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Blackmaddie
Summoned to the castle of Blackmaddie by her ailing grandfather, Charlotte Brodie is stalked by an unknown enemy and threatened by the pervasive evil of witchcraft that surrounds Blackmaddie and threatens her love for her dashing stepcousin, Robert
Hardcover
First published January 1, 1980
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196 people want to read
About the author
Jean Innes
32 books4 followersJean Innes was born on 8 February 1932 in London, England, but she have lived in the West Country almost all her life. She married with Geoff Saunders, her childhood sweetheart, and they have three grown up children. She lived in Weston-Super-Mare, Somerset, where she wrote full time. She passed away on 3 August 2011, after contracting an illness, after being rushed to Weston General Hospital.
Jean began her career as a magazine writer and had published around 600 short stories. She start to published gothic romance novels under her married name Jean Saunders and her maiden name Jean Innes in the 1970s. In 1980s, she created, to wrote historical romances, two pseudonyms, her most popular, Rowena Summers and Sally Blake. In 1991 her novel, "The Bannister Girls," was shortlisted for the Romantic Novel of Year award. In 2004, she began to used the penname Rachel Moore.
She was an active member and enthusiast of Swanwick, the Writers' Summer School, which takes place in Derbyshire, England, every August, she was a committee member several times, and also Vice-Chairman. She was elected the seventeenth Chairman (1993-1995) of the Romantic Novelists' Association. As a member of the Romance Writers of America she had given talks at conferences in various venues of the USA. She was a member of the Crime Writers' Association. She also was a member and past committee member of the West Country Writers' Association.
Jean began her career as a magazine writer and had published around 600 short stories. She start to published gothic romance novels under her married name Jean Saunders and her maiden name Jean Innes in the 1970s. In 1980s, she created, to wrote historical romances, two pseudonyms, her most popular, Rowena Summers and Sally Blake. In 1991 her novel, "The Bannister Girls," was shortlisted for the Romantic Novel of Year award. In 2004, she began to used the penname Rachel Moore.
She was an active member and enthusiast of Swanwick, the Writers' Summer School, which takes place in Derbyshire, England, every August, she was a committee member several times, and also Vice-Chairman. She was elected the seventeenth Chairman (1993-1995) of the Romantic Novelists' Association. As a member of the Romance Writers of America she had given talks at conferences in various venues of the USA. She was a member of the Crime Writers' Association. She also was a member and past committee member of the West Country Writers' Association.
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Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews
March 29, 2015
Rating: 3.5 Stars
Usual Traits Found in Gothic Novels:
Unrealistic Romance * Returning to a long lost home or castle under tragic circumstances * Supernatural mystery, even though most of the time the supernatural turns out to not be at play * A new family or household to get used to, usually with some kind of animosity * Death threats and dangers * Another character’s death overshadowing the story, usually someone the main character never met
Unrealistic Romance
It’s easy to see within the first chapter that this isn’t your typical Gothic with your typical heroine. For one thing, Charlotte is promiscuous from the start, not living up to the times of modesty. This grows worse to amusing degrees – with her even becoming aroused by bizarre pictures of orgies and paying too much attention to the maid’s bizarre bosom later on. But at the beginning she is shown to have a twisted relationship with her grandmother, and is called home through a normal enough Gothic theme – being summoned by a long lost grandfather who is mourning the death of a beloved one whom she resembles.
There is really little appealing about the man who she falls in love with – his personality seems inconsistent, a bit dry, and he certainly acts toward her like she’s not the matronly one she should be. I also didn’t find enough sympathy over her story of sharing something awful that happened to her before she left her hometown.
Returning to a long lost home or castle under tragic circumstances
Yes, that’s here, big time. Her grandfather calls her home after learning of her existence and a death that spurs him to want to bring the family together. At first Charlotte is reluctant but it doesn’t take much to change her mind, and then a tragedy strikes which sets the tone for the novel as a grim, depressing one.
Supernatural mystery, even though most of the time the supernatural turns out to not be at play
This is here big time, but not until later, and for a pleasant change there actually is something semi-supernatural involved as the villains and motives are uncovered. Weird stuff.
A new family or household to get used to, usually with some kind of animosity
Some of the family members end up redeeming themselves, others stay totally unlikeable. Yech.
Death threats and dangers
Of course these are there, too, some of them a bit silly. Many Gothics have a rape sequence, but this book has an attempted rape and two actual rapes. Pushing the boundaries here.
Another character’s death overshadowing the story, usually someone the main character never met
It fits this role big time as well. It’s used to ignite her going home to the grandfather, being treated differently by the family, her romantic suitor, and even ties in with the ending supernatural elements.
Overall Black Maddie is a fun, decent Gothic novel. It grows a bit tired with its unexciting romance that’s unconvincing, but Charlotte is a likeable character with actual backbone, modern day thinking, and holds her own again obnoxious family members. The ending is a cheesy finale that befits the gothic style. If you’re a big fan of Gothics, you should enjoy it. It’s not the best out there and has weaknesses, but it also embraces traits that make the genre work well.
