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Dark Season
From Pushcart Prize-winning author Joanna Lowell comes a dazzling gothic romance that will keep readers spellbound till the final page.
Haunted by her Future
Tainted. Degraded. Doomed. Doctors told Ella Arlington that her epilepsy would prevent her from living a normal life. When her cousin tries to put her in an institution, she flees to London, determined to control her own destiny. But while at a séance, Ella’s epileptic fit is mistaken for spiritual possession. Loath to reveal her scandalous condition, she goes along with the misperception, and soon finds herself attracting the attention of a devilishly handsome viscount determined to keep the past buried.
Tortured by his Past
Viscount Isidore Blackwood’s fiancée died with secrets he’s vowed to keep, but nothing could have prepared him for the arrival of a mysterious woman who’s rumored to have contacted her ghost. He doesn’t believe for a moment that Ella possesses supernatural powers. Her presence, however, shakes him to his core and when he accuses Ella of being a con artist, sparks unexpectedly ignite between them.
When some surprising truths come to light about Phillipa’s death, Isidore concocts a plan to stage a spectacle of a séance for the ton with Ella’s help. Their devil’s pact might just flush out a killer, but will Isidore let his fury and guilt consume his own soul in the process? And can Ella trust him enough to gamble on a future she never thought she could have?
Haunted by her Future
Tainted. Degraded. Doomed. Doctors told Ella Arlington that her epilepsy would prevent her from living a normal life. When her cousin tries to put her in an institution, she flees to London, determined to control her own destiny. But while at a séance, Ella’s epileptic fit is mistaken for spiritual possession. Loath to reveal her scandalous condition, she goes along with the misperception, and soon finds herself attracting the attention of a devilishly handsome viscount determined to keep the past buried.
Tortured by his Past
Viscount Isidore Blackwood’s fiancée died with secrets he’s vowed to keep, but nothing could have prepared him for the arrival of a mysterious woman who’s rumored to have contacted her ghost. He doesn’t believe for a moment that Ella possesses supernatural powers. Her presence, however, shakes him to his core and when he accuses Ella of being a con artist, sparks unexpectedly ignite between them.
When some surprising truths come to light about Phillipa’s death, Isidore concocts a plan to stage a spectacle of a séance for the ton with Ella’s help. Their devil’s pact might just flush out a killer, but will Isidore let his fury and guilt consume his own soul in the process? And can Ella trust him enough to gamble on a future she never thought she could have?
330 pages, ebook
First published June 20, 2016
6 people are currently reading
178 people want to read
About the author
Joanna Lowell
8 books449 followersJoanna Lowell lives among the fig trees in North Carolina, where she teaches in the English department at Wake Forest University. When she’s not writing historical romance, she writes collections and novels as Joanna Ruocco. Those books include Dan, Another Governess / The Least Blacksmith, The Week, and Field Glass, co-authored with Joanna Howard.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 30 reviews
December 4, 2022
I don’t even know how a book this well written only has 40 something Goodreads ratings.
Not a perfect novel, but so compellingly written and perfectly gothic while sweetly romantic.
Not a perfect novel, but so compellingly written and perfectly gothic while sweetly romantic.
December 18, 2021
Interesting tortured gothic romance. Combining an accidental death, grieving friends and relations, seances and a young women suffering from epilepsy fleeing incarceration.
May 3, 2023
This is one of the those books that I didn’t really like, but I can’t exactly pinpoint what it was that I didn’t like about it. It had every element to be a new favorite for me. The writing style was dark and gothic, and the plot involved the mysterious death of the heroes ex fiancée. I think the characters had enough chemistry too, I just didn’t really like the hero. He was too tortured and too whiny, which would usually work for this type of story but I just found him really annoying.
Also the author of this book has a very obvious foot fetish, which…I guess whatever floats your boat bestie. But it was so odd at the times. The hero has to cut off the heriones boots, and he says ”[I] gained intimate knowledge of her toes. Her toes, by the by, are beautiful.”. I was giggling, because of how much foot fetish shit was in here. But my limits were set when the hero literally puts the heriones foot in his mouth during sexy times and I had keep myself from vomiting lmao.
And the really odd usage of the g*psy slur, over and over and over and over again. The stereotypes against Romani people in this book; calling them “fortune tellers” and the MC’s saying how they wanted to run away to their “caravans”. One of the quotes being: ”Put me in a G*psy caravan, I too could astound customers with the clarity of my visions in the crystal ball.”.
Even saying the hero looked like a “g*ypsy” at one point in the story because of how tanned he had gotten in his traveling around the world: ”You should have worn a hat in Egypt at least. To keep the sun off your face. The other day, Mrs. Wheatcroft told me her daughters are calling you ‘the g*psy.’ And the Wheatcroft girls haven’t had an original notion between the five of them for as long as I’ve known them. If theyre calling you ‘the g*psy,’ that means it’s all over London.” The g*psy is such a fashionable figure.” Lord Blackwood cocked a black brow. He looked every inch a g*psy king. “Everyone tells me this is the for g*psies. They’re in the highest demand.” Like what??? What does this even mean?!! Alexa play Justin Bieber rn frl…Anyways, Is the author European? It would not surprise me in the slightest due to their history and treatment of Romani people. But this is crazy? Like “every inch a g*psy king” really? Wtf. It was weird, it made me uncomfortable, it was definitely problematic.
