魔女が愛した王子

Beneath the Veil #4

by Tracy MacNish

Set in the English countryside, this exquisite new novel by Tracy MacNish reveals how one woman’s courage wins her the love she never dreamed she’d find…

While Olwyn Gawain lives as a virtual prisoner in her home, her scientist father conducts chilling experiments on stolen corpses in the dungeon of their keep. One night, Olwyn is shocked to discover that her father’s latest subject—a breathtakingly handsome young man—is still clinging to life. Refusing to let him die, Olwyn stops her father at gunpoint and flees, determined to bring the innocent man to safety…

The son of aristocrats, Aidan Mullin doesn’t know what to make of the unusual, intriguing Olwyn. But as the pair make their way toward Aidan’s home, he finds himself drawn to the alluring young woman who saved him from certain death. Fiery and sensual, Olwyn’s very touch fuels a desire in Aidan too fierce to deny. But when Olwyn learns he is hiding a heartbreaking secret, Aidan must face a difficult choice—or risk losing forever the love he so desperately needs…

Genres: Historical, Romance, Historical Romance, Gothic, Regency, Forced Proximity, Friends To Lovers

Paperback Bunko

First published January 1, 2009

Reviews

[Katie(babs) · Rating 1 out of 5]

Rhys Gawain is a pathetic old man who is close to being insane as one can be. He wants to solve the mysteries of death and thinks by experimenting on corpses from the local cemetery he will be able to find the answers he seeks. He pays grave robbers to supply him these bodies. He uses his daughter, Olwyn, as his assistant even though she is sickened by it. Her father’s mind is slowly deteriorating and she wants to escape her father’s harsh cold estate where she’ll be free from ridicule. The people of Chester believe Olwyn is a witch with her long black hair that has streaks of white running through it. And because she has no mirror to look at herself in, she believes her father when he tells her she’s ugly.

Olwyn is in for a shock when the latest body that has been uncovered is actually still breathing! Rhys doesn’t care and wants to operate on the unconscious man. Olywn is able to stop her father, run away and carry the strange man on her horse drawn cart to a secret place where no one will be able to find them. Olwyn will be in for even more surprises when the man wakes up and accuses her of trying to kill him.

Lord Aidan Mullin has no idea how he has found himself naked and being taken care of by a woman who looks to be from another time because of the way she dresses and speaks. Aidan is grateful to Olwyn for rescuing him after she explains how he came to be in her safe keeping. For some reason he finds peace with Olwyn, away from all the responsibilities he must endure as the son of a Duke and a betrothal to a woman he doesn’t love but must marry because he ruined her. He wants to be someone else for a short while and tells Olwyn his name is Lochrann, a nickname his deceased father gave him and what his twin brother Padraig now calls him.

Olwyn is not used to being around such a virile and handsome man. She will help him recover and when he is well enough, she will find a ship to take her to America where she can start a new life. But Lochrann wants Olwyn to stay with him and when Padraig finds him and brings him home, he refuses to let his beautiful witch out of his sight. She has placed a curse on him where he only wants her and no other woman will do, not even his fiancé who will do whatever she can to keep them apart.

Stealing Midnight does have an interesting plot regarding grave robbers, a mad scientist type father and a heroine who is very unique in her personality and looks. It also has an atmospheric gothic feel to it. With these combinations, you would think I would be impressed by this latest historical romance by Tracy Macnish. I wasn’t. I had such issues with Olwyn and the way Aidan treats her that I could barely finish.

It’s bad enough that Olwyn’s father is crazy, but the reasoning behind it is pretty silly. He goes off the deep end because of the death of Olwyn’s brother. Her mother decided that the Gawain household was one not worth staying in and disappeared, leaving her daughter to the whims of her abusive father who, in order to keep Olwyn in line, tells her she is horrible to look at. He makes sure she has no one to turn to for help because of all the gossip about her being a witch.

I was not at all sympathetic to Aidan’s problems. They are so small when you compare them to what Olwyn goes through. He moans and groans because he has so much responsibility on his shoulders and what he has to deal with, especially in regards to Mira, his fiancé, who may look like a angel but isn’t. She’s a nasty piece of work. And I almost choked on my laughter because at one point Mira is described as being as adorable as a kitten.