Usual Traits Found in Gothic Novels:
Unrealistic Romance * Returning to a long lost home or castle under tragic circumstances * Supernatural mystery, even though most of the time the supernatural turns out to not be at play * A new family or household to get used to, usually with some kind of animosity * Death threats and dangers * Another character’s death overshadowing the story, usually someone the main character never met
Unrealistic Romance
It’s easy to see within the first chapter that this isn’t your typical Gothic with your typical heroine. For one thing, Charlotte is promiscuous from the start, not living up to the times of modesty. This grows worse to amusing degrees – with her even becoming aroused by bizarre pictures of orgies and paying too much attention to the maid’s bizarre bosom later on. But at the beginning she is shown to have a twisted relationship with her grandmother, and is called home through a normal enough Gothic theme – being summoned by a long lost grandfather who is mourning the death of a beloved one whom she resembles.
There is really little appealing about the man who she falls in love with – his personality seems inconsistent, a bit dry, and he certainly acts toward her like she’s not the matronly one she should be. I also didn’t find enough sympathy over her story of sharing something awful that happened to her before she left her hometown.
Returning to a long lost home or castle under tragic circumstances
Yes, that’s here, big time. Her grandfather calls her home after learning of her existence and a death that spurs him to want to bring the family together. At first Charlotte is reluctant but it doesn’t take much to change her mind, and then a tragedy strikes which sets the tone for the novel as a grim, depressing one.
Supernatural mystery, even though most of the time the supernatural turns out to not be at play
This is here big time, but not until later, and for a pleasant change there actually is something semi-supernatural involved as the villains and motives are uncovered. Weird stuff.
A new family or household to get used to, usually with some kind of animosity
Some of the family members end up redeeming themselves, others stay totally unlikeable. Yech.
Death threats and dangers
Of course these are there, too, some of them a bit silly. Many Gothics have a rape sequence, but this book has an attempted rape and two actual rapes. Pushing the boundaries here.
Another character’s death overshadowing the story, usually someone the main character never met
It fits this role big time as well. It’s used to ignite her going home to the grandfather, being treated differently by the family, her romantic suitor, and even ties in with the ending supernatural elements.
Overall Black Maddie is a fun, decent Gothic novel. It grows a bit tired with its unexciting romance that’s unconvincing, but Charlotte is a likeable character with actual backbone, modern day thinking, and holds her own again obnoxious family members. The ending is a cheesy finale that befits the gothic style. If you’re a big fan of Gothics, you should enjoy it. It’s not the best out there and has weaknesses, but it also embraces traits that make the genre work well.
May 18, 2017
2 stars--meh.
This book is a gothic romance (heavy on the romance) with a completely ridiculous, over-the-top plot. Normally I love these, vapid as they are. In this case, the plot involved a coven of satanists in a Scottish castle. This is basically Sheila catnip. This one was published in 1992, which makes it about 20 years too late for the gothic heyday, but still contains all the elements of those pulpy oldies.
Our heroine meets the hero on page 51, and he threatens to rape her. She decides she despises him (seems reasonable), until page 95, when she meets him again, he threatens to rape her again, and this time she decides she's passionately in love with him. She swoons her way through the rest of the novel in the heights of ecstasy or the depths of despair. This sort of melodrama is something I enjoy in these old gothics, and the heroine's wild mood swings were as amusing as the crazy, unbelievable plot.
But this book does include two actual rape scenes, which were graphic enough to be brutal to read. Yuck. They made me feel a bit ill, and sadly decreased my enjoyment of the book. Thus 2 stars. (And as a sidenote, I never understood why romance novels--which are supposed to be escapist fantasies for a largely female readership--so often include rape. Nothing yanks me out of fun escapism faster.)
This book is a gothic romance (heavy on the romance) with a completely ridiculous, over-the-top plot. Normally I love these, vapid as they are. In this case, the plot involved a coven of satanists in a Scottish castle. This is basically Sheila catnip. This one was published in 1992, which makes it about 20 years too late for the gothic heyday, but still contains all the elements of those pulpy oldies.
Our heroine meets the hero on page 51, and he threatens to rape her. She decides she despises him (seems reasonable), until page 95, when she meets him again, he threatens to rape her again, and this time she decides she's passionately in love with him. She swoons her way through the rest of the novel in the heights of ecstasy or the depths of despair. This sort of melodrama is something I enjoy in these old gothics, and the heroine's wild mood swings were as amusing as the crazy, unbelievable plot.
But this book does include two actual rape scenes, which were graphic enough to be brutal to read. Yuck. They made me feel a bit ill, and sadly decreased my enjoyment of the book. Thus 2 stars. (And as a sidenote, I never understood why romance novels--which are supposed to be escapist fantasies for a largely female readership--so often include rape. Nothing yanks me out of fun escapism faster.)
January 9, 2026
3.5! Review to come!
*
Blackmaddie has an aura about her as destructive as a possessive woman, and just as captivating, and she puts a curse on all those who try to escape from her clutches.
I had DNF-ed Jean Innes' Boskelly's Bride last year, but hadn't tried her most famous Gothic romance work, Blackmaddie. I was able to get a good secondhand used copy (straight edges, more or less clean spine, unblemished by dust or food pages, and a pure scent, thank you to the previous owner!).
