The Vespertine by Saundra Mitchell

[meganbmoore]

Like Mitchell’s Shadowed Summer, The Vespertine is about two girls with a close friendship who get caught up in spooky-mysterious going ons and there are, like, boys wandering around in the background or something. But that’s about all they have in common.

Set in 1889 Baltimore, Amelia is sent to the big city to get some polish and find a husband. There, she quickly bonds with her cousin, Zora, and finds her popularity increased when she starts having premonitions that come true. Except that when she starts predicting bad things that come true, she gets blamed for them.

Mitchell tries to emulate the prose and feel of Victorian Gothics, with mixed success. The prose is actually awkward and offputting at first, IMO, but soon improves greatly. But while I liked it, I couldn’t quite help feeling that Mitchell was trying to hard a at times. That said, I’d very much like to see what a second historical gothic of hers would be like