I really enjoyed this book and the dark atmosphere. It shows how people were treated in Asylums back in the day. I highly recommend this book if you love reads with a gothic vibe to them.

Such a beautiful cover and promoting blurb! But the book really feel short of the expectations created.

Maud is a 27 year old locked in the asylum since five years for traumatic amnesia. All she remembers is a marsh and a man chasing her violently through it. The head doctor Womack and the staff are pretty rude to her because of her aggressive behaviour. One fine day, a medical researcher, Dr. Dimmond, arrives at the asylum to study the effects of hypnosis on medically insane patients. He chooses Maud as the main subject of his research and with his help, Maud rediscovers her past, and who are responsible for her present state.

The plot of The Asylum is quite interesting in its essence. As the story is set around 1906, we get to see the extent of gaslighting prevalent in those days, especially against educated, independent women. Unfortunately, the promise that the plot showed isn't fulfilled entirely by the writing. The book starts off in a very interesting way and I was really hooked on to the story. But once the hypnosis sessions begin, the writing loses its momentum. The sudden change in pace made me lose my interest and though I tried my best to regain it, I simply couldn't. The random changes between the flashback scenes and the present story also don't aid your reading concentration. After a point, the scene changes become quite repetitive and predictable.

The storyline is quite dark and there are many scenes that will make you squirm in discomfort. But the narrative style brings the book down. With a tauter editing, the story might have delivered a much greater impact. The blurb seems to suggest that Maud attempts to take revenge once she unlocks her suppressed memories but this happens too late in the book for the revenge to be interesting. The end is the most disappointing part of the story. The book tries really hard to be Gothic and mysterious but fails. I struggled to stay invested in the story and I doubt I would have completed it were it not an ARC. It is an ambitious work for a debut author and Karen Cole showed enough glimpses of promise in this work that I will definitely try out her future works.

Thank you, NetGalley and Welbeck Publishing UK, for the Advanced Review Copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.

A frustrating, deeply uncomfortable but fantastic read!

Angelton Lunatic Asylum, 1906. When we first meet her, Maud has been held against her will for five years. She doesn’t know why she is there and aside from some fleeting memories she has no recollection of her past. It seems that all the staff in the Asylum are conspiring against her. Until, Doctor Dimmond arrives with a new and promising treatment – hypnosis.

Bit by bit, her story is pieced back together and we learn of her history and the series of events that led to Maud’s admittance at Angelton. We begin to see what Maud believes to be the truth – but is it?

Something about this book keeps you guessing – perhaps it is the lack of faith that staff at the asylum have in Maud’s accounts that keeps us on the back foot – wondering whether her memories are truth, or imagination. I think this book does an excellent job of illustrating what some patients are up against when it comes to revealing their stories and healing.

This book made me deeply angry. I was angry for Maud – a young woman who was understandably deeply disturbed and as we learn more, perhaps unfairly held at the Asylum. I was angry for Doctor Dimmond, doing his best to help his patient despite constant interruptions, barriers and what seemed to be the ulterior motives of others. It made me angry about the mental health system, about what so many have, and continue to endure. It is ok to be damaged after significant life events, it is normal. But so many are vilified and treated barbarically as a result. As someone who works in mental health, it feels important to mention that this book could certainly be triggering for some.

There were moments in this book where the writing, and the switching from present day to flashbacks was deeply unsettling, disorientating and made me feel very uncomfortable. Whether intentional or not, what Coles did was force the reader to experience just a little of what Maud herself is experiencing as she jarringly revisits her past and attempts to integrate it with her present and her future.

I flew through this atmospheric book. A mystery thriller centred around a young woman with so much depth and character, not to mention determination and will to survive. With gothic undertones and a genuinely intriguing, and unique, storyline Coles keeps us on our toes right up until the end.

In the world of Angelton Asylum, in 1906, some people have things to hide, and Maud is most certainly not one of those people.

