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Monsters & Mayhem
Hearts Lost
Some rules were never meant to be broken.
Returning to the lunatic asylum would kill Ira Bird. Desperate to preserve his freedom, he follows the rules to the letter to prove himself a useful (and sane) member of society. But his new employer, eccentric and arrogant Professor Urquart, has little regard for convention—and no regard for Ira’s resolve.
Urquart’s pursuit of arcane knowledge has led him to shun society, and remove to Aswarby House, surrounded by dense New Zealand bush. His only rule: what he wants, he gets—and that includes his new assistant.
Drawn to Urquart against his will, Ira struggles against more than forbidden attraction. Is the oppressive atmosphere of Aswarby House the side-effects of isolation—or proof of Ira’s loosening grip on his sanity? Or is there something in the forest—something that defies rational explanation?
Rules are broken at a price. The bigger the rule, the higher the price. If Ira wants to save Urquart from the consequences of his past, he must first survive Aswarby House.
Hearts Lost is an unsettling gay gothic novella in the Monsters and Mayhem series of dark M/M retellings of classic horror stories. Loosely based on M. R. James ghost story ‘Lost Hearts,’ this is an untypical romance featuring bad decisions with dire consequences.
Returning to the lunatic asylum would kill Ira Bird. Desperate to preserve his freedom, he follows the rules to the letter to prove himself a useful (and sane) member of society. But his new employer, eccentric and arrogant Professor Urquart, has little regard for convention—and no regard for Ira’s resolve.
Urquart’s pursuit of arcane knowledge has led him to shun society, and remove to Aswarby House, surrounded by dense New Zealand bush. His only rule: what he wants, he gets—and that includes his new assistant.
Drawn to Urquart against his will, Ira struggles against more than forbidden attraction. Is the oppressive atmosphere of Aswarby House the side-effects of isolation—or proof of Ira’s loosening grip on his sanity? Or is there something in the forest—something that defies rational explanation?
Rules are broken at a price. The bigger the rule, the higher the price. If Ira wants to save Urquart from the consequences of his past, he must first survive Aswarby House.
Hearts Lost is an unsettling gay gothic novella in the Monsters and Mayhem series of dark M/M retellings of classic horror stories. Loosely based on M. R. James ghost story ‘Lost Hearts,’ this is an untypical romance featuring bad decisions with dire consequences.
264 pages, Kindle Edition
First published October 10, 2022
24 people are currently reading
261 people want to read
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October 12, 2022
MM Gothic Romance
Hearts Lost Retelling
2 stars ⭐️
So far this series has been a total letdown. I was so excited to read MM romance horror retellings especially right before Halloween but so far none of them have worked for me. I’d consider stopping but with The Phantom Of The Opera, Jekyll & Hyde, Sleepyhollow and Sweeney Todd appearing next in the line up, I will not be able to resist. Fingers crossed 🤞 going forward. This one however…
This review is probably going to be all over the place because I can’t figure out what to say about this book but I promise I won’t spoil anything.
Reading this book was like watching paint dry. It felt never ending, painfully boring and made me question my life choices. How did I get here exactly? This starts well enough with our narrator, Ira, in an asylum thus making him a completely unreliable character. Is he insane or is everything around him actually happening? The setting is very important in this book as this takes place in the 1870’s in the New Zealand bush in a very isolated area. Out in the bush is a mansion owned by an eccentric man named Urquart and Ira goes there to do a work study program of sorts. These men couldn’t be more different, Ira lives to follow rules to understand the world while Urquart lives to break them however Urquart has 3 rules that must be obeyed at all times. All houseguests must be inside by twilight, never open the windows and leave the curtains down at night.
All of this intrigued me initially because I wanted to know more about Urquart, the mansion, Ira and find out why I kept feeling this creepy vibe about all of it. Unfortunately, the writing became quite dull as time went on and I found my interest waning. The descriptive setting that had me wanting to know more soon bored me to tears because it all became too much. I didn’t need to know the various birds flying around, what their wings looked like and what sounds they made. I didn’t need the drawn out descriptions of leaf shapes, tree trunks or how to hoe the garden over and over again. I get it, it’s isolated and nothing is happening except weird conversations between Ira and Urquart about the meaning of life, religion, how rules and laws shape our understanding of the world etc and it started to feel like I was stuck in a philosophy class instead of scary story.
