The Curse of Penryth Hall

Two things that always make me happy? A beautiful book cover and a well-written debut. Jess Armstrong’s The Curse of Penryth Hall delivers on both!

Plot summary (skip to the bullet points at the end, if you just want my thoughts):

Ruby Vaughn is an American heiress who has settled into life in Exeter, working in a rare books shop owned by her elderly housemate, Mr. Owen. She was sent to England by her parents before the Great War after a scandal that ruined her marriage prospects.

On a journey to deliver books to a folk healer named Ruan Kivell in nearby Cornwall, Ruby responds to a disturbing summons from an old friend Tamsyn at her gothic estate, Penryth Hall. The two had a romantic past, though Tamsyn ultimately chose marriage to Sir Edward Chenowyth instead, breaking Ruby’s heart.

When Edward is brutally murdered that night, the superstitious Cornish villagers believe it’s the return of an old curse placed on the Chenowyth line by a witch, due to their philandering ways. The family line has seen a number of gruesome deaths, and now everyone is convinced the curse is coming for Tamsyn and her son Jori as well.

The villagers trust one person to break the curse: their Pellar, Ruan Kivell. In English folklore, a pellar was a healer and one who could break spells among other things. He’s both revered and feared among them. One person they don’t know whether to trust is Ruby, and her life seems to be in more jeopardy every day.

Who killed Edward, and who is trying to kill Ruby? What follows is Ruby and Ruan working together to try to solve that mystery, or I SHOULD say Ruby trying to solve it while Ruan saves her life repeatedly! I really liked Ruan and Ruby, though she’s a headstrong challenge to say the least! His patience and care for her was sweet. It never really reached “romance” status, yet they had an undeniable connection with the suggestion of mutual feelings. I’m hoping there’s another book to continue their story!

Once again, I did an immersion read, listening to the audio while following along on my Kindle. Emma Lord nailed the accents and made the story even more fun.

What I liked:

▪️ Interesting and well-drawn characters

▪️ A great dynamic between Ruan and Ruby

▪️ An absolutely adorable, mischievous cat named Fiachna - I wish he was mine!

▪️ A solid mystery with a believable ending

▪️ A wonderful audio narration by Emma Lord

▪️ Really lovely prose that brought the setting and atmosphere alive

▪️ The Cornish folklore was really interesting!

Some things I didn't prefer:

▪️ A few too many fancy “dictionary” words. I love intelligence. I don't love looking up definitions!

▪️ Ruby and Tamsyn’s backstory didn’t feel fleshed out - why did Ruby still like her?

▪️ The ending between Ruan and Ruby felt incomplete - is there a sequel coming? I'd be cool with that!

All said, I really enjoyed this debut and can’t wait to see what Jess Armstrong writes next!

★★★★

Thanks to Minotaur Books, NetGalley and author Jess Armstrong for the DRC and to Dreamscape Media for the ALC to honestly review. It’s out now.