The Temptation of Charlotte North

by Camilla Bruce

A rebellious young woman desperate to escape her predetermined life joins forces with an unlikely ally—a sinister spirit—in this dark gothic fantasy from the acclaimed author of At the Bottom of the Garden.

Be careful what you wish for. It might come true . . .

In 1910, on a small, remote island that boasts more sheep than people, life does not hold a lot of promise for spirited Charlotte North. Her only escape from both this insular community and a family who does not understand her seems to be through marriage—an institution she is not at all eager to join, given the unhappiness of her parents' own union. Plus, eligible suitors are few and far between, which is why Charlotte has fallen hard for one the few outsiders to join their community in recent the handsome—and likewise unhappily married—new priest.

And then an ancient tower once rumored to have imprisoned a witch—or an unfaithful wife—crumbles, and releases . . . something. A restless spirit that knocks inside the walls and sends household objects flying. A spirit that seems to have an affinity for Charlotte herself. Though many on the island are terrified of this new interloper, Charlotte sees in it potential. Power. And perhaps even a way to get everything she has most wanted out of life.

Genres: Horror, Gothic, Historical Fiction, Fantasy, Fiction, Adult, Historical

448 pages, Kindle Edition

First published May 19, 2026

About the author

Camilla Bruce was born in central Norway and grew up in an old forest, next to an Iron Age burial mound. She has a master's degree in comparative literature, and have co-run a small press that published dark fairy tales. Camilla currently lives in Trondheim with her son and cat.

Reviews

[DianaRose · Rating 3 out of 5]

firstly, thank you to the publisher for an arc!

full review tk when i am less busy!

i have been on a roll with gothic-esque novels lately, and i am absolutely loving it; however, this book wasn’t particularly the best gothic novel, but not the worst i’ve read.

the temptation of charlotte north follows our rebellious titular character, charolette north, desperate to escape her predetermined life as she joins forces with an unlikely ally: a sinister spirit. of course, what could go wrong...?

[Val ⊹ ࣪ ˖ · Rating 5 out of 5]

2026 RE-READ: sooooo gooood! 🖤🥀

•••••••••••

Thanks so much to Del Rey and NetGalley for this advanced reader copy of The Temptation of Charlotte North by Camilla Bruce, to be published on May 19th, 2026. What a ride! OMG! This story is astounding. It is a paranormal horror book where you get absorbed by the captivating atmosphere from page one. The setting is gloomy and eerie, in a small coastal town with its myths and history. The author does an incredible job submerging the reader in the setting and also in the plot. It's such an extraordinary book. There's so much mystery and intrigue surrounding the characters that you get bewitched by the narrative with its gothic vibes and demonic lure. I would love to read a sequel! Just amazing!

[Val ⊹ ࣪ ˖ · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thanks so much to Del Rey and NetGalley for this advanced reader copy of The Temptation of Charlotte North by Camilla Bruce, to be published on May 19th, 2026. What a ride! OMG! This story is astounding. It is a paranormal horror book where you get absorbed by the captivating atmosphere from page one. The setting is gloomy and eerie, in a small coastal town with its myths and history. The author does an incredible job submerging the reader in the setting and also in the plot. It's such an extraordinary book. There's so much mystery and intrigue surrounding the characters that you get bewitched by the narrative with its gothic vibes and demonic lure. I would love to read a sequel! Just amazing! 🤩👻💀

[Nicole is Reading Fantasy · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Temptation of Charlotte North started out strong.

Margaret’s Keep, a small fishing island with superstitious residents and an old tower rumored to have held a mysterious woman captive, is the perfect setting to the story. Coupled with Charlotte’s forbidden and sinful infatuation with the local priest, and her abusive mother, you have a recipe for a fantastic, gothic horror book.

Unfortunately I didn’t feel that enough was accomplished in the book to live up the expectations its premise set. There were three POV’s and a lot of dialogue speculating about what was happening, but very little was actually happening until we reached the last 30%. The consistent, speculative dialogue became a bit tedious and took away from the suspense of the plot.

I believe in supporting women’s wrongs, and I was all for Charlotte and her lustful aspirations, but she did become a fairly unlikable character towards the end of the book and it was hard to root for her.

