopes that being invited along by Leo will help her to finally fit in. The other story is an historical one, telling the tale of Elinor, who’s also an outsider trying to fit in. She marries St Cloud, and becomes Mistress of Darkmere, but life there is not what she expected. The thing which I loved about Helen’s writing is that the two main characters had such distinctive voices.. moving between the two times was an easy transition, as each told their own story in their own way. And yet, despite the different times and storylines, and the distinct voices, there were lots of similarities. At no point did one strand pull you away from the other, they complimented each other so well. The two stories become more and more entwined, as Kate starts to question whether Darkmere is haunted. Helen writes scenes which create just the right level of unease.. it’s not a scary book as such, but certain parts are rather creepy. It builds to a tense, heart-stopping conclusion. Darkmere is a dark YA novel, with lots to appeal to both teens and older readers. I loved the characters, the storylines, and the writing, and this is a well crafted novel. It also has a gorgeous cover! It’s out at the beginning of August, and I highly recommend it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chesilbeach Posted July 30, 2015 Share Posted July 30, 2015 I bought this one today - I went in to buy another book which happened to be on the buy one get one half price offer, and I remembered you'd written a review of this one, but couldn't remember what it was like, so thought I'd give it a go anyway! Just got home and read your review, so glad I decided to go for it Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michelle Posted July 31, 2015 Author Share Posted July 31, 2015 Ooh - I do hope you like it! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chesilbeach Posted August 7, 2015 Share Posted August 7, 2015 Just finished it. Very good indeed. It was a bit creepy, and I have to say, I'm glad I read it on a bright sunny day, as on a dark, wintry night, I think I might have been a bit scared! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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