*Many thanks to Karen Coles, Welbeck Publishing, and NetGalley for arc in exchange for my honest review.*
Historical fiction set in Angelton Lunatic Asylum at the beginning of the 20th century with a protagonist who is kept in the institution and has lost her memory to some traumatic events in her life.
The writing is very good and the mystery itself intriguing. I believe the greatest value of this novel is its historic and social background aiming at depicting the horrific conditions in which patients were offered in psychiatric institutions at that time.
The narration may be a little unwelcome to those readers who prefer linear narration, however, my choice is the opposite so I found it engaging together with an unreliable narrator, Maud Lovell. Sometimes the author tries too hard to introduce Gothic elements in the story and therefore I found the plot not plausible at times.

Maud Lovell has been in Angelton Lunatic Asylum for 5 years. She is told Maud isn't her name. She is also told that she is violent. When Dr Dimmond arrives and starts hypnosis as a form of therapy Maud starts to remember......
The first couple of chapters of this book are fine. They set the scene, introduce us to the main characters and the asylum and introduce the hypnotic therapy. Then I felt the book stalled. We get little snippets of Maud's past from her therapy with more daily routine in the asylum. I found that it was getting quite dull and repetitive. Gradually the snippets about the past started to get more detailed and interesting but by then I had really lost interest in Maud and her life. I found myself skim reading much of the rest of the book and not enjoying it at all.
I received a free copy of this book via Netgalley.

This is such a fantastic novel looking at the way women and the mentally ill were treated (not that long ago) and the way society has changed so much and also not at all.
It has a mystery and suspense which made me desperate to know what happened and I so rooted for Maud.
A brilliant gothic/historical novel,

I read this within 24 hours. I tried to put it down (I really did) but I just kept going back to this little gem of a book.

First up – a wee warning. This is gaslighting on steroids. You’ll be left so unbelievable pissed off with the early 20th-century world, that you’ll want to smash everything in sight. Please see the following example and watch your blood pressure rise:

“You know as well as I do, sir, that women’s brains are not capable of scientific study. They’re too soft, prone to overexcitement.”

You mad yet? Excellent. You’re in for quite a dark ride then.

✨ 1906 – where intelligent women are a threat to both wealthy men and women alike.
✨ Angelton Lunatic Alsyum where ‘excitement’ is classed as a major sickness for women.
✨ A forgotten past.
✨ A doctor and his assistant chipping away to get to the truth.

Meet Mary/Maud. Whilst she has no idea why she’s in the asylum or any recollection of her past she knows her name is definitely not Mary even though it’s what the doctors keep calling her. Maud has lived the last five years of her life locked away with no memory of why she’s there in the first place with only her manipulated brain for company. A brain that’s keeping trauma away from a fragile, gaslit human.

Maud is set to live her life out in her dank ‘room’, accepting that she belongs there and that she’s truly lost the plot. BUT (and I love a good but) who should come crashing in but a shining Diamond himself (his name is Dr Dimmond, but I agree with Maud that Diamond is better) who, shockingly, doesn’t believe in all the barbaric ‘treatments’ that ‘doctors’ of yore would flap to administer. I’m using a lot of air quotes because everything inside them is shite and I’m mad.

Dr Diamond is different, you see. Mr Sparkly Lad is all about this new fangled tekkers called hypnotherapy. Oooooh! Something that doesn’t involve causing pain to a patient. Ahhhhh!

Armed with a chain, Diamond Man swings a ring in front of Maud and slowly starts chipping away at the walls her brain has erected to uncover the trauma that lies dormant.

I have a love/hate relationship with historical fictions. I love history and the simpler times but holy shit the amount of injustice that floats around that time is hard to deal with. This book tore me in two. It was an insanely easy read, but rife with maddening patriarchy with a hint of a power grab at the end.

You’ll fall in love with some characters whilst despising others. It’ll make you think. It’ll make you happy and sad in one fell swoop and it’s a book that you should absolutely hit up if historical fiction is your jam.

So why only 4 stars? I don’t like figuring out the twist so far in advance. Don’t get me wrong – I feel dead smart when I see where a writer is going, but I like to be a wee bit further on before I get my lightbulb moment.

