So I read this in the dark before bed, and well let's just say that I feel that is the only way you should read a horror book. From the prologue you quickly realize the type of horror that Belle Vue will be bringing and it sets the tone for the entire book. There is no build up in this book so there's no waiting and disappointment when you get to these scenes.

This book does take place during two different times, one is the late 1800s and shows Mary and Ellen's POV. The other takes place in the present and has Alex and Claire's POV. You don't have to worry about this as Alleyne makes it easy to know who you're reading and when. This book does have a couple of twists that I didn't see coming and really took the story to another level.

As far as the characters go, I really didn't connect to the characters. I actually found them to be a little unlikable, but it didn't spoil my enjoyment of the book. There was a confusing scene however, that two characters are pitted against each other, but neither characters were good so I didn't understand who I was supposed to support.

The ending was great and really kept me on the edge of my seat, I don't want to give away too much of the scene but it was so well written. I was pretty much right there, experiencing everything along with the character and I didn't want the book to end. Alleyne's writing is just so good, and really turns the horror and it's typical cliches on its head.

Overall, if you're a horror-aficionado this book is for you.

*A Thank you to the author for allowing me to read this for an honest and unbiased review* ( )

So I read this in the dark before bed, and well let's just say that I feel that is the only way you should read a horror book. From the prologue you quickly realize the type of horror that Belle Vue will be bringing and it sets the tone for the entire book. There is no build up in this book so there's no waiting and disappointment when you get to these scenes.

This book does take place during two different times, one is the late 1800s and shows Mary and Ellen's POV. The other takes place in the present and has Alex and Claire's POV. You don't have to worry about this as Alleyne makes it easy to know who you're reading and when. This book does have a couple of twists that I didn't see coming and really took the story to another level.

As far as the characters go, I really didn't connect to the characters. I actually found them to be a little unlikable, but it didn't spoil my enjoyment of the book. There was a confusing scene however, that two characters are pitted against each other, but neither characters were good so I didn't understand who I was supposed to support.

The ending was great and really kept me on the edge of my seat, I don't want to give away too much of the scene but it was so well written. I was pretty much right there, experiencing everything along with the character and I didn't want the book to end. Alleyne's writing is just so good, and really turns the horror and it's typical cliches on its head.

Overall, if you're a horror-aficionado this book is for you.

*A Thank you to the author for allowing me to read this for an honest and unbiased review* ( )

Belle Vue is the debut novel of C.S. Alleyne, and damn, what a debut it is! It starts out with a scene that perfectly sets the tone for the rest of book, and you know right away this story is not for the squeamish or faint of heart. Alternating timelines work together to tell the history of Belle Vue and the present day story of Claire, her boyfriend, Alex, and their assorted friends and acquaintances after Claire moves into Belle Vue, a former Victorian lunatic asylum converted to luxury apartments (because that never goes wrong, right?). In the flashback chapters, we learn of the horrific events at Belle Vue before and during its time as an asylum, and in the present day chapters, we see the ongoing fallout of those events. I don't want to spoil anything, but suffice to say everything (and I do mean everything) happening in the present has its roots deep in the past.

Alleyne does an amazing job of world building and knows how to write a scene in all its graphic, gory glory, while still leaving just enough to the imagination to somehow make it even more horrifying. The book is unsettling, at times nauseating (in a good way!), and ultimately quite sad, when you stop and think about it. There's honestly not a likable character in the book, but Alleyne's writing ability is such that even though you kind of hate everyone, you become very invested in finding out what happens to them. I hope like hell she's writing a sequel, because this book definitely deserves one.

I received an e-arc from Crystal Lake in exchange for an honest review. ( )

First of all, I don't think I can resist any novel set in an insane asylum. But this huge selling point was just one of the reasons I loved the debut novel Belle Vue by British author C.S. Alleyne.

This paranormal thriller begins when Claire Ryan finds her perfect new home at the Belle Vue Manor, a renovated Victorian-era asylum. Her boyfriend and history student, Alex Palmer, is almost as excited as she is for her move-in, as he decides to write his dissertation about the historical Belle Vue estate. Their excitement is short-lived as Claire’s arrival triggers a chain of nightmarish events, and Alex uncovers the grisly truth about the asylum’s history.
The story unravels by way of two timelines, one with Claire in the present day, and the other back in 1868, during the asylum's grisly 'heyday.' Ellen Grady is committed to the Victorian Belle Vue Lunatic Asylum by her half (and more supposedly 'glamorous') sister Mary, after their mother's death, but the intentions she has for her are downright villainous. Claire and Ellen will directly suffer the effects of the evil unleashed by the early cruel satanic practices of the French aristocrat who had the manor built back in 1789, and which continued after it opened.

While it may not be a new writing device to have two timelines in a novel, author Alleyne sticks with each one for long chapters and they are wholly absorbing (I often find that many authors use this, and they flit around too much). Author C.S. Alleyne thoroughly researched Victorian asylum history before writing this, and so Belle Vue is rich with detail, with the Victorian chapters feeling very different from those of the present day.
It's also no huge surprise when Claire's move into Belle Vue starts a stream of supernatural events but it doesn't dampen the need to read on; what Ellen has to go through at the asylum is nothing short of horrifying and the fates of both of them (as well as Claire's friend Marianne) are in question.
This is where I must say there is a lot of physical horror and gore in this book, more than I expected, and I'll be honest, that is what got me glued, but some of it's hard to stomach. Alleyne depicts shocking treatment of patients within the insane asylum, as well as awful scenes at the manor when it was owned by the Duc, Rene de Montalt, upon construction. How could there NOT be evil within those walls when so much pain, depravity, and death have been there since the beginning?

There are some surprising twists and turns, and some brilliantly written side characters who hang in the shadows at Belle Vue, as well as some overtly nasty ones. Claire's boyfriend, Alex is integral to uncovering the truth behind it all, but the standout characters are the women, and they are all amazing to read.
Alleyne was inspired by living nearby to Leavesden Asylum in Hertfordshire, and the asylum itself feels like an entity, a character to be reckoned with. I think her personal experience of feeling that history and setting come through in her writing, and you can envision the grounds and building both then and now. I love that I finished this book with not only this surprise of an original horror/thriller, I felt like I had read an actual account of a real place because of the story that was told, so vivid were the feelings I experienced. It is an absolute page-turner, and it kept me up at night, and I really can't wait for another book from this author. ( )