The Darkling Bride, written by Aura Andersen, follows Carragh Ryan, an Irish history graduate, who has been hired to record the contents of an Irish Castle library before it is donated. This Castle, though, is the location where her favorite novel lived, loved, and where his wife killed herself.
And where a murder occurred 23 years ago.
I enjoyed the writing in this book, though the love interest was a bit forced at times. This book reminds me, in the best of ways, of The Forgotten Garden ,this novel follows a mystery across three different generations. Secrets that lives have been based upon and hidden since they occurred.
I do wish more explanations were given to terms used, such as the Garda, so that non-Irish would be able to have a better understanding of the structure of the police that is referenced more than once.
The romance in this book ended up working out, but the shift into it was odd and felt so very forced. Other than that, the characters were believable and the mystery felt real. Which might sound odd, but the build up was great and kept me hooked till the end.
This is a good book for mystery lovers and romance lovers.
*I was given a review copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
