Rating: 
Summary: Disappointing Gothic Tale
Review: This is a beautifully written book. In many ways Brontean. However, the ultimate "secret" of the book was rather disappointing and altogether obvious, and the writer took oh so long to get to the rather tame conclusion, although she did it with great evocative power. As a literary work on the roles played by women at the dawn of the last century, it speaks quite clearly on the repression of women's creativity and subservience to the male establishment. However, for genuine storytelling in this genre, read the truly repressed women who were writing in the Victorian Age--the Brontes, Mrs. Henry Wood, George Eliot, et al.
Rating: 
Summary: an enchanting, haunting read
Review: this is an awesome novel. i am not normally a reader of books in the gothic style (i usually stick to mysteries and hard boiled fiction), but this book clearly hooked me. it was evocative, powerful, totally gripping. the story was compelling and the writing was both sharp and beautiful. i know it's a cliche, but i think i would recognize grange house immediately if i happened upon it. very highly recommended - enjoy!
Rating:
Summary: A Wonderful Mystery
Review: This is an exciting and beautifully written story. I came to this book as a fortysomething businessman who knows nothing of Victorian fiction but who vacations each summer on the Maine coast. Grange House is a mystery story seen through the eyes of a likable young woman struggling to find her place as she reaches adulthood in 1896. The characters, whether rustic Maine natives filled with humor and irony or more pretentious summer visitors from Boston and New York, are engaging and perfectly drawn. Yet, while summer parties and jokes and romances are pleasant diversions, the core of this book is a complex mystery that builds suspense and excitement as it is carefully constructed and then swiftly and perfectly unwound - I had no idea how this story was going to end. With much of the Maine coast little changed since 1896, I'd love to see a movie version of Grange House.
Rating:
Summary: engrossing read
Review: This story, of a young girl struggling to find out her family's secrets, is very well written. It is a real page-turner as well, part ghost story, part atmospheric mystery, part psychological exploration. I am looking forward to reading more by this author.
Rating: 
Summary: Shades of Wilkie Collins.
Review: This was a very readable, well written book. I felt I was actually in this turn of the century world. I could not put it down once I started. However, it was bit dark and a little disturbing. Not for everyone, but a very well done book.
Rating:
Summary: A Bit Uneven
Review: When I first started reading Grange House, I must admit, it irritated me. The narrative was all caught up in this eerie, mystical mood thing that seemed very, very forced. Then, about halfway through the novel, things picked up. The ghost story aspect of it all was more natural and the story itself became engrossing. The mystery of Miss Grange, or who the mother of the young heroine is actually got to be quite compelling. I am not certain the ending compensated for the silliness of the first part of the novel, so I would advise to proceed with caution.
Rating:
Summary: Surprisingly Great!
Review: When I saw the cover of this book I thought it was just another one of those old time books that almost puts you to sleep but it wasn't like that at all! It's a great story about a girl trying to help an old woman finish her story while starting one of her very own. In the process she finds out who she really is. Its a deeply touching and at times eerie mystery story that I would recommend for everyone to read!
Rating:
Summary: (3.5) Plot-driven Victo-Goth....
Review: When I saw the title and read a few pages, I fell right into this novel, attracted to the eccentricities of the Victorian era. GRANGE HOUSE begins as a summer adventure, an annual family vacation to the coast of Maine. But tragedy looms, as two young lovers drown on the first day of the visit, and Maisie Thomas sees one of them as a ghost. Miss Thomas is only 17, impressionable and naïve, her innocent world circumscribed by her parents. Her sympathies and curiosity lie with the reclusive owner of Grange House, the spinster Nell Grange. Every summer, Maisie anticipates the hours spent with Miss Grange, her aura of secrecy and lost romance. There is a secret, of course, and a necessity for Maisie to uncover her role in the story. That same summer, when we first meet Maisie, a tragic accident changes everything. From that point on, the story unfolds with all its attendant complications. Returning to Grange House the following summer, Maisie experiences a sense of purpose. She feels connected to the Grange family history, determined to understand its mysteries. In a very subtle manner, GRANGE HOUSE makes a feminist statement, defining the limited opportunities for Victorian women, forever in the shadow of their husbands. Even after the death of a husband, a woman is referred to as "Widow _____". Victorian social conventions are structured to control the behavior of young, single women, if not the male counterparts. The writing is perfect Victoriana: ornate descriptions, shadowed rooms, lonely wind-swept graves, boat accidents, a dilapidated quarry. And there is romance, complete with complications, as Maisie is torn between two suitors. In fact, there are so many issues needing resolution, that they all tumble together, crashing together at the end. By then, so few pages remain, it is impossible to adequately complete the story line. Once the action really starts, almost halfway through the book, it snowballs, gathering momentum and characters along the way. The Gothic element is often forced, and far too many bodies litter the pages, leaving Grange House in need of a boat full of new guests to fill the empty rooms. However, for a first novel, this author has done a beautiful job with language and atmosphere.
Rating:
Summary: Haunting, ethereal tour de force for Victorian Lit buffs
Review: With precise Gothic touches, Blake unfolds this tale of a multi-generational curse, dark family secrets, and the supernatural. It was a little jarring at first to read a novel by a contemporary author written in the voice of Victorian literature, but Blake is a master storyteller, and I soon forgot that I wasn't reading a long-lost Bronte sister's epic. Her tone and pitch is pefect, and the increasing build of tension as the story speeds towards its climax is worthy of Henry James. Blake is equally successful in making Grange House itself an ominous, creepy character which casts its shadow across everyone else in the book. The heroine's journey from pampered rich girl to a deeply insightful young woman is told gracefully and powerfully, and the threads which weave all of the main characters to Grange House are masterfully woven. As a fan of the Brontes, Thomas Hardy, and many other Victorian writers, I found Grange House to be a fine and fitting descendant. There are some genuinely moving and surprising moments throughout, particularly in our heroine's discovery of her true past, and how her life is closely interwoven with the Grange family. But Blake also examines (quite successfully) the nature of creativity, the legacy of being a storyteller, and the ethereal bonds of love that persist even from beyond the grave. A perfect read for a long winter's eve.
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