Aidan is the worst kind of hero because he strings along Olwyn. One moment he can’t be with her and must stay away because she is not meant to be for him; but then suddenly he is overcome with lust for Olwyn and only comes to her at night to sleep with because she helps him sleep. He uses Olwyn as a body pillow just because it suits him. I was insulted for Olwyn who really has no spine to speak of. Her reactions to things make more sense because of the way her father treated her but she is the type of woman, who if Aidan wanted to, could treat her horribly and she would allow it.

Along with the purple prose like descriptions of what the characters look like and the actual sex acts, as well as the secondary plot with Olwyn’s father wanting revenge, I felt Stealing Midnight was more a sad comedy if anything. What should have been luscious regency romance where a woman finds her self worth in the arms of a wonderful hero fell so flat. From Olwyn and Adian’s traits, I can’t see them having any HEA, and for this reader, a HEA is so very important when reading a romance. Stealing Midnight fails in this regard.

[Wollstonecrafthomegirl · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was confusing, but, ultimately, enjoyable. The cover is classic Regency romance, but it's so far away from what one thinks of when thinking about that genre. I liked it but it was very different and not without its problems. It's gothic, which is not ordinarily my thing. The heroine, Olwyn is kept in captivity, essentially, by her father who is a mad anatomist obsessed with dissecting bodies to discover why people die (after the death of his only son). One of the bodies purchased from the grave robbers is the hero, Aiden who isn't dead [obviously, otherwise the romance would've taken a very strange turn]. This book purports to be set in 1806/1807 but it's a little without time. Mostly, it felt medieval or early modern. Much of the language read that way (with the occasional glaring example of the 20th century). The only character who felt recognisably early 19th century was the hero's evil fiancé, Mira. Nothing about the setting felt like 1800. That might have been the idea. The romance between the two is earthy and ethereal and sensual and, yes, very gothic. It's about the descriptive language and conversations (both of which were sometimes OTT) between the two and the simmering danger from Olwyn's past and Aiden's too (in the form of Mira). This is not a romance which goes from ballroom to front room to pump house to bedroom and back, but equally it doesn't have enormous shifts of location or massive drama (save at the beginning and the end). It's more about the development of a relationship between two very different people who find they are entirely right for one another despite being from different worlds, although Aiden's a duke seemingly for the sake of it - there's nothing particularly ducal about him or his family and they accept Olwyn very easily. I really don't think it will be everyone's cup of tea, but I enjoyed the experience. It's a solid 3.5 stars for me and I'll probably look up one of the earlier ones.

[Salpy KS · Rating 2 out of 5]

I guess 2.5 cause it wasn’t bad but there was a lot that drove me crazy. Everything was over the top. Maybe that’s a feature of gothic romance, and if so, then I guess I don’t like gothic romance and this may not be a valid criticism. Very dramatic prose that got exhausting by the middle.

I did like that we got so many POVs

I wanted more with the twin. Does he ever resign himself to the FMC? We never find out. Same with Mira. She really did not get her comeuppance and that was disappointing. The epilogue would have been a great place for those loose ends, but we only got the resolution with the missing mom.

I definitely skimmed some parts of the middle. I was over the FMC’s constant worrying and lack of growth and wanted to know what would happen already.

I read this for Fated Mates and don’t really have plans to pursue the backlist. Interested to hear what Jen and Sarah have to say about this one cause I honestly didn’t think it was that great.

[Claire · Rating 4 out of 5]

Gothic romance !! I’m loving it. The daughter of a mad scientist rescues a man who isn’t as dead as expected. This was a very fun premise read in anticipation of a Fated Mates episode. Four stars.

Heat level: 3🌶️

[Hannah · Rating 3 out of 5]

I LOVED the beginning of this book, but the middle dragged for me so I knocked it down a star.

It's still a historical romance, but I recommend if you're looking for something a little different.

[Adelaide · Rating 4 out of 5]

There were so many aspects of this book! The resurrection men and anatomy part was much less a feature of the book than I anticipated. The author's note on the topic was so interesting, particularly the estimate that 8% of English people at this time were buried alive. Those pockets in coffin linings for vials of poison suddenly made a lot more sense.

The weaving in of Welsh and Irish culture was very enjoyable and (sadly) unusual in a Regency. Grandpa makes an off-hand comparison of Aidan to Cu Chulainn, which turned out to be very interesting in light of Aidan's hound/guard dog. The dog's death, as in the Cu Chulainn myth, marks a transition to Aidan as Olwyn's protector. There was also a fascinating parallel with Yeats' play "The Only Jealousy of Emer, which begins with Cu Chulainn apparently dead only to be revived by his wife and lover. The way they awaken him was very reminiscent of the opening scenes with Olwyn and Aidan when Olwyn explicitly makes a comparison to Sleeping Beauty.

