What Bloggers Say about Gothic Spring
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OREGON Book Report – Favorite Book Writing Contest Winner – Mystery
From Christine Webb, December 2013
My favorite book? It is, without a doubt the mystery, Gothic Spring, by Portland based, Oregon Author, Caroline Miller. I’ve read this novel three times in the past four months and each time come away with something new, an idea or reflection I might have missed during an earlier read, perhaps a part of a theological discussion or the slightest glance, or touch, that may have hinted to a deeper feeling shared, or details I might have raced through breathlessly in an attempt to discover an outcome. Ms. Miller’s writing style is captivating and enriching.
I admit, I read her novels with a dictionary close at hand, and I love knowing that I am coming away from her story feeling elevated to a different level after discovering words I never knew existed. One especially intriguing aspect of Gothic Spring was a story Ms. Miller created in the middle of her story.
Written about an earlier period of time, using a slightly different dialect, Ms. Miller allows her central figure, Constantine, to find a little book, one in which this secondary story unfolds, creating a lesson, of sort, or maybe a clue to a larger riddle, both of which compel the reader to want to hear every word spoken and see every image as though one was standing hidden in the back of a room where the characters had gathered.
The plot contains elements of good and evil, faithfulness, love, affection, anger and betrayal, yet, the eventual outcome is not in anyway, predictable. These elements are woven together so tightly that there are no loose ends left, leaving the reader stunned at the finish, but satisfied. Such a good book for all seasons–I am eagerly anticipating reading it yet again, during the colder, darker evenings of winter, by the warm glow of the fireplace.
Gothic Spring is my favorite book because after finishing this Gothic mystery and mulling it over for a period of time, I am still eager to read it again knowing that there are elements of surprise and hidden treasures still to be discovered. What Ms. Miller can do with rain falling against a window pane is simply magical.
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LITERARY MAGIC
From Lee Libro
Echoing on the great female writers of 19th century England, Caroline Miller’s Gothic Spring delivers one of the most vivid female characters I’ve read in quite some time. Being beautiful and extremely intelligent, epileptic and orphaned, Victorine Ellsworth is a unique young woman who espouses ideals before her time.. I highly recommend Gothic Spring to anyone who enjoys Gothic novels, but that’s obvious. I think that Gothic Spring goes beyond the genre. It would appeal to those who love reading the classics such as Pride and Prejudice, The Scarlet Letter or historical novels with themes about women dealing with the constraints of their times. The writing itself is well executed and deserves to be placed among them on the bookshelf…
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SILVER REVIEWS
A maiden aunt, a new Vicar with a book and secrets, and a curious, precocious young lady. Gothic Spring will grab you from page one….the setting, the time period, the charming, small town, and the storyline are very alluring. The storyline was focused on Victorine and her relationship and fascination with the Vicar and a secret she just knows he has and secrets they both will eventually share.
Victorine, the main character, has an air about her that makes her likable for her intelligence and her persistence. You will dislike her for her insistence, her false innocence, her trouble making, her desire to hurt people, her cunning ways, and her way of risking anything to get what she wants….nothing short of deceit. Despite her negative traits, I was thoroughly taken by her as was everyone in the small, gossip-laden town of Braxton, and I wanted to see what she would do next to get what she wanted. She always did get what she wanted while she also ruined lives.
Each character in the book is fascinating and very well developed so that you can perfectly visualize their clothing, their feelings, and their facial expressions. The characters were profound, and they all had great depth especially Victorine and the Vicar’s wife. She and Victorine definitely were at odds and both prodded and prodded until they found the information they were looking for even though Victorine always came out the victor with her sly nature and way of turning things around for her benefit. Every character seemed to have something hidden and churning under their politeness.
Once I began reading, I didn’t want to stop. Once you are nearing the end, you will just want more and more. Ms. Miller is a powerful, eloquent writer. I highly recommend this book to anyone who loves an evil heroine, an English setting, and an unforgettable, splendid ending. My rating is a 5/5….oh did I enjoy this book. 🙂
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PURPLE PENGUIN
I got to a point in the book where I could not put it down. I was reading everywhere I went and made sure I had the book with me at all times! …
Nicole Ragone May 2012 -
A CASE OF READING INSOMNIA
The plot of the novel is definitely intriguing and is darkly twisted…
Sydney Chan May 2012 -
GOOD READS
There are so many twists and turns in the story that I could never have predicted, and the ending threw me off guard…expect the unexpected…
Julie’s Reviews January 2012
What Critics Say
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REBECCAS READS
The language and social mores scream of Jane Austen. A young sassy girl who knows that life holds more for her than society dictates, Victorine becomes a force to be reckoned especially when conflicted by sexual urges and restricted by social conventions. “Gothic Spring” is quite delightful to read!
~Reviewed by Enid Grabiner for RebeccasReads, April 2012 -
MIDWEST REVIEW
Those with the knowledge that no one else has, always rise a bit of suspicion. “Gothic Spring” follows Vitorine Ellsworth, a young woman who know the truth behind a church vicar’s wife’s murder. Faced with her own pressures of recent rise to adulthood, “Gothic Spring” is a riveting novel of facing adulthood, and letting the truth be know without find one’s neck on the chopping block. “Gothic Spring is a fine addition to any fiction collection.
May 2012 -
BOOK REVIEWS
Among the softcover novels is Gothic Spring by Caroline Miller, her second novel. Victorine Ellsworth knows something about the death of the vicar’s wife…but what? Is she the killer? Or the next victim? It is a journey into a mind that is unraveling. She is a young woman poised at the edge of sexual awakening and cursed with more talent and imagination than society will tolerate. The conflict between her desire and the restrictions that rule her life lead to tragic circumstances arising out of the death of the vicar’s wife.
Alan Caruba, April 2012 -
ME AND READING
Among the softcover novels is Gothic Spring by Caroline Miller, her second novel. Victorine Ellsworth knows something about the death of the vicar’s wife…but what? Is she the killer? Or the next victim? It is a journey into a mind that is unraveling. She is a young woman poised at the edge of sexual awakening and cursed with more talent and imagination than society will tolerate. The conflict between her desire and the restrictions that rule her life lead to tragic circumstances arising out of the death of the vicar’s wife.”
Inga K, April 2012
What Readers Say
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More Fan Coments
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TILLY GAILLARD
I just finished Gothic Spring and I hated getting to the end.
I loved the way the plot unfolded, the character descriptions with all their intricacies, the interplay between the people, the good and the bad, true love and hypocrisy, your careful writing, your ushering me around all these people in a different world, contained.I’m really sad to have finished it.