Out of My Grave

Annalee is an awkward yet spirited young lady living in her thoughts and daydreams. She passes her time horseback riding, embroidering, and visiting with her friends as well as attending dinners and masked balls. Still, she feels something is missing from her life, until she meets Mister Vincent Moor, the mysterious and dark newcomer. 

Set in late eighteenth century England and written entirely in the first person, Ms. O’Hanlon tells the story of Vincent and Annalee’s romance from Annalee’s point of view. Readers will recognize the well-worn plot as that of the girl in love with a vampire, who is trying so very hard not to love her back - with a little bit of “Romeo and Juliet” thrown in for good measure. 

Unfortunately, Ms. O’Hanlon focuses too much on writing about the clothing her characters are wearing and on the repetitive thoughts running through Annalee’s mind and not enough focus on developing her characters.  Much of the novel is a running dialogue, jumping from one conversation to another, with too little story telling in between.  Although this is a paranormal and a bit of the implausible is to be expected, the historical and cultural inaccuracies pull the reader from an enjoyable experience.  There are many grammatical errors and timeline inconsistencies throughout the read as well, that could have been avoided with the help of a skilled editor. Ms. O’Hanlon’s writing was this book’s only saving grace. Her descriptive writing puts the reader right into the story’s setting. 

Molly Daniels