Idk, this book wasn’t terrible. The writing was beautiful, and had some really quotable scenes and I loved the gothicness. I’ve also never read a book with a character that has epilepsy, let alone a historical. But I just couldn’t really find myself enjoying this one as much as I wanted to.
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My Gothic Book Playlist
Also the author of this book has a very obvious foot fetish, which…I guess whatever floats your boat bestie. But it was so odd at the times. The hero has to cut off the heriones boots, and he says ”[I] gained intimate knowledge of her toes. Her toes, by the by, are beautiful.”. I was giggling, because of how much foot fetish shit was in here. But my limits were set when the hero literally puts the heriones foot in his mouth during sexy times and I had keep myself from vomiting lmao.
And the really odd usage of the g*psy slur, over and over and over and over again. The stereotypes against Romani people in this book; calling them “fortune tellers” and the MC’s saying how they wanted to run away to their “caravans”. One of the quotes being: ”Put me in a G*psy caravan, I too could astound customers with the clarity of my visions in the crystal ball.”.
Even saying the hero looked like a “g*ypsy” at one point in the story because of how tanned he had gotten in his traveling around the world: ”You should have worn a hat in Egypt at least. To keep the sun off your face. The other day, Mrs. Wheatcroft told me her daughters are calling you ‘the g*psy.’ And the Wheatcroft girls haven’t had an original notion between the five of them for as long as I’ve known them. If theyre calling you ‘the g*psy,’ that means it’s all over London.” The g*psy is such a fashionable figure.” Lord Blackwood cocked a black brow. He looked every inch a g*psy king. “Everyone tells me this is the for g*psies. They’re in the highest demand.” Like what??? What does this even mean?!! Alexa play Justin Bieber rn frl…Anyways, Is the author European? It would not surprise me in the slightest due to their history and treatment of Romani people. But this is crazy? Like “every inch a g*psy king” really? Wtf. It was weird, it made me uncomfortable, it was definitely problematic.
Idk, this book wasn’t terrible. The writing was beautiful, and had some really quotable scenes and I loved the gothicness. I’ve also never read a book with a character that has epilepsy, let alone a historical. But I just couldn’t really find myself enjoying this one as much as I wanted to.
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My Gothic Book Playlist
April 30, 2024
there is no doubt that this author can write, she can. I later found out that she has a different, litfic pen name and some award, which checks out.
this was a kinda dark romance. I say kinda, because the novel pulls its punches and shies away from being the horrible trainwreck it could have been.
The MMC is mean and a bully at first but manages his attitude later, which unfortunately means that the whole plot lost all tension and I lost interest. Boo!
There was plot drama later on (a murder in the past yet to be solved????) but tbh I didn't care enough to check whether my guess was right or not or even whether these two get married and have ten babies.
I'm here for the DRAMA, not for two characters playing old greek philosophy tennis in the bedroom T-T
this was a kinda dark romance. I say kinda, because the novel pulls its punches and shies away from being the horrible trainwreck it could have been.
The MMC is mean and a bully at first but manages his attitude later, which unfortunately means that the whole plot lost all tension and I lost interest. Boo!
There was plot drama later on (a murder in the past yet to be solved????) but tbh I didn't care enough to check whether my guess was right or not or even whether these two get married and have ten babies.
I'm here for the DRAMA, not for two characters playing old greek philosophy tennis in the bedroom T-T
April 12, 2020
3.25 stars
Joanna Lowell's Victorian-era historical romance, Dark Season, came to my attention via an article in Publishers Weekly. The article mentioned that Lowell is a professor who writes literary fiction under the name Joanna Ruocco, and that she has received the prestigious Pushcart Prize. This, in addition to the mention of her upcoming historical romance trilogy, sold at a three-house auction for a six-figure advance and to be published under the pen name of Joanna Lowell, made me curious. I googled her and saw that she had a few e-published romances as well, and I decided to try this one.
The trope isn’t a favorite of mine—the heroine is a fake spiritualist conning someone the hero cares about and the hero is suspicious of her and her motives. I tend to dislike con artist protagonists, but this book had an unusual twist on the premise because Ella, the heroine, was in desperate straits and hadn’t set out to present herself as a spiritualist.
Ella, an epileptic, is in attendance at a spiritualist show when she first comes across Louisa Trombly. Mrs. Trombly, a genteel lady who grieves for Phillipa, a daughter who fell to her death five years earlier, is also in attendance. She is glad to be called on by the performing medium, Miss Seymour. But that interchange is disrupted when Ella has a seizure.
