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.
Necormance is an adult 18+ dark gothic romantic fantasy and contains mature content and explicit scenes. For all of the people that wished Casper was for adults, Lucien Wescraven welcomes you to Ravenspire Castle…
I am telling you right now if you love spooky gothic romance READ THIS!!!!!!!! Omg I can’t wait to yap about this!!!!!! The tension. The banter. The romance. The storyline. The vibes. All of it was AMAZING.
A haunted house, spooky witchy vibes, and a touch of romance, this book had everything I wanted for Halloween. Lucien gave me total Casper energy, and the banter was so much fun. It’s gothic, a little eerie, and honestly just the perfect fall read.
"The Duke of Ravenspire betrayed a heart, forevermore trapped in art. Bind him tight, where he shall stay, until a heart guides his way. Dashing though he be, only love shall set him free. Call him forth with careful thought, his time shall never be bought. Cursed to dream in eternal sleep, until a heart he shall keep.”
I was thinking this was going to be a 3 star read. The gothic setting and eerie vibe had me interested at first, but the more I read, the more it fell apart.
The almost-insta attraction was a big nope for me. The FMC was drawn to MMC after seeing his portrait (yes, there was a reason, but still), and from there their interactions just felt flat and awkward. It gave Beauty and the Beast vibes without any of the slow burn or chemistry.
And then there’s the FMC, who seemed like a skilled necromancer in the beginning, but Lucien kept swooping in to save her…likeee??
Finishing this one threw me straight into a slump
This is a perfect gothic romance to read especially around Halloween. It has a haunted castle, spirits, necromancer, curses, paintings and a hot Phantom duke. This is a short and fun and creepy and spicy read.
4.5 stars Okay this was such a fun creepy, spooky, spicy gothic read. Highly recommend for a quick October read. Dare I say I enjoyed the vibes of this more than phantasma? I feel like it has the same bones as phantasma but honestly more sinister and without the trials.
This book started off so strong, it was beautifully written and I really felt I was there with Mia. Unfortunately (and after reading reviews, I'm not the only one that thinks this) it fell flat after the main characters were introduced to each other.
We quickly shifted from a gothic, atmospheric read to an insta-love that I wasn't particularly interested in.
The ending made me roll my eyes and I just wanted the book to end.
I've rated it 3 stars for the strong start however the majority of the book would fall in the 2 star area.
The atmosphere of this book was so delicious at the beginning. However, it quickly devolved into inconsistent rules of magic. In some parts, it felt the different POV was unnecessary. A lot of backstory was missing, and things just happened out of convenience. I honestly skimmed the last 25% because I had lost some interest and figured how it would go. Rounded up to 2.5 stars.
A truly beautiful and unique gothic romance. The creepy spooky atmosphere is fabulous, and it's dark, twisted, and sexy in all the best ways. If you loved the 1995 film Casper and wished for an adult version, you will absolutely devour this book!
I highly suspect that the majority of this was helped along by AI. The overuse of certain punctuation marks is a red flag with most AI generators and in chapter one it was heaving with them. I refuse to continue with it.
I like atmospheric haunted house settings, I love ghost stories, and romances with ghosts. Needless to say, this one could've easily been a 5 star read for me, but it unfortunately just missed the mark. First off, not enough ghosts!! It's a ghost story yet, where are all the ghost interactions? The description when Mia first enters the castle was how different the place felt because it was alive with ghosts. There wasn't a whole lot to this story, and it basically centered around three characters: Mia, Lucien (a mysterious, cursed ghost trapped in a painting), and the psychotic ex haunting the castle. It's a fun and semi spooky read with some spice and fun banter, but everything felt pretty one dimentional. Still an enjoyable enough read to pick up during spooky season on a lazy afternoon, and I'm happy to see more ghosty romances being made.
"I struck a match, lighting three candles-one for the past, one for the present, and one for the restless dead."
When a book pitches itself as Casper meets Crimson Peak, I’m already halfway in, and Necromance absolutely delivered on those eerie, gothic vibes. The necromancer (profession) setting was fun, atmospheric, and deliciously spooky, with a crumbling castle full of unsettling whispers and vengeful spirits. It felt like stepping straight into a dark fairytale.
