It doesn’t matter how many times I read about old asylums, I still can’t get my head round their brutality and how inhumane some of them were, and the fact that this isn’t just fiction, this actually happened, particular for “manic” women.

There is a very blunt and sudden skip from “normal” life to life in the asylum, there’s no real build up or clues that the setting is about to change. This is good because it adds to the confusion and suddenness of the change for the characters, but it’s bad because it makes the book feel like two different stories. My concern is Violet seemed to accept her new situation very quickly. Yes she questions it and gets upset about it, but it all seems a bit too clean and smooth for me.

Dr Rastrick was a vile man and excellently written as such. I didn’t care for Violet’s parents at all, they had no redemption in my eyes, and her brothers were inconsequential. The asylum staff were neither here nor there for me. Felix is a bit of a wet weekend, and Mr Lilley, whilst slightly more layered, was a very egotistical and unsavoury man.

I would have liked more made of Mr Rastrick’s experiments. It was touched upon and discussed but it never reached the heights of terror I was expecting.

I did find the tone a bit odd. There’s this historical element, a bit of romance but then there’s this supernatural element and it makes it quite bumpy to read. What did irritate me was in the “normal” half, there was the odd bit of the asylum scenes, but it wasn’t consistent. It’s a random few scenes hare and there that didn’t make any sense being there and didn’t add to anything.

Don’t get me wrong, I did enjoy it, it’s well written and entertaining, but it felt a bit samey. There wasn’t much new about it and I think this did it a disservice. It comes after a lot of stories involving women in the 1800s who live in manor houses who want to rebel about their circumstances. And I think it’s just become a bit of a stale market.

Many thanks to HQ and Noel O’Reilly for the advanced copy of The Darlings of the Asylum via NetGalley, in return for my honest and unbiased review. Quick note: I don’t recap plots in my reviews, as it’s easy enough to read the book’s synopsis and blurbs, I purely focus on my feelings & opinions of how the books makes me feel.

This book reminded me why I normally don’t read books with female protagonists written by male authors. There are so many wonderful female authors out there that need our support and they write amazing, strong, wonderful female protagonists. And then there’s this.

Disclaimer: I have experience with hospital care for mental illness in the 21st century. Whilst we’ve moved on from some practices from the 19th century, you’d be surprised how some attitudes haven’t changed.

Having done a brief dive into the author’s background, it’s clear they have no history in mental health. And that is clear in the writing of this book. The symptoms given to the protagonist, Violet, describe some strange hodgepodge of Bipolar, Dissociative Identity Disorder (a highly controversial diagnosis, one which the majority of the psychological profession does not believe actually exists) and very little of the actual, historical “hysteria” that many women were thrown into asylums for. It’s like the author set out to make a point of how women were unfairly treated but then set off on his own random tangent and, in doing so, completely disrespected the plight of the hundreds of thousands of women who died in these asylums under the guise of “hysteria”.

Overall, I found the book poorly researched and unrealistic. Of course the book is a work of fiction, but one expects any piece of historical fiction to be accurate and true to the time. This was not, and it disrespected the women who were victims of the asylums and the ‘doctors’. The addition of DID and poorly researched mental illnesses was atrocious. Do your research before tackling these huge subjects.

Moods: dark, emotional, mysterious, tense
Pace: medium
Character development: medium
Plot or character driven: plot
Diversity: low
Spice: 0/5
Trigger warnings: Mental Illness, Misogyny, Physical or mental abuse
Rating 2/5

I'm in two minds about this book in that I'd like to have given it 7 out of 10 rather than 4 out of 5.

I thought the story interesting, clever and historically accurate. It centres around Violet Pring, a young woman from a good (but financially constrained) family background. Violet finds herself in the unenviable position of wanting to pursue her own dreams yet being expected to restore the family fortune with a good marriage to the rich (but newly rich) Felix.