Miss Seymour claims that Ella’s epileptic seizure was a visitation from Phillipa. The grateful Mrs. Trombly kindly takes Ella to her home while Ella is still unconscious, so that Ella can recover there. When Ella wakes, Mrs. Trombly offers to hire her as a private medium.
Ella has nowhere to go—her cousin Alfred inherited her father’s fortune and, because of her epilepsy, has sent her to a Swiss colony. Alfred threatened to lock her up in an asylum if she doesn’t go along with his wishes. But Ella got off her train in London. She has survived since then by selling her jewels while trying to find a job as a governess, but she is fast running out of money. So Ella accepts the position with Mrs. Trombly. To evade Alfred’s discovery, she presents herself as Miss Eleanor Reed.
Isidore, Viscount Blackwood, was once engaged to Phillipa Trombly. Although the engagement wasn’t quite what it appeared, Isidore and Phillipa were was very close and he was devastated when Phillipa fell to her death off a balcony at a party. He even wonders if it was a suicide—if Phillipa deliberately jumped. Just prior to her death, Isidore and Phillipa had a bitter fight, and even though he traveled far and wide to escape his guilt, Isidore is filled with anguish even five years later.
Ella and Isidore meet after he comes upon her at Mrs. Tromby’s house. By happenstance, she is expertly playing Phillipa’s favorite sonata on the harp. Ella is musically gifted and playing off the sheet music, but Isidore mistakes it for a performance, part of a scheme to make Mrs. Trombly believe that Ella is in contact with Phillipa—that Phillipa has reached out to her mother from beyond. Isidore can’t stand to see Mrs. Trombly taken advantage of in her grief, and feels that he must put a stop to Ella’s manipulations.
Not only is Isidore angry over this (Mrs. Trombly was a loving, maternal figure in his painful childhood after his own mother died), undergirding his anger is fear. The vulnerable and guilt-burdened part of him is even more worries that Ella is genuinely a spiritualist. If she is, she could reveal things about Phillipa that would hurt Mrs. Trombly and ruin Phillipa’s good name.
But Isidore quickly comes to understand that Ella isn’t truly in touch with Phillipa. The inconsistencies in her story—she is clearly too well-educated and brought up to be a commoner– bother and intrigue him. So does the way Ella struggles to exert control over her body at all times. She’s anxious about the possibility of having another seizure in public but he doesn’t know that.
Ella, conscious of his scrutiny, fears that he will uncover the truth and expose her to Alfred. But upon his realization that she is no threat, Isidore backs off, and very quickly they begin to fall in love.
Isidore and Ella have difficult childhoods in common. Ella was sequestered for her own sake; it was thought that stimuli could trigger seizures in epileptics generally (Wikipedia tells me that in reality this form of epilepsy, known as reflex epilepsy, applies to roughly 5% of epileptics). Isidore’s father was abusive and isolated him—Isidore was lucky that the Tromblys were neighbors. Whenever he thought he could get away with it he snuck out to visit them despite the certainty of being brutally punished for it.
I loved the parallels between them. As a result of their childhoods, both Ella and Isidore are alienated from an aspect of their selves. Ella’s doctor told her that her condition will degrade and lead her to harm herself and others and she fears this eventuality. Isidore has a quick temper and believes that he is, at bottom, a violent brute like his father. Between this, his worries over the secret he carries, and his questions about Phillipa’s death, he too is tormented.
All this causes Isidore and Ella to impose isolation on themselves. Each of the characters is lonely as a result. Each of them recognizes this in the other, sees through to the vulnerability behind the facade. Both of them are endearing. All that was wonderful.
This is a partial review. The complete review can be found at Dear Author, here:
https://dearauthor.com/book-reviews/o...
Joanna Lowell's Victorian-era historical romance, Dark Season, came to my attention via an article in Publishers Weekly. The article mentioned that Lowell is a professor who writes literary fiction under the name Joanna Ruocco, and that she has received the prestigious Pushcart Prize. This, in addition to the mention of her upcoming historical romance trilogy, sold at a three-house auction for a six-figure advance and to be published under the pen name of Joanna Lowell, made me curious. I googled her and saw that she had a few e-published romances as well, and I decided to try this one.
The trope isn’t a favorite of mine—the heroine is a fake spiritualist conning someone the hero cares about and the hero is suspicious of her and her motives. I tend to dislike con artist protagonists, but this book had an unusual twist on the premise because Ella, the heroine, was in desperate straits and hadn’t set out to present herself as a spiritualist.
Ella, an epileptic, is in attendance at a spiritualist show when she first comes across Louisa Trombly. Mrs. Trombly, a genteel lady who grieves for Phillipa, a daughter who fell to her death five years earlier, is also in attendance. She is glad to be called on by the performing medium, Miss Seymour. But that interchange is disrupted when Ella has a seizure.
Miss Seymour claims that Ella’s epileptic seizure was a visitation from Phillipa. The grateful Mrs. Trombly kindly takes Ella to her home while Ella is still unconscious, so that Ella can recover there. When Ella wakes, Mrs. Trombly offers to hire her as a private medium.
