Pages:
344
Publisher:
Chicken House
Release
Date: 6th
August 2015
Edition:
UK proof, review
copy
Outsider
Kate has a crush on the coolest boy in school, Leo. He’s inherited a castle, a
menacing ruin on the rugged English coast. When he invites her along for the
summer, she finally feels part of the gang.
But
Darkmere’s empty halls are haunted by dark ghosts. Two centuries ago, Elinor –
the young wife of the castle’s brooding master – uncovered a dreadful truth.
As
past and present intertwine, Kate and Elinor find themselves fighting for their
lives – and the ones they love.
Darkmere
is a story of an
old castle, a vengeful curse and a group of teenagers determined to party the
summer away.
I was really suckered by Leo in
the beginning of the novel. I liked that he wasn’t shiny and polished and
perfect like lots of YA heroes, but scruffy and a little arrogant; he seemed
like a teenage boy! But then that like quickly turned to annoyance, then to
dislike and finally to all-out hatred. I also didn’t feel much of anything for
Kate which meant that it took me a good 150 pages to become even somewhat
invested in the story, and when I did, it was largely down to Elinor’s story.
My relationship with historical
fiction is notoriously unpredictable. I either love it or I hate it, and I loved
reading Elinor’s journey from her first London season to becoming to the first
mistress of Darkmere to her tragic end. Elinor’s story starts in 1825 and her
chapters were immersive and vivid. Maslin clearly did a lot of research into
the period and the experiences of a young woman in that time and it really
showed. But it also left Kate’s present day adventures at Darkmere in the
shadow for me. I could happily have read an entire novel about Elinor. I did,
however, really like the way that Kate and Elinor’s stories paralleled each other and
eventually intertwined. I've always been fascinated by the idea of history repeating itself or leaving echoes through generations and Darkmere captured those ideas wonderfully.
Though Darkmere and I had a rocky start, I ended up enjoying it a lot. I’ll
definitely be looking out for more from Helen Maslin in the future.
Sophie
I loved both their stories but yeah, Ellie's was incredible. Especially the shadowing of her and Kate's experience at Darkmere. I was more taken with the gothic quality :)
ReplyDelete