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Book Review: Lady Anne and the Howl in the Dark by Donna Lea Simpson
March 31st, 2009
Lady Anne and the Howl in the Dark by Donna Lea Simpson is a historical romance with a touch of mystery and maybe a hint of the paranormal. It was a light and delightful read for me; just what I needed. It takes place in 1786 England in the Georgian Era and it was fun learning more about this time period as I’ve never read a lot on it before.
The story begins with Lady Anne receiving a desperate letter from her friend Lydia, claiming werewolf sightings, which prompts Lady Anne to immediately travel to Darkefell Castle in Yorkshire. She arrives at the post station only to find that there is no one to meet her and the fellow there will not help her once he hears where she is headed. Lady Anne, being no regular girl of the times, picks up her skirts and proceeds to head out in the direction of the Castle, walking. Now Lady Anne isn’t prone to being frightened but it is dark and it is creepy and wouldn’t you know it, she hears this howling and a woman screaming. She starts searching and unfortunately she finds the victim of the screaming and she’s dead.
Lady Anne makes it to the Castle and alerts everyone as to what she’s found. She doesn’t exactly receive a warm welcome at the Castle and that only serves to infuriate her further. Lady Anne has no problem voicing her opinions even when not asked. I simply adored her. Much to the chagrin of the Marquess, Lord Darkefell, Lady Anne takes it upon herself to begin her own investigation into who murdered Lydia’s lady’s maid, Cecilia. Just picture Lady Anne; now she’s a plain girl by description but intelligent and inquisitive; in short, she can be a bit of a pain in the butt when she’s got her sights set on finding something out. She has questions upon questions and isn’t shy of asking them, even of the scary Lord Darkefell and she certainly couldn’t care less who’s feathers she ruffles in the process.
Lady Anne was such a likeable character for me. I admired her spunk in a time when women just didn’t seem to have any. She wasn’t scared to voice an opinion or go out and investigate and get scratched up and dirty in the process. Lord Darkefell, who managed to intimidate everyone else just couldn’t seem to manage to succeed in that regard with Lady Anne and it frustrated him to no end, yet also made her quite attractive to him. They share a few heated moments but Lady Anne wonders if it isn’t just because he wants to shut her up and is using her attraction to him to do it. Hmmmm, what will happen with this romance~will it finally blossom or wither? Will the mystery be solved or will the two, Lady Anne and Lord Darkefell murder each other in the process?
I also enjoyed the author, Donna Lea Simpson’s writing style. It flowed really well and I found the humor to be delightful. I found myself laughing out loud more than a few times at the antics of Lady Anne. Also, I loved her descriptions of the countryside throughout the novel. At times, I felt I could actually see it, so vivid were her descriptions. A few descriptions I liked were…
- ‘Then, as she circled the tower room, in the distance, on a prominence, was the castle. She took in a long, deep breath. It was gothic and enchanting, the old castle keep and stone wall that disappeared into the hillside, then the more modern attached building, glass gleaming in the rising sun, glittering panes like diamonds, winking and blinking. (pg 113, Lady Anne and the Howl in the Dark, uncorrected proof, final printed copy may differ)
- ‘The bank was mossy and verdant, with a slender creeping vine that blossomed, opening trusting flower faces to the sunlight that filtered through the newly green branches of languorous willows.’ (pg 214, Lady Anne and the Howl in the Dark, uncorrected proof, final printed copy may differ)
I really enjoyed the story for the mystery, touch of romance and definitely the spunk of Lady Anne and the mysterious darkness of Lord Darkefell. The best thing is that this is the first novel in a trilogy. Still to come is Lady Anne and the Ghost’s Revenge and then Lady Anne and the Gypsy Curse. I can’t wait to read more of Lady Anne’s adventures.
Many thanks to Danielle from Sourcebooks for sending me this book to review. You can visit Donna Lea Simpson’s website here. You can buy Lady Anne and the Howl in the Dark, which will be released on April 1, 2009, here in the US and here in Canada.
Make sure to pop back here tomorrow as Donna Lea Simpson will be here with a guest post and I’ll be posting a giveaway too!
Other reviews to check out: The Tome Traveller’s Weblog, Books and Needlepoint
Another great review Dar!
I love books that are fun and interesting to read. You need these kind of books in between the weighty ones
wow, sounds like an interesting book. I have read a lot about the Victorian era, but not much in the Georgian Era…in fact, I can’t recall even one book I’ve read about the Georgian Era.
Great review as always.
I just read about this book a week ago, and was intrigued about the romance part
I am really beginning to enjoy Victorian novels. The fact that it has a hint of the paranormal only has me more intrigued – one more for the list.
I can’t pretend that historical romances are my thing, but that was a cracking good review. It almosr convinced me… in fact, I may yet weaken and buy it.
Dar, that was a great review on what seems to be a lovely book. I’ll keep my eyes out for that one.
This one sounds like fun. It’s always refreshing to have a spunky heroine. Thanks for introducing me to the book!
great review dar, it does sound really good.
looking forward to the guest post.
http://thebookworm07.blogspot.com/
Jenny, I totally agree. I had a few fun ones this month and that sure makes the reading go faster.
Serena, nor have I. Although the differences aren’t many that I could tell.
Blodeuedd, I bet you’d like this one.
Viv, I really enjoy the historical romances once in a while and with a hint of paranormal—for me too that makes it even better.
Dave, thanks for popping by my blog. I don’t read a lot of historical romances either but this one sounded fun and I’m glad I read it.
Lisa, Janel, Naida, thanks
I love trilogies, mystery and England in just about any time period!! I’m glad that the main character has a spine, this should be an interesting book!!
Staci, I really like trilogies as well. I love knowing, especially as I really enjoyed the book, that there’s more to come!
Sounds fantastic! I’m definitely interested in reading this one.thanks for the review Dar!
Hi Amy, thanks for popping in. This was a fun read for me. I think you’d like this one.
I do hope everyone finds it a fun read… it sure was a fun write!!
Great review. This definitely goes on my list.
Donna, thanks for popping in. I can’t wait wait to read the next two, that’s for sure.
Carol, thanks so much.
This one sounds interesting. I especially like the cover.
–Anna
Diary of an Eccentric
So am I showing up on your stat counter a bunch? All shall be revealed, my friend… *grin*