3.5/5 stars!

I was kindly gifted a copy of this book from the author in the exchange for an honest review. So, thank you again Annabel Fielding!

I’m not usually a massive fan with historical fiction, it can be a really big hit and miss for me as to whether I’ll enjoy it or not. I love a good romance, but I find often there’s a lot of either politics or just simply family ‘politics’ going on which I either don’t enjoy or find it really hard to follow.

So I normally wouldn’t have picked this one up, BUT I am pleased to say I enjoyed it. It took me longer than I hoped to finish it (due to me getting my COVID jab and subsequently feeling like I had been run over, and at present I am coughing my guts up), but after having some free time today I sat down and read the last 100 pages or so in one go.

I wasn’t sure what the plot was initially, I got the impression it was a murder mystery with the revelations about Lady Bryant’s son, then it morphed into more of a romance before morphing again into something more political.

Personally, I would have found it more enjoyable if rather than having over four different plots happening the story stuck with one or two, with the different storylines and the time jumps it felt quite disjointed at times, and quite a quick read, with things developing a lot quicker than normal. It’s not necessarily a bad thing but I would have liked a longer build up to the romance aspect, rather it seemed a little out of the blue.

Overall, I did enjoy the book, I did (naturally) get a little lost when the politics began, but I just about managed to get my head around it.

Thank you NetGalley & KDP for the ARC.

Agnes Ashford is a budding archivist newly in the employ of the Bryant family, cataloguing their rich history in the tunnels below the sprawling Hartfell Hall. In her work, she stumbles upon a long buried family secret and her choices moving forward lead her into a new life of romance, ambition, and deceit.

This is historical fiction, and I found it to be well-researched and appreciated the way it was woven into the story. As the book went forward, the descriptions got better, and I loved the details of all the locales, the art, and the atmosphere that was created. Agnes is a clever character, and I enjoyed how her story went overall, so I am glad I got the chance to read the book.

I almost DNF'd this book around the 20% mark. The early writing in the book was very disjointed to me and there was a major pacing issue. I'm glad I kept reading because after I got past that, the story picks up and everything just flows a little better. The blurb of the book hints at past wounds for Agnes, but I felt I got no real reference to that and was expecting it to be a bigger part of the story. If it had focused fewer secrets or scandals and the bigger ones explored more, I think it could have been a much more interesting story for me.

Agnes Ashford begins work as an archivist for the prestigious Bryant family, but in doing so she begins to unravel long-held family secrets that draw her deeper into a web of mystery.

This is a darkly gothic story set in 1910s England. The start, set in subterranean tunnels crowded with artefacts from the Bryant family’s history is deeply atmospheric and compelling. I enjoyed watching Agnes find out the first series of secrets that have ruled the lives of Lord and Lady Bryant and their children. I enjoyed the fledgling friendship and romance develop between Agnes and Helen, Lady Bryant.

The book did start to lose me towards the end and I did get lost in the myriad of plot threads, if I’m honest. I think it could have benefitted from one less scandal.

I think, in all honesty, a lot of this is a me problem, rather than the book. I think this was more of a gothic story and character study of Agnes – and of how far a person will go to better their position – than the romance I thought I was going to get. I think that accounts for some of the disappointment I felt on its conclusion. Helen herself was a hard character to like at times, and I think that soured me on the romance element.

Agnes was a very interesting character though, with motives for everything she does. She’s a glorious shade of morally grey that I’ve always liked, and I couldn’t help but root for her, even if she does do some things to protect her interests and those of the Bryant’s that I didn’t always agree with.

I wasn’t entirely in love with the decision to write the novel in third-person present. It always took me a while to settle into. That said, it is beautifully written and atmospheric – Fielding clearly has a lot of talent and knows how to use it. I can’t fault the writing itself, other than to say it wasn’t for me.

There were a couple of places where another edit could have been useful – a character was referred to with the wrong surname at one point – but nothing that would put me off recommending this.

In all, I did enjoy reading this book – it perhaps wasn’t exactly to my tastes, but that’s not to say I wouldn’t instantly recommend it to someone who loves gothic stories of fading grandeur.

"It is our choices that make us what we are, day after day, not some kind of structure of our hearts predetermined centuries ago."

Agnes Ashford, in need of a secure job, finds herself as the new archivist of Lord and Lady Bryant, organizing and cataloging all of the various family heirlooms, left to rot in the basement. There, she discovers a letter that suggests that the death of the Bryant's first born son might have been more than it seems, leading her to the conclusion that Lady Bryant is being blackmailed. Agnes offers her help, entangeling her fate with Lady Bryant's in a journey through England and Europe in the Edwardian era.

