This was an ok story but it was lacking the spooky/gothic feel I was expecting. The pace also felt a little slow.

interesting historical mystery about Doctress Hester Reeves, a young black woman who is engaged by former slave owner Gervaise Cherville, to cure his ailments and help him seek out two former slaves so that he could atone for his maltreatment of them. Despite the intriguing premise, the narrative is fairly predictable with a very obvious villain in Gervaise’s son Rowland and an unsurprising link between Hester and the former slaves.

House of Shades did have its strong points. The writing was solid, and I genuinely liked Hester, the protagonist. As a strong Black female character in a historical setting, she really stood out. She was brave, tenacious, and empathetic - exactly what you’d expect from a doctor. There was a good amount of tension, a couple of unexpected twists, and some vivid descriptions that helped bring the setting to life.

However, I was expecting a much more gothic, atmospheric read based on how the book was marketed. I wanted a creepy old house with dark, sinister undertones, but it just didn’t live up to that eerie potential. The house was just a house. There wasn’t the malevolent presence or unsettling atmosphere I’d hoped for. Yes, there was a villain in need of comeuppance and a mystery to solve, but overall, I didn’t find it overly exciting or gripping.

The book was well-written, just not the gothic, atmospheric thriller I was hoping for.

Hester arrives at Gervais Cherville's home in Fitzrovia, to treat him for, it turns out, syphillis. Cherville's desire is to make amends to his servants.

It was an enjoyable book, though not the gothic mystery that I had hoped it would be.

This is a haunting and immersive read, set in a house steeped in tragedy and dark secrets. Hester, the protagonist, is determined to uncover the truth behind the house’s grim history, including the tales of slavery and sorrow that linger within its walls. The narrative is evocative and unsettling, with detailed descriptions that bring the house—its colours, decor, and scents—to life as a character in its own right.

The characterisation is richly crafted, with each character playing a pivotal role in the unfolding mystery. Hester, supported by Jos and Jenny, courageously unveils the hidden secrets of the Chervilles, revealing a compelling and intricately woven story.

4/5.

I enjoyed Lianne Dillsworth’s first novel, Theatre of Marvels, so I was looking forward to her new book, House of Shades, which sounded like an atmospheric Gothic mystery. It turned out to be not quite what I expected, although that’s not necessarily a bad thing.

The setting is London, 1833. Hester Reeves is a young black woman whose mother has recently died, urging Hester to take care of her younger sister, Willa. Unfortunately, Willa already seems to be getting herself into trouble, having caught the eye of Rowland Cherville, the manager of the factory where she works. Rowland is running the factory on behalf of his invalid father, Gervaise, and with the differences in race and social status, Hester is sure his intentions towards her sister are not good. If only Hester and her husband, Jos, could improve their financial situation, then they could move out of the slums of King’s Cross and get Willa away from Rowland’s influence…

Hester’s chance to make some money comes when the local vicar puts her name forward for a job at Tall Trees, home of the elderly Gervaise Cherville, who has a serious medical condition and wants someone to nurse him through it. Hester is considered suitable for the position as she is a ‘doctoress’ – not really a female doctor, as it will still be several decades before the first woman earns her medical degree and even longer for the first black woman to do the same, but someone with a knowledge of herbs and healing potions. However, Hester soon discovers that Mr Cherville has another task in mind for her.

The Chervilles made their fortune through mahogany and they own slaves on a plantation in Honduras. With the Slavery Abolition Act of 1833 stating that slavery is to be abolished across most of the British Empire, it seems that Gervaise has developed a conscience and wants to give compensation to his slaves – not the ones in Honduras, though, whom he has never met, but two who once lived at Tall Trees before running away. Aphrodite and Nyx have been missing for many years and Gervaise wants Hester to help track them down so he can make amends.

If you can accept the rather unlikely plot (for a start, is it really believable that a wealthy 19th century gentleman like Gervaise Cherville would bring an unknown young woman from a slum community into his home as a nurse?), this is quite an entertaining novel. Like Dillsworth’s first book, it has a likeable heroine, it’s easy to read and the pages go by surprisingly quickly. There are a few twists, although they’re fairly predictable and I was hoping for one or two more! Apart from Hester herself, most of the other characters lack depth and nuance – there’s no real explanation for why Rowland is such a wicked person with seemingly no redeeming qualities at all, and we don’t see much of Willa’s good side either, which makes it difficult to understand why Hester views her as such a beloved sister, putting her needs above those of herself and her husband.

The most interesting aspect of the book is Gervaise Cherville’s desire for atonement and his attempt to make reparations for the harm he has caused. It seems clear that, at least at first, Cherville’s main motive is to assuage his own guilt, but Hester reflects that “maybe when it came down to it, all apologies were like that, even when they were heartfelt.” I would have liked more depth here as well, but maybe that would have been difficult as the whole novel is narrated by Hester and we never get inside Cherville’s head to see what he’s really thinking or whether his feelings are genuine.

House of Shades is a book with lots of good ideas and interesting themes, but I struggled to get past the implausibility of the plot and on the whole I preferred Lianne Dillsworth’s first book.

Hester, a young black woman, trained in medicine, has been summoned to treat Gervaise Cherville at his foreboding home in Fitzrovia. It’s soon clear to Hester that Cherville has syphilis and she can only soothe his symptoms not cure him.

For Cherville, the cure he wants is Hester’s help to find his former slaves so he can make reparations to them. This takes the story through dangerous and exciting turns.

Some brilliant female characters throughout the story, with a mysterious and suspenseful atmosphere. Highly recommended.

