I had high hopes for this book but it was disappointing. Gothic literature with a touch of academia is my sweet spot, and this book fit the bill. In fact, the setting and aesthetic were the books greatest strengths. I thought the workings of magic were well thought out, if convoluted, and the novel was atmospheric. My main issues were with the weak plot and writing. Nothing felt important enough to set off the chain of events. The fact that Augustine didn’t have any reason (good or bad) to marry Jane bothered me so much. Was he so desperate for a nurse that he married her? Why didn’t he just hire one and not risk anyone coming to Lindredge Hall? Was Jane, a complete stranger, so attractive that he needed to risk everything to be with her after one hour together? It felt weak, but not fitting with the weakness of Augustine’s character; weak in the sense that it was an easy way to jump start the story without thinking too hard of an adequate explanation. The ending confused me (like other reviewers) beyond belief. I’m a big fan of authors blurring the lines between madness and reality, but this felt like a cheap and overdone imitation of Jane Eyre and not the complex and powerful ending the author was going for. The repetitiveness of the writing did not make up for the plot’s weakness. Jane “squared her shoulders” every five seconds and everything was chalked up to “logic,” “rationality,” “chalk and salt,” and “the smell of blood.” It was a drag to get through, and I felt like Jane in the corridor; trapped in circles of mediocre writing and constant internal monologues. It needed far less showing and much more telling. More characterization, and less of Jane’s constant second-guesses and fearfulness. And much more dialogue to break up the enormous chunks of self-introspection. I didn’t hate this book; after all, I did finish it quickly. But it needed better editing, a more straightforward vision, and a stronger heroine. Also, I know it was a barely fleshed out alternate dimension but what period was this supposed to be set in?? The anachronisms were driving me insane.