The Eye of the Storm
Author: Belén Paccagnella
Reviewer: Sophia Rose
Rating: A
What I’m Talking About:
In the style of a classic gothic romantic suspense, a young woman arrives on a remote Welsh island where the grand Rosings estate dominates all and finds herself swept up into a dark, gripping tale in a place where secrets must be kept buried, a murderer is abroad, and she is drawn to a man who is a mystery to her heart.
Belén Paccagnella’s The Eye of the Storm is a Pride and Prejudice variation that not only changes the locale of Rosings and Hunsford, but darkens the characters and some of their histories to land it in the gothic genre.
Before Elizabeth’s arrival on the island to visit her recently wed friend, Charlotte Collins, the ominous tones are present in a disturbing dream and a sense of reluctance that she’s not entirely sure why she feels. Arriving on this remote, storm-tossed island, and encountering the suppressed emotions of her hosts who try to make all seem well, she is wary when the Collins take her to the large estate dominating the island’s heights. Rosings has a dark, cursed history according to village whispers and the lady of the manor, Lady Catherine, is a cruel, dominating woman.
Elizabeth is irritated and uncomfortable when Fitzwilliam Darcy and his cousin, Colonel Fitzwilliam arrive for their annual Easter visit. She has been warned that her snap judgments are not always accurate, but she is determined to believe the worst of Darcy whom she encountered before under insulting circumstances. And, this was before a brutal murder wherein she found Darcy in a place he shouldn’t have been.
So many people are hiding something and the shadowy corridors of Rosings where they are all trapped due to the storm have now become deadly. Elizabeth must come to terms with the truth if there is a chance of preventing more death.
The Eye of the Storm delivered on the creeping chills and suspense, the slow burn enemies to lovers romance, and shocking, twisting mystery. Old-style gothic suspense at its best.
My Rating: A Loved It
Sophia Rose
About the Book:
Rosings Manor is a house of secrets. Some are better kept buried.
When Elizabeth Bennet travels to Rosings Island, off the rugged coast of Wales, to visit her newly married friend Charlotte Collins, she expects ancient castles, dramatic landscapes, and perhaps only a few formal dinners with the formidable Lady Catherine de Bourgh.
But her Welsh adventure soon takes a darker turn.
A violent storm descends, cutting the island off from the world, and a chilling mystery unfolds. Elizabeth, the enigmatic Mr. Darcy, and the other guests find themselves trapped within the grand, decaying halls of Rosings in the presence of a murderer. Everyone is a suspect, for everyone has something to hide.
As fear spreads and the death toll rises, each revelation brings them closer to the truth, and Elizabeth finds herself unexpectedly drawn to the man she never thought she could love.
Release Date: March 30, 2026
Publisher: 1641 Press
Series: standalone
Genre: Historical Romance, Romantic Suspense
Format(s): paperback (191 pages), e-book, audiobook
Book Source: book promoter, author assistant