Genre: Occult Horror
Format: eBook
Pages: 317
Rating: ★★★★★
Synopsis:
Aldane Manor is an ancient home of
low-beamed ceilings, crumbling walls, poison gardens, and deadly secrets.
When Alrick Aldane returns to his family’s
house, he expects to simply inherit his father’s land and title.
Instead, he discovers that he is also heir to
the property’s disturbing history--one full of witchcraft--and a ghostly
mystery that could condemn him to a fate worse than death.
Review:
"The wood was stained in splotches of unnatural colors, the surrounding plaster absorbing the hues—purples, reds, yellows fading out from the doorway as if it were a portal to another world."
House Aldane is a manor with a dark history. When Lord Aldane passes, the family is now all gathered in the manor. Alrick is under the impression that he will now be Lord of the manor, but his older stepbrother, Aemon, has other plans. He has gone to great lengths to ensure he will be Lord, and he uses his position of power in an unkind manner.
Tredan is Alrick and Aemon's uncle who is also the alchemist of House Aldane. He works hard to save many ill orphan children, and he is now teaching Alrick the craft.
Alrick is a gentle soul and only wants what is rightfully his. He also wishes to help as many people as he can while keeping the family together and peaceful.
"No healing could occur with Aemon in power—he was a hot infection keeping the wound open. Alrick would be the medicine. If necessary, the scalpel."
Nelda is Aemon and Alrick's sister. She is fascinated with nightshade and belladonna, and the trees such as laurel and oleander. Her mother's garden is filled with poisonous plants which she indulges in to open the door to the other side.
"There was duty to consider. And not all of the voices in the Aldane halls were happy. Frightened maids. Cries of anger. And the dead. So many voices out of their bottles."
I really enjoyed reading this one, just fabulous!
**Thank you Bad Hand Books for the complimentary copy!
Goodreads Author Link:
About the author
Sarah Read writes and reads dark fiction in Colorado. She is Fiction Editor for Pantheon Magazine. When she's not playing with words, she's playing with yarn. Her hands are perpetually covered in ink.
https://badhandbooks.com/