Then there’s the romance itself between Urquart and Ira. Did it exist? How? Why? When did it even happen? There were a few cringy sex scenes but it felt more like a booty call then real feelings. Did they even like one another? I had no idea and I couldn’t care less about either of them. Had their romance been compelling, everything that happened in the last 15% of this book might have changed the way I saw the entire story but instead everything felt very anticlimactic. I suffered through all this boring, tedious shit for this? REALLY?? The last 15% could be shocking to some people I guess? but instead of it smacking me in the face, it just made me wish I had DNF’d this thing back at 30% when I found myself nodding off to sleep trying to get through the dry tedious writing about the dozen different types of bird noises.
Besides all that, the editing was terrible. There were so many misspelled words and it just added to my overall disdain for this book.
Hearts Lost Retelling
2 stars ⭐️
So far this series has been a total letdown. I was so excited to read MM romance horror retellings especially right before Halloween but so far none of them have worked for me. I’d consider stopping but with The Phantom Of The Opera, Jekyll & Hyde, Sleepyhollow and Sweeney Todd appearing next in the line up, I will not be able to resist. Fingers crossed 🤞 going forward. This one however…
This review is probably going to be all over the place because I can’t figure out what to say about this book but I promise I won’t spoil anything.
Reading this book was like watching paint dry. It felt never ending, painfully boring and made me question my life choices. How did I get here exactly? This starts well enough with our narrator, Ira, in an asylum thus making him a completely unreliable character. Is he insane or is everything around him actually happening? The setting is very important in this book as this takes place in the 1870’s in the New Zealand bush in a very isolated area. Out in the bush is a mansion owned by an eccentric man named Urquart and Ira goes there to do a work study program of sorts. These men couldn’t be more different, Ira lives to follow rules to understand the world while Urquart lives to break them however Urquart has 3 rules that must be obeyed at all times. All houseguests must be inside by twilight, never open the windows and leave the curtains down at night.
All of this intrigued me initially because I wanted to know more about Urquart, the mansion, Ira and find out why I kept feeling this creepy vibe about all of it. Unfortunately, the writing became quite dull as time went on and I found my interest waning. The descriptive setting that had me wanting to know more soon bored me to tears because it all became too much. I didn’t need to know the various birds flying around, what their wings looked like and what sounds they made. I didn’t need the drawn out descriptions of leaf shapes, tree trunks or how to hoe the garden over and over again. I get it, it’s isolated and nothing is happening except weird conversations between Ira and Urquart about the meaning of life, religion, how rules and laws shape our understanding of the world etc and it started to feel like I was stuck in a philosophy class instead of scary story.
Then there’s the romance itself between Urquart and Ira. Did it exist? How? Why? When did it even happen? There were a few cringy sex scenes but it felt more like a booty call then real feelings. Did they even like one another? I had no idea and I couldn’t care less about either of them. Had their romance been compelling, everything that happened in the last 15% of this book might have changed the way I saw the entire story but instead everything felt very anticlimactic. I suffered through all this boring, tedious shit for this? REALLY?? The last 15% could be shocking to some people I guess? but instead of it smacking me in the face, it just made me wish I had DNF’d this thing back at 30% when I found myself nodding off to sleep trying to get through the dry tedious writing about the dozen different types of bird noises.
Besides all that, the editing was terrible. There were so many misspelled words and it just added to my overall disdain for this book.
July 19, 2023
The series have been very hit and miss for me. Some of the stories are very intriguing but this was the second let down in a row. It did not feel like a romance at all. Didn't see any chemistry, love or attraction between the two. Felt more like a mystery but even that feelt like a stretch. Probably make a lit more since if you read the original work but I haven't. But it hasn't mattered before.
October 12, 2022
I thought of putting this on my "great premise, sloppy execution" shelf, except I couldn't figure out what the premise even was. This was such a disappointment after Deep Magic that I have to wonder whether that book was a fluke.
