Within These Wicked Walls Review
Hi friends! I’m super excited to be sharing my Within These Wicked Walls review with you today. It was supposed to go up weeks ago, but unfortunately, life got in the way. Let’s get into it!
Title: Within These Wicked Walls
Author: Lauren Blackwood
Rating: 3 Stars
CAWPILE: 6.1/10
Genre: Fantasy, Historical, Horror, Retelling
Content Warnings: Death of a parent, blood, gore, general spookiness
Format: eARC
Publisher: Wednesday Books
Date Published: October 19th, 2021
Goodreads Description: Andromeda is a debtera—an exorcist hired to cleanse households of the Evil Eye. When a handsome young heir named Magnus Rochester reaches out to hire her, Andromeda quickly realizes this is a job like no other, with horrifying manifestations at every turn, and that Magnus is hiding far more than she has been trained for. Death is the most likely outcome if she stays, but leaving Magnus to live out his curse alone isn’t an option. Evil may roam the castle’s halls, but so does a burning desire.
I received a review copy from Netgalley. All opinions are my own.
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Within These Wicked Walls Review
Characters – 6/10
Within These Wicked Walls started off really great. It did not end that way. Let’s start with the characters. I liked both Andromeda and Magnus in the beginning. Andi is a survivor and I really admire that in a character. Magnus had the potential to be the brooding bad boy. Unfortunately, both of them fell flat.
Somewhere in the middle of the book both of them devolve into whiny, clingy children. Both of them are over 18, so it was just a weird turn of events. Magnus turned into a clingy brat. He sounded like a child who lost his teddy bear and he would throw tantrums when he didn’t get his way. It’s like he was meant to be 16 instead of 20.
The romance between the two of them was very insta-lovey (the worst kind) and I wasn’t really here for it. Overall they just needed some more work.
Atmosphere – 6/10
The atmosphere could have used some work. It’s not creepy enough, and the worldbuilding could have used some work. We’re not given enough context on what’s going on in the world outside the mansion. It makes me feel like the mansion is just floating in some void. Some more details could have helped to flesh out the story more.
Writing – 8/10
I did enjoy the writing style a lot. It immediately sucked me in, and I sped through the first half of the book. I enjoyed the straightforward, easy to read writing. Less is more sometimes.
Plot – 6/10
The plot wasn’t too complicated to follow, but once again I wish we had gotten more details. It seems to be a recurring thing for me with YA books lately. They just lack detail. I don’t need Sanderson levels of detail, but some more lore would be nice. The premise is there, it just needs more.
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Intrigue – 6/10
The Ethiopian setting was amazing. I learned a lot and I wish we had leaned into it more. I also haven’t read Jane Eyre, so I can’t comment on how accurate of a retelling it is.
Logic – 5/10
I really did enjoy the conflicts in this book. It was less about the curse and more about Magnus and her adopted father in the end. While I did enjoy the conflict between Andi and her father, I wish the focus was more on the curse. It lacked some focus.
Enjoyment – 6/10
Overall this wasn’t a bad book, it just lacked some depth. The writing was great and the characters were great in the beginning. I recommend this one for beginner horror readers.
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Untelated to the story, but I really like your format of reviewing, Bianca. I think I might try out this book, so wish me luck 😊
You’re welcome to! I think I have a blog post somewhere about the rating system that I use. It probably needs some updating lol.