The more she is pushed into the marriage, the more she rebels until one night she finds herself forced into an engagement party she claims to have no knowledge of. The following morning Violet wakes to find herself incarcerated in a lunatic asylum, which happened (as we now know) to far too many people with mental health problems.

It is here that my difficulties with the narrative lie. Maybe I was misreading but we'd have Violet in the depths of despair with the dangerous Dr Rastrick (the doctor in charge of the asylum) giving her more and more drugs or having her confined to a strait jacket. However the next paragraph would see Violet virtually returned to her status as a private patient with all its benefits - having her own clothes and her own room.

I don't doubt any of the descriptions of a Victorian lunatic asylum. We've all read descriptions of what went on in these places. I've also no doubt that the staff were poorly paid and not qualified for any kind of nursing care. In that the book is horrifying and quite disturbing as it's unclear whether anyone will believe Violet or another doctor who hypnotises her to get to the root of her psychosis.

The small niggles aside I enjoyed this book. It is interesting but really quite unnerving. When reading books like this where any kind of injustice is taking place I invariably find my nails curling into my palms with frustration as I will the heroine on. Darlings of the Asylum passed that test with flying colours. My only niggle was that I think it has been badly edited. Usually I beg for an axe but this time I wanted more.

Women in distress ★★☆☆☆

hysteria (n.)
Nervous disease, 1801, coined in medical Latin as an abstract noun from Greek hystera “womb,” from PIE *udtero-, variant of *udero- “abdomen, womb, stomach” (see uterus). Originally defined as a neurotic condition peculiar to women and thought to be caused by a dysfunction of the uterus.
General sense of “unhealthy emotion or excitement” is by 1839.

Desperate to lead an independent life as an artist, Violet struggles to accept her family’s marriage plans for her. However it’s 1886 and women have very limited choices. Society doesn’t have a place for Violet and, after an incident she can’t remember, she finds herself in an asylum at the mercies of sinister family adviser Dr Rastrick.

The tone of the novel – a little formal and quaint – mimics the period which can make it difficult to connect with Violet in the first part of the novel.

Once she is in the asylum we get more of a sense of the women’s lives and the disturbing focus on mental illness being perceived as part of female physiognomy rather than trauma or life experiences. This is the part of the story which really resonated with me.

I found Violet’s revelations in the latter part of the novel to lack credulity and to create too much of a contrast with the earlier story but I appreciated the clever finale.

A novel of three parts which delves into the fate of Victorian women who are victims of their life experiences and of society.

Violet finds herself struggling to come to terms with the idea that she must marry her rich childhood friend rather than pursue a career with her art and love a life of freedom. Her decisions ultimately lead her to confinement in an asylum under the care of a misogynistic doctor who has wanted to study Violet since her youth.

I really enjoyed this novel and have to make mention of the fact that I forgot it was written by a male author until I finished! This is somewhat rare from previous experiences of men writing women, as usually it leaps off the page. The relationships between Violet and her scheming mother was written so much depth that I felt I was watching their strained interactions from inside the room with them.

Noel O’Reilly presents readers with such an interesting glimpse into the vents leading up to Violets incarceration and her experience undergoing treatment while she is inside the asylum. I felt the claustrophobia and rising panic she experiences when she realises getting out will not be a simple task.

I would recommend this novel to anyone who enjoys well-written and gripping historical fiction! Thank you to @hqstories and @netgalley for this e-arc in exchange for my honest review

Violet Pring is an aspiring artist - something that in Victorian times is at best tolerated as a feminine pasttime. In the confines of her family and with an advantageous marriage looming - to a rich man she respects but does not love - she tries to pursue her love of art, only to find herself locked up in a mental asylum.
As a female reader, this book will make you seethe with resentment about the sheer unfairness towards and the helplessness of women. They were being treated as mere ornamental commodities, choked with the societal pressures and cruelty. I raced through this book with its fascinating insights into both female artists’ thoughts so aptly portrayed in the protagonist and the dire conditions in Victorian mental asylums.
The Hippocratic oath sworn by the asylum’s physicians is perverted into their belief that experimenting on their charges is legitimate in order to further their own careers.
A shocking portrayal of the treatment of females in that era and a very engrossing read.

