Reviews with content warning for Slavery - Within These Wicked Walls

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Within These Wicked Walls by Lauren Blackwood

17 reviews

pointeshoebookworm's review

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adventurous emotional sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

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jennaniho's review

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challenging dark mysterious sad tense slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

This book was...a ride, to say the least. I was afraid to pick it up because it was promoted (or whispered, more likely) to be an "Ethiopian-inspired Jane Eyre retelling" and I personally don't like Jane Eyre that much. But, when I read that it had ghosts and exorcism in it probably set in the Caribbean, I gave it a chance and I wasn't that disappointed.

The book is good, but I felt the pace was too slow for my taste. Still, I enjoyed reading it. Andromeda (Andi) became my favorite character. She was a no-bullshit kind of gal, but had the normal insecurities of any late teenager, which made her relatable. She was also honest, and incredibly powerful. Her character reminded me a lot of the Japanese anime series, Witch Hunter Robin, where the main character is also incredibly powerful, but very naive.

What I didn't like at first was the "romance" between her and Magnus. I felt it was a bit vague and a bit non-consensual. Maybe is because I was seeing him through Andi's eyes. There were moments when their interactions felt a bit bland, but in others you truly felt the connection between them.

Yet, what I absolutely loved about this book was the mystery surrounding the house and how detailed the author described every important aspect of it. Lauren's writing style made you feel like you were in the dammed place and I remember jumping a bit every now and then whenever a scary or tense scene came on because it kept you on the edge of your seat (or the bed, in my case). You had bleeding walls, sinister manifestations, an abusive father figure, and a deep secret that made you anxious to know about it but didn't want to find out so soon in the book. To this, the author delivered that perfect wait. I also loved the Ethiopian-inspired elements, which gave the story more nuance and color. It is a very dark tale, so these details allowed it to keep the story interesting.

Within These Wicked Walls was better than I expected. It was what I wanted 'Mexican Gothic', by Silvia Moreno-Garcia to feel like. The story Lauren weaves is unique, nail-biting, and with a killer storyline. I might read it again and probably will comprehend some of the elements I didn't like. But, overall, it is a great book.

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notapenguin's review

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dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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alyxbeau's review against another edition

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fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.5

Let me start off by saying reading something from another new culture to me (this book is Ethiopian inspired) is wonderful. I love how often I am coming across new cultures in books and being able to learn little snippets of information. However, this book started off with a really exciting idea and then fell completely flat by the end. The premise of cleansing a house of monsters was set up very well-spooky, mysterious. As soon as Magnus, the love interest was introduced, the focus shifted entirely and we saw little to no attempts at cleansing the house that worked, it all happened off page. I did not find the back and forth with immediate caving in after saying she cant be with him any fun at all, it was not a dynamic I appreciated. I had a large problem with the overuse of her one gimmick - the idea of good and bad "survival habits." The first mention was quirky and I thought it was cute. But it was constantly being brought up as a reason for every action she made. It didn't need to be. I genuinely had some issues with how the main character acted most of the time, though possibly realistic based on her age and her upbringing. Speaking of which, do not get me started on Jember. What an abusive horrible man in so many ways. There was constant mention of the way he abused or hurt Andromeda, yet when Andromeda would mention it to Magnus and see how horrified he was she would yell at HIM. Telling him he had no right to be mad at Jember. WHO WOULDNT BE? YOU ARE MAD AT JEMBER. WHY CANT HE BE MAD TOO? WHY DO ONLY YOU HAVE THE RIGHT? Magnus cared about Andromeda, so he was mad at the man who treated her so poorly while he raised a child with no love. He can be mad. Jember was a walking contradiction as well. By the end of the book we see him playing a game that requires touch and we KNOW he cant stand to touch people, Andromeda mentions it every time she thinks about Jember. And its a game that requires A LOT of touch that he used to play with Andromeda too when she was little to pass time. And

what the hell was up with it being revealed he straight up kidnapped her as a kid? What the actual F***

Anyway I started off really excited and wound up disliking this book quite a bit. I did not see how this was inspired by Jane Eyre, but that didnt bother me at all as I didn't go into the book knowing that was part of its goal.

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icapturethecastle's review

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adventurous mysterious medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.0

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aishallnot's review

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dark mysterious medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

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nannahnannah's review

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dark emotional medium-paced

Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

This is a very impressive debut with some of the most witty dialogue I’ve ever encountered.