Just on the technical level of grammar, syntax, and usage this was a mess. Look at this sentence: "Weka, a native bird with brown feathers and an inquisitive nature about the size of a hen, scattered before them ..." Out of curiosity, how does the size of the weka's inquisitive nature compare with the average -- is it smaller? larger?
And: "hard to imagine that such a volume [an explicit sexual memoir, profusely illustrated] could have a large print run without exciting mass approbation." Approbation. I do not think that word means ... (St. Kevern was looking for "opprobrium," I bet.)
Or: "No reflection on my hospitality, I am afraid," says one of the MCs, in a context that makes it clear St. Kevern thinks that casting a reflection on something means complimenting or admiring it. Er, see definition #5.
I earned my living for many years cleaning up these kinds of problems, so, sure, my brain is well trained in noticing them and probably my tipping point for being thrown permanently out of a book comes well before most readers'.
Also, as Dick Cheney (may his name otherwise be forgotten) famously pointed out, and I paraphrase, you don't know what you don't know. So I can rant and scream all I like about how people should look up words and phrases of whose meaning they're not 110% sure, but if a writer's sure and also wrong, it's hopeless. Anyway, looking up individual words and phrases won't rescue the overall sentence structure from catastrophe.
And look! I haven't even gotten to the characterizations or the progression of the relationship between Ira and Urquart. I haven't read M. R. James's story, but at a guess St. Kevern has stuck to it closely whereas it needed a looser interpretation if it was going to work as the substratum for a romance. Urquart just comes off as erratic, and Ira's decision to have sex with him -- having quite recently fled into the bush to avoid him! -- is underprepared to say the least.
I don't know whether to dip a toe into St. Kevern's other books. Was this mess the fluke, or was Deep Magic? Sigh.
Just on the technical level of grammar, syntax, and usage this was a mess. Look at this sentence: "Weka, a native bird with brown feathers and an inquisitive nature about the size of a hen, scattered before them ..." Out of curiosity, how does the size of the weka's inquisitive nature compare with the average -- is it smaller? larger?
And: "hard to imagine that such a volume [an explicit sexual memoir, profusely illustrated] could have a large print run without exciting mass approbation." Approbation. I do not think that word means ... (St. Kevern was looking for "opprobrium," I bet.)
Or: "No reflection on my hospitality, I am afraid," says one of the MCs, in a context that makes it clear St. Kevern thinks that casting a reflection on something means complimenting or admiring it. Er, see definition #5.
I earned my living for many years cleaning up these kinds of problems, so, sure, my brain is well trained in noticing them and probably my tipping point for being thrown permanently out of a book comes well before most readers'.
Also, as Dick Cheney (may his name otherwise be forgotten) famously pointed out, and I paraphrase, you don't know what you don't know. So I can rant and scream all I like about how people should look up words and phrases of whose meaning they're not 110% sure, but if a writer's sure and also wrong, it's hopeless. Anyway, looking up individual words and phrases won't rescue the overall sentence structure from catastrophe.
And look! I haven't even gotten to the characterizations or the progression of the relationship between Ira and Urquart. I haven't read M. R. James's story, but at a guess St. Kevern has stuck to it closely whereas it needed a looser interpretation if it was going to work as the substratum for a romance. Urquart just comes off as erratic, and Ira's decision to have sex with him -- having quite recently fled into the bush to avoid him! -- is underprepared to say the least.
I don't know whether to dip a toe into St. Kevern's other books. Was this mess the fluke, or was Deep Magic? Sigh.
October 7, 2022
I LOVED this book! It was so well-written, gorgeous and moody and gothic. The characters were as vivid as the settings and the visceral tension between the two main characters really came off the page.
It's the perfect spooky October read: scary and dark and horrific but also really sexy. And can we talk about the writing? I loved the way I felt completely submerged and immersed in this world. It's written in a gothic style but is still easy to read and understand and flows so well.
It's a lovely, spooky read. The characters are so gorgeously crafted - they're dark but human. Real and immoral and gray.
Definitely recommend it! It's a Halloween MUST!
It's the perfect spooky October read: scary and dark and horrific but also really sexy. And can we talk about the writing? I loved the way I felt completely submerged and immersed in this world. It's written in a gothic style but is still easy to read and understand and flows so well.
