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Dark Palace: The Whispers
“Not every emotion we feel belongs to us.”
For no one is that more true than for those who hear the whispers of the past. Adelia Grey just happens to be one of those people.
Adelia Grey would consider herself an unremarkable girl born into a remarkable family. Plagued by crippling anxiety in her mundane life, she finds herself compelled by the opportunity to spend a summer abroad, with her grandmother, in her apartments at Hampton Court Palace. As soon as she arrives, she finds that the dark chaos of her mind is only compounded by the rich history of the Tudor palace. Her summer of self-discovery is complicated further when she meets Daniel, an attractive young Oxford professor, who is spending the summer investigating the centuries-old mysterious death of Amy Robsart Dudley. With the help of Daniel and her eccentric grandmother, Adelia may just find that she holds a secret gift that may bring light to solving a mystery that has baffled historians for nearly 400 years.
For no one is that more true than for those who hear the whispers of the past. Adelia Grey just happens to be one of those people.
Adelia Grey would consider herself an unremarkable girl born into a remarkable family. Plagued by crippling anxiety in her mundane life, she finds herself compelled by the opportunity to spend a summer abroad, with her grandmother, in her apartments at Hampton Court Palace. As soon as she arrives, she finds that the dark chaos of her mind is only compounded by the rich history of the Tudor palace. Her summer of self-discovery is complicated further when she meets Daniel, an attractive young Oxford professor, who is spending the summer investigating the centuries-old mysterious death of Amy Robsart Dudley. With the help of Daniel and her eccentric grandmother, Adelia may just find that she holds a secret gift that may bring light to solving a mystery that has baffled historians for nearly 400 years.
246 pages, Kindle Edition
Published November 12, 2023
16 people are currently reading
69 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews
February 25, 2024
The details of every part of this book were amazing. My heart was drawn to Adelia to the life she was livingthen changing and realizing. This beautiful romance blossomed into such an amazing ending. Filled my heart with so much joy up until the last sentence.
January 10, 2024
Wonderfully captivating!!
Great story line that keeps you engaged. I'm more of a romance reader, but this author kept my interest until the end.
Great story line that keeps you engaged. I'm more of a romance reader, but this author kept my interest until the end.
January 6, 2024
Whispers
Wow! A great book. It was full of history, surprises and lots of whispers. I loved following as the characters grew closer to the answers they sought and to watch a relationship unfold.
Wow! A great book. It was full of history, surprises and lots of whispers. I loved following as the characters grew closer to the answers they sought and to watch a relationship unfold.
November 22, 2023
Dark Palace does not disappoint
Historical fiction/romance are not my usual genre, however, Dark Palace has enough mystery to the historical story to be a bit different. Throw in a little supernatural along with the romance story and this book will appeal to many different readers.
I found the characters interesting and believable.
I look forward to more books in this series.
Historical fiction/romance are not my usual genre, however, Dark Palace has enough mystery to the historical story to be a bit different. Throw in a little supernatural along with the romance story and this book will appeal to many different readers.
I found the characters interesting and believable.
I look forward to more books in this series.
November 17, 2023
Good book on a rainy day
This was a pretty good book. It was a bit to worry for my tastes, but all in all a good read.
This was a pretty good book. It was a bit to worry for my tastes, but all in all a good read.
October 17, 2025
I love the concept of this book but the execution to me was a bit lacking. It took 2/3 of the book to get past character development and into the storyline which was just too long. I feel like we could have gained the same amount of info in a better way that was more exciting. I do love the mix of history into fiction which I feel was done very well for the Amy parts but other areas felt off. There seemed some accuracy issues for the timeline of what things cost. The likihood of her family being middle class but affording two round trip airfares to England without a long time of planning and saving is very small. At one point the professor supposedly drops a few pounds for the band to play a song. Maybe a few shillings but a few pounds would have been a crazy amount in 1957. He would only make around 1,900£ per year. I also would never call my English grandmother grandma. That’s more American.
Lastly, this is probably just me but if I read the word “tummy” one more time I’m going to go crazy. Just very odd usage and over usage of this one word.
Lastly, this is probably just me but if I read the word “tummy” one more time I’m going to go crazy. Just very odd usage and over usage of this one word.
November 26, 2025
Solid story, just a slow read
This book is well written. The storyline itself is interesting and left me curious most of the time. I did enjoy reading Adelia and Daniel's story, but I was always wanting for more.
If you like slow reads with lots of detail then you'll probably love this tale. I need a little more fun and adventure to stay connected with a book.
I loved the Henry 8th six wives connections. I like the historical context. I think those could have been even more prominent in the story really.
For me there was way to much telling from Adelia. Most of the book was her inner monolog. To go along with that, even though I wanted to know the outcome, I could too easily put this book down. I often stopped randomly in the middle of chapters due to losing interest.
I also really wanted a dark twist since its "dark palace" and I never really got that. I expected our MMC to have an evil twist or something fitting of the title.
All this to say, if you like a detailed slow burn, get this book today.
This book is well written. The storyline itself is interesting and left me curious most of the time. I did enjoy reading Adelia and Daniel's story, but I was always wanting for more.
If you like slow reads with lots of detail then you'll probably love this tale. I need a little more fun and adventure to stay connected with a book.
I loved the Henry 8th six wives connections. I like the historical context. I think those could have been even more prominent in the story really.
For me there was way to much telling from Adelia. Most of the book was her inner monolog. To go along with that, even though I wanted to know the outcome, I could too easily put this book down. I often stopped randomly in the middle of chapters due to losing interest.
I also really wanted a dark twist since its "dark palace" and I never really got that. I expected our MMC to have an evil twist or something fitting of the title.
All this to say, if you like a detailed slow burn, get this book today.
February 3, 2024
The book is packed full of detail that easily allows someone with no background in English architecture and history to visualize the numerous settings and happenings. I found Adelia’s beginning awkwardness and moments with Daniel to be quite endearing. Her new found gift also kept me wanting more, and I could hardly put the book down. I look forward to reading the next book in the series.
June 3, 2025
Ok I really loved the overall vibes. I liked how the FMC developed her gift and how things progressed. I loved the ending and wished there was more of that in the book through out instead of such a slow build up but overall it was a good story and a sweet love story as well. A young woman figuring out what she wanted and how to deal with the life she has been living and wants to live.
July 9, 2025
I discovered this author at the Big Ohio Book Con and I’m so glad I picked up Dark Palace. I loved the blend of British history , mystery and a very sweet and tender romance. The setting at Hampton Court Palace was brilliant. There’s a lot of depth and emotional intelligence in the writing. I can’t wait to read the rest of the series.
February 29, 2024
It has Bridgerton meets Lifetime movie energy. Which im NOT saying is a bad thing. I really liked Adelia and her romance was very cute and sweet. The book just feels long. Like it took me awhile to get through. Overall it's a cute and sweet book with some spooky vibes thrown in. I enjoyed it.
July 14, 2024
I liked it however I wish the thoughts were italicized.
June 2, 2025
Cute little read. Love the historical elements.
July 4, 2025
Such a lovely book by an amazing author! I adore Adelia and relate to her on so many levels as a young woman. It was so easy to become absorbed into the story, and it left me with so many feelings. I can't wait to see what the future holds for these characters!
Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews