Cult horror writer Rosemary Shaw has always been able to see the dead—ever since she was ten years old and her recently deceased grandmother came back for a final lesson in making her signature strawberry jam. Rosemary’s talents led her into a career writing horror novels and now her Victorian gothic horror novel, When The Devil Takes Hold, is slated to be adapted into film. This should be a tremendous accomplishment if not for the glaringly obvious fact that the actor hired for the titular role is just wrong. Ellis Finch is Hollywood’s favorite charmer. Known for his action movies, all Ellis really wants to do is to step away to more meaningful projects, and Rosemary Shaw’s adaptation offers him a chance to pivot. When Ellis learns the author of the source novel wants him out as the leading man he is infuriated, but nothing will stop him from this career making project, not even opinionated Rosemary Shaw. Filming at a picturesque Hallowvale manor in England’s countryside, there are zero opportunities for Rosemary and Ellis to avoid one another. Especially as the manor is so much more than a set draping for a gothic horror movie, it’s literally haunted. Ghosts of all kinds have made the manor their home, bringing mischief down on the film crew, but as Rosemary and Ellis bury the hatchet they discover far greater are the ghosts of feelings lingering between them.
When you’re a horror author who’s movie is being adapted and the primary actor for the part is just wrong but also the set is being haunted by a pair of ghosts from the regency wreaking havoc with their unhinged lesbian-yearning-for-what-can-never-be vibes. Guys Nadia El-Fassi simply never misses and her sophomore novel is written for the chaos demons and bisexuals in mind. As a representation and a purveyor of both, Love At First Fright was inherently a Robin classic and a romance sensation from its very first moments. Love At First Fright is the epitome of what a modern romance should be with a healthy dose of the paranormal and hate to love on a gothic horror movie set where the ghosts are real and so are the feelings. Horror writer Rosemary Shaw hates her adaptation’s film lead, suave action star Ellis Finch, who is just a little burnt out and hoping playing a sickly Victorian man in a gothic horror film is the cure. Spoiler alert it’s that and romancing a talented horror writer. Love At First Fright finds romance in the unlikeliest of places, like telling someone you watched Crimson Peak when they mentioned it one time, debating Jane Austen’s best work, and helping the two regency lesbian ghosts move past their internalized homophobia and find peace. Nadia El-Fassi’s sophomore novel reasserts her immense talent for grounded, meaningful modern love stories. Call me a ghost lover because I want to be haunted by this novel for all eternity.
In Love At First Fright the ghosts are front and center, but Nadia El-Fassi proves it’s not really the ghosts haunting the narrative, but various regrettable circumstances and the vulnerability in laying ourselves bare. This book screams romance to me even as two regency lesbians wreck havoc on the film crew, a ghost dog lingers by his former owner, and its characters grapple with truly delicious levels of tension. It’s also a deep cut for the bisexuals. Like Rosemary came out DAYS after watching The Mummy (1999) in youth. I’m afraid this is not just a stunning romance novel, but also the unadulterated bisexual representation we deserve! Rosemary and Ellis get off to a rough start but from there it’s—well it’s still a bit rough but albeit sexier and a whole lot hornier. These two had me crazy to the point that if I was a member of the When The Devil Takes Hold crew I would have stopped dead in my tracks just to inquire if there was something else going on between them. Because in no way were these two discreet yearning out in the rain (which FYI is the hottest scene in the book and they are fully clothed). Rosemary and Ellis had no reason being so intense about each other but in fairness I’m obsessed with them both so I do get it. The way these two communicate, the honesty they find in between the tense moments, only make this romance that much more profound.
Love At First Fright is certainly the romance novel to read this fall. Proving spooky can be sexy, and that the best love stories are told alongside the paranormal. Nadia El-Fassi pours so much into just one romance it’s a triumph to witness it all coalesce into this visionary love story. From the regency ghosts, the splendidly gothic manor Harrowvale, Jane Austen hot takes™, and the healthy exploration of kink, Love At First Fright is a romance novel like no other and it has something in it for every kind of reader. Leads Rosemary and Ellis brought on the simmering tension and achingly hot scenes, it’s a wonder I didn’t perish on sight after reading them. This book oscillates between the frightening, yearning, grief, and humor infused moments with such skill—and oftentimes all within one scene. It’s masterful. Also there’s something so hilarious about the regency lesbian ghosts being exposed to Bridgerton (I need a oneshot of this on my desk immediately). I am left with one question and one question only after my reading experience which is: what sapphic books would I give to a Victorian Era lesbian ghost to help her unlearn her internalized homophobia. If you thought Best Hex Ever was extraordinary, you’ll lose it for El-Fassi’s follow up, Love At First Fright. Utterly spooktastic!
Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for providing the advance review copy.
Trigger warnings: animal death (in the past, but recounted), homophobia, blackmail, grief
Literaryrobin 