This book starts off with a bang. Let's talk smut. I was not expecting those lurid encounters. For some reason, I was expecting it to be a clean romance right up to the end. That was one unexpected r*pe scene, more lurid and earthy than I expected, and then we meet the hero and he was also very demanding of the heroine's affections. I was feeling a little swoon-y, but then the middle to the end dies down in terms of romance. To be honest, the gothic atmosphere did not hold my attention, so I did find it a struggle to soldier on.
However, I love a femme fatale character and we got it in Katrina, Charlotte, and the Maddie of Blackmaddie.
Charlotte is living with her mom who is working as a seamstress in Bristol when they are summoned by a rich grandfather to Blackmaddie in Scotland. Her mom was an Englishwoman who married one of the sons who left the family estate to become a sailor.
Charlotte initially does not want to go to Blackmaddie. She doesn't see the appeal in making the trek to see family who never reached out before, to jump because her grandfather said so. However, circumstances compel her to go.
Blackmaddie is anthropomorphized to be a jealous and vindictive woman in the spirit of the original Maddie who was a "blackhearted a creature as ever walked this earth." Charlottes bears an uncanny resemblance to Maddie, and so did her recently deceased cousin, Katrina. Charlotte's whole thing is, I'm not Katrina! Katrina is also a mysterious and seductive character whom Robert, the hero, as well as the other members of the family, seem to have fallen under her spell before her untimely death.
We meet the rest of the family. It is a midge confusing, and I had to reread the beginning to sort myself out:
-Kirsty is Aunt Morag's daughter.
-There are 3 sons (Robert, Neil, Ian) by Uncle Andrew, but they are his step-sons from his second wife (no blood relation, but they all lived in Blackmaddie together).
-Uncle Andrew's daughter is Katrina.
-Charlotte is a blood relation to Kirsty and Katrina but not the step-sons. Her father was Aunt Morag and Uncle Andrew's brother.
I mean, it's all still incestuous, and there are no qualms between Charlotte and Robert about their family connection. Although no blood, that is how they are connected, but do with that as you will.
I was hoping for a wilder backstory for Katrina, but the ending was ok. After having read 1.5 books by Jean Innes, she has a strong opening but it does peter out, and I tend to lose interest in the mid-point. Something about the writing starts to zonk me out.
*
Blackmaddie has an aura about her as destructive as a possessive woman, and just as captivating, and she puts a curse on all those who try to escape from her clutches.
I had DNF-ed Jean Innes' Boskelly's Bride last year, but hadn't tried her most famous Gothic romance work, Blackmaddie. I was able to get a good secondhand used copy (straight edges, more or less clean spine, unblemished by dust or food pages, and a pure scent, thank you to the previous owner!).
This book starts off with a bang. Let's talk smut. I was not expecting those lurid encounters. For some reason, I was expecting it to be a clean romance right up to the end. That was one unexpected r*pe scene, more lurid and earthy than I expected, and then we meet the hero and he was also very demanding of the heroine's affections. I was feeling a little swoon-y, but then the middle to the end dies down in terms of romance. To be honest, the gothic atmosphere did not hold my attention, so I did find it a struggle to soldier on.
However, I love a femme fatale character and we got it in Katrina, Charlotte, and the Maddie of Blackmaddie.
Charlotte is living with her mom who is working as a seamstress in Bristol when they are summoned by a rich grandfather to Blackmaddie in Scotland. Her mom was an Englishwoman who married one of the sons who left the family estate to become a sailor.
Charlotte initially does not want to go to Blackmaddie. She doesn't see the appeal in making the trek to see family who never reached out before, to jump because her grandfather said so. However, circumstances compel her to go.
Blackmaddie is anthropomorphized to be a jealous and vindictive woman in the spirit of the original Maddie who was a "blackhearted a creature as ever walked this earth." Charlottes bears an uncanny resemblance to Maddie, and so did her recently deceased cousin, Katrina. Charlotte's whole thing is, I'm not Katrina! Katrina is also a mysterious and seductive character whom Robert, the hero, as well as the other members of the family, seem to have fallen under her spell before her untimely death.
We meet the rest of the family. It is a midge confusing, and I had to reread the beginning to sort myself out:
-Kirsty is Aunt Morag's daughter.
-There are 3 sons (Robert, Neil, Ian) by Uncle Andrew, but they are his step-sons from his second wife (no blood relation, but they all lived in Blackmaddie together).
-Uncle Andrew's daughter is Katrina.
-Charlotte is a blood relation to Kirsty and Katrina but not the step-sons. Her father was Aunt Morag and Uncle Andrew's brother.
I mean, it's all still incestuous, and there are no qualms between Charlotte and Robert about their family connection. Although no blood, that is how they are connected, but do with that as you will.
I was hoping for a wilder backstory for Katrina, but the ending was ok. After having read 1.5 books by Jean Innes, she has a strong opening but it does peter out, and I tend to lose interest in the mid-point. Something about the writing starts to zonk me out.
September 10, 2016
What in the good fuck was this? I'd write Innes as we speak for a sequel, but she's deceased. Unbelievable. Never giving a spoiler, either; you need to ride this ride to get your own damn thrill-joy, etc. >;D
Want to talk about it...but throat stuck in my ass.