The setting really carried this book for me, as well as the lore of Margaret’s Tower. The ending was left open-ended and ambiguous, leading me to believe there may be another book. If there is, I’m undecided on whether or not I’ll pick it up.

Thank you NetGalley and Del Rey for the e-arc in exchange for my honest review.

[Katie · Rating 1 out of 5]

Thank you so much, NetGalley, for the copy of this book. Unfortunately, I was only able to get 50 pages in before DNF'ing.

Here are my thoughts:
- Very choppy writing (do they have a publisher??)
- It seemed to be unnecessarily descriptive writing, but also jumped all over the place. You went from Charlotte in her cage to drinking tea with a married man that she wanted to get with
- Many sentences started with "but" that could have just been a continuation of the sentence before
- There were SO MANY italicized words. like one in a paragraph. I'm generally not that nitpicky about grammar and writing, but it was so distracting, I couldn't continue. Also a lot of - in the writing as well
- Weird phrases that also caught my attention were when she called herself a "smaller being" and comparing potatoes in her soup to "pale, naked newborns"

After going through and reading the synopsis, I was disappointed that I couldn't get through this book because I loved that idea, but I couldn't get over all of the other things to even see if the premise was creepy or not.

[Ken Fredette · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a book of horrors in Camilla Bruce's name. Charlotte North was invincible at giving people what they deserved in her mind. Ruth is drawn in to the triangle of the Hills and Charlotte. Charlotte is a 18 year old person in love with the Reverend Hill. She is kept away from Hill when her mother locks the door to the shed with Charlotte inside. What happens is that a tower on the island vanishes in an instant when there's a huge round of earth quakes and Charlotte escapes from the shed to look at the building of the tower that is left. What happens is that a knocker develops and Charlotte gets what she wants. Mr. West comes to look for defects in the soil and gets attacked by the knocker. Several other things happen and then Mr. West moves in with Ruth who is the teacher. They then make a couple to find out that the knocker is a bad killing machine and ends up killing Mrs. Hill. You can guess what happens from there but you may be surprised. Its a very good read.

I read it a second time and I was ensnared in it as I was the first time.

[Shelby Bozeman · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thank you to Net Galley, Del Rey, Random House Worlds and Inklore for this ARC of The Temptation of Charlotte North. A haunting tale of a woman’s desire for more.
I thoroughly enjoyed this gothic story and its lush descriptions. Camilla Bruce did a fantastic job of transporting me to the wind swept island and setting me front and center for this spooky tale. This book will have you second guessing any bumps in the night!

[kumori · Rating 4 out of 5]

Reading this book was like watching an indie horror movie where nothing scary really happens for most of its runtime, no jump scares even for the thrill of it and everybody in it just having monologue or talking with each other under deceitful calm and sinister atmosphere. Yes it reminded me a little of Mike Flanagan's Midnight Mass particularly because of the isolated island setting and its little peaceful community with their superstitious inclination especially about a certain abandoned old tower. One day due to an earthquake that tower collapses and as a consequence an entity get loose among them and latch itself to a rebellious 17 year old Charlotte. It's not long until they struck an alliance because of their mutual need of each other and wreak havoc on the island.

Pros : i loved the (very) moody and atmospheric gloomy setting, and the multiple POVs get the benefit of its 450 pages for their characters development.

Cons : i can't see the gothic angle though unless it is only to interpret traditional gothic themes through a feminist lens about female entrapment? Or the possibility of the entity and its supernatural power as the manifestation of the heroine’s repressed mind? . Must every historical horror novels published these days be labeled as gothic though? *smh

[Sammy's Study · Rating 2 out of 5]

2 🌟

First off, thank you, Netgalley and Del Rey, for publishing for the ARC!

Secondly, I'm so sorry for the rating! I wanted to like this book so badly. But overall, it left me pretty disappointed.

The writing was okay, but a bit choppy. I couldn't relate to the characters at all and felt like they were flat overall. I didn't understand why there needed to be multiple POV's. This story could have been a lot stronger with just Charlotte's POV, to be honest.

