The Reluctant Husband

Pagham-on-Sea #0.5

by C.M. Rosens

When Nathan Montague Porter, occultist and civil servant, catches the attention of Sir Jack Sauvant, he is invited to Sir Jack's Sussex country house to attempt some grisly magical experiments. Little does he know that it is Sir Jack's maid, Deirdre Wend, who actually holds the key to forbidden knowledge - but she won't give it up unless he takes her to the pictures first.

A Lovecraftian pastiche for fans of Clive Barker and Ray Bradbury, a standalone prequel to The Crows.

59 pages, ebook

First published June 4, 2023

About the author

C. M. Rosens is an author of dark, genre-bending speculative fiction, particularly Gothic horror with tentacles and eldritch family drama, with body horror as a recurring theme. She is mainly to be found travelling between the hills of Wales and the plains of England, but loves visiting friends and family all over the world when she can. She has a PhD in a niche area of Medieval British Studies, and these days mostly applies her research skills in fiction rather than academia, which she enjoyed but doesn't miss. Her work is heavily influenced by the histories, mythologies and folklore of places she grew up in and lived as an adult.

Reviews

[Matthew Prince]

A fun read! Dark but not dour. It promises the weird and delivers in full.
I'm not familiar with the Pagham universe, but sign me up for occult research, a house seemingly rife with wrongness, a patron with suspicious motives, and plans within plans.
I dislike invoking Lovecraft, but Rosens is able to capture only the best features of his stories. A compelling focal character delving into what humanity was never meant to know, their slow descent and all the horrors that accompany it.
If any of that sounds up your alley, you owe it to yourself to check this out! It's a quick read that you'll savor a long time after.

[Jamie]

Thank you CM Rosens for the opportunity to read your novela "The Reluctant Husband"! I was given an ARC of this ebook to read in exchange for my review.

This was a really fun, quick read! Set as a series of journal entries with an unreliable narrator in the 1930s, the protagonist starts out be dabbling in alchemy and ends up the pawn of otherworldly creatures. A mix of sci-fi and horror, I enjoyed the writing style as it had elements that really reminded me of Rebecca and Mexican Gothic. No gore, but definitely descriptions that will make your skin crawl when you learn what type of creatures control the manor! I definitely want to read the other stories in this series.

[Aurielle]

I was fortunate enough to receive an ARC copy of this and it was amazing.

It was a very quick read once I sat down to read it and the style of writing was very enjoyable. It had that ‘old’ feel of writing to it and it was really well done. I love the Lovecraftian feel to it, it was engaging, pulled you in.

I’d check trigger warning as certain things are implied and there’s some mention of animal/rodent death but nothing overt. It was an amazing read that I greatly enjoyed.

[Stephanie]

Thank you to the author for providing a review copy.
I just love the Pagham-On-Sea books and The Reluctant Husband is no exception. If you've wondered how outsiders get brought into the family, this short prequel will answer that question. I'd happily read more about the ancestors of the characters. The world-building is just so good.

[L.B. Shimaira]

If you're invested in the Pagham-on-Sea universe and crave more insight into the... origins/history of the Eldritch horrors that lurk there, this short story is a must-read. Be sure to check the content warnings, though the title already says enough. You've not seen enough hentai to know where this is going 😜

[Littlebookterror]

Horror house so good I keep coming back to it.

[Erich Krull]

I really need to write a review but to be honest, I need to write more of my own stories, understand life and writing better, go further with trauma therapy to even begin to explain how much this whole series meant and means to me...

...is what I wrote on social media. So I think I'll just copy paste that as rewiews for all books in the series. Only adding how gracious the author was when I wrote her an email to express how much the series, especially book 1, meant to me.