It's a lovely, spooky read. The characters are so gorgeously crafted - they're dark but human. Real and immoral and gray.
Definitely recommend it! It's a Halloween MUST!
October 27, 2022
DNF @ 39%
It’s more of a me problem and I even feel bad for giving it a low rating, but I also don’t feel right giving it a higher rating, either. I’m not the biggest fan of anything that’s not set in contemporary times. This was just so BORING. Like nothing happened and I was almost 40% in! Like c’mon!!!!
It’s more of a me problem and I even feel bad for giving it a low rating, but I also don’t feel right giving it a higher rating, either. I’m not the biggest fan of anything that’s not set in contemporary times. This was just so BORING. Like nothing happened and I was almost 40% in! Like c’mon!!!!
October 24, 2022
mayhem is right?!?
Told exclusively from Ira’s POV. This was a dark gothic romance. Not everyone is as they seem. Urquart is secretive and Ira thinks he has certain motives steering him.
It was a bit unsettling because you never really knew what was happening until the very end and even then Ira had a twist in store. The end was a bit abrupt for me.
BUT…This was a very enjoyable read and I’m loving this series of books
Told exclusively from Ira’s POV. This was a dark gothic romance. Not everyone is as they seem. Urquart is secretive and Ira thinks he has certain motives steering him.
It was a bit unsettling because you never really knew what was happening until the very end and even then Ira had a twist in store. The end was a bit abrupt for me.
BUT…This was a very enjoyable read and I’m loving this series of books
October 11, 2023
Attempting a somewhat critical review of this book would be torturing myself further after enduring this over worldly mess. A dictionary is more entertaining,one good thing about it is,it cured my temporary insomnia.
November 29, 2022
Time of death 51%. I tried. I really did. I just... Couldn't. No disrespect to the author but this, apparently, was not a good pick for me. 🙃
October 20, 2022
First to get it out of the way: points off for bad grammar and spelling. For the first part of this book, I was honestly more focused on trying to figure out if the character was named 'Rimington' or 'Rimmington' than the actual story itself, it was so distracting. After reading the entire thing, I'm about 95% sure it was Rimmington. That's about the only thing I'm sure of.
Was this a love story? It felt more like two guys stuck in isolation who had no one else scratching an itch, for lack of better wording. They both kept getting angry and annoyed with one another, despite seemingly knowing each other so well. They kept saying it....and yet they seemed to get shocked every time the other did something that was, in fact, in their nature. It was frustrating as a romance and, to me, didn't really even feel like a love story. The rest? Well....
It was extremely descriptive, but almost unnecessarily so. I mean, if you're not using all these beautiful birds and trees as part of something bigger, I feel some of it could've been left out. All in all, this book felt very....busy. That's the best word I can think of. There was a lot happening, but, at the same time, it wasn't really moving anything along. I wanted to like this, it seemed rather interesting to start (except for the name crisis of Mr. Rimmington) with a guy stepping out of an asylum for the first time in a decade. It just fell flat for me. There were a few tense, jumpy parts, but overall, I was rather underwhelmed.
Was this a love story? It felt more like two guys stuck in isolation who had no one else scratching an itch, for lack of better wording. They both kept getting angry and annoyed with one another, despite seemingly knowing each other so well. They kept saying it....and yet they seemed to get shocked every time the other did something that was, in fact, in their nature. It was frustrating as a romance and, to me, didn't really even feel like a love story. The rest? Well....
It was extremely descriptive, but almost unnecessarily so. I mean, if you're not using all these beautiful birds and trees as part of something bigger, I feel some of it could've been left out. All in all, this book felt very....busy. That's the best word I can think of. There was a lot happening, but, at the same time, it wasn't really moving anything along. I wanted to like this, it seemed rather interesting to start (except for the name crisis of Mr. Rimmington) with a guy stepping out of an asylum for the first time in a decade. It just fell flat for me. There were a few tense, jumpy parts, but overall, I was rather underwhelmed.
November 1, 2022
As a disclaimer, I am not familiar with Lost Hearts, so I can't speak to this book's accuracy towards the original story.