I liked the horror theme and the elements that were present. That was the only thing that kept me going. I wanted to see if the plot was going to be interesting. It was not, to be honest. I just didn't understand the point of the story...

I was seriously considering to dnf my first book ever.

[Liana Gold]

Sinister spirit, rebellious young woman, a priest and a witch—this gothic fantasy sounds like a good cocktail.

Thanks to NetGalley, Del Rey, Random House Worlds, Inklore and the author, Camilla Bruce for sending me this eARC!

Publication date: May 19, 2026

[Bihter V. · Rating 4 out of 5]

A huge thanks to NetGalley and author Camilla Bruce for providing me with an advance copy of The Temptation of Charlotte North.

This novel is a haunting and intricately layered tale that masterfully blends gothic atmosphere with elements of the paranormal and psychological horror. The writing is deeply immersive, drawing the reader into a world that feels both eerie and mesmerizing. The setting — a gloomy, desolate island — is described so vividly that it almost becomes a character of its own.

With three pov's, the story unfolds with striking emotional depth. I particularly appreciated how each point of view revealed a different angle of the mystery, adding nuance and weight to the overall narrative. Charlotte’s forbidden infatuation with the island’s priest, Ruth’s story and determination to resolve the mistery, and Jasper’s internal conflict all intertwine to create a dark, thought-provoking exploration of desire, guilt, and repression.

While the story occasionally lingers too long on dialogue and introspection — at times slowing the pace — it never loses its tension or emotional gravity. The prose remains elegant and evocative, and the atmosphere alone is enough to keep readers enthralled until the final page.

A truly captivating read for anyone drawn to gothic fiction layered with moral ambiguity and haunting beauty.

[tinalouisereadsbooks · Rating 2 out of 5]

1910, a small island community Charlotte North lives with her family. An ancient tower which is rumoured to have housed a witch collapses as a result of an earthquake. Then strange things start to happen all centred around Charlotte.

Camillia Bruce is a hit or miss author for me. I either love her books such as All The Blood we Share or don't enjoy them at all such as this one.

This book should have had everything I normally enjoy. A small community, superstitions, folklore and a haunting. For the most part i did enjoy a big chunk of the book but found myself after that getting very bored. The plot is slow with not a lot happening then it picks up and then goes back to being slow.

The story is told from three povs, Charlotte, Jasper the reverend and Ruth the schoolteacher. I think out the three Ruth was my favourite as she seemed more fleshed out than the others.

This book could have been so much more but I think the slow plot let it down. I will always read books by the author in the future.

Thank you to the publisher via Netgalley for a copy of the book to review.

[Nelly]

Should I read it ?Is it worth or the cover is just niccceee !!!

[myreadingescapism · Rating 2 out of 5]

Ooofffff... on to the next.

[Brianna · Rating 3 out of 5]

I’m all for supporting women’s wrongs, but Charlotte took things way too far.

I really enjoyed the atmosphere and gothic coastal town vibes of this book, along with most of the characters and their interactions/relationships. I also really enjoyed the multi-pov storylines. I feel like the plot started out really strong, and I was loving the horror elements and imagery. However, the story quickly stalled for me and started spinning around in the same circle until the very end, which was left wide open.

The potential was there, and while I didn’t hate this book by any means, I didn’t fall in love with it either.

Thank you to NetGalley and Del Rey for providing me with an advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. All reviews will be posted to my socials (Fable, IG, NetGalley, Goodreads).

[Alex Catuna · Rating 4 out of 5]

➸ 3.75★

Huge thanks go out to NetGalley and Camilla Bruce for letting me read this wonderful eARC!

The Temptation of Charlotte North is a gothic historical horror novel, following our titular MC Charlotte. Living on a small, remote island with her three sisters, her strict father and abusive mother, life doesn't seem all too promising for our rebellious protagonist. The residents of Margaret's Keep are inherently superstitious and pious people. Subsequently, her mother often locks Charlotte into the shed as a form of disciplinary punishment. At the start of the story, Charlotte is sent to said shed because of her obvious infatuation with the married Reverend Hill. One day, while again confined in the small shack, an earthquake destroys the ancient tower, and Charlotte escapes her enclosure to explore the remains of Margaret's Keep. That's pretty much all you need to know before you start this excellent novel.