The End.
Want to talk about it...but throat stuck in my ass.
The End.
September 22, 2021
I quite enjoyed reading this book. I got into a rabbit hole of reading gothic romances and this one was recommended. While I did love the story, there are some things which didn't really sit well with me. I guess I will enumerate the details which I thought didn't work out and the ones I particularly liked.
But just a brief synopsis because I noticed that none of the other reviews made one. Charlotte Brodie lives with her widowed mother in Bristol. Her father was a sailor and died at sea. Charlotte's father came from a wealthy family but his family disowned him after he married a sassenach (a person who is not Scottish and from England). But her grandfather was unwell and wanted to mend the broken relationship. Charlotte didn't want to go to Scotland because she felt that if her father's family wanted to reconcile with them, why they did wait for so long? But her mother, who was working as a seamstress, thought that this was their ticket out of poverty and urged Charlotte to go to Scotland with her.
The reason Charlotte didn't want to leave Bristol, even though life there was poor and difficult, was because she was cavorting with an artist. She was having sex with this man and was convinced that she loved him. She was hoping that he would marry her and so, she wouldn't have to go to Scotland.
But lo and behold, he was not in love with her, he was only using her body for sex purposes. So Charlotte was disillusioned and allowed him to use her body again for sex. After that, they parted ways.
Sadly her mother died in an accident so she was not able to go with Charlotte to Scotland after all. Then while her dead mother was being laid to rest in their hovel of a room, their landlord seized the opportunity to RAPE Charlotte. She was still in shock and grieving so she was not able to fight him. Although she had to admit that even though she found her landlord, Ruskin, unattractive, her body still reacted like it enjoyed his advances. (Um, I think it means she is a slut)
Good thing that was the nail in the coffin. It solidified Charlotte's decision that there was no life for her in Bristol, her only hope was her family in Scotland. So after her mother was buried (in which she wasn't able to attend the funeral because she was unconscious for days after the rape) she dashed to Scotland. She met an English family on the way and befriended their daughter, Agnes. That family warned her that some Scots still harbor resentment for the English people so she better be careful.
But when she arrived in Scotland, it seems that her new family, the Brodies, are not really that thrilled to see her. Sure her grandfather wanted to see her but only because she resembled Katrina, Charlotte's cousin, who died due to mysterious causes. But everyone else were either unwelcoming or indifferent to her.
Robert, one of the stepsons of Katrina's father, was attracted to Charlotte and made sure he showed it by kissing Charlotte MERE HOURS after they met. Charlotte didn't even slap him, even in pretend modesty. Anyway, since Charlotte was so loose, she and Robert had sex days later. Ugh.
Anyway, many things happened during the course of her stay in the castle. Robert called her Katrina while they were having sex (not good), she was almost strangled to death during a party, her dress was hacked to pieces, her friend got mauled by a falcon, and she was haunted by a ghost.
But in the end, it turns out that Ian was the main antagonist of the story. He brainwashed Kirsty (Charlotte's cousin) into helping him with the promise that he will get rid of Charlotte so her son will inherit everything. As it turns out, while Charlotte cannot inherit the castle herself since women are barred from owning the estate, since she was the daughter of a son, she will take precedence and her son will inherit. Or her uncle's son will if he ever remarries and begets a son which was unlikely since he was already old.
At the end, Ian dies in a fire they set up for Charlotte along with his mistress who was a mere servant and their ugly baby. Charlotte married Robert and they sailed to America because Robert was too prideful and wanted to be rich by his own means. The end.
MY CRITIQUES:
1. The heroine is promiscuous - Charlotte Brodie, the heroine of this story, is not your typical virtuous heroine. While she is not exactly an anti-heroine, I found it a bit off-putting that she was not virginal. When I read period romances, I am used to the heroine being pure and will not willingly make love with any man unless she was a) married already or b) forced or seduced. It is also bewildering to me that the people in this story, even though this book was set in the 1800s (I believe), are so cavalier about pre-marital sex. I thought the people in the olden days were sticklers about a woman's virginity and anyone known to have sex before the sanctity of marriage are ostracized and condemned by society. But in this book, there was none of that. Not sure if this was historically accurate.
2. Instant love - UGH! I hate instant love. I can deal with instant attraction since it is realistic. I mean, you see a hot guy and you know you like him. But love? I don't think so. Yes, you can care for a person, feel a sort of attachment to them or have this fuzzy feeling when they are around. But I think it is ridiculous to meet someone and then fall in love with them within 24 hours. That's what happened with this novel, when Charlotte met Robert Stewart, the hero of the story. I don't know what made her fall in love with him. I guess he was the nicest to her in that whole castle BUT STILL.
3. Maddie, the ancestor whom the castle was named after, was not that much discussed - I thought that she will play a bigger role in this story. Like her ghost will manifest herself or there was some curse or something pertaining to her. BUT NO. Apparently she was just an ancestor and she was probably rolling in her grave because her descendants kept blaming her for things that she didn't know about.
