The House of Brides

Summary (from the publisher): Miranda's life and career have been a rollercoaster ride. Her successful rise to the top of the booming lifestyle industry as a social media influencer led to a humiliating fall, after a controversial product she endorsed flopped. Desperate to get away from the hate-spewing trolls shaming her on the Internet, she decides to investigate the mysterious letter she received from a young cousin in England.

Miranda's mother, Tessa Summer, a famous author, died when Miranda was a child. The young woman's only connection to the Summer family is through Tessa's famous book, The House of Brides - a chronicle of the generations of women who married into the infamous Summer family and made their home in the rambling Barnsley House, the family estate. From Gertrude Summer, a famed crime novelist, to Miranda's grandmother Beatrice, who killed herself after setting fire to Barnsley while her children slept, each woman in The House of Brides is more notorious than the next. The house's current "bride" is the beautiful, effervescent Daphne, her Uncle Max's wife - a famed celebrity chef who saved Barnsley from ruin by turning the estate into an exclusive culinary destination and hotel.

Curious about this legendary family she has never met, Miranda arrives at Barnsley posing as a prospective nanny answering an advertisement. She's greeted by the compelling yet cold housekeeper Mrs. Mins, and meets the children and her Uncle Max - none of whom know her true identity. But Barnsley is not what Miranda expected. The luxury destination and award-winning restaurant are gone, and Daphne is nowhere to be found. Most disturbing, one of the children is in a wheelchair after a mysterious accident. What happened in this house? Where is Daphne? What darkness lies hidden in Barnsley?

Review: I received an uncorrected proof copy of this novel from HarperCollins.

In the wake of the tragic collapse of her online social media influencer status, Miranda is adrift. When she finds a letter from a young cousin who lives in her mother's childhood home - the great Barnsley House estate - she finds herself fleeing to England to find out more about her mother's family whom she has never met. All she knows about this side of her family was gleaned from her mother's best selling book, an expose of her family's history entitled The House of Brides. Under the guise of being a nanny, Miranda becomes increasingly bothered by the odd vibe of Barnsley: the cold housekeeper Mrs. Mins, her uncle's seemingly disturbed wife who was previously known for her celebrity chef status, her young cousins, one of whom is now confined to a wheelchair, and her aunt and uncle who seem at times cold and distant.

This was a fast read and it did peak my interest to discover the great 'mystery' behind Miranda's mother's estrangement from her family and what secrets Mrs. Mins and Daphne were hiding. But this novel reads like a very rough draft that is lacking in editorial support. There is far too much going on - haunted houses, social media use, sibling tensions, car crashes, house fires, drownings, alcoholism, adultery, a disabled child, marital secrets, and absentee parents. It felt as if the author was just throwing as many different story elements into the storyline as possible in hopes of creating maximum interest but with the unintended consequence of the novel feeling overextended and unbelievable.  

So much of the plot felt unbelievable as well and I was left with so many unanswered questions about why so many plot points even happened. There were also several scenes where the descriptions and dialogue were somewhat confusing and hard to follow. For example, the scene where Miranda is trying to watch the Christmas play her cousins are performing in was so poorly written and the interruptions so poorly explained that I still am not sure what the point was. Similarly, it was hard for me to believe that the family would hire Miranda on the spot to be their nanny without any interview or references, particularly considering one of the children she would be caring for was disabled. Furthermore, the realities of caring for a disabled child were almost totally skipped over, which felt totally unrealistic to me.

This novel certainly had many compelling elements and did a great job of building intrigue and interest. However, the lack of a firm editorial hand and sloppy execution severely dimmed by enjoyment for this book.

Stars: 2

Miranda’s life and career has been a roller-coaster ride. Her successful rise to the top of the booming lifestyle industry as a social media influencer led to a humiliating fall after a controversial product she endorsed flopped. Desperate to get away from the hate-spewing trolls shaming her on the internet, she receives a mysterious letter from a young cousin in England that plunges her into a dark family mystery.

Miranda’s mother Tessa Summers, a famous author, died when Miranda was a child. The young woman’s only connection to the Summers family is through Tessa’s famous book The House of Brides—a chronicle of the generations of women who married into the infamous Summers family and made their home in the rambling Barnsley House, the family’s estate. From Gertrude Summers, a famed crime novelist, to Miranda’s grandmother Beatrice, who killed herself after setting fire to Barnsley while her children slept, each woman in The House of Brides is more notorious than the next. The house’s current “bride” is the beautiful, effervescent Daphne, her Uncle Max’s wife—a famed celebrity chef who saved Barnsley from ruin turning the estate into an exclusive culinary destination and hotel.

Curious about this legendary family she has never met, Miranda arrives at Barnsley posing as a prospective nanny answering an advertisement. She’s greeted by the compelling yet cold housekeeper Mrs. Mins, and meets the children and her Uncle Max—none of whom know her true identity. But Barnsley is not what Miranda expected. The luxury destination and award-winning restaurant is gone, and Daphne is nowhere to be found. Most disturbing, one of the children is in a wheelchair after a mysterious accident. What happened in this house? Where is Daphne? What darkness lies hidden in Barnsley?