Gallant

Olivia Prior has lived almost all her life at the Merlance School for Girls. She apparently was left there by her mother when she was quite young and all she has from her mother is an old journal. Olivia’s life has been a lonely one, much of it due to the fact she has no voice. One day a letter arrives from her uncle, inviting her to live with him at Gallant and soon Olivia is taking a long car ride to what is actually an estate. Once there it’s clear something is amiss. Her uncle died a year or more ago and it’s only a cousin and two servants remaining.

This is something akin to a Gothic novel, filled with darks and greys and ghouls and other remnants of death. Olivia is a likeable character. Although she cannot speak, she is intelligent and curious and quite rebellious in her own ways. The invitation to Gallant is like being called to her home. The one thing she longs for is to belong, something that’s been missed in her life so far. Gallant as a setting is properly mysterious and creepy and there’s always a sense of fear about what lurks in the night. The villain is equally nasty and, as is typical, rather full of himself.

The story is a really quick and easy read and I finished in just over a day of not-so-continuous reading. I really did like the book although I can’t say I loved it. It was always going to be difficult to follow the wonderfulness of Addie LaRue so I think the simplicity of the story was ideal for this book. I think I enjoyed it just to the end, but the ending left me wanting and it lacked the satisfaction I was expecting from the end of such a story. Upon further reflection, I felt there were unanswered questions and it felt the story was unresolved in the end.

That being said, I still liked the book and I will give this 3.5 stars. I would like to thank Netgalley and Titan for providing the advanced reader copy. I have provided this review voluntarily.