The Shadows of Stormclyffe Hall by Lauren Smith
- By Lauren Smith
- Editions: ebook, paperback
- Published: September 29th 2014 by Entangled: Select
- Genre: Adult Paranormal Romance
- Source: review copy
- In a Flutter: A love that never dies
To defeat a dark evil, they must face his family’s past…
Bastian Carlisle, the Earl of Weymouth, doesn’t believe in ghosts. Even though tragedy and mysterious hauntings have driven his family away from his ancestral home, Stormclyffe Hall, he is determined to restore the castle to its former glory. His plans are disrupted when a stubborn American shows up on his doorstep hoping to pry into his family’s tragic history.
Jane Seyton, an American graduate student, is convinced there’s more to the tragedy of Stormclyffe Hall than history claims. Ever the scholar, she is determined to discover the truth, even if it means putting up with the arrogant, yet sexy, Bastian.
Although Bastian wants nothing to do with the pushy American, it soon becomes clear that something evil is in the house—and that something is targeting both Jane and Bastian. The two must join forces to purge the ghosts of Stormclyffe Hall once and for all—even as they try to fight a physical attraction between them that grows more and more impossible to deny.
~ Goodreads
Review
Essentially this was two love stories wrapped into one crazy tale! I’ve never read a gothic romance before and I’m glad that this was the story that introduced me to that genera. This story’s creep factor was on high but so was its love story. Two different couples spanning time and space come together to help rid the evil that is plaguing Stormclyffe Hall.
Jane Seyton has been bombarded with visions and dreams, which she would call nightmares, ever since she decided to write her dissertation on the tragic past of Stormclyffe Hall. Ever since she saw a photo of the castle she has felt drawn to southern England and its many mysteries. Jane could have never had known that once she set foot on that property, she would be in a fight for not only the love of a lifetime but for her survival as well. Jane was not too shabby of a heroine. Sometimes I wanted to knock her out for being so heartbroken over her ex but then she would get all feisty and interesting again when she interacted with the hero!
Bastian Carlisle is the Earl of Weymouth. He is scorned by the townspeople and thought of as cursed by anyone that learns about his tragic ancestral past. He has come back to his rightful ancestral home, Stormclyffe Hall, in hopes of restoring it to its former glory. What he doesn’t bank on is falling in love with a nosy American graduate student bent on finding out all the gory details of his legacy.
Not only did we get Bastian and Jane’s love story we also got Isabelle and Richard’s as well. Told in dual points of view from Bastian and Jane as well as past/present point of view we get the whole sordid tale of what went wrong so many years ago. I really liked getting the back story of Isabella and Richard’s ill-fated romance. I adored that their love was so strong it survived decades and decades of heartache as well as the fact that they never gave up hope of being together.
This story completely reminded me of the movie Dark Shadows starring Johnny Depp!! It did have a few differences but the similarities just made me visualize a lot of the scenes from the movie as I was reading. The pace of the story was a little fast for my tastes but everything was answered in the end and you got a pretty damn good hea after all was said and done.
If you’re in the mood for a creepy gripping tale of love, mystery, and things that definitely go bump in the night come and find out why the Shadows of Stormclyffe Hall are so restless!!
