It takes me back to a perhaps more enchanted period of reading where secret gardens lay beyond high walls and young orphan girls dreamt that they were really princesses and would one day be found by their real family (having been taken away by a villainous type). Oh, and the odd ghoul, floating about beneath the stairs or sat at the edge of a bed (although these are only visible to Olivia). A hugh house with many rooms, most of them closed with furniture ghosts shrouded in dusty sheets and a garden that takes much upkeep to keep death and rot at bay, not to mention a strange wall that must not be crossed for fear of what lies beyond. Now sixteen her time at the School is almost complete and is in fact brought to a swift conclusion when the school receives a letter from a previously unknown family member asking Olivia to return to the family estate, Gallant. Orphaned from a young age Olivia remembers little about her parents, her only reminder is a journal that she keeps that belonged to her mother. Our MC is a young girl called Olivia who has spent almost her entire life at the Merilance School for Girls. So, I’m not going to say too much about the story itself. Just to be contrary though, sometimes it’s good to read something that makes you feel wistful and this book certainly achieved that and then some. Actually, that’s probably a little misleading, it’s more that there’s a simplicity to this which makes me ponder as to whether this is aimed at a slightly younger audience, in which case, I wouldn’t really be the target reader. On the other hand I can’t help thinking that the plot itself was a little lacking in substance somehow.
On the one hand this is a beautifully rendered story, it’s surprisingly easy to read and it definitely took me down the path of nostalgia. Let me explain myself a little more clearly. My Five Word TL:DR Review : A Difficult Book to Review
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