Black Rabbit Hall is a Cornish country house with an untold history. The story is told by two women separated by decades but linked by the dark and tangled secrets of Black Rabbit Hall. Amber Alton lived there in 1968 and her family still haunts the estate. 30 years later, Lorna Dunaway is determined to be married within the grand, ivy-covered walls of Pencraw Hall, known as Black Rabbit Hall. It is a spellbinding page-turner of a story with it's dark secrets. Eve Chase's debut novel is for fans of Kate Morton and Daphne du Maurier and those who love Gothic novels.
I had previously read "Foxcote Manor" by Eve Chase. That book and "Black Rabbit Hall" were loaned to me by a friend. My friend must be an Eve Chase fan as she also loaned me "The Wildling Sisters" which I have yet to read. I read a lot of the reviews on GoodReads and concur with those who weren't fans of the author's over-the-top descriptions of everything! I made a comment about that in my review of "Foxcote Manor." "Foxcote" followed the same formula as "Black Rabbit"--jumping back and forth between the present and 30-40 years earlier. Same scenario--old English manor and someone making a connection to it. As I was reading "Black Rabbit," I knew there would be a connection between Lorna, the present day protagonist, and Amber, the teen from 1969.
I found Lorna to be dull and lacking sense when she fixated on having her wedding at Black Rabbit Hall--especially once she had a tour of the place and saw what poor condition it was in. Caroline was the stereotypical evil stepmother.
The book was far too long. I was about halfway through and was annoyed that I had another 200 or so pages to read.
After reading "Foxcote," in spite of its flaws, I said I would read another Eve Chase book. In spite of "Black Rabbit's" shortcomings, I plan to read "The Wildling Sisters" since I already have it in hand. However, if it's not any better than "Black Rabbit," I probably won't read any more of Eve Chase's books.
I found Lorna to be dull and lacking sense when she fixated on having her wedding at Black Rabbit Hall--especially once she had a tour of the place and saw what poor condition it was in. Caroline was the stereotypical evil stepmother.
The book was far too long. I was about halfway through and was annoyed that I had another 200 or so pages to read.
After reading "Foxcote," in spite of its flaws, I said I would read another Eve Chase book. In spite of "Black Rabbit's" shortcomings, I plan to read "The Wildling Sisters" since I already have it in hand. However, if it's not any better than "Black Rabbit," I probably won't read any more of Eve Chase's books.
Black Rabbit Hall by Eve Chase is a very slow book. The story tells of Lorna and Jon looking for a place to get married. They find Black Rabbit Hall (aka Pencraw Hall). Lorna visited the hall with her mother when she was a child (her mother recently passed away). Then the story goes back to the late 1960s with the Alton children. Amber, Toby, Barney, and Kitty spent their school vacations at the hall. Their mother, Nancy called it Black Rabbit Hall because of the rabbits that came out at sunset and you saw their black shadows across the lawn. Their mother died at Easter when she was out looking for her youngest son (off playing and then it started storming) on horseback (got thrown and broke her neck). The father, Hugo quickly rebounds and married Caroline Shawcross (she pursued him). Caroline brings her son, Lucian with her into the marriage. Lucian and Amber are attracted to each other, but it is forbidden (like that will stop them). Caroline is not fond of the children and there will be many changes to the family (Toby does not handle the changes). When Lorna visits Black Rabbit Hall, she encounters Dill (the housekeeper/cook) and Caroline. Caroline has opened the hall for events (needs the money). What happened to Hugo Alton and his children? Why is Lorna drawn to Black Rabbit Hall (she becomes obsessed)? Lorna gets a chance to stay at the hall and find some answers.
I found Black Rabbit Hall to be an extremely boring book. It tried to be a mystery, but it did not succeed. I just found Black Rabbit Hall to be odd. We get the story from two different perspectives: Lorna's and Amber's (the majority of the book is from Amber's point-of-view). The Amber section reads more like a young adult novel (she finds love at fifteen). The two stories go back and forth until we see how they are connected. I just found it dull and uninteresting (reading this book was like trekking through the desert). There is some very graphic violence (it is awful) in the book as well as sex and foul language. I did not enjoy Black Rabbit Hall (as you can tell). It sounded like such an intriguing and mysterious book (from the synopsis). I think the book (the idea) had potential, but the writer was not able to pull it off. I give Black Rabbit Hall 1 out of 5 stars. This book was just not for me. If you are looking for a book to help you sleep, then read Black Rabbit Hall.
I received a complimentary copy of Black Rabbit Hall from NetGalley and First to Read in exchange for an honest review.
I found Black Rabbit Hall to be an extremely boring book. It tried to be a mystery, but it did not succeed. I just found Black Rabbit Hall to be odd. We get the story from two different perspectives: Lorna's and Amber's (the majority of the book is from Amber's point-of-view). The Amber section reads more like a young adult novel (she finds love at fifteen). The two stories go back and forth until we see how they are connected. I just found it dull and uninteresting (reading this book was like trekking through the desert). There is some very graphic violence (it is awful) in the book as well as sex and foul language. I did not enjoy Black Rabbit Hall (as you can tell). It sounded like such an intriguing and mysterious book (from the synopsis). I think the book (the idea) had potential, but the writer was not able to pull it off. I give Black Rabbit Hall 1 out of 5 stars. This book was just not for me. If you are looking for a book to help you sleep, then read Black Rabbit Hall.
I received a complimentary copy of Black Rabbit Hall from NetGalley and First to Read in exchange for an honest review.