First of all, this story is incredibly well researched and the descriptions of all of the time period specific clothes, furniture etc. make it easy for the reader to imagine the story and the era it's set in.
However, as someone who has no idea about all things Edwardian politics, there were times in the novel were I felt a bit lost, especially because there are big jumps in time (about one or two years), leading one political intrigue right into the next without enough time to properly connect these events to each other. This could have been an opportunity to add about 30 to 50 more pages into the narration, without it feeling to long or to clustered.
Secondly, due to this being a story of multiple years, you can see how all of the characters choices develop over the years and how one thing leads to another into tragedy. (That's why the jumps in time make sense, there could have just been a bit more information in between.)
Overall, I loved the character development, specifically the way that Agnes' and Lady Bryant's relationship evolved over the years all the way to the fabulous ending!

I wouldn't recommend this to someone who's just looking for a queer love story, but I would definitely recommend this to anyone who's looking for a historical fiction that doesn't shy away from showing the deep, dark truths of living, especially as a (queer) woman, in Edwardian era England.

Trigger Warnings: death of a child (off page, in the past); rape (off page); murder (off page and on page); suicide (on page); abortion (off page)

This was a really interesting read! Felt like a blend of gothic, historical, and murder-mystery.

It's about Agnes Ashford, an archivist who gets involved with the Byrant family and their secrets, including working down in tunnels filled with mysteries and past secrets the Byrants would rather stay hidden.

The book has some pacing issues but that is likely due to the political aspects of the book not quite capturing my interest enough - others might really enjoy this section, in fact, especially as it's very insightful. The family dynamics are tense and engaging enough for me to stay hooked amidst the political drama.

The romance between Agnes and Lady Helen is dark and at times quite tense, but in a fantastically written way; it's layered and intelligent and I don't want to spoil anything but the build-up to the end is nicely done, and makes so much sense for their characters and relationship.

Unfortunately, I didn’t love this book. The writing had quite a few grammatical errors, which caused me to be pulled out of my focus all the time. I found Agnes’ character all over the place and I didn’t resonate with her and I also disliked lady Bryant. The plot was interesting, but not enough to really keep me pulled in throughout the book.

This was a great book the plot and all. I really loved all of the vivid description and I felt I was transported to England. The characters were all really interesting and i loved seeing it through their eyes.

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Thank you to NetGalley and KDP for allowing me to read this ARC!


Content Warning: death (including that of a child), murder, arson, rape, sexual assault, misogyny.


Agnes Ashford has been taken on by the prestigious Bryant Family to work as an archivist. When she happens upon a piece of information that reveals the dark underbelly of the secretive family, it only leads her deeper into their thrall. It doesn't help that she finds herself inexplicably drawn to the charming Lady of the house, Helen, who is as equally beautiful as she is ruthless. If only Agnes knew just what this treacherous path would lead her to...

Darkly luxurious, teeming with secrets and malice, Fielding's Lying With Lions kept me enthralled until the very end. As someone who is a huge fan of historical fiction, I was only too glad to pick this one up, especially when I realized that it was a turn of the century Gothic. I've never read any Fielding's other books, although I've had a few on my to-read list for many years now, and I'll certainly be diving into them now!

In essence a character study, we follow the reserved, cunningly smart Agnes as she climbs through the ranks, making herself an invaluable tool for Lady Helen. Both of them are fascinating, oftentimes downright Machiavellian in their scheming, and it's these two that truly bring the the novel into vivid life. There's also Meredith and Harold, Lady Helen's children, who are equally interesting and show us the true dysfunction of the family through their eyes.

Funnily enough, the main criticism I have is that I actually think this could have benefitted from being longer! It's only around 230 pages, not very big at all, and while I think usually books need things to be cut or pared down, it was the opposite in this case. We skip ahead a few years several times throughout, but I would've liked a couple more chapters for each time span. I think that, with a bit more material, the relationship that blossoms between Helen and Agnes would've been even more engrossing and well-fleshed out.

I also must mention that Fielding has a truly beautiful way with words. Some of her descriptions are just absolutely gorgeous, and I loved feeling as if I were actually transported back to Edwardian England. I think some might, like myself, be a bit confused by some of the politics of the time (for example, there's a lot to do with Asquith, Home Rule and arms trades) but don't let that daunt you! Once you get fully into the novel, everything comes together, and you might end up learning more about the time, just as I did!

I haven't read a book set in Edwardian England and I was intrigued to learn more about that era. I was pleasantly surprised how much I loved this story and the characters that permeate through the pages. Agnes job is to catalogue the Bryant family and when she discovers a dark secret who will she tell? or will she keep it under wraps? Agnes decides to help them and then this becomes so much more than just a job. An intriguing and well thought out story that has a mixture of history, secrets and mystery. I really enjoyed it and felt I learnt much more about the Edwardian Era than I did.

I really wanted to love this book. I adored the plot and was hoping that the writing would be exceptional. The plot was very unique and twisty. The writing, however, felt superficial and emotionless. The emotions and depth were ignored in favor of simply telling us what Thea actions were. Sadly, it was difficult to bond with any of the characters. I think this book has a lot of potential with judicious editing, however as it currently exists, it did not fulfill my hopes.