There are definitely elements of horror in this story, though; typically mixed with Ira's doubt about the stability of his sanity, which I found I enjoyed. I really am a sucker for psychological horror, and there is nothing more terrifying to me than losing my mind. I sympathized with Ira in his gut-wrenching fear, and that really did it for me.
I also really liked the supernatural elements of the book, which start off as just an eerie feeling and then come into very stark reality later in the novel.
That said- Hearts Lost could have really benefitted from a more thorough edit. There were so many tense, grammar, and spelling errors that I often found myself having to re-read things to understand what was being said. At one point, characters were even mixed up in the dialogue.
Further, I did not really feel a connection between the MCs.
It seemed like Ambrose came on to Ira too soon and too strong. The sex was okay, but then they were automatically in love? I don't know... it just didn't seem genuine to me. Especially with Ambrose snapping at and commanding Ira constantly. Because of this, the 'happy' ending to this tale rang really false, which left me entirely unsatisfied.
There are definitely elements of horror in this story, though; typically mixed with Ira's doubt about the stability of his sanity, which I found I enjoyed. I really am a sucker for psychological horror, and there is nothing more terrifying to me than losing my mind. I sympathized with Ira in his gut-wrenching fear, and that really did it for me.
I also really liked the supernatural elements of the book, which start off as just an eerie feeling and then come into very stark reality later in the novel.
That said- Hearts Lost could have really benefitted from a more thorough edit. There were so many tense, grammar, and spelling errors that I often found myself having to re-read things to understand what was being said. At one point, characters were even mixed up in the dialogue.
Further, I did not really feel a connection between the MCs.
It seemed like Ambrose came on to Ira too soon and too strong. The sex was okay, but then they were automatically in love? I don't know... it just didn't seem genuine to me. Especially with Ambrose snapping at and commanding Ira constantly. Because of this, the 'happy' ending to this tale rang really false, which left me entirely unsatisfied.
November 1, 2022
“You will devour me, and with my defences in flames, I will have no resistance to your advances. When our passion burns out, you will move on without consequence – but I will struggle to return to my previous existence. Having once tasted warmth, I cannot inure myself to a lifetime of cold so easily.”
I enjoy the Gothic style of writing. Done well, it's an entirely different experience. For me, a good Gothic gives me the feeling of black and white and sepia tones. It's a mood that encompasses the entire story regardless of what is happening; it's always in the background. Hearts Lost beautifully captures the spirit of the Victorian Gothics, the classic horrors that terrified their readers at the time.
Hearts Lost captures the essence of the original tale upon which it is based, but with an entirely different story. Based in the mid-19th Century, it highlights the unfortunate reality of the insane asylums and the restrictions of societal norms. In line with the Victorian stories, Hearts Lost certainly has the horror theme running through it with the reader discovering, alongside Ira, what is actually happening. It certainly kept me guessing. It also kept me engaged, flipping the pages to see what would happen next and how Ira and Urquart could possibly survive, never mind finding a way out of their troubles.
I’ve read a few books in the Monsters and Mayhem series, and Hearts Lost is one of my favourites.
This book is featured on the Word Nerd Reviews blog – Halloween 2022 Top Picks. See what else is in the list here
All my reviews can be found on my blog: The Word Nerd Reviews
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The Word Nerd Reviews is currently looking for reviewers aged 18+ to join the team. If you are interested, visit the blog for more information
I enjoy the Gothic style of writing. Done well, it's an entirely different experience. For me, a good Gothic gives me the feeling of black and white and sepia tones. It's a mood that encompasses the entire story regardless of what is happening; it's always in the background. Hearts Lost beautifully captures the spirit of the Victorian Gothics, the classic horrors that terrified their readers at the time.
Hearts Lost captures the essence of the original tale upon which it is based, but with an entirely different story. Based in the mid-19th Century, it highlights the unfortunate reality of the insane asylums and the restrictions of societal norms. In line with the Victorian stories, Hearts Lost certainly has the horror theme running through it with the reader discovering, alongside Ira, what is actually happening. It certainly kept me guessing. It also kept me engaged, flipping the pages to see what would happen next and how Ira and Urquart could possibly survive, never mind finding a way out of their troubles.
I’ve read a few books in the Monsters and Mayhem series, and Hearts Lost is one of my favourites.
