I received this book for free from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
Suspicion by Alexandra Monir Published by Delacorte on December 9th, 2014
Genres: Paranormal Mystery, YA
Goodreads
Mysterious. Magnificent. Creepy. Welcome to Rockford Manor.
"There's something hidden in the Maze." Seventeen-year-old Imogen has never forgotten the last words her father said to her seven years ago, before the blazing fire that consumed him, her mother, and the gardens of her family's English country manor.
Haunted by her parents' deaths, Imogen moves to New York City with her new guardians. But when a letter arrives with the news of her cousin's untimely death, revealing that Imogen is now the only heir left to run the estate, she returns to England and warily accepts her role as duchess.
All is not as it seems at Rockford, and Imogen quickly learns that dark secrets lurk behind the mansion's aristocratic exterior, hinting that the spate of deaths in her family were no accident. And at the center of the mystery is Imogen herself--and Sebastian, the childhood friend she has secretly loved for years. Just what has Imogen walked into?
Combining a fresh twist on the classic REBECCA with a spine-tingling mystery and powerful romance, SUSPICION is an action-packed thrill ride
And pretty cover syndrome strikes again!
After reading Suspicion I really just wanted to put it behind me and never think about it again. But that would mean not writing this review and we just couldn’t have that could we Kelly? So how about we jump into this so I never have to relive this book again ok? Ok.
Suspicion honestly started off on a good note. It was mysterious, the writing was beautiful and I really liked the MC Imogen. The story even opens up with some “peculiar” things happening to Imogen and her family. A flower, a fire, death. *insert dramatic music* The start of Suspicion was exactly what I hoped it would be and everything I needed it to be based on that synopsis. But then things took a turn for the “what is this fuckery” when a “boy” entered into the picture. Everything from that moment on just went up in flames and I’m not even sure the person who wrote the first 20% of the book is the same person who wrote the last 80%!
Through a series of unfortunate events and a whole lot of way too convenient deaths Imogen is invited back to her family estate somewhere in the UK (don’t ask me where ok then I’d have to open the book!) to claim her inheritance and title of Duchess. This is seriously one of my “I need this to happen to me NOW” dreams and I thought Monir did a very good job of showing not just the fairytale side of being a duchess but the reality of it too! This didn’t dampen my excitement to see her step into the role though. In fact it made me excited because I wanted to see how Imogen was going to grow to fit the role! Especially since upon first meeting her you get the feeling that she grew up too fast (as the death of your parents will do) but it wasn’t really conveyed completely in the writing. Like, she was mature when it came to the reality of her parents death, but she also did stupid impulsive things; like sign life altering paperwork without a lawyer or ADULT present. Yeah…stupid things like that.
She did have a good set of friends and I appreciated their parts in the story…no matter how little we really saw them. 🙁 But a character I did not like and who completely ruined the “like” I was feeling is Sebastian.
OH MY GOD! I hated his brother, I hated the maids (not the butler he was cool), I hated Imogen after a while. But I hated no one as much as I hated Sebastian. It wasn’t that he was a “bad” guy, it’s more so he was too…he was too..perfect. He was a duke, he was good at sports, dreamy, a real sweet talker and somehow after all these years of absolutely no contact he walks into the picture and BAM! They’re madly in love and Imogen will do ANYTHING to keep him safe. Even ignore some blatant, not cool, what is this fuckery stuff. I get wanting to protect someone you love. I really do! But there were just too many things against this train of thought. Such as EVIDENCE, CONFESSIONS, LOGIC and FACTS. I know I’m not giving details but if I did that would mean spoilers and as much as I want to spare as many as I can from this fate it’s not my place or style to spoil all the things.
Then you have the “supernatural” bit and I was just done. Again, it was cool in the beginning but then it just felt sort of thrown together. Like there was no real thought put into why, how or what will happen because of this bit. It was just something “cool” to toss in there to be a way to end the story. Or maybe a way to extend it? It doesn’t say so on Goodreads but I’m pretty sure there will be a sequel and I can tell you it won’t be one I’m going to grab.
