I won a copy of this book in a Goodreads Giveaway. I had high hopes for it, seeing as how I love gothic novels. Instead, this book is rife with turgid sentences, frequently a paragraph in length. It is pregnant with the attempt to convey meaning, without ever actually serving as an effective communicator itself. This turns what could be a decent read into an absolute chore. This author shows promise but would do well to get a decent editor, or at the very least, get a beta reader to thrash the manuscript with a red pen, marking and slicing at will, a beta reader who will provide effective criticism before sending the script to an editor. Rather, this book reads as if only "yes men" approved it. One can imagine everyone involved in the process said, "Sure, everything's great, leave it just as it is," rather than doing their due diligence and treating the manuscript as needed