This book is featured on the Word Nerd Reviews blog – Halloween 2022 Top Picks. See what else is in the list here
All my reviews can be found on my blog: The Word Nerd Reviews
Follow Me: Facebook , Twitter & Instagram
The Word Nerd Reviews is currently looking for reviewers aged 18+ to join the team. If you are interested, visit the blog for more information
October 25, 2022
This is the first book in the Monsters and Mayhem series that actually worked for me as horror. I note that a lot of reviewers found this book dull, but I suspect that may be partly because it's actually quite a good approximation of the style of M.R. James, whose short story "Lost Hearts" it is based on. If you don't enjoy this very Victorian-era style (I won't judge - I can't read Frankenstein or Dracula myself, though I quite enjoyed Carmilla), it will drag you down even if you like the characters or the idea.
The main issue I had with this book, as I have had with all the books I have read so far in this series, is that I don't quite feel the passion between the characters. I felt like the main character should have had a much more intense reaction to what must have been his first consensual sex in a decade, especially given that he clearly has autism and struggles with appropriate responses.
I did like the portrayal of autism - the reader is not taken out of the story with an impromptu Wikipedia excerpt as plagues so many romance novels, and the reader is invited to share Ira's bafflement with the world.
This book is the only one in Monsters & Mayhem that has actually scared the crap out of me so far, because the unseen terrors (in the best tradition of Victorian horror) are not directly shown, allowing you to fill in all sorts of nonsense from your own imagination.
I recommend it, but it definitely helps if you already like old-fashioned horror.
The main issue I had with this book, as I have had with all the books I have read so far in this series, is that I don't quite feel the passion between the characters. I felt like the main character should have had a much more intense reaction to what must have been his first consensual sex in a decade, especially given that he clearly has autism and struggles with appropriate responses.
I did like the portrayal of autism - the reader is not taken out of the story with an impromptu Wikipedia excerpt as plagues so many romance novels, and the reader is invited to share Ira's bafflement with the world.
This book is the only one in Monsters & Mayhem that has actually scared the crap out of me so far, because the unseen terrors (in the best tradition of Victorian horror) are not directly shown, allowing you to fill in all sorts of nonsense from your own imagination.
I recommend it, but it definitely helps if you already like old-fashioned horror.
November 27, 2022
I think I must have read a different book than some of the other reviewers. LOL. I’m reading through this series from the beginning and while I’ll probably take a break for holiday reads shortly, Bluebeard had been my favorite so far and I think this one supplants it.
Aside from a few typos here and there, I thought this was a good reimagining of MR James’s Lost Hearts. It hit all the thematic points of the short story while fleshing out an intriguing history for both main characters with motivations and emotional loss. I can understand some discomfort if you dislike religious connotations in your romance as one of the characters is a former priest and the current missionary character is clearly misled. It also was a little light on steamy scenes (though there are a few), mainly focusing on Ira’s journey to find out what his new employer was up to and whether he was insane or not.
I found the atmosphere to be appropriately gothic and there was only slight gore so perhaps it might not be horror enough for those that read a lot of horror. I enjoyed the story and the setting and admit that it’s hard to scare me, so I didn’t find it scary at all. I also read the short story (it’s less than 30 pages) about a week prior to reading this so I was familiar with the underlying story. Recommended to MM romance fans that enjoy a gothic, slow burn.
Aside from a few typos here and there, I thought this was a good reimagining of MR James’s Lost Hearts. It hit all the thematic points of the short story while fleshing out an intriguing history for both main characters with motivations and emotional loss. I can understand some discomfort if you dislike religious connotations in your romance as one of the characters is a former priest and the current missionary character is clearly misled. It also was a little light on steamy scenes (though there are a few), mainly focusing on Ira’s journey to find out what his new employer was up to and whether he was insane or not.
I found the atmosphere to be appropriately gothic and there was only slight gore so perhaps it might not be horror enough for those that read a lot of horror. I enjoyed the story and the setting and admit that it’s hard to scare me, so I didn’t find it scary at all. I also read the short story (it’s less than 30 pages) about a week prior to reading this so I was familiar with the underlying story. Recommended to MM romance fans that enjoy a gothic, slow burn.
