williamriva

Eve falls in love with an older man, Dom when she meets him by chance touring a garden in Switzerland. After a whirlwind romance, the two relocate to an abandoned house called Les Genevriers in the South of France. They set about restoring their new home as they enjoy exploring all the nooks and crannies and hidden chambers. Their new home is rich with history. As their enchanted Summer draws to a close and Fall sets in, Eve notices a change in Dom. He becomes more withdrawn and secretive and she begins to have doubts about him. She knows he has a painful failed marriage in his past but he will not talk about it. His refusal to reveal any information about his ex-wife Rachel makes Eve obsessed to find out more. She starts investigating his past and becomes more and more concerned with what she finds. When a mysterious lantern starts showing up on the property, Eve begins to think the house is haunted. Alternating with Eve’s story is the narrative of Bénédicte Luncel, who used to live in the farmhouse where Dominic and Eve now live. Bit by bit, she reveals her family’s secrets which have a great impact on Eve and Dom's life at the house. The writing is very descriptive and beautiful, but it became tedious after awhile. I wanted her to get to the point, tell the story instead of spending so much time on the lengthy descriptions. The dual narratives were confusing to me at first, until I realized they alternated chapters. For the first few chapters of Benedicte's story, I wasn't sure whether she was a ghost or a person and why she was telling her story. I enjoyed Eve's story more than Benedicte's, although when Dom finally reveals what really happened to his ex-wife, it was a huge letdown, very disappointing. I read this in October and I was expecting a creepy Gothic novel and this just did not deliver that for me.

2020-12-20 13:40