Behind the Veil: Novel Review
Here we are, you and I, with the very first blog post of my new and improved website! Have you taken a tour yet?
Now, for my first review of my improved blog! Disclaimer: I received an ARC for this book from Blackthorn Book Tours in exchange for a fair and honest review. They reached out to me to ask if I wanted to be included in their email list that they send out to book reviewers.
I get to pick and select the books I am interested in reading and they send me an ARC. I do need to agree to a hard date as to when I’ll publish my review and I managed to mix up the dates so here we are on a Tuesday! Don’t worry, I’ve been better at scheduling my future book reviews to land on a Monday from now on!
So this is my first review as part of a Blackthorn Book Tour, I will say though that I appreciate the emails they send out about the books. They provide a ton of information like book description, genre, trigger warnings, previous reviews (if any), and more. It makes it easier to decide which book I might want to read. Anyway, you’re not here to hear about my experience with book selection, right? Let’s get on with the review!
The Author
E.J. Dawson is a prolific writer who has been published traditionally, as well as having been self-published. Her novels include The Last Prophecy series, Queen of Spades series, and Behind the Veil among others. She began her writing career with a massive 21 book series and she believes “in more than one path to a career in publishing” so has pursued “self-publishing alongside querying traditional publishers with multiple manuscripts.”
The Novel
“In 1920s Los Angeles, Letitia Hawking reads the veil between life and death. A scrying bowl allows her to experience the final moments of the deceased. She brings closure to grief-stricken war widows and mourning families.
For Letitia, it is a penance. She knows no such peace.”
A Gothic noir, Behind the Veil follows a psychic as she grapples with the demons of her past as well as otherworldly demons she encounters as she tries to help those who are grieving find peace. But when a man comes to demand she help him fight off whatever it is that is tormenting his niece, Letitia is plunged into a dangerous spiral.
Readers be warned, Behind the Veil has themes of miscarriage, suicide, rape, and pedophilia.
The Review
I saw on Dawson’s website that apparently she wrote this in 25 days, which really impressed me because of how well polished and tight the novel is.
There are some mild spoilers following this.
What grabbed me first off was the description: Victorian times, psychics, demonic possession? Heck yes. I was expecting a bit more horror though, Behind the Veil hit more supernatural romance to me. The book focusses heavily on the relationship between Letitia and her love interest, Alasdair. A lot of the haunting/horror happens “off-camera” as it were, or only in brief scenes (ending excluded).
Plot-wise, I found Behind the Veil predictable just because it followed a lot of standard tropes and familiar themes so nothing really surprised me in that department.
There were some moments that I sighed over (not in a good way): particularly a lengthy scene in which Letitia describes her wardrobe and near the end when Letitia/Alasdair are rushing to locate where the big bad has hidden away Alasdair’s niece. All clues point to a certain location but Letitia feels it’s necessary to delay their leaving so she can perform a dangerous ritual to confirm the location, which — surprise — is the obvious location. This scene felt like forced suspense. There are several obvious clues (are they even clues when they are so blatant?) that point to the key location so there was truly no need for Letitia to have done a ritual that may have killed her. Oh well.
Still, it was well-written and an easy read. Not a mind-blowing tale, but entertaining. I’d place it in league with a simple mystery you buy at the airport to read at the beach. Maybe not a book that blows your mind and you bring it back home to keep, but still fun.
4/10
x PLM