4. Some of the happenings did not make sense - Okay, so what's up with drugging Charlotte? What was the purpose? Also the whisperings through the wall. She didn't have any place to go so making her scared is supposed to do what? If they wanted her dead, there was lots of opportunities to do so. They could have faked friendship then invited her to the loch and then drowned her there. NOW SHE'S GONE. MISSION ACCOMPLISHED. Or there are so many unscrupulous people there. They could pay someone to tail her and then slit her throat while she was riding to town. The villains here are so silly and stupid.
5. The rapists got off scot free - Uhm, I don't think it should work that way. I would have gave some leeway if the rapist was the hero (which makes him an anti-hero who sees the error of his ways and would change into a good guy) but here the rapists were not brought to justice. I mean I don't necessarily mean that they have to go to jail, but maybe include that they had miserable lives in the end. Like they suddenly had leprosy or became so poor that they have to beg for alms.
6. The ending was so abrupt - I felt that the author ran out of ideas towards the end and just closed all the plots towards the end of the book.
POSITIVES:
1. The heroine was smart - I will give it to Charlotte. Sure, she was lacking in the chastity department, but she was not stupid and not very trusting at all. She was constantly alert and suspicious of the people around her.
2. Charlotte was beautiful and fashionable - I love it when the heroines are exquisite and have a sense of fashion. I am not fond of mousy characters or tomboys where they don't care if they looked like they got dressed in the dark.
3. It was full of action - While I appreciate world building and describing the terrain and landscape, I don't need 10 pages describing the area. A page is long enough. None of that here.
So there, that is my detailed review of this book. While it had room for improvements, I did enjoy it.
But just a brief synopsis because I noticed that none of the other reviews made one. Charlotte Brodie lives with her widowed mother in Bristol. Her father was a sailor and died at sea. Charlotte's father came from a wealthy family but his family disowned him after he married a sassenach (a person who is not Scottish and from England). But her grandfather was unwell and wanted to mend the broken relationship. Charlotte didn't want to go to Scotland because she felt that if her father's family wanted to reconcile with them, why they did wait for so long? But her mother, who was working as a seamstress, thought that this was their ticket out of poverty and urged Charlotte to go to Scotland with her.
The reason Charlotte didn't want to leave Bristol, even though life there was poor and difficult, was because she was cavorting with an artist. She was having sex with this man and was convinced that she loved him. She was hoping that he would marry her and so, she wouldn't have to go to Scotland.
But lo and behold, he was not in love with her, he was only using her body for sex purposes. So Charlotte was disillusioned and allowed him to use her body again for sex. After that, they parted ways.
Sadly her mother died in an accident so she was not able to go with Charlotte to Scotland after all. Then while her dead mother was being laid to rest in their hovel of a room, their landlord seized the opportunity to RAPE Charlotte. She was still in shock and grieving so she was not able to fight him. Although she had to admit that even though she found her landlord, Ruskin, unattractive, her body still reacted like it enjoyed his advances. (Um, I think it means she is a slut)
Good thing that was the nail in the coffin. It solidified Charlotte's decision that there was no life for her in Bristol, her only hope was her family in Scotland. So after her mother was buried (in which she wasn't able to attend the funeral because she was unconscious for days after the rape) she dashed to Scotland. She met an English family on the way and befriended their daughter, Agnes. That family warned her that some Scots still harbor resentment for the English people so she better be careful.
But when she arrived in Scotland, it seems that her new family, the Brodies, are not really that thrilled to see her. Sure her grandfather wanted to see her but only because she resembled Katrina, Charlotte's cousin, who died due to mysterious causes. But everyone else were either unwelcoming or indifferent to her.
Robert, one of the stepsons of Katrina's father, was attracted to Charlotte and made sure he showed it by kissing Charlotte MERE HOURS after they met. Charlotte didn't even slap him, even in pretend modesty. Anyway, since Charlotte was so loose, she and Robert had sex days later. Ugh.
Anyway, many things happened during the course of her stay in the castle. Robert called her Katrina while they were having sex (not good), she was almost strangled to death during a party, her dress was hacked to pieces, her friend got mauled by a falcon, and she was haunted by a ghost.
But in the end, it turns out that Ian was the main antagonist of the story. He brainwashed Kirsty (Charlotte's cousin) into helping him with the promise that he will get rid of Charlotte so her son will inherit everything. As it turns out, while Charlotte cannot inherit the castle herself since women are barred from owning the estate, since she was the daughter of a son, she will take precedence and her son will inherit. Or her uncle's son will if he ever remarries and begets a son which was unlikely since he was already old.
At the end, Ian dies in a fire they set up for Charlotte along with his mistress who was a mere servant and their ugly baby. Charlotte married Robert and they sailed to America because Robert was too prideful and wanted to be rich by his own means. The end.
MY CRITIQUES:
1. The heroine is promiscuous - Charlotte Brodie, the heroine of this story, is not your typical virtuous heroine. While she is not exactly an anti-heroine, I found it a bit off-putting that she was not virginal. When I read period romances, I am used to the heroine being pure and will not willingly make love with any man unless she was a) married already or b) forced or seduced. It is also bewildering to me that the people in this story, even though this book was set in the 1800s (I believe), are so cavalier about pre-marital sex. I thought the people in the olden days were sticklers about a woman's virginity and anyone known to have sex before the sanctity of marriage are ostracized and condemned by society. But in this book, there was none of that. Not sure if this was historically accurate.