Ella has nowhere to go—her cousin Alfred inherited her father’s fortune and, because of her epilepsy, has sent her to a Swiss colony. Alfred threatened to lock her up in an asylum if she doesn’t go along with his wishes. But Ella got off her train in London. She has survived since then by selling her jewels while trying to find a job as a governess, but she is fast running out of money. So Ella accepts the position with Mrs. Trombly. To evade Alfred’s discovery, she presents herself as Miss Eleanor Reed.
Isidore, Viscount Blackwood, was once engaged to Phillipa Trombly. Although the engagement wasn’t quite what it appeared, Isidore and Phillipa were was very close and he was devastated when Phillipa fell to her death off a balcony at a party. He even wonders if it was a suicide—if Phillipa deliberately jumped. Just prior to her death, Isidore and Phillipa had a bitter fight, and even though he traveled far and wide to escape his guilt, Isidore is filled with anguish even five years later.
Ella and Isidore meet after he comes upon her at Mrs. Tromby’s house. By happenstance, she is expertly playing Phillipa’s favorite sonata on the harp. Ella is musically gifted and playing off the sheet music, but Isidore mistakes it for a performance, part of a scheme to make Mrs. Trombly believe that Ella is in contact with Phillipa—that Phillipa has reached out to her mother from beyond. Isidore can’t stand to see Mrs. Trombly taken advantage of in her grief, and feels that he must put a stop to Ella’s manipulations.
Not only is Isidore angry over this (Mrs. Trombly was a loving, maternal figure in his painful childhood after his own mother died), undergirding his anger is fear. The vulnerable and guilt-burdened part of him is even more worries that Ella is genuinely a spiritualist. If she is, she could reveal things about Phillipa that would hurt Mrs. Trombly and ruin Phillipa’s good name.
But Isidore quickly comes to understand that Ella isn’t truly in touch with Phillipa. The inconsistencies in her story—she is clearly too well-educated and brought up to be a commoner– bother and intrigue him. So does the way Ella struggles to exert control over her body at all times. She’s anxious about the possibility of having another seizure in public but he doesn’t know that.
Ella, conscious of his scrutiny, fears that he will uncover the truth and expose her to Alfred. But upon his realization that she is no threat, Isidore backs off, and very quickly they begin to fall in love.
Isidore and Ella have difficult childhoods in common. Ella was sequestered for her own sake; it was thought that stimuli could trigger seizures in epileptics generally (Wikipedia tells me that in reality this form of epilepsy, known as reflex epilepsy, applies to roughly 5% of epileptics). Isidore’s father was abusive and isolated him—Isidore was lucky that the Tromblys were neighbors. Whenever he thought he could get away with it he snuck out to visit them despite the certainty of being brutally punished for it.
I loved the parallels between them. As a result of their childhoods, both Ella and Isidore are alienated from an aspect of their selves. Ella’s doctor told her that her condition will degrade and lead her to harm herself and others and she fears this eventuality. Isidore has a quick temper and believes that he is, at bottom, a violent brute like his father. Between this, his worries over the secret he carries, and his questions about Phillipa’s death, he too is tormented.
All this causes Isidore and Ella to impose isolation on themselves. Each of the characters is lonely as a result. Each of them recognizes this in the other, sees through to the vulnerability behind the facade. Both of them are endearing. All that was wonderful.
This is a partial review. The complete review can be found at Dear Author, here:
https://dearauthor.com/book-reviews/o...
December 18, 2023
Nije fer što ima ovakve korice, mada sam oduševljena fontom. "Dark Season" mi je dala sve što očekujem od viktorijanske romanse: glavne likove koji nose mrak u sebi ali su jedno drugom svetlost, misteriju koju treba rešiti, spiritualne seanse, slow burn, gothic atmosferu i potpuno premeštanje u viktorijansko doba. 👌🏻❤️🔥
February 18, 2021
3.5 stars
Exceptionally well-written and well-paced, my only real quibble with this story (beyond the final gratuitous sex scene) is that the time period evoked felt initially unclear, enough so that I thought this was a Regency novel at first.
While the spiritualist milieu Lowell's heroine, the epileptic, Ella, finds herself unwillingly thrown into and a passing reference to Dicken's 'A Christmas Carol' all indicate the story is taking place sometime during the mid-19th century, Lowell has her heroine playing the harpsichord during an era when that type of keyboard instrument would already have fallen far out of fashion among the wealthy (who could surely have bought themselves a fortepiano or even more modern instrument); the Bach sonatas the heroine and hero play together are, again, not really something likely to have been popular among amateur musicians during the period this is apparently set-Haydn, Mendelssohn, or Beethoven would have been better and more period appropriate choices. All of this made the first few chapters of the book very awkward and unsettling reading as I couldn't figure out where I was supposed to be in time. Once the Victorian setting became clear, the book settled into some familiar tropes and the story moved forward as expected (this is very much a genre novel despite the deluxe prose) to a satisfying if somewhat predictable conclusion (yes, I guessed the culprit in the earliest chapters of the book, but it was still worth reading to the end anyway).