The story is told in three perspectives: 1. Charlotte, 2. Ruth Russel, the unmarried and science-driven schoolteacher and 3. Jasper Hill, the reverend. My personal favourite POV was Miss Russel's, because of her rationality and just overall likability. But let's not be hasty, I will do what I so often do and split, up my review into parts.

Let us begin with the prose + setting. I generally enjoyed Bruce's writing style. I particularly enjoyed her descriptions of the island, as well as the gothic elements she embedded into her prose and overall story. The vibes are bleak, cold and entirely eerie with a splash of icy sea water. Sometimes I did feel like the writing got slightly choppy and/or repetitive, but it didn't diminish my enjoyment because of the ever-present feeling of suspense that kept me wanting to go on reading. All in all, very well done in my opinion.

Let's move on to the characters. I am not sure if we were supposed to root for Charlotte until the very end, but I choose to believe that her development is not meant to make us like her. I didn't love her at the start of the novel, and all the empathy I had for her left me after about 60% of the book. I'm unsure if that was the point, but I liked it in a way since I don't share the opinion that a character should always be likeable. I don't want to spoil anything, but the blurb already mentions Charlotte's infatuation with Reverend Hill so I will slightly elaborate my thoughts on them. The way their relationship evolved was believable and incredibly well-written in my opinion, but it made me hate Charlotte at times (as well as the Reverend tbh). I enjoyed his POV more than Charlotte's sometimes, I just love reading about a man of the cloth struggling with his faith and self-discipline. The romance side-plot was sweet, didn't really make me feel a lot because we don't spend that much time with the two characters falling in love with each other. Again, didn't bother me since it's not a main point of the story (I will not reveal who I'm talking about bc spoilers). Anyway, well-written characters, believable dynamics, big yes from me.

And finally, the plot itself. Such a compelling story, I didn't feel bored once. It was so entertaining to read about the entity that escapes the tower and goes on to build a bond with Charlotte, while making life hell for everyone else. That whole storyline was crafted marvellously, and some of the reveals were quite satisfying to read, even though I could predict a few of the twists. The ending left me wanting for more, but not necessarily in a good way. We're introduced to a new character, just for them to be killed off a few pages later, and while that might have been a way to escalate the story, I did not enjoy it. Then everything happens so fast and we don't get a real conclusion to what's happening (I like open endings, but this felt more like the author is leaving space to write a sequel, idk I might be hallucinating, it's late).

Overall, I would've given The Temptation of Charlotte North 4★, but since I didn't love the ending I lowered it a bit (I mean Goodreads only has full stars so I technically gave it 4★ here, but just know that the story graph rating will be 3.75★).
Nevertheless, if you like dark and alluring, macabre and tense stories with ominous vibes and intriguing characters, who face evils beyond human comprehension, I would strongly recommend The Temptation of Charlotte North!

[brand Charlotte · Rating 4 out of 5]

I want to thank both Del Rey and NetGalley for this advanced reader copy of The Temptation of Charlotte North – this is my honest review.

There’s plenty of promising material here: the concept of the knocker, the legend surrounding Margaret's Keep’s tower, and the island setting itself have strong potential for eerie, compelling storytelling. When described well, the island and keep create a vivid backdrop, and the core ideas behind the narrative are genuinely captivating.

That said, the execution has its shortcomings. While the setting’s potential is clear, the atmosphere never quite delivers the intended creepiness. Character development is uneven: Ruth the spinster schoolteacher stands out as the most interesting and well-rounded narrator, growing from an observant bystander to a determined participant with a satisfying arc. In contrast, Charlotte starts strong but feels inconsistent – her fixation on a married reverend clashes with the blurb’s emphasis on her desire to avoid marriage as her only path, and her eventual shift in priorities is hard to believe. Jasper, the reverend, is difficult to connect with; though his grief over losing a pregnancy and hope for his wife’s recovery are understandable, his comfort in being admired by a teen in his flock and resulting conflict with his bitter spouse left me feeling more sympathy for his wife than for him. His arc concludes with him weakened by the devil possessing Charlotte, his wife gone and him reduced to something of a puppet. Overall, I found it hard to feel invested in most of the characters or their fates.