2. Instant love - UGH! I hate instant love. I can deal with instant attraction since it is realistic. I mean, you see a hot guy and you know you like him. But love? I don't think so. Yes, you can care for a person, feel a sort of attachment to them or have this fuzzy feeling when they are around. But I think it is ridiculous to meet someone and then fall in love with them within 24 hours. That's what happened with this novel, when Charlotte met Robert Stewart, the hero of the story. I don't know what made her fall in love with him. I guess he was the nicest to her in that whole castle BUT STILL.
3. Maddie, the ancestor whom the castle was named after, was not that much discussed - I thought that she will play a bigger role in this story. Like her ghost will manifest herself or there was some curse or something pertaining to her. BUT NO. Apparently she was just an ancestor and she was probably rolling in her grave because her descendants kept blaming her for things that she didn't know about.
4. Some of the happenings did not make sense - Okay, so what's up with drugging Charlotte? What was the purpose? Also the whisperings through the wall. She didn't have any place to go so making her scared is supposed to do what? If they wanted her dead, there was lots of opportunities to do so. They could have faked friendship then invited her to the loch and then drowned her there. NOW SHE'S GONE. MISSION ACCOMPLISHED. Or there are so many unscrupulous people there. They could pay someone to tail her and then slit her throat while she was riding to town. The villains here are so silly and stupid.
5. The rapists got off scot free - Uhm, I don't think it should work that way. I would have gave some leeway if the rapist was the hero (which makes him an anti-hero who sees the error of his ways and would change into a good guy) but here the rapists were not brought to justice. I mean I don't necessarily mean that they have to go to jail, but maybe include that they had miserable lives in the end. Like they suddenly had leprosy or became so poor that they have to beg for alms.
6. The ending was so abrupt - I felt that the author ran out of ideas towards the end and just closed all the plots towards the end of the book.
POSITIVES:
1. The heroine was smart - I will give it to Charlotte. Sure, she was lacking in the chastity department, but she was not stupid and not very trusting at all. She was constantly alert and suspicious of the people around her.
2. Charlotte was beautiful and fashionable - I love it when the heroines are exquisite and have a sense of fashion. I am not fond of mousy characters or tomboys where they don't care if they looked like they got dressed in the dark.
3. It was full of action - While I appreciate world building and describing the terrain and landscape, I don't need 10 pages describing the area. A page is long enough. None of that here.
So there, that is my detailed review of this book. While it had room for improvements, I did enjoy it.
January 1, 2025
2.5
It was definitely an introduction to 80s goth romance but was there really any romance? We know indefinitely nothing about the male lead except that he’s a sexy Scottish hunk.
Also, I get that rape is a big element of the goth genre, Come on, that’s stretching it thin. I knew before it even happened. Also, the way the rape was addressed was very insensitive. Like, the impact of such a terrible event on the characters was almost non-existent.
I don’t know man the theme of an old haunted house could’ve been executed in a better way.
It was definitely an introduction to 80s goth romance but was there really any romance? We know indefinitely nothing about the male lead except that he’s a sexy Scottish hunk.
Also, I get that rape is a big element of the goth genre, Come on, that’s stretching it thin. I knew before it even happened. Also, the way the rape was addressed was very insensitive. Like, the impact of such a terrible event on the characters was almost non-existent.
I don’t know man the theme of an old haunted house could’ve been executed in a better way.
April 5, 2026
Duuuuuude, this is one of the craziest gothic romance novels I've ever read. What makes it extra notable is that it's published by Zebra, and their gothic imprint was usually pretty tame (think Victoria Holt), but this was more like something Rachel Cosgrove Payes would write under the Playboy Press imprint. It was that bonkers.
Charlotte Brodie is half-Scottish, half-English. She works as a teacher, where she is having an affair with one of the other teachers, but she also helps out her seamstress mother. One day the two of them find out that her grandfather is calling all of his relatives to him like he's collecting Pokemon cards as he nears his final moments, to his castle known as Blackmaddie. Charlotte hems and haws but decides to agree to it because her mother wants to go, but they won't let the mother go unless Charlotte is there to accompany her. Unfortunately, Charlotte's mum dies when she's run over by a carriage, and then she is sexually assaulted by the landlord WHILE her dead mum's corpse is in the room.
From there, the book only gets weirder. Her relatives all despise her, citing the Scottish hatred of the English because of the Battle of Culloden (admittedly, a valid reason). But all of her step-cousins seem to be lusting after her, she has a cousin-cousin who despises her for being The Prettier Woman That All The Boys Like More. And the grandfather seems to be mistaking her for one of her cousins(?) who died, Katrina, who was the spitting image herself of the castle's name sake, Black Maddie, of whom there is a salacious portrait hanging in one of the upstairs rooms.
