Darkmere by Helen Maslin

A castle. A curse. A dangerous summer. Leo has invited Kate and a few friends to spend the summer at his inheritance, Darkmere Castle: as wild and remote as it is beautiful. Kate thinks it will be the perfect place for her and Leo to get together - but instead, she's drawn into the dark story of a young nineteenth-century bride who haunts the tunnels and towers of the house. And whose curse now hangs over them all.

My thoughts

I heard about Darkmere a while back and was looking forward to getting my hands on a copy for a while. It turns out it was a mixed bad for me and here's why.

Starting with the positive. I really enjoyed the historical parts of the novel. The story of Elinor really got to me. The sheer injustice of the existence she is forced to live because she is a girl and because her family want her to marry well made me angry. I really felt for her with every page and was fascinated by the world she lived in.

However I did not gel at all with the modern parts of the novel.I really didn't like Kate as a character. I didn't like the constant references to the characters being stoned. Don't get me wrong I know that happens but I thought the portrayal was blinkered because I don't think most kids smoke weed as heavily as that on a frequent basis. Call me naive if you will.

I am looking forward to what the author writes next.