Pacing is another issue: roughly 20% to 60% of the story drags unnecessarily, though strange and intriguing elements scattered throughout help maintain some engagement. The ending, by contrast, feels rushed, and hints at a potential continuation – while I’m unsure if I’d follow the story further, there’s clear potential that could be realized in future installments.

3.75/5 stars

[Allison boozy bookworm · Rating 2 out of 5]

I had such high hopes for this book but sadly, it did not deliver for me. This is the second Gothic horror novel that has not impressed me, so perhaps this genre is just not for me. It started off strong enough, but somehow it just got incredibly boring. I think this was because I did not find myself rooting for any of the characters; pretty much all of the characters fell flat and didn't have much range. Charlotte North was bland and generic and didn't arouse much sympathy from me, not even in the beginning. But I thought I'd stick around for the atmosphere. Turns out, that's all this novel really offered me: atmosphere. It suffers from too many points of view, and the writing was not that great. It was slow-paced and took forever to get off the ground. I really think it would have much more impact had it been 50 pages shorter. But boy did it have atmosphere! The gritty descriptions of the setting were by far the strongest element of the novel, but I still skimmed over the last 25% of the novel. I wanted so much to love this one, and I thought the premise had potential. In the end it was just eh for me. Thanks to NetGalley for generously providing a digital copy. Publishes in May.

[Paloma · Rating 5 out of 5]

Charlotte North always wanted more. Her small coastal town is surrounded by myths, a rich history and an eerie feeling that never goes away. She becomes obsessed and infatuated with Reverend Hill, which her mother uses as an excuse to punish her by locking her away. An earthquake destroys the tower and releases something that becomes attached to Charlotte.

I was easily transported to this small cold gloomy town. I can feel all the elements on my skin and the energy that lurks around. The multiple POVs added intensity and mystery to the story. I mostly enjoyed Ruth's character. She was adamant on finding out the truth. The residents superstitious beliefs added more to the ambiance of the story. Charlotte wasn't always a likeable character and I enjoyed that a lot. This deeply intense gothic horror story has all the elements of a great read.
Thank you Netgalley and Del Rey/Random House Worlds/ Inklore for this eARC. All opinions are entirely my own.

[Paige Armstrong · Rating 4 out of 5]

ARC Review

I really enjoyed The Temptation of Charlotte North. The author does a great job at building the environment around Margaret's Keep. You can really imagine the bareness of the small island and transport yourself there while reading. The writing style and the use of Old English also helps take the reader back in time, making this book even more enjoyable.

I enjoyed how the story was laid out and it included a lot of creepy and escalating events to keep the reader engaged. However, I did find it a little slow in the middle and found myself wanting to move forward with the mystery of the Knocker a little faster.

The characters were quite well developed as well and you could really feel the shifts in each of the individuals as different events occurred. Ruth was my absolute favourite; it was nice to have a relatable female main character.

As I finished the book, I found myself wanting more. I can't believe that all of our MC's stories just end where they left off. I would love to see a part 2 to really help wrap this story up more.

[Stephanie (NovelBound1813) · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 ⭐️

I received an eARC from Del Rey via NetGalley. These are my honest thoughts.

The Temptation of Charlotte North is like no other book I've read. It's reminiscent of classic gothic novels with a touch more horror mixed in. This is a story of possession, desire, and struggle. Charlotte is no hero, but neither is she a villain. No character in this book is left untouched by the events that take place. The writing was moody and atmospheric. The pacing was slow. While that helped create the haunting atmosphere, it did feel like the story was dragging in some places. I wish that the story had delved more deeply into the character development. Many of the characters felt two dimensional and their thoughts and motivations were straightforward. The knocker is the only character that felt truly mysterious. If you like slowly haunting, atmospheric, gothic style novels, then you should definitely read this.