One of my favorite sections (all too brief!) was when Aidan woke up in the stone cottage and thought he had been transported to medieval times. All throughout there was a bit of a question of magic/fairy tale. The line between reality and magic was somewhat blurred.

Downsides: Missed opportunity for Padraig/Mira side romance or next book. I was very sad there is no book for Padraig, since it seemed very set up in this book. I thought Mira could have been redeemed until the laced oysters incident. From then on, she was a very overblown villain, very evil other woman. I really dislike the "You don't know you're beautiful, that's what makes you beautiful" trope. I think it's fine for women to know they are beautiful, and we could have appreciated Olwyn's lack of artifice without so much reliance on Mira as a foil.

[Joy · Rating 2 out of 5]

IF YOU'RE NOT A SPOILER LOVER LIKE ME PLEASE DON'T GO BEYOND HERE!


What happened? Initially I admired the heroine, she had survived by wits alone for years and suffered cruelly at the hands of her mad man father and fought successfully the repulsive attentions of his male assistant all the while yearning desperately for freedom – as you would. I admired her forthrightness and her strength but then she had little to say (or little he would listen to) when the hero refused to let her be on her way (weather not permitting) and dragged her off to his lair and into a storm of censure not only from his family but from his fiancé too - and rightfully so. At this point I would have cheered for our heroine if she’d found that lost backbone and left without turning into this whining woman offering herself to a man whose fiancé she’d just bloody met!
I waited and I waited for her to take a very deep breath and come to her senses (the hero after all was honour bound to his fiance, the woman he'd compromised - naturally) and to realise that perhaps she just might be jumping in too quickly, too soon, hadn’t she just swapped one cage for a gilded other? Okay she was in love with the hero I get it and he did give her the choice, to stay or to leave him…but how much more exciting (and a lot more believable) if he’d been half the honourable man the book touted he was and he’d sent her away for a few months or even years...but alas…

[Mclaudia · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book starts off well and plot is somewhat original (which is saying a lot) but it quickly goes downhill once MCs are back to "civilization." Becomes mind-numbing boring in the middle, then turns irritating toward the end as heroine decides to keep secrets and we all know how well that generally goes. With some five pages left to go hero tells her she better get packing, only to change his mind two grafs later. Get it on sale or from the library if you must.

[Nicole · Rating 2 out of 5]

Some of this was pretty good--the romance was pretty blah. The characters didn't seem to have chemistry, though they were good at talking as if they did. The family intrigues were more interesting. I think this could have been more of a saga, and given the characters more dimension.

[Malia · Rating 3 out of 5]

The premise of this book is SO GREAT-- a dude is in essence buried alive, body-snatched, and then rescued by the daughter of the mad scientist who bought the body. And it was certainly a fun read with a great heroine but the dude was kind of a dirtbag so I don't really think he deserves her.

[Sheila Melo · Rating 4 out of 5]

FINAL DECISION: I ended up enjoying this book much more than I expected! Some parts were a little slow, but I enjoyed the relationship between Aidan and Olwyn and the different gothic tone of the book.

THE STORY: Olwyn Gawain's father buys bodies from resurrection men to conduct his investigations. One night a man in his thirties is brought to Olwyn's home, and she is immediately drawn to the man who appears to be in perfect condition -- other than being dead. When her father begins his study, the two discover that the man is alive. When her father wants to continue his experiments, Olwyn escapes from her home with the unconscious man. When he awakes, Aidan Mullin isn't sure what has happened and who this unworldly woman is. Aidan lies about his identity and is tempted by Olwyn. Olwyn, however, soon discovers the life that Aidan is hiding from.

OPINION: This is a gothic historical with a sense of mystery, drama, and some horror. The writing is different than might be expected because of its subgenre. The story is dark at times, although there is beauty and love between Aidan and Olwyn. The story is melodramatic, and I loved it because it feels so appropriate for the gothic tone of the book.

Olwyn could have been a caricature of an innocent who has been mistreated by her father, but there was something strong and fresh and real about her character even though she feels unworldly and somewhat out of time. She immediately is attracted to the "dead" man who is brought to her father. His presence gives her the strength to break free from her father, and it is so lovely that she accepts that their relationship will be limited and temporary and yet does not shield herself from him. She is the star of this book, and I might have found Aidan annoying in other circumstances, but she makes him more heroic.

