This atmosphere for this book reminded me of Coraline but with a haunted mansion. Schwab does an amazing job of using descriptions to let the reader feel embodied by the atmosphere in her stories. Olivia, the main character, is an orphan that reunites with her remaining biological family in Gallant. The prose depicts how smitten she is with everything about Gallant. Olivia's initial impression of Gallant is both magical and haunting and sets the stage for the events within the plot. Olivia's perspective was additionally interesting because she is mute. Descriptions of Olivia communicating include a lot of body language, which completely makes sense given her inability to speak. There are also a lot of moments in the story where Olivia is dismissed or ignored and it's a lot harder for her to garner attention due to her lack of speech. Her feelings of frustration are palpable through the text. It revisits the idea that disabled people often do not feel "seen" or "heard" both literally and figuratively.

There is a sense of mystery throughout the entire story. Unfortunately, the ending left something to be desired for me. I wish we had more moments between Olivia and her disgruntled cousin, Matthew. The plot points were all resolved, but it felt like there was not enough time left o ruminate on the aftermath of the climax. The ending felt rushed and like an epilogue would have been appropriate, but we didn't have one. That's the main reason I cannot rate this book higher. Despite this, I still feel that this is a worthwhile story if you're looking for something reminiscent of Neil Gaiman's writing with a dash of light mystery and horror.