

Palace of Shadows follows out of work artist Samuel Etherstone as he accepts a job to work for the elusive, believed-to-be-mad heiress known as Mrs. Chesterfield at an isolated mansion in the grim, unforgiving Yorkshire moors. Mrs. Chesterfield has been building what is essentially a never-ending house, which many believe is due to her family relations to the Chesterfield gun company, which supplies weapons for wars. It is rumored that Mrs. Chesterfield is constructing this house filled with doors and staircases to nowhere and a maze-like interior in order to confuse any spirits of the dead who might be after her because they have been killed by her family's guns in the recent and ongoing wars.
If you know anything about the real life Winchester house and Winchester gun company, then you'll know this premise surrounding Mrs. Chesterfield is pretty much the same. Nowhere in descriptions or the author's note is there a mention of the Winchester House located in San Jose, California (which is a really neat place to visit, and you definitely should if you ever have the chance!), but Palace of Shadows is very much a Winchester House-inspired story. Once I realized this was the premise we were working with, I was excited to dive deeper into this story, as I don't think I've ever read a book that has used the Winchester House as inspiration. Samuel is hired on to construct a mausoleum for Mrs. Chesterfield due to his background as an artist known for creating optical illusions in his paintings, such as in the styles of M.C. Escher, and I think I was about as eager as Mrs. Chesterfield to see what Samuel would come up with for this task.
I really enjoyed that this book had a somewhat substantial cast of characters to meet, as I initially expected this to be a more isolating Gothic novel. However, the construction and running of a house of this magnitude–as well as maintaining all the finances associated with the Chesterfield company and house–actually requires a lot of people to be involved, so there always seemed to be someone around the house for Samuel to interact with.
This story is initially told from Samuel's POV, but there are two substantial sections within this book that deviate from this perspective and follow in epistolary formats. I was surprised at the length of these additional sections and how long it took to get back to Samuel's POV, but fortunately the interruptions were still compelling and provided some much needed insight into some characters and background. I also appreciated Samuel's narrative voice and found him to be a rather likable protagonist whose experiences made for a compelling reading experience.
There are so many secrets and mysteries at play in this book for readers to uncover alongside Samuel, and these are also what helped make this book so compelling. Personally, I love a weird house, especially when the architecture of said house is a part of that, so any of the additional odd happenings related to the house only served to enhance my interest in what was happening. One of my favorite things was simply exploring this house alongside Samuel and observing the oddities and eccentricities, as well as some rather intense statues that the previous architect constructed seemingly with no pre-made plans–a feat that most other workers, as well as Samuel himself, found perplexing due to their complexity.
Celestin captures the atmosphere of this Gothic setting and storyline perfectly. I felt as uneasy as Samuel at every turn, and found myself looking for both sanity and answers amidst the strange occurrences and behavior of some of the people living there, including Mrs. Chesterfield herself. I think this book really excelled in feeling initially dark and foreboding, but then sort of lures you into thinking you were just being silly and there's nothing that odd about it... only for you to slowly realize along with Samuel that things are far more complicated than they seem. This journey was a supremely fun one to be along the ride for.
I don't have any real complaints about this book other than that it can be a bit on the slow side at times, especially in the secondary POV segments, but there's a worthwhile conclusion that brought everything together in a way that I really appreciated. There isn't anything exceptionally shocking or crazy that happens in this book, so I can see where it might come across a bit mellow as well, but I think this is countered by the strong atmosphere, so readers' enjoyment may vary according to preferences. Also, although it didn't affect my reading experience, I'll admit that I was mildly annoyed that it isn't acknowledged anywhere within the book that this is actually based on a real person. Maybe it's to be obvious and not needing to be said, but I think some acknowledgement would be appropriate.
Overall, I've given Palace of Shadows four stars! This is a very solid Gothic mystery that is very easy to sink into and stay hooked for every page.
Buy the book: Amazon
Can't-Wait is a weekly meme hosted by Wishful Endings that spotlights exciting upcoming releases that we can't wait to be released! This meme is based off of Jill @ Breaking the Spine's Waiting on Wednesday meme.