[lisa · Rating 3 out of 5]

Charlotte gets a 3.5 because I was confused the entire time. Don’t get me wrong nothing really happens but I don’t enjoy being confused along with EVERY character in the book as well. I think to write confusion you need one audience confused at a time; either the characters or the reader NAWT both. So for that it wasn’t fun. I did love Charlotte being kind of evil and insane and I did sympathize with her a lot because while there wasn’t a plot her whole struggle was due to the lack of control she had in her own life. So the “knocker” was her ticket out. Also I did feel like the myth and lore could have been explored more. We were just getting a little something of it with the tower and then it just ends, so I didn’t really enjoy how open the ending was.

And justice for Antonia! she was right about everything, spoke facts and deserved a better husband!

[Sharon Melia · Rating 4 out of 5]

First ARC!!

Yes definitely my style of book! Loved the gothic theme the darkness and the characters!!
Enjoyed the horror aspect and I do love a dark themed book.
Very much enjoyed this book happily read it over 2 days ! Good amount of dept of Charlotte really got to know her and her story .
It was creepy and at times had my heart thumping.
The scenic views of imagination of the book was also great I got a good internal view of the island.
Very good read !
Happily recommend !!

[yaiza · Rating 3 out of 5]

This could have been so much worse it the best of ways 🥲 I really wanted this to be a "good for her" story in all its problematic glory, but now I'm afraid it will turn into an Edwardian-Pop Demon Hunters series 😭

[Camil]

Charlotte isn't the only one tempted. I am too for this book.

(Thank you so much to the publisher and NetGalley for the e-arc)

[takeeveryshot]

we have ed and lorraine warren at home

[Szarygolab · Rating 2 out of 5]

Thank you to Netgalley for the advanced copy of this book.

ale rozczarowanie
w 50% miałam ochotę rzucić ja w cholerę i niestety końcówka nie uratowała

[roan ⟡₊⋆∘ ⊹ · Rating 2 out of 5]

rtc -

[Sydnie Sweeney · Rating 2 out of 5]

The book starts out solid, peaking intrigue, but then becomes creepy in a perverted way. My final review is at the ending past these detailed spoilers. The girl is clearly groomed, or just weak willed, and falls in love with the Reverend. Going so far as to say she touches herself to the thought of him. She left him gifts, was discovered, and she was essentially told they could no longer work together. Charlotte is singled out by her mother, we assume because she "sees things" in the graveyard. She is frequently punished and locked in a shed outside for an undisclosed amount of time. Her sisters do not receive the same punishments for their own "mischief". An earthquake hits the island they are on and panels on the side of the shed she's locked in come loose. She escapes and investigates the "witch tower" that fell in the earth quake. The narrative continues and honestly come across boring. Finally events start occurring. She accidentally stabs herself in her finger with a sewing needle and wakes to it terribly infected. The girl then continues to find sewing needles all around her, in her food, her bed. Eventually we learn the needles were dropped by some entity. Charlotte and her sisters begin communicating with this entity, as it responds with knocking. We learn it can manipulate objects around them. Their mothers gets angry, shoving Charlotte in the shed again, where the entity follows. It gives her food which she has been denied. She decides to set up what we would consider an ouiji board to communicate further with it. The entity starts to attack anyone who visits the Norths. The father calls a geologist to study the earthquake and he is run out by the entity. He later claims to Ruth, the islands teacher, that it was a demon, hung upside down with red eyes. The Reverend comes to the home and decides what would be best for Charlotte is for her to say with him and his wife, who he has a turbulent relationship with. The first night in the home Jasper is already feeling an uncomfortable pull toward Charlotte and he is aware of the demons presence in his own home. A psychiatrist comes to aid her because they believe she is disturbed. The psychologist comes to the conclusion, after assaulting Charlotte, that she must have spontaneous telekinesis. The doctor was sent away and we learn his carriage has suddenly toppled over on the way back to the harbor. The entity is bothering the reverend wife now, leaving needles in her bed, not letting her sleep. Finally Jasper succumbs to the temptation of having easy access to Charlotte and comes to her in the night. Antonia, the Reverends wife, is now dead at this point, at the hands of the demon. It takes on the form of Charlotte, mirroring her. She insists they wed now, in case she carries his child, as he can't stop coming to her each night. No one can visit the Reverends house because they or their carriage will be pelted with soil, deterred from approaching. The teacher and geologist have formed a relationship, and together are bringing in a new Reverend. Alexander is adamant they can drive out the demon. The knocker (demon entity) is now merged with Charlotte, inside her. The new Reverend is very forward and knowledgeable of possession. He can smell the demon in her. They know they will be locked up again. With panic comes loss of control, and now the reverend is dead. Charlotte and Jasper flee the island knowing no one will believe it was a demonic entity that took Alexander's life. Ruth and Benjamin decide to dedicate their lives to being demonic detectives, finding and trapping other demons and hopfully tracking down Charlotte's Knocker.