October 30, 2022
I really don’t know what to say. I was sent an arc by the author so I started reading that file. And got to the end of the file which wasn’t the end of the book. Anyway I have KU and the book had been released by the time I read it so I went to try to pick up where I left off. Then I went back to the beginning of the book and hardly recognised what I was reading. Some parts of the plot, some of the characters had completely changed. So I had to read from the beginning again. Not sure how much this affected my reading of it but I will agree with what some others have said , some parts are overly descriptive, and where gothic horror is being written the only parts to me that should be that descriptive are those setting the necessary scenes for horror and chills. The relationship felt a bit clumsy. Whilst I get both men lacked in certain graces it still felt like there were not sufficient scenes to build feelings between the two that would explain what they both do for the other at the end of the book. I’m going to guess from the spelling mistakes and the difference in the story that a rewrite was undertaken that was a little rushed and meant the author didn’t quite deliver the horrific love story I expected.
September 24, 2025
Hearts Lost was a good read.
It is always interesting to me to read a folk retelling. I enjoy knowing the gist of what’s going to happen, but seeing how different authors develop characters and a new plot based of the old one.
This story was good. I didn’t enjoy the characters too much, and having it set in such a similar setting felt a little on the nose, but I did enjoy the story over all.
It was interesting to read Ira and watch him cycle through him doubting his sanity and then feeling okay.
It was definitely autism coded in how Ira views himself and then what happens with his family, but the representation of Autism itself wasn’t harmful which we find to be the case sometimes.
Overall, I really enjoyed it. The book flows well with the series so far. I probably wouldn’t read it again- maybe much later, but I have no inkling of a desire to as of finishing it- but I do recommend it to others. It is an interesting read that might make you think just a little.
Happy reading.
It is always interesting to me to read a folk retelling. I enjoy knowing the gist of what’s going to happen, but seeing how different authors develop characters and a new plot based of the old one.
This story was good. I didn’t enjoy the characters too much, and having it set in such a similar setting felt a little on the nose, but I did enjoy the story over all.
It was interesting to read Ira and watch him cycle through him doubting his sanity and then feeling okay.
It was definitely autism coded in how Ira views himself and then what happens with his family, but the representation of Autism itself wasn’t harmful which we find to be the case sometimes.
Overall, I really enjoyed it. The book flows well with the series so far. I probably wouldn’t read it again- maybe much later, but I have no inkling of a desire to as of finishing it- but I do recommend it to others. It is an interesting read that might make you think just a little.
Happy reading.
November 15, 2022
Retelling of a previous story I didn't read and never heard of. A man named Bird has spent ten years in a cruel insane asylum, and is released by a new doctor. His upkeep is entrusted to an eccentric, mercurial man named Urquart, living in a remote home in New Zealand. That man's only neighbors are a preacher, a policeman, and a Māori tribe.
Urquart is physically attracted to Bird, but Bird hesitates because he’s been told all his life that homosexuality is evil. Urquart dabbles in alchemy, and insists that the doors, windows, and curtains stay closed at night.
Some people seemingly die, or maybe are already ghosts. I didn’t quite follow it all. I suppose the story ends well, at least for the two main characters.
Urquart is physically attracted to Bird, but Bird hesitates because he’s been told all his life that homosexuality is evil. Urquart dabbles in alchemy, and insists that the doors, windows, and curtains stay closed at night.
Some people seemingly die, or maybe are already ghosts. I didn’t quite follow it all. I suppose the story ends well, at least for the two main characters.
January 2, 2023
Uff, nawet nie wiem jaki horror był inspiracją do tej książki. Nie wiem też co o tym napisać, więc tutaj zakończę.
June 4, 2024
La verdad me salté la primera parte del libro y la segunda me dejó medio loca jajajaja, pero no estuvo mal, sigue mucho el concepto de la serie.
October 31, 2022
This was a very interesting read. Another one that was not at all what I was expecting. Much more mystery than monster in my opinion. A lot of focus on mental health and the stigma/struggles pursuant to the era. A VERY neat surprise twist that I definitely not see coming. I’m just not a super big fan of historical reads but thats just a personal preference and doesn’t reflect on the book itself.
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