I really enjoyed this atmospheric novel. It's a tense, gradually unfolding mystery centred around an Asylum in 1906. Wonderful gothic overtones and a genuinely intriguing story - along with a satisfying ending. What's not to like!

Welcome to the Angelton Lunatic Asylum. Once you’re in, it’s murder getting out...

It is 1906 and Maud Lovell has been at Angelton for five years. She is not sure how she came to be there and knows nothing beyond its four walls. Hysterical, distressed and untrustworthy, she is badly unstable and prone to violence. Or so she has been told...

This was a real creepy read with a sinister edge to it. There are some true horrors in Maud’s past and you uncover them as she does, whilst she’s undergoing medical hypnosis. There’s no doubt this poor woman has been treated incredibly cruelly and is subject to some barbaric treatments by the asylum staff which make for unpleasant reading.

I was truly fascinated watching Maud’s past unfold through a series of flashbacks. I really warmed to Maud’s character - and her nicknames for the asylum staff - and found myself feeling really protective towards her.

If you enjoy historical fiction with an atmospheric setting and a gothic vibe, this one’s for you! 🤩

Thanks to @netgalley and @welbeckpublish for the opportunity to read this one. It’s out on 1 April and you’d be a fool not to get a copy... 😁

The Asylum by Karen Coles is an atmospheric historical thriller. I was initially drawn to it by the beautiful cover, and on reading the summary I knew it would be a book I would enjoy. The book slowly unfolds to reveal the story of Maud, a women who has been a patient at Angelton Lunatic Asylum for five years. She has no memory of why she is there or what her life was like before the asylum but she knows that every day there is torture, and her anger and frustration cause her to lash out at the staff and other inmates. With a reputation for violence she seems like an unlikely candidate for the progressive treatments championed by a doctor newly arrived to the facility , but after a few sessions of hypnosis, fragments of her tragic past start to make their way to the surface of her mind, and she realises the shocking truth behind her incarceration.
This is a dark and bleak book, and is not an easy read. There are descriptions of abuse and assault that make for grim reading, but are a reflection of how patients were treated or rather mistreated , in such institutions. Since the reader uncovers the truth at the same time as Maud does , she is something of an unreliable narrator, which is something that not everyone enjoys, but I think it is employed to great effect here. I was surprised to find that this was a debut as the writing is polished and the world building is very skilled. Fans of the gothic genre will find plenty to enjoy here.
I read and reviewed an ARC courtesy of NetGalley and the publisher, all opinions are my own.

What was the last book you raced through just in one day? First for me this month it was Shadow and Bone, and then yesterday I read a brand new read cover to cover too and I’ve really, really got to shout about it - my first five star gothic read of 2021!

The Asylum by @kazzywriter - ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️. Thanks so much to @welbeckpublish & @netgalley for my advanced copy!

This turn of the century (I mean the 1900’s - forever a 90’s kid I don’t think I’ll ever be able to bring myself to describe 2000 as the turn of the century 😂) gothic novel is the ultimate in unreliable narrator-ship, with practically all of the things I love in a gothic novel boxes ticked, from sinister asylums, important graveyards, misty marshes, a big country house full of twisted family secrets, and an earnest doctor trying to uncover the truth.

Maud Lovell has spent the past five years in a lunatic asylum with no memories of how she got there, or of her life before. She’s violent, hysterical, or so the doctors tell her until Doctor Dimmond arrives and includes Maud in his study of medical hypnosis in an attempt to uncover the trauma that landed her there. But, as Maud soon learns, perhaps it is best that she remembers nothing at all.

I love an unreliable narrator, especially one as well written as Maud. The Asylum is perfectly paced, slipping between periods of (what we are led to believe is) madness and periods of (again, what we are led to believe as) lucidity and memory. Those, combined with Maud’s dreams build and build to a conclusion that was unimaginable at the start of the book. And then, who can you trust among those (she believes) are trying to help and hinder her in recovering her memories, and her sanity? The Asylum is beautifully written and it deserves to become one of this years most popular gothic novels - do pre-order a copy, it is out this Thursday, April 1st. If you loved Wakenhyrst, The Warlow Experiment and The Shape of Darkness The Asylum is for you!

