Stonebridge: Gothic Mixed With Some Other Odd Elements (4 Stars)

A few weeks ago, I finished reading Stonebridge by Linda Griffin. I won this novel with a Gothic feel earlier this year in a Goodreads Giveaway. I have mixed feelings about this book.

An Intro To This Gothic Novel

Even though it’s set in 1958-1959, this book has a very Gothic feel to it. I felt like it presented an interesting story, but some of it was a bit off for me. One of my biggest issues was that I had no idea how old our main character, Rynna was. Maybe, I missed something that hinted at her age. At first, I thought she was about 15-16. Her mother just died, and she’s sent to live with her great-grandma. I assumed she was a minor. Otherwise, I would think she would have had a bigger say in whether she wanted to move there.

As the story progresses, she doesn’t appear to be going to school anymore, so I’m assuming she’s older than I initially thought. Plus, she talks about how some of her female friends have already gotten married. My guess is that she’s around 20 instead. Maybe, her age shouldn’t matter so much, but I just felt like I could understand her better if I had a better feel for about how old she is.

Surprising or Predictable?

In general, the main parts of the story were pretty predictable. It’s easy to see who’s bad and who’s good. As things happen, it’s easy to know why and who was involved. The gothic feeling of the novel comes mainly from the ghost of Rynna’s mom’s cousin (so Rynna’s first cousin once removed). Other than a family relationship revealed toward the end of the novel, there aren’t a lot of surprises in the book.

Reader Warning

This book has quite a bit of swearing, especially several uses of the Lord’s name in vain. While you don’t get the graphic or gory details, it does discuss some sensitive and/or controversial topics. They include death, murder, suicide, incest (including 2nd cousins marrying), rape, domestic violence, romantic jealousy, inherited violent tendencies (nature or nurture sort of topic), and the dead haunting places.

I do wish the author had been clearer about the suicide in the book. I’m not saying I need the details of what happened. I’m just not entirely sure that it was suicide and not murder. If it was suicide, it appears it was out of guilt.

There’s a Sequel!

There is a sequel to this book. It’s called Beyond Stonebridge. It looks like it takes place just after this book is over. It seems like it will have some haunting and gothic elements as well. This book left readers on a bit of a cliffhanger. Because of that, I’d originally been interested enough that I figured I’d eventually read the second book as well. Now, I don’t think I’ll probably read it. While the plot of the first one was interesting, I don’t think I want to wade through the swearing and other elements, which are sure to be in the book. I’ve had enough time to realize that I don’t care as much about what happens after this book is over.