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/ From The Bookshelf

Book Review: The Lyons

Rating:
☆☆☆☆☆ 4.5/5
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Title: The Lyons

Author: Kay Snow

Publication Date: December 5, 2021

Genre: Gothic Fiction, Romance, Paranormal

Cover:

I love the contrast of the golden blonde hair against the varying shades of black and gray. I felt like I was following along behind the woman as her hands pushed against the gates to reveal the eerie world beyond.

Premise

Kathyrn White loves old houses. After falling in love with a Victorian mansion, she sets out to purchase the home and restore it to its former glory. While rumors swirl about the family who owned the house and whether it is cursed, Kathryn focuses on the future, but she soon discovers the past and her future are not as separate as she first thought.

Why I chose this book:

Snow and I struck up a conversation on X about our love of old houses, especially those with a haunted past. When she shared The Lyons with me, I knew it would make a perfect addition to the October 2023 collection.

First Impression:

Snow opens with Kathryn’s first visit to the home, where the history of the building is methodically detailed. While necessary, the story felt a bit slow until chapter five, when various mysterious phenomena began to occur at the house. At that point, I was intrigued and curious to see how the story would unfold.

What I loved:

Snow did an excellent job of creating a dark and ominous mood by sprinkling the story with phenomena that may or may not have had a logical explanation. For example, did the door slam because a gust of wind caught it or because a ghostly force wanted attention? Is a random handprint on a window a remnant from a worker or a calling card of one from beyond the grave? In many ways, The Lyons is a mystery as Kathryn and the reader attempt to make sense of the house and its dark past.

As someone who loves historical fiction, I appreciated how Snow beautifully blended our modern world with the Victorian era. She effortlessly moved between Kathryn’s story and the story of the previous owner, Roman Lyons, making me feel as if I was traveling between two times and worlds.

Additional Thoughts:

Snow packed quite the story into just 116 pages when one considers the plot and depth of detail that is included. However, this framework can easily support additional development, and I would love to see the characters fleshed out a bit to have more dimension.

Quotable Quotes:

• “For it would seem all who were touched by Lyon House were touched by death itself.”
• It is said, as Mrs Carter explained, that the veil between the earth and spirit world was thought to be at its thinnest on Halloween. And in some cases, lifted, if only for a moment, so fleetingly, that the two worlds became one.
• Mrs March awaited her Master with avid eyes as green and lush as rich, vibrant lurid grass. And with her hair the colour of a newly turned autumn leaf, one could say she had been put together uncommonly well. As if Mother Nature herself had played a part in her being.
• “From the moment of inception, our soul is on a journey, searching; and when we are born, we live a life consisting of happiness, sadness, hope and despair-of which is the natural cycle of life. Consequently, most of us die without ever realizing the meaning of this, the meaning of life that is.”
• “Whispers are really quite loud when all else is silent.”
• For when fate prescripts two people are meant to be together, the bounds of time, space, law and understanding shall be cut, bent and shaped to ensure a coming together of two souls that were always intended to be on. True love will always prevail, and it will always, always find a way!

Who might enjoy this book:

The Lyons is ideal for those who enjoy gothic romance infused with paranormal events.

Overall Impression:

Four and a half stars. The Lyons is Snow’s debut novel after only beginning her writing career in the spring/summer of 2020, and this is one to be proud of! She offers readers a ghost story with a unique twist that blends the present with the past. Snow illustrates the power of fate and its ability to bring lovers together no matter what obstacles are in its path.

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