Not my usual genre but what a fantastic debut from Karen Coles she had me from the first page.
A gothic thriller with a bit of everything. Asylum where perhaps all is not what it seems, patient who refuses to talk for five years but has recurring nightmares, new doctor takes an interest in her - can he do anything to help her recovery, does she really want to revisit her past and relive her nightmares.
A fast paced historical gothic thriller with plenty of characters and action to keep your attention.
Definitely would recommend this book to like minded readers.

Maud is an inhabitant of an asylum in the early 20th century. She has auditory and visual hallucinations and has been known to be violent. She can't remember much of her life prior to coming to the asylum. But when a new doctor proposes a new method of treatment through hypnosis, it begins to unlock the parts of her previous life that she had forgotten until now.

The way this novel is written is quite overblown and melodramatic, but it works for the style and content of the story. It gave me Wuthering Heights vibes and Maud's story is teased out at the perfect pace to hold the reader's attention. I really enjoyed it.

Wow. I feel like this story will linger in my mind for a while, much like Maud's memories.
Right from the off, this book has you hooked. Prepare yourself to feel some strong feelings, because this book is an almost infuriating rollercoaster!
I almost feel bereft of a final chapter, because the story is left to our imaginations at the end there, and I NEEDED an epilogue, ha!

I was intrigued by this book when I saw the description and title. I am somewhat fascinated by Victorian asylums so it was an obvious choice for me!
Overall I really enjoyed this book. The story of Maud/Mary is compelling and horrifying in places. Her past is unlocked through her sessions with the progressive Doctor Dimmond, where the sinister Doctor Womack dismisses these sessions and insists Maud is insane.
An intriguing read.

Maud Lovell has been a resident in Angelton Lunatic Asylum for the last five years but is unsure of who she is, what happened in her past and how she ended up an inmate in such a place.

The stories the doctor and his nurses tell, of a violent, hysterical woman, don’t ring true to Maud and she is a victim of their often barbaric treatment.

When Dr Dimmond joins the staff and takes her under his wing with a pioneering new treatment, will he be able to help Maud uncover her missing memories and find freedom?

The Asylum is a bleak and gripping thriller, with the narrative alternating between the present day and Maud’s memories while under hypnosis. I just couldn’t put this book down – it’s such an unusual story and I was really rooting for Maud to discover the truth about her life.

The author tackles some dark themes, including the horrible treatment of patients in asylums in the early 1900’s, murder and suicide. I was hoping for a happy ending to this heartbreaking story and it was, in a way, as Maud got a sense of justice/revenge against those that had wronged her.

I really didn’t want this story to end and wished it had carried on for a few more chapters just to find out a little more what happens next with Maud, Dr Dimmond, Imogen and Womack. I hope it was left open a little so that the author can write more in future!

A highly recommended read!

3.5 stars rounded up to 4

Set in 1906: Maud Lovell has been at Angleton Lunatic Asylum for five years. She's not sure how she came to be there and knows nothing beyond it's four walls. She is hysterical, distressed, untrustworthy, badly unstable, and prone to violence. Or so she has been told. When a new Doctor arrives, keen to experiment with the revolutionary pactice of medical hipnosis, Maud's lack of history makes her the perfect case study.

Maud Lovell barely remembers anything from her past. She's been kept in Angleton Lunatic Asylum for the last five years. But whan the new Doctor arrives, he uses hypnosis to unravel Maud's memory. The pace is slow to begin with but it soon picks up. Told in the present, when Maud is trying to get her memories back and the past, before Maud was committed to the asylum. This is a dark and creepy gothic novel. The book is descriptively written.

I would like to thank #NetGalley, #WelbeckPublishingUK and the author #KarenColes for my ARC of #The
Asylum in exchange for an honest review.

It’s 1906, and Maud Lovell has been at Angelton Lunatic Asylum for five years. She has no memory of how she got there, has been told she is violent and is not even allowed to go outside. The book begins with a new doctor arriving, Dr Dimmond, who tries a more modern approach to his practice, involving hypnosis. Slowly, memories begin to resurface and Maud finds them painful to recall.