In all this is a weird book. Similar to haunting movies where nothing happens the whole movie and suddenly in the last ten minutes everything just becomes violent and hectic. I didn't hate it, but definitely didn't love it. I felt there was a lot of wasted narrative that could be cut down. I truthfully felt like I could have just skipped to chapter 34 and finished from there. It pretty much explains everything that occurred supernaturally and the plot starts to pick up. I'm definitely frustrated it didn't have a conclusive ending and it wasn't really enthralling enough for me to be eager for a second book.

[Kim · Rating 4 out of 5]

On a remote island that boasts more sheep than people, spirited young Charlotte North has few prospects beyond that of marriage– an institution she is not keen on, given her own parents' unhappy union. When she becomes infatuated with an attractive young reverend who is trapped in his own unhappy marriage, Charlotte draws the ire of her mother and others in the community. When a sudden earthquake collapses an old tower everyone believes to be haunted, something within the tower is released, and that something is drawn to Charlotte. It begins by knocking on the walls of her family's house and offering frightening gifts. Once Charlotte conquers her fear of the knocker she grows obsessed with it, for the knocker seems to offer everything she could want: power, love, and a way out of the constrained life on the island– as long as she is willing to pay the price.

Gothic tales have seen a resurgence in popularity over the past few years, though the label is thrown around too liberally. An old house and some rain do not a Gothic novel make, so it's such a treat to find an author who understands the Gothic register. In The Temptation of Charlotte North, our setting is a small island of Margaret's Keep in, perhaps, the North Sea. Though the world beyond is rapidly modernising, the people of Margaret's Keep have not kept up with such things as motorcars and telephones. They hold onto old beliefs like the idea of the old tower being a haunted place. Newcomers like the new priest and teacher scoff at the notion, but their ideas about the world are put to the test when they begin to see and hear things beyond their experience. Meanwhile, Charlotte, constrained and punished by her abusive mother, finds herself drawn more and more toward the spirit that has taken up residence in her home.

There is more to The Temptation of Charlotte North than a simple ghost story atmospherically told. The North family is the wealthiest on Margaret's Keep, and Mrs. North is determined to maintain the appearance of the perfect family regardless of the cost to her daughters. She views Charlotte as willfully disobedient and spiteful, especially when Charlotte begins to spend more time with Reverend Hill. For her supposed lack of obedience, Mrs. North verbally abuses Charlotte and locks her in a shed, and has done so since Charlotte was a child. When the knocker comes to the house and causes a string of uncanny happenings, Mrs. North refuses to believe the evidence of her own eyes and blames Charlotte for everything. In a way, she is right. The knocker is drawn to Charlotte and commits these ghostly acts for Charlotte's sake, but the chain of events is exacerbated by Mrs. North's insistence that everything is entirely Charlotte's fault. Would Charlotte have been drawn to the darkness if her mother had been less domineering and her father been more involved with his children? Or are certain people simply drawn to the darker parts of themselves regardless of their family circumstances? These are questions the story asks, but does not definitively answer. It is left to the reader to make up their own mind.

The Temptation of Charlotte North unwinds slowly. Almost too slowly at times, as the middle chapters drag on a little while events at the end feel a little rushed. On the whole, though, the book is elegantly written and wonderfully atmospheric, with richly drawn and believable characters struggling to be true to themselves while facing dark forces they never imagined existing.


Thank you to NetGalley and Del Rey for the advance copy for review.