I have disliked every book I’ve read for the past year but finally I came across a couple of gems. I decided I was in the mood for Gothic romance and saw Cora Raven’s books recommended. I started with Necromance and enjoyed it so much that I read its companion novella, A Christmas Haunting, right after. Both are Gothic historical romances with a heavy dose of fantasy. I did have a few small issues but nothing major. My review for Necromance will have spoilers but A Christmas Haunting will be spoiler free.
I like to give a heat level rating for all books with romance. If you’re curious about my rating system, you can check it out here.
Synopsis for Necromance:
When spirited necromancer, Mia Arden, is hired to cleanse a long-abandoned castle, she expects a few temperamental ghosts— not a the brooding, devastatingly handsome phantom Duke trapped inside of a cursed painting.
Lucien Wescraven has spent years as a shadow, imprisoned by the woman who loved him to madness. Now, with the castle alive with sinister magic, and the ghosts of woman who will do anything to keep him lurking in every echoing corridor, Mia is his only hope. But the deeper she digs, the more entangled she becomes in Lucien’s tragic past.
As passion flares and the castle fights to keep its secrets, Mia must Break the curse, risk her soul, and set the haunted duke free, or walk away before she’s lost to the darkness forever.
A gothic romance brimming with yearning, wit, ghostly danger, and the enduring power of love. Fans of Casper, Jane Eyre, and Crimson Peak will fall for this deliciously dark fairytale.
My Thoughts:
- Rating- ⭐⭐⭐⭐
- Heat Level- 🔥🔥🔥
Necromance immediately drew me in. I love a historical setting, and the writing was super easy to follow. It’s not that this book was overly simple, it wasn’t, but it’s not too wordy or complicated like a lot of Gothic romance can be. If you’ve been curious about the genre but were intimidated by some of the more classic books in it, this would be a great place to start.
I also enjoyed the characters. Mia helps ghost move on to the afterlife, but her job becomes complicated when she discovers a ghost that’s not actually dead, Lucien. Lucien’s spirit has been trapped inside of a painting by a witch. Mia is able to save Lucien and they live happily ever after. The romance is a bit insta-love ish but it does make sense within the context of the story. If you like Beauty and the Beast retellings, this book has a lot of similar vibes.
The main issue I had was with the timeline. It’s revealed that Mia’s grandmother is the one who cursed Lucien. She was forced to do so by Lucien’s ex-girlfriend who was bitter that he didn’t want to marry her. She forced Mia’s grandmother to do this by threatening Mia’s life. Mia would have been a child at this point. There are a couple of issues with this. One, Lucien makes a comment during the story about being trapped for centuries. Mia is in her late twenties at the time so at most he would have been trapped for around twenty years, not centuries. Two, Mia’s grandmother was supposedly a very powerful witch, and it’s never explained why she was so scared of Lucien’s ex-girlfriend.
Despite my problems with the timeline, this was an overall great read. I love Lucien and Mia together and I also really like the spooky moments throughout the story that made it feel like a real Gothic, ghost story. Since I liked this book so much, I immediately started A Christmas Haunting. Let’s talk about it now!
Synopsis for A Christmas Haunting:
Now that Lucien’s curse is broken, the newly married couple is looking forward to a peaceful Christmas with no spirits vying for Mia’s attention. Those plans are quickly ruined when they receive an invitation to spend Christmas with Lucien’s estranged family at Winterbourne Hall.
As frost deepens over the family estate, Mia’s Necromancy stirs once more, revealing long-buried secrets of betrayal and murder. Someone in the house has blood on their hands, but the spirits aren’t the only ones who need their help. The youngest child of the family has a secret… she has magic and Mia must train the young girl while simultaneously solving a murder before midnight on Christmas Eve.
Mia and Lucien are thrust into a Christmas mystery, full of magic, mayhem, and a few stolen kisses under the mistletoe in this Necromance Christmas Novella that follows directly after the first book.
Fans of Charles Dickens, A Christmas Carol, will delight in this hauntingly cozy Christmas tale.
My Thoughts:
- Rating- ⭐⭐⭐⭐
- Heat Level- 🔥🔥
I’m not going to share too much about this novella since it is a shorter read but I loved this follow up to Mia and Lucien’s story. There is a twist at the end that I did not expect, and I also greatly enjoyed the Victorian Christmas vibes… even though it’s currently March😂 On the last page, it says “the end for now” so I’m hopeful that means there will be more of Mia and Lucien in the future.
Final Thoughts:
Cora Raven has one other book available, Once Upon a Midnight Dreary. It just released a few weeks ago and I’m very excited to read it next! All of her books are available on Kindle Unlimited, which I appreciate. If you’re looking for a Gothic romance with fantasy and spookiness sprinkled in, I can’t recommend these books enough! Thanks for reading🖤
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