You’re promising me some traumatic amnesia, a giant scary estate, and possible ghosts and/or fairy shenanigans? Yes please thank you Bea Northwick! A perfect read for the week before Halloween.
Millicent Foxboro is alone in the world. Having overcome a difficult childhood and amnesia that mysteriously erased four years of her life, she now craves stability. When an unexpected job offer arrives with a ridiculously large salary Millicent feels she must take it. She arrives at the once grand but now overgrown estate with its grumpy, brooding Professor and grand total of three servants to find more than she bargained for.
I will admit that it took me a little bit to get into this book. It seems like it’s following the gothic romance tropes- Millicent is running around in the dark in her little nightgown, the Professor is a hot hot hottie who’s mad at her for no apparent reason, the housekeeper hates her. I was just waiting for the crazy wife locked in the attic reveal and please Millie just locking your bedroom door at night in a house full of strangers would probably solve ninety percent of your problems.
But suddenly I was hooked. I don’t know what it was (the ghost of the professor’s first wife I assume) but I could not stop reading. I ended up devouring this book in one sitting on a rainy afternoon. I did not expect the ending twists at all, though the clues are definitely laid out. It’s a little teeny smidge spicy too! Overall an excellent debut from this author, I’ll be keeping an eye out for her in the future.