BRB, Buying a Haunted Irish Castle: A Review of The Darkling Bride by Laura Andersen
- Hannah Zunic
- Oct 1
- 5 min read
Hello, Book Nerds! Welcome back to Reading Has Ruined My Life or welcome if you are new. As always, my name is Hannah and I am your captain on this journey into my bookcases.
Spooky Season continues on as does my need for Gothic lit. And today’s read has it all. A murder mystery, a possible haunting, a ghost story spanning generations, dozens of dark family secrets, a slow burn romance, and a castle in the middle of the Irish countryside.
Please give a warm welcome to The Darkling Bride by Laura Andersen!
It’s synopsis time now. As always, a spoiler alert is in order. If you’ve read any other review on this site then you will know I simply love to spoil the entirety of the books I read. This is your one and only warning. I also have a content and trigger warning for this read. The Darkling Bride includes the following topics: mental illness and “treatments” from the Victorian Era, child death, suicide, statutory rape, and misogyny. With that, let’s get to the synopsis.
In 1880, the famous English author Evan Chase travels to Wicklow County in Ireland to research the legend of the Darkling Bride for his next novel. Here he meets and falls in love with the only child and heir of the Viscount Gallagher. Her name is Jenny and she and Evan soon get married and have a kid. All while Evan is working on his new novel based on the aforementioned legend and his new wife’s family’s version of said legend. Evan’s new book never saw the light of day, nor would he ever publish again, as Jenny died the year after her and Evan’s child was born leaving Evan with a massive hole in his heart. Evan would travel back to London after his wife’s death, leaving his son behind to be raised by his grandfather, and also leaving behind, perhaps, a copy of his final novel. Though said book has never been discovered.
In 1992, tragedy struck the Gallagher’s again. Then Viscount Cillian Gallagher and his wife Lily were found murdered in the family’s ancestral home by their ten-year-old son Aidan. It’s certainly a tragedy. Aidan and his older sister, now orphaned, had to grow up not only without parents, but without ever learning who was behind their parents’ deaths.
In the present day, Aidan Gallagher is ready to sell his family’s ancient home. But before he can transfer the deed to the National Trust, he must hire someone to go through the castle’s library and inventory it. A woman by the name of Carragh Ryan is chosen for the job. While she’s working in Wicklow castle, a new detective, Sibéal McKenna, takes over the decades old Gallagher cold case and comes to the castle to uncover new clues. What follows is Carragh untangling the Gallagher’s family secrets with the help of both Aidan and Sibéal, solving the crimes from 1992, and coming face to face with the ghosts of the past.
If you read my review from last week then you may remember me mentioning that this book is a good example of a slow paced read. That statement still stands. The Darkling Bride is all about atmosphere! It uses its setting of an ancient castle in the Irish countryside to its advantage by isolating its characters, and as Carriagh found herself in danger repeatedly while far away from any and all friends and family, she grows distrustful of those around her. The mystery behind Cillian and Lily’s deaths and Evan Chase’s missing novel almost sit on the back burner. It’s done in order to bring the tension and setting caused isolation to the forefront of readers’ minds while gradually increasing the pace of the novel thus allowing for thick, suspenseful, atmospheric tension; which is what this book is all about.
The Darkling Bride is also written in a style that was very popular back in 1980’s. I’m talking those Gothic romance and suspense novels. Think those books with the beautifully illustrated covers of the heroine running from a spooky castle in a gorgeous dress in the middle of the night. The Darkling Bride emulates that style of old. It pays homage to them. It’s part of the reason why the pacing of the novel is slow. I just want to note this as I do believe the average reader may not know the style the author is emulating. It's very different from the current style of writing for Gothic books, so I bring this up for those who may be unaware.
While the pacing and style of the novel is fantastic, there are still issues with The Darkling Bride. The story jumps between three separate timelines, but there’s no rhyme or reason as to when the author decides to switch focus. Also, it often feels as if Laura Andersen has too much to juggle. There are some storylines that could have been explored more if the amount of plot points was downsized. Not every plot point is given the chance to shine and that’s a shame because there are so many interesting events occurring in The Darkling Bride.
The Darkling Bride is likely a divisive book. The slow pacing, the trio of separate timelines, the amount of things going on at any given point; people will either greatly enjoy this novel or they’ll have a strong dislike of it. Personally, I enjoyed it. I always enjoy a good piece of Gothic literature. There are titles that I enjoy more than The Darkling Bride, but there are many, many worse titles. I don’t want to call this book mid or average, it is a step above that. It's an okay read for a chilly autumn night.
With that, I shall bid you all adieu. Thank you very much for joining me today, Book Nerds. I hope you had a wonderful time diving into another Gothic book. I will see you all again next week with another new review. If you can’t wait that long then you can follow RHRML over on Instagram (@ReadingHasRuinedMyLife). I post there almost daily so come back often to revel in literary goodness. You can also follow the blog on Twitter and BlueSky (@RHRMLBlog). If you want something not related to books then I highly suggest checking out my podcast Nothing to See Hear. It stars me and two of my dearest friends as well talk about anything and everything. May I suggest my series Haunt or Hoax for Spooky Season? You can listen to the show on Spotify and YouTube.
Until next time, stay safe, wash your hands, and read some good books for me.