Representation:
- all characters but one are Ethiopian
- the love interest has depression
- one of the characters has chronic pain & a wooden leg

Within These Wicked Walls is a loose Jane Eyre retelling that takes place in an Ethiopian-inspired world. The MC, Andromeda, is a debtera (exorcist) who takes on the very dangerous job of cleansing a castle of the Evil Eye. Only four other people have successfully done this, and of those one is still alive to tell the tale. Even more dangerous, Andi falls in love with Magnus, the Evil Eye’s host.

This book has one of the most fascinating magic systems I’ve ever seen before: church-sponsored debtera cleanse places of their evil hauntings and their manifestations through use of silver amulets (the worst evil haunting is, of course, the Evil Eye). These amulets are created by sensing welded strokes and looping different colors of thread. It’s this magic system that immediately drew me in.

What kept me intrigued was the dialogue and Andromeda herself. Andi is an incredibly nuanced character, with her no-nonsense attitude, her own messiness when it comes to Magnus, and the fact she knows she’s being ridiculous. And even though I have some gripes with the relationship she has with her old guardian, Jember (I’ll get to that in a moment), most of the time Andi’s response to her past trauma and the way she decides to deal with it is incredibly realistic and evocative.

Jember was, and is, an abusive guardian. It’s a fact. There are a lot of scenes describing this abuse -- sometimes in great detail -- and even more in hints and mentions. Sometimes it’s incredibly overwhelming (I’m a survivor of child abuse and very sensitive to things like this, but I think this would be intense for anyone).

Though Jember does apologize for his actions, it feels like Andi’s way too casual about the past and current abuse, and I didn’t appreciate the jokes made about it (“shouldn’t tell him about Jember choking me,” etc.). And the line, “Every girl wants to marry someone like their father” is like a slap, especially. No abuse victim wants to hear that said.

I also think Magnus gets off way too easy when it comes to what he keeps from Andromeda (this story’s version of Bertha). I just want him to acknowledge that he actually does something wrong! Andi is the one who is made to apologize and feel ashamed -- and only when there’s a threat of losing her does he feel any sort of repentance.

But overall I think these are the only two issues that come to mind (other than wishing there was more lore about the amulets!). Each character is vibrant and full of their own quirks and flaws and manner of behaving, and though this is a dialogue-heavy book, the dialogue sure makes it worth it. There are also scenes and lines written with such care they’ll stick with me for a long while (as I eagerly await Lauren Blackwood’s next novel).

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natashaleighton_'s review

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dark mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes

4.0

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clea's review

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adventurous dark sad fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

The premise of this novel sounded very interesting and the world where the stoty took place was intruiging (yet a little confusing).
But the heavy focus on the romance made me lose interest (I'm not a big fan of the insta-love trope) and overshadowed the more compelling storylines and characters.
I liked the haunted atmosphere Blackwood created and the action scenes were fun.
Although the novel tackled a lot of heavy topics, it didn't leave an impression on me. But as I have not read Jane Eyre, I possibly missed some underlying nuances and deeper meaning.

Overall, it was an entertaining read with complex characters.
If you are looking for a romance taking place within a creepy/gothic atmosphere and you like YA fantasy, I think you will adore this book !

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emily_mh's review against another edition

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dark medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.5

I started off LOVING this Jane Eyre retelling. I thought that Blackwood did such a good job at creating Rochester’s desperation in Magnus and the dialogue between Andromeda and Magnus felt as dramatic and devoted as it did in the original. The setting was also really intriguing. However, I liked the book less and less as time went on. There was a lack of context historically and geographically which made it difficult for me to place the book. The romance became the sole focus to the detriment of the more interesting cleansing-the-household plotline. And also the drama in that romance was SO contrived; at some points I didn’t even know what they were disagreeing about. Most importantly, I don’t think it worked well as a Jane Eyre retelling. There was a lack of atmosphere, and also none of the themes of coming-of-age/character development that really makes Jane Eyre stand out to me. Also, the romance in the original is an important part, but not the ONLY part, which is kind of how it ends up in this book. Moreover, I don’t think the toxic relationship between Andromeda and her mentor is given the gravity that it deserved. I also thought that the whole concept of disabilities coming from the attraction of the Evil Eye was super problematic.

I would by no means say this was bad, it just didn’t live up to the expectations it set and instead presented an average, slightly gothic instalove romance. As a side note, I did listen to the audiobook and thought it was okay.

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