I have no idea if Lowell plans to write any more romance novels, but if she does I'll read them, as I found this engrossing and unusually well-written, if not always a perfect or graceful example of the genre.
Exceptionally well-written and well-paced, my only real quibble with this story (beyond the final gratuitous sex scene) is that the time period evoked felt initially unclear, enough so that I thought this was a Regency novel at first.
While the spiritualist milieu Lowell's heroine, the epileptic, Ella, finds herself unwillingly thrown into and a passing reference to Dicken's 'A Christmas Carol' all indicate the story is taking place sometime during the mid-19th century, Lowell has her heroine playing the harpsichord during an era when that type of keyboard instrument would already have fallen far out of fashion among the wealthy (who could surely have bought themselves a fortepiano or even more modern instrument); the Bach sonatas the heroine and hero play together are, again, not really something likely to have been popular among amateur musicians during the period this is apparently set-Haydn, Mendelssohn, or Beethoven would have been better and more period appropriate choices. All of this made the first few chapters of the book very awkward and unsettling reading as I couldn't figure out where I was supposed to be in time. Once the Victorian setting became clear, the book settled into some familiar tropes and the story moved forward as expected (this is very much a genre novel despite the deluxe prose) to a satisfying if somewhat predictable conclusion (yes, I guessed the culprit in the earliest chapters of the book, but it was still worth reading to the end anyway).
I have no idea if Lowell plans to write any more romance novels, but if she does I'll read them, as I found this engrossing and unusually well-written, if not always a perfect or graceful example of the genre.
April 27, 2023
If you read historical romance and follow my reviews then you should read this book. Kindle unlimited often offers up some not so fine writings but this is an exception. Gothic romance with an epileptic heroine in maybe early Victorian timeframe. I’ve never highlighted passages in romance but I actually thought about it in this one. There was tension, there was drama, the mystery fit the story. The writing was spot on. The smexy times were one intense session that was perfect for this pair.
I felt the connection between these two. I wanted them to get their HEA. Totally solid romance read
I felt the connection between these two. I wanted them to get their HEA. Totally solid romance read
April 10, 2021
perfectly scratched my gothic histrom itch five stars no notes
October 11, 2019
Reviewed by Robin
Book provided by the publisher
I don’t know where to start. I wasn’t totally sold on this story. But I am not saying that it may not work for someone else. I had a rough time grasping the story. I had to re-read it a few times to find out what was going on. I was lost. Once I was able to get past the first few chapters and I thought I had it figured out, I found that I was still a tad bit confused.
Ms. Lowell didn’t do a bad job, it is just that I found it well confusing. I found out that Ella has epilepsy. Ella has these spells. Most people back than didn’t know what exactly was happening and treated them as being mad. In this case she was treated as being processed or overtaken by the spirit of Sid’s fiancé or so everyone thought or perhaps wanted to believe. A séance and an epileptic episode and we had the premise for an interesting story.
You see Ella ran away to avoid being put in an institution. While I found Ella to be well thought out as a character I didn’t really get that connection. I think maybe it was lost because of my lack of total understanding. But I feel that she could be someone that some can relate to.
Then there is Sid or Viscount Isidore Blackwood. I found him to be a little rough for someone of his stature. He was protecting his fiancé from ruin; even after her death. He was handsome enough but still a bit stand offish for me. I did like that he was loyal; keeping the secret that his fiancé entrusted him with.
Sid and Ella did give off some minor sparks and there was a bit of chemistry low lying between them but I just didn’t feel that jolt that I normally do. Things did heat up as they became partners to find Sid’s deceased fiancé’s killer. They also did heat up the bedroom a bit also.
I did like some of the other characters but they still just weren’t quite there for me. I was so focused on getting to know the characters the background was not as prominent as it usually is for me. It was lost on me.
Overall the story (while I didn’t get it the first few times) has promise. There was plenty of mystery that surrounded what ended up being a HEA for Ella and Sid.
Book provided by the publisher
I don’t know where to start. I wasn’t totally sold on this story. But I am not saying that it may not work for someone else. I had a rough time grasping the story. I had to re-read it a few times to find out what was going on. I was lost. Once I was able to get past the first few chapters and I thought I had it figured out, I found that I was still a tad bit confused.
Ms. Lowell didn’t do a bad job, it is just that I found it well confusing. I found out that Ella has epilepsy. Ella has these spells. Most people back than didn’t know what exactly was happening and treated them as being mad. In this case she was treated as being processed or overtaken by the spirit of Sid’s fiancé or so everyone thought or perhaps wanted to believe. A séance and an epileptic episode and we had the premise for an interesting story.
You see Ella ran away to avoid being put in an institution. While I found Ella to be well thought out as a character I didn’t really get that connection. I think maybe it was lost because of my lack of total understanding. But I feel that she could be someone that some can relate to.
