Haunting Miss Trentwood

Ms. Kroll writes excellent dialogue. I was frequently laughing out loud during Mary’s conversations with her father’s ghost. The book was well paced and enjoyable to read.

This was quite an enjoyable and delightful read with characters that were so very likeable. Mary is brave; Mr. Hartwell reminds me of a sinister villain, while Mr. Steel reminds me of someone who lets his ego get the better of him. To me, the most loveable character of the whole book was Mary’s father. This is a novel that not only is humorous throughout, there is also a touch of suspense that kept me turning the pages. With the secrets of others pulling Mary into the web, danger abounds, and death could be waiting at the door. This book contained just about everything I like to read: Victorian, slightly paranormal with humor and suspense combined throughout, and cleanly written. I really enjoyed this author's work and look forward to more if they are written in this style. If you like Victoria Holt or Jane Austen, then I feel you will like Haunting Miss Trentwood.

I was really hoping to like this book, both because it seemed to have an original plot but also because the authorial style was different and unique. I thought that the premise of the novel sounded really interesting. Or rather, to be more precise, the premise of the story is one that takes the usual romance plot of the orphaned young lady and adds this interesting twist: that her father’s ghost is haunting her. Not in a metaphorical way, but actually haunting her. That is intriguing. That is a ripe and rich vein to harvest a story from. So what was gothic or psychological about the novella at its opening became farcical and comedic by the end and it seems to me—based on the tonal shift—intentionally so. But I don’t know why there was that intention or if there was that intention. Overall, I was disappointed with this book because it has so much potential. On occasion there were flare-ups of lovely prose and good, strong characterization. The underlying themes of grief, losing a parent, family connection, and loneliness were solid and could have been interestingly explored through the return of Mr. Trentwood’s ghost. But this was not how the plot played out. It unraveled very swiftly, leaving behind the ghost of a good gothic. So that what remains is only the promise of a story, one that seems to have been stitched together by a plethora of the author’s favorite tropes, favorite trivia, and favorite scenes from her imagination, rather than through knitting a few of these into a larger, tighter, and more coherent narrative.

Sadly, I must give this book. C-

Haunting Miss Trentwood is the novel to curl up with and leaves the reader with that warm and fuzzy feeling that can only be delivered by a fantastic bit of delightful historical romantic fiction.

Haunting Miss Trentwood is a tale that practically screams Gothic. Whether it is the dreary days, the pouring rain, the suspects, or the ghost himself, the scenery within the novel is matched perfectly to the genre. I do have to say I found Mary to be more of the anguished heroine versus the typical tormented hero, which shows Ms. Kroll used a unique and fresh idea while penning this book. I did find there were parts of this tale that dragged a bit and left me hoping for something to happen to pick up the storyline a bit. Overall, this is a tale that will set the mood and tone to fit perfectly with those who enjoy gothic novels.