When it comes to horror a Gothic tale has something that
with all likelihood always will appeal to me. Add a
mysterious family haunted by an entity just called
"her" and I'm sold. THE GIRL FROM RAWBLOOD instantly
appealed to me with its fascinating cover and interesting
description. Iris and her father live in a lonely old
mansion on Dartmoor and he warns her that she should
never fall in love because strong feelings bring on "her"
and when she comes, brutal death will follow.
Nevertheless, Iris does fall in love and with that, a series
of events begin that lead Iris to learn the
truth about "her."
I found THE GIRL FROM RAWBLOOD to be a wonderful tragic
book. It's beautifully written and I was quickly pulled
into the story. What I found to be especially intriguing
was the book was not chronically written. Instead,
the story jumped between characters and time periods.
However, it never felt random, instead, it felt like that
was the logical way of telling the tale because that
makes the realization of the truth about "her" so much
more poignant. There is a moment in the book when it all
just started to make sense, in a dreadful kind of way and
then everything started to fall into its place. I was
quite taken with the ending and I really felt so sorry
for Iris and everything she had to endure.
I'm not sure I would classify THE GIRL FROM RAWBLOOD as
horror, it's
more like a Gothic historical mystery, with horrifying
and tragic events. With a dash of romance added. Not
much, but it's the glue that holds it all together. I
think Catriona Ward has written a tremendously
interesting and engrossing novel and I can't wait to see
what she will write next.
For generations the Villarcas have died
mysteriously, and young. Now Iris and her father will
finally understand why. . .
At the turn of England's century, as the wind whistles in
the lonely halls of Rawblood, young Iris Villarca is the
last of her family's line. They are haunted, through the
generations, by "her," a curse passed down through ancient
blood that marks each Villarca for certain heartbreak, and
death.
Iris forsakes her promise to her father, to remain alone,
safe from the world. She dares to fall in love, and the
consequences of her choice are immediate and terrifying. As
the world falls apart around her, she must take a final
journey back to Rawblood where it all began and where it
must all end...
From the sun dappled hills of Italy to the biting chill of
Victorian dissection halls, The Girl from Rawblood is a
lyrical and haunting historical novel of darkness, love, and
the ghosts of the past.
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