Amazon Description of the Book:
A young woman uncovers her family’s dark secrets in this mystery and her connection to a famously cursed gemstone in this Victorian gothic thriller from an internationally bestselling author
To secure her inheritance, Jessica Clavering agrees to a marriage of convenience, but will her handsome new husband’s desire for her ever surpass his obsession with a famously cursed opal?
Raised in the shadow of her family’s financial ruin, Jessica has never felt as though she fit in. When her only friend, an elderly neighbor, offers her the chance at a new life, she’s eager to take it. His only condition: she must marry her son, Joss.
The newlyweds inherit a fabled opal mine in Australia. It’s only once they arrive on the faraway continent that Jessica starts to uncover her family’s dark past and her connection to the Green Flash, an exquisite and spellbinding opal. The stone arouses a dangerous desire in anyone who sees it—even her husband.
Blending historical romance with elements of the paranormal, The Pride of the Peacock is an exhilarating tale from the Queen of Gothic Romance. Fans of Susanna Kearsley, Daphne Du Maurier, and Kate Morton will be spellbound by classic story of an overseas voyage, a cursed opal, and forbidden desire.
MY REIVEW AS AN AUTHOR:
This was the second Victoria Holt Gothic book I read. I loved this one as well. I can see that the her style is formulaic — but in a good way. She includes all of the elements of a great gothic story: A large house, a story weaving around the wealthy vs. a lower caste in society, a family secret, a mysterious question arises that weaves all the way through the story. As an author, I could see the formula, but it didn’t take away from the enjoyment of the story, not one bit.
This story included a journey into the world of opal minors and it gave the reader a historical view and close up view of the life of an opal minor. This was the educational part of the plot, and it was very enjoyable. I would never have chosen to read a magazine article about mining for opals, but the way Ms. Holt weaved it into the story added a depth to the story and gave the reader the experience of entering a different world.
Her writing style was just as beautiful as the first novel. I found myself watching what verbs she chose to use, and how she described her scenes. I learned a lot about weaving descriptions into the storyline. Below I have a few of my favorite ‘turn of phrases’.
I don’t want to go into the storyline too deeply, but it was a story of a young woman who saved the life of a neighbor, who is intricately involved in her family in ways she has no idea of in the first half of the story. She learns about this connection one secret at a time, and her fate is also taken up by the man she saved.
I went through my notes after reading the book and put together a crossword puzzle for anyone who also read the book and wants to try their hand at it. I used mostly the words I either had never heard before or had to look up! Below, I will speak to the gothic issues that we are all interested in.
SUSPENSE: For suspense, I give this a nine out of ten. This story twisted and turned in a few different directions, enough to keep me reading chapter after chapter, long after I planned to put the book down.
PLOTTING: I give this book a perfect 10 too. The story and relationships were well planned. The clues were dropped into the storyline in a way that kept the reader — and the main character — guessing. Just when you thought you had figured out where the story was going, there was a plot twist.
GOTHIC ELEMENTS: I give the story an 7 out of 10, not because it was lacking anything. This is more of a rating based on how gothic the story was in it’s setting and timeframe. Dracula would get a 10 in gothic elements, but this story was less than that level of dark or scary. I would say it was more of a gothic intrigue. I would give it a 10 in gothic intrigue.
CLARITY OF WRITING: I give this book a perfect 10 just like the last one. There was never a time when I had to re-read the story to figure out who was talking or what was going on. The story was quite intricate, but Victoria Holt’s writing style is so crisp and clear, the reader is never abandoned on the page. It was easy to read and clearly written. The editing and grammar were perfect.
PROSE: I give this book a perfect 10 again because she is a master at writing prose. I read a bit about the author’s story and she wrote for many years and wrote I think well over a hundred books or more, so she rose to the top in my opinion. I enjoyed every page of this book, just as I did the last book.
I have even chosen another Victoria Holt book to read next. I may have found my favorite author!
BELOW ARE MY FAVORITE TURN OF PHRASES:
❖ He was an actor of a kind, for when he talked of people his voice and his expression would change.
❖ Hers was an evil sort of beauty. She was what was known as a siren, the sort who would lure men to destruction.
❖ Little eddies of dust swirled just above the ground, and I thought: The wind is certainly rising.
THE CROSSWORD:
CROSSWORD – Click on the graphic below to get he google drive file to download. It has the puzzle, the clues as well as the answers (on page 3)
Do the crossword online here.
