Oh man, I really wanted to like this one! When I saw the gorgeous cover and read the description, I just had to splurge on the gorgeous hardback filled with spooky charcoal drawings. As the cliche goes, you can’t judge a book by its cover. Boo.

The book starts off great. We have an orphan with special ghoul-seeing powers who mysteriously gets summoned to her family’s gorgeous, sprawling estate named “Gallant.” She receives a not-so-warm welcome from her cousin who is adamant about sending her packing.

The intrigue kept me glued to the pages until I realized that nothing was happening. All this great build up and then the author just loses steam. Eventually I discover that this is less of a gothic mystery and more of a high fantasy involving different dimensions. Not my thing. I finished out of duty (also because I spent $20 on the book) and vowed to only stick to V.E. Schwab’s middle-grade thrillers, which are absolutely fabulous! Although she lost me with Gallant, her Cassidy Blake books will always have a special place in my heart.