Not so sure about this book. Slightly disappointed that it wasn't the dark, gothic mystery I expected. However, it is a good historical fiction book. Very well written and flows well. Interesting characters.

I was expecting something different to what the blurb gave me, I think I was hoping for a gothic type thriller which it wasn’t for me personally. The writing was still quite beautiful and I did like the main character, it was just overall a little more simple than the exciting take I was led to believe!

I was asked by NetGalley to review this Gothic tale - a young doctor in Victorian London is caring for a dying man but what is different is the doctor is not only female but black. This doctor has her reasons forcaring for this man, to protect her sister and why this particular patient has chosen her to care for him.
The patient suffers terrible nights and wants to find his former slaves, the doctor doeas not find these people but finds herself infact in trouble and danger.
A good gothic tale recommended.

This book was hard to put down with secrets unfolding throughout each chapter leading to a very fitting conclusion, every page kept me gripped and I keep telling everyone to read it!

slavery from Honduras to London.
London 1833. Hester is a skilled Doctoress, she learned her skill from her Mother, usually treating local women and prostitutes. She is engaged by Gervaise Cherville to nurse him through Syphilis. Hester is promised good wages for a month of work. He also wants her help to find there runaway slaves so that he can compensate them for the years he owned them, this plan upsets Rowland his son.
Hester finds one of the missing slaves which leads to the woman's ruin, in the process Hester finds out secrets about her own family.
The story takes place against the family background of Hester's wayward sister and Hester's adoring husband.
With many threads drawn together this is a fascinating read.
Thank you Lianne, NetGalley and Random Had for this ARC

More of a historical mystery story than a dark gothic tale (which I'd been expecting from the synopsis) this is a well written slow burn. I prefer faster paced books but overall this was an enjoyable read and I would love to read more from Lianne in the future.

This wasn’t quite what I expected. I thought it would be a bit more of a gothic element to it and that there would be a bit more mystery. I did however find the story to still be interesting in a different way, if not at times a little predictable.

An interesting historical mystery about Doctress Hester Reeves, a young black woman who is engaged by former slave owner Gervaise Cherville, to cure his ailments and help him seek out two former slaves so that he could atone for his maltreatment of them. Despite the intriguing premise, the narrative is fairly predictable with a very obvious villain in Gervaise’s son Rowland and an unsurprising link between Hester and the former slaves.

I was expecting a bit more atmosphere throughout this book but it didn't quite deliver. The result was that the stakes weren't high enough and I found the story a bit flat. I wanted to be on the edge of my seat more and I think the idea of this book was great, but it didn't deliver the gothic vibes or suspense.

The characters were good and I enjoyed Hesta's perspective. I wanted more physical descriptions of people as I struggled to picture them, but overall I believed in most of the characters. I did want more explanation around Cherville's decisions and change of heart as it was all washed over a bit and I felt like Rowland could have done with more insights into exactly why he was so terrible rather than just setting him up as the villain for the sake of having one.

As soon as the task was given to Hesta, I knew exactly where the story was going to go so there was no real twist. This added to the overall lack of suspense.

I read the description of this book as being a dark gothic mystery which it didn't turn out to be this. I was expecting more mystery and more twists and turns and action and spookiness. This really wasn't the case, It was a simple well written story that includes events and elements that have happened in history but no real mystery as such and no real excitement or action to keep me turning the pages so can't really rate it higher. I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily..

Set in the 1833 this is an engaging historical drama. Hester Reeves is a young black Doctoress who uses her knowledge of herbal remedies to treat the vulnerable people of King’s Cross. She has taken on a temporary well paid assignment as private Doctoress to Gervaise Cherville, a wealthy factory owner. The promised fee from this commission is enough for Hester to make a new life for her husband, her sister, herself and her unborn baby away from London and its corrupting influences, particularly on her sister. There are family conflicts that Hester has to cope with and when Gervais persuades her to take on another assignment for him she is led on a path of discovery that she least expected.

The story revolves around slavery, the source of Gervais’s wealth, and retribution. There are scenes of betrayal, deceit, abandonment, injustice and cruelty which are counterbalanced with strong elements of love, family bonds, loyalty, compassion and friendship.

The historical context of slavery and class society of the time is clearly well researched and portrayed. The characters and their relationships are well developed and Hester shows her determination to do the best for all around her whilst also managing family and strong emotional conflicts.

This book was hard to put down with secrets unfolding throughout each chapter leading to a very fitting conclusion.

𝗛𝗼𝘂𝘀𝗲 𝗼𝗳 𝗦𝗵𝗮𝗱𝗲𝘀| 𝗕𝗼𝗼𝗸 𝗥𝗲𝘃𝗶𝗲𝘄

It's 1833 and Hester is a Black doctor working in the heart of London's slums, desperately trying to provide for her husband and sister after the death of her mother. She takes a position working for a wealthy gentleman at Tall Trees for some extra income, where she'll be confronted by the ghosts of her own past, not only his.

This was such an absorbing read, focusing on the treatment of slaves before the Abolition Act was brought in! In seeking the truth about the slaves of her patient's past, Hester also discovers more about her own ancestors and links to slavery.

There's so much to unwrap in the story, it's full of injustice and cruelty but it also shows love and loyalty to family as well as how important it is to remember where we've come from and lessons we can take from that.

A first book by this author for me and really enjoyed it. Atmospheric, perhaps not as gothic as I was expecting but this didn’t affect my enjoyment. Some plot twists and family drama. Easy to read, I felt compelled to keep reading and it held my attention throughout.