Aidan is torn between his developing love for Olwyn and his obligations to the woman he is betrothed to. The situation is complicated, and I appreciated that the author takes the story seriously even as things become even crazier -- which readers of gothic novels might expect. There is a beautiful handfast scene that is romantic and lovely. There are some interesting questions raised about consent dealing with Aidan which is not often explored in romance. I don't want to give away the plot points, but it is explored in subtle ways throughout the book.

The secondary characters in this book are also well-developed (which might be expected as they are part of a series) and yet it was done in a way that didn't make me feel like I missed something by not reading the prior books in the series. Even the villains are incredibly interesting. There is something really wonderful in how Olwyn develops a relationship with the women in Aidan's family and how that helps with the resolution of the story.

For the right reader, this is such a good book. The book asks more from its readers as the language and plot might be offputting for some readers. For me, the gothic nature of the book was what I loved most.

WORTH MENTIONING: I was saddened that the author apparently stopped writing after this book. I would have loved to read about Aidan's brother.

CONNECTED BOOKS: STEALING MIDNIGHT is the fourth book in the Beneath the Veil series. This book can be read as a standalone. I hadn't read the previous books and didn't feel like I needed to do so. Both the parents and the grandparents have books, and their stories have some relevance here, but I got all the information I needed here.

STAR RATING: I give this book 4 stars.

[ann_zack_cee_am_ann · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not sure about the low ratings here at first because halfway through the book, I love it!! The setup is different than other Regency romance I’ve read (enough with ballrooms, carriage and all which have done all the way to Sunday already!). It has a gothic feel to it (with corpse mutilation and all which does not make it a safe read) which I’m not familiar of but I’m always open to any concept and time setting! One of the readers here complaining about it not being romantic enough because there has not been enough shift between places but I have to disagree with that statement! Romance can brew at any place as long as the couple has enough sparks to keep the relationship alive no matter where they are. In fact, I especially love that Aidan and Olwynn are kept mostly at one place so we could see their character development together.
But up until the point he gets reunited with Mira, I can’t tamper the sour taste in my mouth after his close encounter with his betrothed like the scene where he attempts to kiss her, grounds his erection at her during her seduction. Like the guys gives a massive ick for such blatant disrespect to Olwyn.

[H · Rating 5 out of 5]

Love me a Frankenstein retelling!!!! This was exceptionally well done, even in the moments where I was like ick and then had to remind myself that this is, in fact, a period piece, and there were different standards for relationships in 1820. This was also a perfect example of how external plot in historicals can be dramatic while still being relevant to character development. Mwah! Chef's kiss! Also stating for the record that one of my favorite micro-tropes is when one of the characters is like, love is not a strong enough word for what I feel. Or, in this case: “I wish I had a better way to describe what I’ve come to feel for you, for love is a pale word, overused by dreamers and Irishmen.” [read this for the Fated Mates read-along]

[Victoria Arms · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was beautiful.

From the story telling to the love story between Olwyn and Aiden... exquisite.

This book starts off DARK, olwyn's father is literally ripping people open to examine their insides, but the story takes the reader on such a magical and heart warming journey I really enjoyed reading it.

I love Olwyn, although described as ethereal and unearthly, I think she's so strong and really admirable, which isn't always the case with FMC's.

I loved that Aiden was willing to let Olwyn go if that is what she wanted. I love that he gave her that choice.

Beautiful story overall.

[BooktothePointe · Rating 4 out of 5]

Bizarre setting for a novel that sets a twisty turny bonkers romance novel… a man thought dead buried, then stolen by grave robbers and delivered to an anatomist; anatomist’s daughter saves his life from her mad father when it’s discovered he’s “not dead yet”, she steals him and runs from her father’s keep where adventures ensue… complete with his fiancé and old family journals/stories… somehow they find their HEA despite all the chaos swirling around them… 3.5 stars rounded up
CW: death of dog including detailed descriptions of the scene… (almost made me DNF)

[Melissa · Rating 4 out of 5]

So this is the full banana, LOL. Picked this up since Fated Mates did a deep dive on it. Body snatchers! Resurrection men! Oh no, this corpse is actually alive! And then she falls in love with him! (relax, this isn't gross, she nurses him back to health after escaping from her is-actually-unhinged-mad-scientist father at gunpoint) I didn't quite like the "mean girls"-esque nature of his pre-existing fiance, but then MacNish went in a different direction with her so that was interesting.