Then there is Sid or Viscount Isidore Blackwood. I found him to be a little rough for someone of his stature. He was protecting his fiancé from ruin; even after her death. He was handsome enough but still a bit stand offish for me. I did like that he was loyal; keeping the secret that his fiancé entrusted him with.
Sid and Ella did give off some minor sparks and there was a bit of chemistry low lying between them but I just didn’t feel that jolt that I normally do. Things did heat up as they became partners to find Sid’s deceased fiancé’s killer. They also did heat up the bedroom a bit also.
I did like some of the other characters but they still just weren’t quite there for me. I was so focused on getting to know the characters the background was not as prominent as it usually is for me. It was lost on me.
Overall the story (while I didn’t get it the first few times) has promise. There was plenty of mystery that surrounded what ended up being a HEA for Ella and Sid.
April 10, 2023
For a debut novel, this book is pretty good. However, this book sadly lacks paranormal elements despite being marketed as one. The heroine, Ella isn't an actual medium. She has a fit during one séance, and everyone thinks she can communicate with those from the spirit world. And that's about it when it comes to the paranormal aspect. No haunting specter, ghosts, etc. I guess it's a matter of expectation. I thought the book would be somewhat similar to The Widow of Rose House (Idk why, but that was the vibe I got).
I struggled through the first 30%, but fortunately, the story picked up. I liked both Isidore and Ella. They both have secrets to keep and are afraid to trust each other (with good reason). The characters were fleshed out, and the chemistry was great.
I have to commend the author's wealth of knowledge in poetry and arts for this period. The historical bits feel authentic and enrich the book.
A couple of things would have made it a better book. Firstly, too many inner monologues and not enough dialogues. It gets repetitive after some time. Secondly, some scenes go on for far too long. For example, there is a scene at a dinner party where many characters not integral to the story are mentioned. It's supposed to work as a red herring, but it feels like filler.
Overall, quite a good book with some flaws. 3.5 stars.
I struggled through the first 30%, but fortunately, the story picked up. I liked both Isidore and Ella. They both have secrets to keep and are afraid to trust each other (with good reason). The characters were fleshed out, and the chemistry was great.
I have to commend the author's wealth of knowledge in poetry and arts for this period. The historical bits feel authentic and enrich the book.
A couple of things would have made it a better book. Firstly, too many inner monologues and not enough dialogues. It gets repetitive after some time. Secondly, some scenes go on for far too long. For example, there is a scene at a dinner party where many characters not integral to the story are mentioned. It's supposed to work as a red herring, but it feels like filler.
Overall, quite a good book with some flaws. 3.5 stars.
April 26, 2021
My second book from the author. It was okay, but I like The Duke Undone better. By this time, I'm already familiar with the author's narration and slow pacing, so I'm a bit more critical now than before.
When I say slow pacing, I mean slow pacing. I don't really mind, but I just find it off that the pacing somehow picked up halfway through the story. It wasn't really a gothic romance, in my opinion, but a historical romance with a tinge of crime thriller. It was unfortunate, though, that things only heat up in that crime sense (since it's essential in the plot, after all) only halfway through the story. The first half of the book dealt with that frenemies trope between Isidore and Ella, where Isidore tries his best to unmask Ella as a fraud despite his growing attraction to him; the second half dealt with solving the murder of Isidore's friend Philippa, whom they first thought committed suicide. Ella's medical condition as an epileptic also played well in creating conflicts between her and Isidore.
When I say slow pacing, I mean slow pacing. I don't really mind, but I just find it off that the pacing somehow picked up halfway through the story. It wasn't really a gothic romance, in my opinion, but a historical romance with a tinge of crime thriller. It was unfortunate, though, that things only heat up in that crime sense (since it's essential in the plot, after all) only halfway through the story. The first half of the book dealt with that frenemies trope between Isidore and Ella, where Isidore tries his best to unmask Ella as a fraud despite his growing attraction to him; the second half dealt with solving the murder of Isidore's friend Philippa, whom they first thought committed suicide. Ella's medical condition as an epileptic also played well in creating conflicts between her and Isidore.
September 21, 2025
Tackling this (relatively new to me) author's back list, I wasn't sure if this would appeal as it seemed a different type of genre - more gothic romance than the almost light-hearted books I'd read by her so far.
It is true that her heroes, even in those books, are quite dark -for example, our first encounter with the Duke in the Duke Undone finds him passed out on the pavement in a bad part of town..., and here too we first meet the hero as he staggers around drunkenly, narrowly escaping a slide into the Thames.
The heroine suffers from epilepsy, and the story springs from the misconceptions about the disease, as well as the way women of the time were totally at the mercy of their male relatives when it came to deciding their fate.
I did find the hero's rather tenuous hold on his temper a bit alarming.
The fascination with spiritualism of the time is also an interesting facet to the book.
I look forward to continuing to discover this author.
It is true that her heroes, even in those books, are quite dark -for example, our first encounter with the Duke in the Duke Undone finds him passed out on the pavement in a bad part of town..., and here too we first meet the hero as he staggers around drunkenly, narrowly escaping a slide into the Thames.