This really didn’t read like a debut novel to me. It was engaging, haunting, and unique in its style and storyline. It was intriguing to unveil the character of Maud as I read, and to uncover her past alongside her. As she had no memories and didn’t know who she was, it was enjoyable to learn this information as she does, through flashbacks. I haven’t come across this technique very often in books, but for a debut novel I thought Karen Coles executed this brilliantly.

I thought that the structure of the story was very original and interesting, and this made it all the more gripping. It almost sets the scene and then you have to read on to discover the backdrop, and the circumstances that led to Maud’s current predicament. This made it difficult to put the book down because I wanted to find out how Maud had ended up in this situation!

Overall I would really recommend this book if you enjoy thrilling, haunting tales with interesting characters and ‘things are not what they seem’ type storylines.

Thank you to NetGalley, Welbeck Publishing and Karen Coles for this ARC in exchange for an honest review, it’s been a pleasure reading it.

I really enjoyed this dark and twisted gothic novel. It was deliciously creepy and there was a strong sense of foreboding that resonated throughout the whole story.

It tells the story of Maud, a patient at Angelton Asylum. She is under the care of Doctor Womack who dabbles in archaic and barbaric treatments for his patients. Doctor Dimmond is new to the asylum and seeks to cure the patients through a more nurturing and holistic approach. This stark juxtaposition between primitive treatments and modern treatments, good and evil, light and dark, inside and outside, freedom and imprisonment, real and imaginary, sane and insane ripple throughout the story, adding to the unease and sense of uncertainty.

Structurally, the book is very interesting as it's almost told in reverse. We discover along with Maud the reasons for her incarceration as Dimmonds' hypnosis treatments start to take hold. This means that we empathise with Maud as we discover her life story at the same moments that she does. The fact that she is an unreliable narrator, adds to the tension and makes the story pulse with uncertainty.

It was a joy following Maud's journey and I liked the ambiguity of the ending - a very creepy and atmospheric read and one I would recommend to lovers of historical fiction and gothic fiction.

Thank you to NetGalley, Welbeck Publishing and Karen Coles for the ARC in exchange for an honest review - it's been fantastic!

Wow how is this a debut book? It's written in such a way that I assumed this author was extremely experienced. This has gone straight into my top 5 books of the year, so far, and something very special will have to come along to knock it down! A psychology graduate and brain surgery survivor, I am fascinated by all things brain-related and this book intrigued me from the start.

Sometimes I find it difficult to get into a book because it's hard to concentrate, but there was no problem with that in this book, I was absorbed right away, and you will be too.

I think the most incredible thing about this book is that as soon as you begin this book you are totally absorbed, immersed and gripped. From page 1 I cared and was invested. I wanted to know what had happened and what would happen. I wanted to uncover the character's past and find out about her future.

The story is of Maud, who is in a mental institute surrounded by lunatics. She has flashbacks, wild dreams and hallucinations. She struggles to know what is reality, what are memories, what is actually taking place. When a new doctor, Doctor Dimmond, arrives at the institute, he shows interest in Maud, notices something different about her and enrols her in his 'new treatment' - hypnosis. Hypnosis was a new idea then and got the various staff members' backs up who aren't pleased with this new doctor changing things. But more than that, the doctor who is assigned to Maud seems hell-bent on ensuring Dimmond doesn't work with her, doesn't help her to untangle her thoughts and decipher fact from fiction, is so forceful that Dimmond begins to wonder if there's more to it than his ego being battered by his presence. Could this doctor have something to do with Maud being in this institution in the first place?

I was gripped, totally. I adored the way that we got to know Maud even though she didn't know herself. Something incredibly clever given that this book is told in first person.

There are very dark moments, heartache and tension. It felt very eerie at times and sinister.

It made me think about many things - like how times have changed and we see mental health in a different way, how treatments have changed, but also how frightening it would be to not know the truth - whether it was 100 years ago or now, it's still a frightening concept to not know your past.

This is a brilliantly written book which will stay with me for a good while. I cannot wait to read more from Karen Coles in the future! Absolutely fantastic.