#BookReview: The Fortunes of Olivia Richmond by @LouiseDWriter @moonflowerbooks #TheFortunesOfOliviaRichmond #paranormal #perioddrama

Release date - 26th October 2023
Book length - 313 pages
Publisher - Moonflower Books 

BUY LINKS
Ireland & UK - www.bookshop.org
                            www.amazon.co.uk
                 US - www.amazon.com

I want to thank Amanda from www.moonflowerbooks.co.uk for providing me with a proof copy of this book for review.


ABOUT THIS BOOK 

After a terrible tragedy, governess Julia Pearlie finds herself with no job, home, or references. When she’s offered a position as companion to Miss Olivia Richmond, her luck appears to be turning. But Mistcoate House is full of secrets.

Olivia has a sinister reputation. The locals call her the Mistcoate Witch, thanks to her tarot readings, and her insistence that she can speak to the dead. Her father, Dr Richmond, believes this to be girlish fantasy and is looking to Julia to put a stop to it.

Determined to prove herself and shake off her own murky history, Julia sets to work trying to help Olivia become a proper young lady. However, as she becomes a fixture at Mistcoate, it is soon clear that there may be more to Olivia’s stories than Dr Richmond would have Julia believe – not least because somehow, Olivia seems to know something of the darkness that Julia desperately hoped she had left behind.

As the danger grows, and the winter chill wraps around the dark woods surrounding Mistcoate, Julia will have to fight to uncover the truth, escape her past – and save herself.


MY REVIEW

Enthralling from beginning to end, THE FORTUNES OF OLIVIA RICHMOND by Louise Davidson is everything I hoped it would be and more. 

​Julia Pearle is in a predicament. After a harrowing ordeal, she finds herself at the mercy of her brother and sister-in-law who no longer wish to have her underfoot. So when she gets offered the position as a companion to a young lady in the countryside, Julia doesn't have much choice. Ready to make a fresh start for herself, Julia is determined to make her new life a success, but as soon as she arrives at the desolate Mistcoate House she realises that this may be more difficult than she could ever imagine. 

​Not only are money and staff scarce at the manor but her charge, Olivia, has a reputation that precedes her. Nicknamed the Mistcoate Witch, Olivia is both ridiculed and feared by the locals when she reads her cards and speaks of the dead. Julia sees only a young lady who needs kindness and compassion, as well as a proper education befitting her station. Add in a scandalous Aunt, a forgetful old captain, and a bitter housekeeper, and Julia must keep her wits about her at all times. But as Julia begins to settle in and make friends with some of the locals, it soon becomes clear that maybe there is more to Olivia's visions and ramblings than she first thought. When enemies from the present and the past come back to haunt them, will Julia be able to uncover the truth and save those that she has come to care deeply about?

This debut is described as a paranormal period drama and that is the perfect description. The detail, the setting, the characters, and the plot are fresh and engaging, while a thread of unease is effortlessly being spun in the background as you read, ready to pounce and make you shiver at the perfect moments throughout. Julia's character is strong, independent, and extremely intelligent which I enjoyed, and I loved how it worked perfectly with Olivia who seemed quite the opposite in so many ways, yet was just as engaging and compelling in her own way. 

THE FORTUNES OF OLIVIA RICHMOND is an excellent story and I cannot wait to read more from Louise Davidson.  


AUTHOR BIO

Louise Davidson was born in Belfast and has always worked in the creative arts in some capacity - from assistant to theatre directors to teaching scriptwriting classes in prisons to teaching English and drama to A-Level students. Growing up in Northern Ireland backgrounded by the Troubles led to a fascination with history, and this combined with her love of all things gothic inspired her to write her first book, a dark Victorian thriller set in a neglected and isolated mansion. Louise lives in London with her husband and step-son, and in her spare time is working on fulfilling her ambition to visit every museum in the city. The Fortunes of Olivia Richmond is her debut novel.

You can keep up-to-date with Louise Davidson's writing here:
Instagram 
X