The heroine suffers from epilepsy, and the story springs from the misconceptions about the disease, as well as the way women of the time were totally at the mercy of their male relatives when it came to deciding their fate.
I did find the hero's rather tenuous hold on his temper a bit alarming.
The fascination with spiritualism of the time is also an interesting facet to the book.
I look forward to continuing to discover this author.
July 10, 2022
Well, this was an unexpected pleasure, and I am surprised to see so little attention for the book on Goodreads (66 ratings?). I think people who like Sarah Waters would find much to enjoy here, though, sadly, no lesbians.
Dark Season is a self-aware Gothic romance novel (though it is much more a romance novel than a Gothic one). By self-aware, I don't mean ironic, though it does play with some tropes! Rather, it's continuing a tradition.
Both the hero and heroine are compelling and well-developed. They are not sketches, though they could all use more room to breathe (so could the book generally, there are like four things that are supposed to be important but are only allowed to be the book pointing at things and telling you they're important). The sentences are real sentences - Lowell doesn't treat the book or the story as disposable.
And there's a genuine darkness, which is understood to be darkness, in the novel.
Worth a look.
Dark Season is a self-aware Gothic romance novel (though it is much more a romance novel than a Gothic one). By self-aware, I don't mean ironic, though it does play with some tropes! Rather, it's continuing a tradition.
Both the hero and heroine are compelling and well-developed. They are not sketches, though they could all use more room to breathe (so could the book generally, there are like four things that are supposed to be important but are only allowed to be the book pointing at things and telling you they're important). The sentences are real sentences - Lowell doesn't treat the book or the story as disposable.
And there's a genuine darkness, which is understood to be darkness, in the novel.
Worth a look.
March 21, 2023
The blurb called this “gothic.” If gothic means insanely overblown descriptions, situations, and emotions, all written in overcharged language, then it definitely is gothic. It was also pretty darn entertaining. Well written, with a nightmarish quality sometimes but settling into normalcy often enough to keep it grounded, this book wasn’t really my cup of tea, but it’s refreshing to step outside the box sometimes. So gothic, yes, but as for the romance? Problematic. These two were hiding so much from each other and telling so many lies about themselves, when they were communicating at all, that the burgeoning romance felt hollow, built on a house of cards, and didn’t feel solid until the last few pages of the book. Satisfying in the end, but fairly frustrating along the way.
July 10, 2023
My first read by this author (free right now in Kindle Unlimited) and I can’t wait to read her catalogue. Lots to like about her writing style, character detail and unique storyline. If this is gothic, turns out I like gothic but I’m betting the author is not a one note wonder and can deliver various tones. Looking forward to it. It’s been quite some time since I found new to me authors who might compare to my very favorites. Here’s one, and even better it’s come in threes (natch), w Felicity Niven and Mia Vinny also impressing recently.
January 12, 2022
Totally excellent. What more can I say? It's spooky, it's funny, it's suspenseful, it's sexy, it's socially aware... an absolute A+. The premise is totally delicious, the mysteries are engaging, the humor is well-timed and always lands. There's just enough gothic spookiness to thrill but not so much that it feels silly. VERY hot love scenes with two complex and interesting leads. I was also really happy with the way that Lowell handled both chronic physical illness, mental illness, and social
October 7, 2021
Unique writing style
This was my first time reading this author. She did an excellent job of creating atmosphere. I really felt like I was in the story. This book is a HR but the plot had elements of a mystery/psychological thriller. The romance was a slow burn but the payoff was worth it. Recommended.
This was my first time reading this author. She did an excellent job of creating atmosphere. I really felt like I was in the story. This book is a HR but the plot had elements of a mystery/psychological thriller. The romance was a slow burn but the payoff was worth it. Recommended.
February 17, 2022
Love is worth the risk
Gothic, angsty, gorgeous writing with a bit of spice, perfect for a cold winter’s night. Both our hero and heroine have some very dark secrets and torn edges, but are so lucky to have found each other. The only thing I didn’t like about this book was the cover, which reminded me of some very bad 80s books, but ignore that and read this book.
Gothic, angsty, gorgeous writing with a bit of spice, perfect for a cold winter’s night. Both our hero and heroine have some very dark secrets and torn edges, but are so lucky to have found each other. The only thing I didn’t like about this book was the cover, which reminded me of some very bad 80s books, but ignore that and read this book.
November 25, 2021
Refreshing and great romance
This is a story that built the connection and romance in a believable way. If you are also sick of women with rosebud mouths, this book goes beyond the stereotype and delves deeper. Great pace and resolution.
This is a story that built the connection and romance in a believable way. If you are also sick of women with rosebud mouths, this book goes beyond the stereotype and delves deeper. Great pace and resolution.
December 19, 2025
If Miss Doolittle
Had epilepsy and was
Written by Bronte
Eyerolls: 1 out of 5 (the cover gets 10)
Spicy: 2 out of 5
This is actually a very well-written book with interesting, dark goth vibes. I liked it.
