Zeb Wyckham reluctantly accepted his cousin’s invitation to spend a fortnight at his cousin’s gothic mansion in the English countryside. He immediately regrets his decision when he arrives and is faced with his estranged brother, his awful cousin, and his ex-lover. Things get even worse when his cousin, Wynn, informs his guests that whoever wins his young ward’s hand in marriage will inherit Lackaday House and the Wyckham fortune. Having this fortune hanging in the balance brings out the worst in Zeb’s already awful family, and Zeb wants no part of it. But his every effort to leave is thwarted – at first by the weather and further hindered by his family’s increasingly erratic behavior and strange occurrences within the house. It soon becomes clear that if Zeb has any hope of escaping, he’s got to work together with his ex-lover, Gideon. Together, they must deal with overcoming past heartache, scheming family members, and a murderous mystery – and hope they can make it out of Lackaday house alive.
This was a fun read and perfect for the season! Lackaday House made for a creepy and atmospheric backdrop for this story. Zeb’s family, both living and dead, were a bunch of fairly awful people. Zeb was an anomaly, being the only one to be innately kind and not motivated by greed. I loved seeing the story play out from his POV. There were moments of humor and some truly creepy moments, and plenty of mystery to unravel.
I would say this was a gothic drama first and foremost, but it’s also a second-chance love story as Zeb and Gideon work through what happened that ended their relationship and find a way forward. All while trying to make it out of this crazy house and away from these crazy people with their lives still intact.
One other thing I wanted to note, I really enjoyed the ADHD rep. This story was set in the early 1900s, before ADHD was formally recognized. It was interesting (and a little sad) seeing how Zeb’s family treated him, thinking he was irresponsible and would never amount to anything because he was so scattered all the time. Then contrast that with someone like Gideon, who always sought to help Zeb find ways to harness the energy. I don’t think I’d ever read a historical fiction that dealt with the topic, and it was just very interesting to me.
The Book Boyfriend Addict 