Mia, our spirited necromancer heroine, was a solid lead, though I’ll admit I got a little frustrated with how often she burned through her power and passed out. Girl, you’ve been doing this for years, shouldn’t we be past the “oops, fainted again” stage? I know necromancy comes with a price, but it started feeling like a repeated plot device.
Lucien, on the other hand, was exactly the kind of haunted duke I wanted. Trapped in a cursed painting, brooding in all the right ways, and tossing out cheeky remarks that brought the perfect amount of charm to all the darkness. His chemistry with Mia builds fast, but in a cute, swoony way that fits the fairytale tone.
And then there’s , the obsessive villain with a death grip on the past. I love a good unhinged antagonist, and she was exactly the right flavor of “psycho who didn’t get picked.” Her presence adds tension without overwhelming the romance.
The pacing is quick, the atmosphere is rich, and the romance is both sweet and shadowed by danger. I had a great time reading it—and if you love gothic romances with yearning, ghosts, curses, and a touch of dark whimsy, this one is absolutely worth picking up.
This book was about a spirited necromancer, Mia Arden, who was hired to cleanse a long-abandoned castle. However, she expected a few temperamental ghosts - not a brooding, devastatingly handsome phantom Duke trapped inside a cursed painting. Lucien Wescraven has spent years as a shadow, imprisoned by the woman who loved him to madness. With the castle alive with sinister magic and the ghosts of a woman who would do anything to keep him lurking in every echoing corridor, Mia was his only hope. But the deeper she dug, the more entangled she became in Lucien´s tragic past.
As passion flared and the castle fought to keep its secrets, Mia had to break the curse by setting the haunted duke free, or walk away before she was lost to the darkness forever. This book was gothic, and I enjoyed it. Gothic romance books are one of my favorite subgenres. However, I wish it were longer, and some scenes were written differently. I am giving this book a four-star rating because it is worth it.
4 stars. Now this is what I needed to get me back. This was shorter and it was gothic and 1800s and chefs kiss just right what I want at the moment!!! That is what I want. I seem to be in the mood for exclusively gothic books. I really did enjoy this once I got into it. It had twists and turns! The vibe is really what sold me. But the romance, ah, how I love a phantom / ghost. The plot of trying to cleanse the manor was great and how they went about it. I was on the edge of my seat towards the end, I truly didn't know how it would play out. I really liked the magic system and how it all works, it was very clever.
Big thank you to Cora for sending me a digital copy of this book for an honest review.
Stars: 4 Spice level: 1 chili pepper
The atmosphere of this book is just perfection. If you want a book with a beautiful romance with a haunted gothic castle backdrop, this will satisfy that craving! Lucien is a true gentleman who had me swooning!
This book also had one of my all time favorite tropes (drink/potion that has a side effect of causing intense lust). I will always be a simp for that trope.
Holy heck! I wasn’t too sure going into this book that my book club picked because it doesn’t take much to freak me out, but I freaking loved this book! It’s haunting and a little creepy, mostly at the beginning for me, but it’s such an amazingly beautiful story! I’m so happy it was this month’s pick otherwise I might never have braved it. It’s dark but not in a horror way, just paranormal, but the story is beautiful, interesting so it grabs and keeps your attention, and the twists!! The best kinds! I would 100% recommend this book and can’t wait to read more from this author!
4.5⭐️ Casper meets Dark Shadows and an essence of Monster House to it.
I was wanting fun, dark, spooky vibes and it delivered. Devoured within 3 hours.
The banter was bantering, the tension was thick. The world building and character development was seamless and flowed with the plot, and it had the perfect amount of spice.
Such an interesting concept!! Almost like Beauty and the Beast but more ghosts and thriller kinda vibes. I did lose a star because at the end of almost every chapter she get knocked out. Like aren't you supposed to be a skilled necromancer? Spoiler alert- every chapter ends "and then there was darkness". BUT still a fun read!
2.5 🌟 Was in the mood for a quick gothic romance but unfortunately this was not the choice. I was intrigued in the beginning but then I got so out of my mind bored I had to push through to finish it.
The premise was there but the execution was not. I was into this at first but it kept unraveling and was very cringe at times. I did finish it but barely. What a letdown for my last book of the year!