It doesn't take long for the accidents to start happening, whether it's a shove down the stairs or a near-escape from a vicious attack hawk. There's multiple sex scenes, some graphic, and two pretty graphically depicted sexual assaults (which, as other readers have pointed out, don't do much to further the narrative apart from making Charlotte question her traitorous passions). There's also a pretty disgusting scene where, when her cousins find out about her first assault, begin interrogating her about it extremely inappropriately, asking her what it felt like and whether she enjoyed it. WOW.
BLACKMADDIE truly is a bodice-ripper of the days of olde, which makes the 90s publication date even more amusing. The book takes a VERY long time to get moving considering this book is only 300 pages. I think by page sixty, Charlotte still hasn't gotten to the castle. I thought the cast of creepy family members was probably the best part, and the occult twists, while classic components of most of these sensationalist gothics, were really done well here. Questions over inheritance and family secrets are also always entertaining to me, and I thought Innes had some particularly memorable scenes in here.
3.5 stars
Charlotte Brodie is half-Scottish, half-English. She works as a teacher, where she is having an affair with one of the other teachers, but she also helps out her seamstress mother. One day the two of them find out that her grandfather is calling all of his relatives to him like he's collecting Pokemon cards as he nears his final moments, to his castle known as Blackmaddie. Charlotte hems and haws but decides to agree to it because her mother wants to go, but they won't let the mother go unless Charlotte is there to accompany her. Unfortunately, Charlotte's mum dies when she's run over by a carriage, and then she is sexually assaulted by the landlord WHILE her dead mum's corpse is in the room.
From there, the book only gets weirder. Her relatives all despise her, citing the Scottish hatred of the English because of the Battle of Culloden (admittedly, a valid reason). But all of her step-cousins seem to be lusting after her, she has a cousin-cousin who despises her for being The Prettier Woman That All The Boys Like More. And the grandfather seems to be mistaking her for one of her cousins(?) who died, Katrina, who was the spitting image herself of the castle's name sake, Black Maddie, of whom there is a salacious portrait hanging in one of the upstairs rooms.
It doesn't take long for the accidents to start happening, whether it's a shove down the stairs or a near-escape from a vicious attack hawk. There's multiple sex scenes, some graphic, and two pretty graphically depicted sexual assaults (which, as other readers have pointed out, don't do much to further the narrative apart from making Charlotte question her traitorous passions). There's also a pretty disgusting scene where, when her cousins find out about her first assault, begin interrogating her about it extremely inappropriately, asking her what it felt like and whether she enjoyed it. WOW.
BLACKMADDIE truly is a bodice-ripper of the days of olde, which makes the 90s publication date even more amusing. The book takes a VERY long time to get moving considering this book is only 300 pages. I think by page sixty, Charlotte still hasn't gotten to the castle. I thought the cast of creepy family members was probably the best part, and the occult twists, while classic components of most of these sensationalist gothics, were really done well here. Questions over inheritance and family secrets are also always entertaining to me, and I thought Innes had some particularly memorable scenes in here.
3.5 stars
June 19, 2017
I somehow missed this book and was very eager to get my hands on it. It has all the ingredients for a lovely Gothic-romance, which just happens to be my favorite! So going into this book I had high expectations, but unfortunately, I was disappointed. The book wasn’t BAD, but it sure wasn’t good either. It was just, meh. The romance in the book developed way too quickly…it was almost comical how the two came together, super cheesy. I like a little more reality thrown into my romance. Also, I didn’t guess who done it…but when it was revealed it too was a letdown. Overall the book was very anticlimactic and I was left wondering if I missed something somewhere. I wont read it again.
August 4, 2020
stupid strange
July 31, 2022
Trigger warning:Rape DNF I just couldn’. Do not rec
January 1, 2023
This book feels… so long
February 25, 2026
12/1 -- finished. This was a tough book to get through. Basically, lone heir to a gothic castle is summoned by her grandfather because she reminded him of his late granddaughter, and she immediately becomes the target of an assassination plot. The castle is filled with surly folks who don't like each other very much. The reason for their misery is never explored which was disappointing, especially since the back talks about an ancient curse, but it's just some vague "the castle never lets you leave" curse without teeth. On the positive, the prose is good, the setting is good, some parts of the story are fine and it wasn't mind-numbingly boring. I wouldn't read it again, though.
- First, the romance: it is 100% a subplot, not the main driver of the story. The suspense is the main story and we would have reached the same conclusion with or without the romance. Manage your expectations with this. Most of the book does not focus on the relationship. To that, Her lover is not a stand-alone character--we're told he's hot and "magnificent" but he's a bland, muscly dude who loves her and not much else on the paper. He doesn't even give us enough to be a himbo! He's just... there, when she rarely needs him to be, and he is gone when he isn't needed, which is most of the story. On top of that, he hated her at first because she wasn't Scottish but we don't know he suddenly falls in love with her. Their love scenes are cheesy and bland, and I don't know why they like each other so much other than they are the two most compatible people in terms of their ages, but they have this incredible love story that doesn't really convince me. So, that part was pretty unsatisfying.
- Second, the suspense story is less scary and more just complicated and silly. It involves witchcraft (which fizzles out in the end with one "big scene" that wasn't that big of a deal) but the witchy aspects seemed more like caricatures of pop witchcraft rather than something sinister and primal: black cloaks and candles, evil books, pentagrams, child sacrifice, etc. Maybe it's less derivative than I think but it came across as campy.
