A cross between Ghosts and The Haunting of Hill House, with a melancholy gothic spirit that’s all its own, The Spirit Collection of Throne Hall is a romantic and engrossing tale of a girl sentenced to forever soothe the spirits, and the contractor’s son who becomes her one ticket to freedom. The novel blends emotion and solid worldbuilding and I enjoyed it.

For centuries, ghosts have roamed the halls of Thorne Hall, a mansion located in the Berkshire Mountains of Massachusetts. These haunts were released during a failed seance in the 1890’s. Ever since that day, a member of the Thorne family has been tasked with confining the house’s spirits within, singing a unique folk songs to calm them down. There are 15, and not all of them are friendly. The latest member of the grand tradition is young Elegy. Elegy’s abusive father knows he has a terminal illness and the task of keeping tradition running smoothly will soon fall to his daughter. She’s even entering into a marriage of convenience with her gay best friend, Hugo, to ensure the continuance of the Thorne line.

But then Elegy meets Atticus, a wannabe engineer and the son of the preservationist she’s hired to fix up Thorne Hall after a naughty child spirit causes a leak. Suddenly, Elegy wants to break free of the house and the rules binding her. But is it possible for her to get out and get free? And can she return those spirits to the afterworld? She will have to be brave, grow up, and face down her fears.

The language here is really what draws you in and keeps you reading. J. Ann Thomas is having fun telling this deep, dark gothic tale, and there’s never been a heroine quite like Elegy. She more than earns the audience’s sympathy, and she wins and grows in exciting ways.

While all the ghosts are well-drawn, human Atticus was too much of a blandly-created nice guy for me to care too much about him. I liked the romance but most of that was because I care so much about Elegy. He was her happy ending, personified; I wanted him to live so she would be happy.

The worldbuilding here is fantastic, and that’s why you ought to pick up The Spirit Collection of Thorne Hall. You’ll be enthralled from the first page. You’ll just have to accept that the romance doesn’t quite stand up to the rest of the premise.