Had epilepsy and was
Written by Bronte
Eyerolls: 1 out of 5 (the cover gets 10)
Spicy: 2 out of 5
This is actually a very well-written book with interesting, dark goth vibes. I liked it.
September 20, 2020
Liked the premise of this and it sounded very promising, but sadly I just didn't enjoy it
April 10, 2021
Plot too stop/start, but it is her first HR novel. Second book by this author is much better.
January 4, 2022
I'm kind of surprised by the mixed reviews because this book freaking slaps. It goes hard. It's a little spooky, a lot sexy, and very moving. A real page turner. 10/10.
June 20, 2023
It was sexy and great writing. And from what I've heard, her other books don't follow in it's footsteps which is a shame because I would have loved to read more from her.
September 3, 2024
This was so Gothic and dark I loved it.
October 18, 2016
4.5/5.0
A Victorian Gothic tale that stands out in a sea of historical romance, “Dark Season” is a just that - a dark tale with main characters both fighting pain and depression.
Read full review in the 2016 October issue of InD'tale Magazine.
A Victorian Gothic tale that stands out in a sea of historical romance, “Dark Season” is a just that - a dark tale with main characters both fighting pain and depression.
Read full review in the 2016 October issue of InD'tale Magazine.
June 28, 2016
Ella Arlington flees her home when her cousin inherits and plans to commit her to an asylum because she has epilepsy. Now destitute and on the run in London, Ella attends a séance hoping to speak with her beloved father but instead has a seizure. Confusing Ella’s episode with possession by her dead daughter, Phillipa, the wealthy Mrs. Trombly takes Ella into her home to act as her private medium. During a visit to Mrs. Trombly, her daughter’s former fiancé, Viscount Isidore Blackwood, meets Ella and is furious that she has duped Phillipa’s grieving mother into hiring her services, vowing to reveal Ella as a fraud. However, Isidore’s friends are hiding terrible truths, and he will need Ella’s help to uncover what really happened the night Phillipa died. The mystery surrounding Phillipa’s death may be too predictable for some, but readers will still be enthralled, wondering if Ella’s epilepsy will be discovered and what her fate holds.
Verdict Debut author Lowell has crafted a lavish Victorian gothic romance with a rare disabled female protagonist who refuses to be a tragic victim of her time. Highly recommended for the frank portrayal of living with the stigma of a neurological disorder without sacrificing romantic tension.
This review was originally published in Library Journal Xpress Reviews: E-Originals, June 9, 2016.
Verdict Debut author Lowell has crafted a lavish Victorian gothic romance with a rare disabled female protagonist who refuses to be a tragic victim of her time. Highly recommended for the frank portrayal of living with the stigma of a neurological disorder without sacrificing romantic tension.
This review was originally published in Library Journal Xpress Reviews: E-Originals, June 9, 2016.
June 22, 2016
Dark Season by Joanna Lowell is dark, gothic romance.
Well written with an element of danger, secrets and a few surprises though into the mix. The characters are endearing, and likeable. The storyline unique and speaks of a condition many were afraid of in that era, epilepsy. The H/H face many challenges, while, the heroine tries to deal with her illness/disease.
While the story was a bit slow in the beginning, it picks up nicely, for a steady paced story. The hero wishes to learn the secrets his wife carried to her death.
Can they come to grips with the events of the past to move forward to a future, with hopefully, with a HEA? Or will they survive the secret, once revealed, it can't be unrevealed? A sad, but intriguing story. I enjoyed watching the characters grow as their relationship blossoms and they learn to trust each other. Their passion sparked off the pages. A dark, gothic romance, to be sure, but well worth the time to read. An enjoyable read! Lowell is a new author to me, one I enjoyed reading and look forward to reading more of in the future.Fans of gothic romance, Historical Romance, and great stories with some uniqueness, will enjoy, "Dark Season".
Received for an honest review from Net Gallery.
Rating: 4
Heat rating:
Reviewed by: AprilR
Well written with an element of danger, secrets and a few surprises though into the mix. The characters are endearing, and likeable. The storyline unique and speaks of a condition many were afraid of in that era, epilepsy. The H/H face many challenges, while, the heroine tries to deal with her illness/disease.
While the story was a bit slow in the beginning, it picks up nicely, for a steady paced story. The hero wishes to learn the secrets his wife carried to her death.
Can they come to grips with the events of the past to move forward to a future, with hopefully, with a HEA? Or will they survive the secret, once revealed, it can't be unrevealed? A sad, but intriguing story. I enjoyed watching the characters grow as their relationship blossoms and they learn to trust each other. Their passion sparked off the pages. A dark, gothic romance, to be sure, but well worth the time to read. An enjoyable read! Lowell is a new author to me, one I enjoyed reading and look forward to reading more of in the future.Fans of gothic romance, Historical Romance, and great stories with some uniqueness, will enjoy, "Dark Season".
Received for an honest review from Net Gallery.
Rating: 4
Heat rating:
Reviewed by: AprilR
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