Spoiler-Free Review

Don’t judge this book by its cover – it’s not what it seems at first glance. I want to start by saying Bluebeard’s Castle definitely isn’t a romance.

Click here for content warnings. This story features a toxic and abusive relationship. Take care while reading.

What’s Bluebeard’s Castle about?

A gothic romance writer, Judith, finds herself swept up in a romance with a mysterious man named Gavin who feels like he came right out of one of her books, except it’s not quite what she expected. This is a story about what the reality of a “gothic romance” might look like.

I liked it but didn’t love it.

This book plays around with a variety of gothic tropes, settings, and characters and is resplendent with references. From the elopement with a mysterious man to the ancient castle surrounded by rhododendrons, this often feels like the exemplar of the genre.

But here’s where this one stands out: this book is aware of itself. Things often feel over exaggerated or extreme, taking familiar tropes and making us see them for the outlandish things they are. It makes us look at this genre without the rose-colored glasses – from the toxic relationship to the realism of abuse, and what that abuse means.

I think this story also really delivers on the character profile of a woman who men like Gavin prey upon. Judith has insecurities, fraught family relationships, and prior abuse from a parent. She’s ready and willing to delude herself into thinking that abuse isn’t abuse, that Gavin is who he says he is, even when evidence piles up to the contrary. And yet, it never feels like her situation is her fault. While Judith has her flaws and neuroses, and definitely keeps making poor choices with regard to Gavin, she is also consistently let down by the people around her when she attempts to speak about what’s happening.

I gave it three stars for two main reasons. One, the writing style often kept me at arm’s length. There was a lot of telling instead of showing, and toward the end it really leaned on exposition. Much of the final chapters were the narrator moralizing to the reader. This book was really hitting me over the head with its message.

Second, it felt about 100 pages too long. While I appreciate the realism of the main character changing her mind so many times about the love interest, waffling on whether or not she loves him or could live without him, by the final third it just started to feel predictable. Each decision or thought she had, I knew she’d flip again in a few pages. It started to lose my interest.

Overall, I liked what this story aimed to do, and I’ll be interested to see what this author writes next.

Should you read Bluebeard’s Castle?

If you like cautionary tales, gothic romance, and feminist literature, you might like this one. If writing style is really important to you, I recommend reading a few pages before you dive in to see if it’s for you. You might want to skip if you prefer not to read about physical, emotional, and sexual abuse, child abuse/neglect (prior, not on page), or manipulation.