CW for animal death/cruelty. (also grave robbing/dead bodies, but that's in the description)

[Knewmyer · Rating 3 out of 5]

2.5 stars. I had to dock a star because the dog is murdered, I mean come on. Who does this? In a romance novel? Not cool.

I really enjoyed the first part of this, it was very atmospheric; but it also fell apart in the last bit. I also really dislike feuding women, it seems like a cop-out.

[H is for Hydraulics · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was a very sweet romantic couple but.... This was maybe a 2/10 bananas and I was hoping for 7+/10

At one point I thought that the detailed family descriptions and mentions of secrets, inheritances, etc was part of the gothic horror and shit was gonna get crazy but the simpler explanation was that the grandparents, parents, and aunt/uncle were couples for the previous books in the series 😭

[Neshaisabookworm’s Book Review · Rating 5 out of 5]

5 stars for being such a one of a kind book

I have never read anything like this in my life and I doubt I will ever again.

Fated mates podcast brought me here in 2023, 14 years after this was published. Wherever you are Tracy MacNish, know that people are still reading your work.

[Toni G · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not what I had expected. This title kept popping up on my suggested reads. The characters all had so much potential but I didn't connect with them. I didn't understand why the father went "bad" and kept her captive.

[Ines Johnson]

Wow, I haven't read a book like this since I was a kid stealing my god mother's harlequins. It was so filled with adventure and twists and ridiculous romance reasons. I loved every minute!!!!!

I'm scared to read the first three after getting glimpses of what happened in those books though.

[Epeeblade · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book needs so many damn trigger warnings. I read it for the Fated Mates readalong.

The biggest trigger warning is for The death/murder of Aiden's dog Chase, which is about 70% in, and is described in detail, but I quickly skipped the section.

[Mcanna · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked this one, but wish that I could have had a content warning on the (gruesome) death in the last 1/4 of the book.

[Jenny Zemke-James · Rating 4 out of 5]

CW: there is some violence against animals. This should be a movie. It’s crazy, but it was also fun and would be an exciting film!

[Alicia · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5 stars. Great start, rough finish.

[Amris · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 This book is bananas but I kinda love that

[Jody Lee · Rating 4 out of 5]

My first (and probably last) gothic. Felt like I was reading something that had been written 100 years ago. Always good to try a new genre, and I think this was an excellent example of it.

[Rachael]

Gothic romance ftw

[Heather (heatherreadstoomuch) · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was a wild ride! Literally just OMG what? all the way through. Olwyn's father is an anatomist who buys bodies to dissect, which she's forced to help him with. When one of the bodies is actually not dead, Olwyn steals him and runs away, not realizing that he is the son of a duke and wealthy. Aiden is also betrothed to a terrible woman and has a twin brother that doesn't like his intended, and can't keep his hands off Olwyn (who is totally on board with it). Very crazy, lots of twists!

[Rohani · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book had me at Chapter 1, where the main hero, who's mistaken to have died, had his body stolen from the family mausoleum by the Resurrection Men (aka 18th century grave robbers). His body is about to be dissected by a mad scientist, but realises that the corpse has a pulse, thus is saved by his daughter whose conscience wouldn't allow her father to murder the poor guy. They run away, and the rest is history. How I've never heard of this author is beyond me. I find her writing so original, I don't recall reading anything like it (at least not in recent years). This book was published in 2009 so again, expect some problematic elements here. Nowadays, I feel pretty fatigue from reading about used and abused heroines in my romance, but I'm glad it wasn't as gratuitous in this one as it was necessary for her characterisation. I think this witchy heroine is probably one of my favorites. She has so much honestly and humility about her, and I love how she calls him out on his bullshit. I couldn't get past some of the problematic ways in which he treats her (even though she saved his life, she didn't fucking deserved it and also I don't understand why he's such a dick about it). But my favourite thing about him is his twin brother with whom he shares a very sacred bond (I love him and I wish twinnie had his own book too. He doesn't. At least not yet). This is a solid 3.5, but I still love it anyway and would 100% recommend. FYI: This book isn't as spicy as the cover suggests. Also CW: Brutal torture/death of people, including animals :(