- our heroine observes EVERY WOMAN'S BOOBS AND NIPPLES AND PUBIC HAIR. There's a fair bit of casual nudity and I got tired of reading about the colour of every nude persons' muff. Like, at the plot-twist, climax scene, ... O_o
Trigger warnings: 1) there are two graphic rapes in this book, to two characters: . Honestly, the plot was unaffected by the assaults, as the victims also are similarly unaffected as well. Nothing would have changed. The descriptions are lurid and almost like love scenes, which gives me massive ick about it all. When the positive romance between Charlotte and Robert is too phoned in to balance out the assaults, the story is coloured pretty negatively and grim.
2) infant death, in a ritual fire, on the page, and our heroine calls the baby evil at least once before then when it really didn't deserve to be called that.
3) heroine assumes she is infertile, gets magically pregnant with her lover's child after maybe their second time together.
--
11/1 -- Currently reading at 13% and I may abandon it with a tentative rating of 1/5.
By page 42, it has been a train of tragedy. Her mother dies in a pretty tragic way and our heroine spends the night in her house with her mother's corpse; there have been two sex scenes, one with the heroine's out-the-door, 2D-cutout lover which was (probably intentionally) mechanical and "she just laid there," and the other was a graphic rape by a lecherous neighbour, with inner monologues of body betrayal that edge close to romanticising the assault. The assault was portrayed with the flowery language of a love scene, even down to how she felt awakened by it compared to her boring lover while also it being expressly condemned, so I'm getting mixed messages on what I, as the reader, should be feeling about the heroine's experience.
I don't really like the heroine. Her inner monologues are boring--I think our heroine is supposed to be rational but she doesn't seem human. And she keeps describing her own breasts as "full" and it's just a little odd.
In other comments, the prose seems fine on paper, but it's more technical and precise and almost rote. However, I think the settings are actually really fleshed out, so I may skim through to get a feel for the castle but not get emotionally invested.
- First, the romance: it is 100% a subplot, not the main driver of the story. The suspense is the main story and we would have reached the same conclusion with or without the romance. Manage your expectations with this. Most of the book does not focus on the relationship. To that, Her lover is not a stand-alone character--we're told he's hot and "magnificent" but he's a bland, muscly dude who loves her and not much else on the paper. He doesn't even give us enough to be a himbo! He's just... there, when she rarely needs him to be, and he is gone when he isn't needed, which is most of the story. On top of that, he hated her at first because she wasn't Scottish but we don't know he suddenly falls in love with her. Their love scenes are cheesy and bland, and I don't know why they like each other so much other than they are the two most compatible people in terms of their ages, but they have this incredible love story that doesn't really convince me. So, that part was pretty unsatisfying.
- Second, the suspense story is less scary and more just complicated and silly. It involves witchcraft (which fizzles out in the end with one "big scene" that wasn't that big of a deal) but the witchy aspects seemed more like caricatures of pop witchcraft rather than something sinister and primal: black cloaks and candles, evil books, pentagrams, child sacrifice, etc. Maybe it's less derivative than I think but it came across as campy.
- our heroine observes EVERY WOMAN'S BOOBS AND NIPPLES AND PUBIC HAIR. There's a fair bit of casual nudity and I got tired of reading about the colour of every nude persons' muff. Like, at the plot-twist, climax scene, ... O_o
Trigger warnings: 1) there are two graphic rapes in this book, to two characters: . Honestly, the plot was unaffected by the assaults, as the victims also are similarly unaffected as well. Nothing would have changed. The descriptions are lurid and almost like love scenes, which gives me massive ick about it all. When the positive romance between Charlotte and Robert is too phoned in to balance out the assaults, the story is coloured pretty negatively and grim.
2) infant death, in a ritual fire, on the page, and our heroine calls the baby evil at least once before then when it really didn't deserve to be called that.
3) heroine assumes she is infertile, gets magically pregnant with her lover's child after maybe their second time together.
--
11/1 -- Currently reading at 13% and I may abandon it with a tentative rating of 1/5.
By page 42, it has been a train of tragedy. Her mother dies in a pretty tragic way and our heroine spends the night in her house with her mother's corpse; there have been two sex scenes, one with the heroine's out-the-door, 2D-cutout lover which was (probably intentionally) mechanical and "she just laid there," and the other was a graphic rape by a lecherous neighbour, with inner monologues of body betrayal that edge close to romanticising the assault. The assault was portrayed with the flowery language of a love scene, even down to how she felt awakened by it compared to her boring lover while also it being expressly condemned, so I'm getting mixed messages on what I, as the reader, should be feeling about the heroine's experience.
I don't really like the heroine. Her inner monologues are boring--I think our heroine is supposed to be rational but she doesn't seem human. And she keeps describing her own breasts as "full" and it's just a little odd.
In other comments, the prose seems fine on paper, but it's more technical and precise and almost rote. However, I think the settings are actually really fleshed out, so I may skim through to get a feel for the castle but not get emotionally invested.
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