In this multilayered gothic Victorian mystery where you never know who you can trust, a young woman named Violet is locked in an asylum with an obsessive doctor against her wishes after she decides that she doesn't want to marry the man her mother has schemed to set her up with.

Vivid and incredibly imaginative with the perfect balance of drama, the prose is at times lyrical evoking the true essence of the 19th Century.

I adored Violet who was a very willful character and the true driving force behind the novel as you became invested in her situation.

The author explores themes such as how women were viewed as inferior to men in society especially with harsh medical assumptions. I also loved that they didn't shy away from highlighting the hypocrisy in 19th Century social culture with Violet being a fantastic narrator on subjects such as gender equality.

I was left stunned by the ending, truly appreciating the authors ability to captivate me and tip upside down everything that I thought I knew previously for solid fact.

I believe this novel will be a huge success and I, without a doubt, encourage everyone to read it once it comes out!

The Darlings of the Asylum, This book from the cover and title was enough to draw me in as a novel I'd be interested in reading. while reading the synopsis it was ticking my boxes of history and the eighteen hundreds. There is something about the eighteen hundreds, that really appeals to me with its dark and brooding settings.
when I started to read this book, I thought am I going to struggle with this storyline. but that quickly changed I found it to be a real page turner and with each page it had just the right amount to keep me entrapped in the world of the Asylum. This book's main character is Violet and following her journey on how she wakes up with no idea and understanding as to why she in the Asylum under the watchful eye of the DR Rastrick, Violet dislikes this man. The Dr who is also attending her mother over the years has made Violet dislike this man immensely.
All Violet really want's is to paint and draw, read a book or two, Marry a man she actually loves ? but the DR has made it clear she is not to do so for her mental wellbeing. So easy right all violet has to to do is prove to the GOOD DR she is SANE !!! but that been said, how do you make yourself look sane ? in a Asylum.
Violet needed her family to visit and give a explanation as to why she is here ? violet can not remember the day's leading up to her been sanctioned, Violet ends up reaching out for help from someone she briefly had an encounter with, can they help ?
but the question remains doe's Violet remain a Darling or doe's she found a way out?
I could keep going with this review as I enjoyed it that much, it leaves you conflicted with sadness for these women wanting them released but at the same time are they are there for their own safety. Either way its a great book, If you love a Gothic novel and with twists you will enjoy this.

A dark, gothic and thrilling read, 'The Darlings of the Asylum' not only gripped me, but also explores the historical role of women, and the biases of both society and the medical profession against them, with chilling accuracy.

It is no secret that I like dark and gothic reads, and one of my favourite settings to read about is asylums because just in themselves they ooze gothicness and creepy atmosphere. This didn't disappont either It is well written with a haunting storyline and well developed characters..
It was fast paced and atmospheric and I couldn't put it down, I was gripped and the descriptions and imagery are so vivid I felt like I could slide into the pages and into the asylum walls.
If you love books like Jane Eyre and Rebecca you will love this.

This is a difficult book to review. I loved the premise of the setting of the Victorian asylum, an obsessive doctor more interested in his fascination for research instead of his patients and Violet, the main character, an intelligent, talented strong woman who fought back from her family, whose only wish was for her to make a good marriage and increase the family fortunes. This book is dark and deep with many layers and I was excited to read it.
However, the lengthy descriptions, especially of art techniques, failed to keep my attention and although I enjoyed the book, I didn't love it and did struggle to finish. The ending was unexpected and could not be predicted and I did like that the author had done that.
Thank you to NetGalley, the author and the publisher for the opportunity to read and review this e- advance review copy.

Sadly this didn't work for me.
The first third or so of the book was slow, and just not all that interesting I felt, that I struggled to get into the remaining part of the book.
Some brighter spots, but overall, I just wasn't that interested.