The Djinn Waits a Hundred Years by Shubnum Khan
Publication: January 9th, 2024
Viking
Hardcover. 320 pages.
Pre-order: Amazon | Bookshop.org
From Goodreads:
"Rebecca and The House of Spirits meets Fatima Farheen Mirza in this sweeping, gorgeously atmospheric novel about a ruined mansion by the sea, the djinn that haunts it, and a curious girl who unearths the tragedy that happened there a hundred years previous.
Akbar Manzil was once a grand estate off the coast of South Africa. Now, nearly a century since it was built, it stands in ruins: an isolated boardinghouse for misfits, seeking to forget their pasts and disappear into the mansion's dark corridors. Until Sana. She and her father are the latest of Akbar Manzil’s long list of tenants, seeking a new home after suffering painful loss.
Unlike the others, who choose not to look too closely at the mansion’s unsettling qualities—the strange assortment of bones in the overgrown garden, the mysterious figure seen to move sometimes at night—she is curious and questioning and finds herself irresistibly drawn to the history of the mansion. To the eerie and forgotten East Wing, home to a clutter of broken and abandoned objects—and to the locked door at its end, unopened for decades.
Behind the door is a bedroom frozen in time, with faded photographs of a couple in love and a worn diary that whispers of a dark past: the long-forgotten story of a young woman named Meena, the original owner’s second wife, who died there tragically a hundred years ago. Watching Sana from the room’s shadows is a grieving djinn, an invisible spirit who once loved Meena and has haunted the mansion since her mysterious death. Obsessed with Meena’s story, and unaware of the creature that follows her, Sana digs into the past like fingers into a wound, awakening the memories of the house itself—and dredging up old and terrible secrets that will change the lives of everyone living and dead at Akbar Manzil."
The House of Last Resort by Christopher Golden
Publication: January 30th, 2024
St. Martin's Press
Hardcover. 304 pages.
Pre-order: Amazon | Bookshop.org
From Goodreads:
November is also Thanksgiving for those of us in the states, and I really hope all of you who celebrate had a wonderful time. My husband and I actually went to Disneyland with my family and it was such a fun time to spend the day with all of them. I also went to a concert last week for the first time in what feels like ages and it felt so good to be back, that will definitely be something I start prioritizing again.
In reading news, it was also a great month! I read way more books than I expected and had such a great time with so many of them! Highlights include The Square of Sevens, Bunny, Emily Wilde's Encyclopaedia of Faeries, and Nestlings. I also started a new graphic novel series that seems very promising. All in all, I can't complain about my November reading for once–and that feels great, haha.
So, most importantly: how was your November!? Let me know how your month was and what you've been reading!
I have a little bit of catching up to do on reviews, so today I have two mini reviews to share with you all, and there will probably be more coming in the future. Let me know if you've read any of these books and what your thoughts are!
Can't-Wait is a weekly meme hosted by Wishful Endings that spotlights exciting upcoming releases that we can't wait to be released! This meme is based off of Jill @ Breaking the Spine's Waiting on Wednesday meme.
The Tusks of Extinction by Ray Nayler
Publication: January 16th, 2024
Tordotcom
Paperback. 192 pages.
Pre-order: Amazon | Bookshop.org
From Goodreads:
"When you bring back a long-extinct species, there’s more to success than the DNA.
Moscow has resurrected the mammoth, but someone must teach them how to be mammoths, or they are doomed to die out, again.
The late Dr. Damira Khismatullina, the world’s foremost expert in elephant behavior, is called in to help. While she was murdered a year ago, her digitized consciousness is uploaded into the brain of a mammoth.
Can she help the magnificent creatures fend off poachers long enough for their species to take hold?
And will she ever discover the real reason they were brought back?
A tense eco-thriller from a new master of the genre."
Midnight by Amy McCulloch
Publication: January 2nd, 2024
Doubleday
Hardcover. 336 pages.
Pre-order: Amazon | Bookshop.org
From Goodreads: