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Lady Languish

by S.C.D. Goff (Goodreads Author)

3.82 of 5 stars 3.82 · rating details · 11 ratings · 9 reviews

After her Uncle Malachy terrifies Evangeline Languish on her 16th birthday, she is abandoned at a boarding school by her parents. But when Evangeline discovers a strange young man, injured and alone, she is forced to change her mind about everything she knew. Could Malachy's stories be true? Evangeline must face her uncle once more ... can she get to him before he kills ev...more

Kindle Edition, 232 pages

Published March 20th 2012

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Young Adult Fantasy & Sci Fi

2nd out of 29 books — 14 voters

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May 14, 2012 Jennifer-Crystal Johnson rated it 4 of 5 stars

Originally posted on Soul Vomit.

I want to begin by saying that this book was an interesting read overall. The world of the boarding school and the vampire culture is described beautifully, with unique characteristics due to the clearly European writing style of the work (writing times with a dot instead of a colon and using military time, for example – this gave away that the author is not American).

As with everything else in life, the book is flawed in certain ways. The story itself is inconsis...more Originally posted on Soul Vomit.

I want to begin by saying that this book was an interesting read overall. The world of the boarding school and the vampire culture is described beautifully, with unique characteristics due to the clearly European writing style of the work (writing times with a dot instead of a colon and using military time, for example – this gave away that the author is not American).

As with everything else in life, the book is flawed in certain ways. The story itself is inconsistent in places (as well as names of characters being inconsistent – Ms. Goulding or Ms. Goulder – p. 8 in the PDF version) and the formatting is inconsistent throughout, with some paragraphs beginning with an indent and others without. This is another instance where an editor would’ve come in very handy for this author to gain perspective and possibly get some advice and feedback on the manuscript before it was published.

Unfortunately, this is pretty commonplace for independently published books – as an editor, I can’t help but notice, while many other people don’t notice at all. One or two revision sessions to perfect the sentence structure and presentation of the story – and its consistency – would definitely help make this book the best it can be.

I connected with the girls’ boarding school aspect because I attended an all-girls school in Germany at one point, and it was a pretty unique experience. The way the author connects the old-fashioned with the contemporary makes the story that much more interesting and it makes a lot of sense for vampires.

Overall, I’m giving this book a 4 for the story itself and how it’s being told, and a 2 for quality of presentation – i.e. editing and formatting issues. Though it does take away from the book as a whole, it can still be improved upon and updated to correct the errors.

This book definitely served as a nice little opening intro to Lady Languish and her life. We’ll see what the rest of the series will bring.(less)

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Apr 30, 2012 Emma rated it 5 of 5 stars

How do I even put into words my feelings on this book? It is so lusciously written. Goff’s writing style is beautifully descriptive, and where I long to find the balance of descriptiveness and pointedness, Lady Languish has accomplished this. It is very difficult for me to find a book that I love so sincerely as to add it to my library, but Lady Languish will be set upon the shelf of honor. Okay, maybe that’s a bit much, but seriously I enjoyed this book so thoroughly, like I have not enjoyed a...more

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Apr 21, 2012 Alexandra Loizou rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: young-adult-fantasy-sci-fi

For those who like their bite wrapped in poetry.

Yes, it is another vampire novel, but one that is beautifully written for ages 14 all the way to centenarians.

With well-crafted, descriptive prose and an addictive plot line, it has hard to put down this book. It has romance, adventure and complicated bad guys (which happens to be a weakness of mine!) in the form of Slane and Malachy. I can't stand two dimensional bad guys, and this book takes time to explore the characters on both sides of the ens...more

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Apr 26, 2012 Vickie Ramage rated it 4 of 5 stars

Originally posted at ComaCalm's Corner

I wasn't sure what to make of this book before I started it, as the cover doesn't give much away and the reviews were non-existent! I had nothing to worry about though - the story is unique and the writing is beautiful. The story is told by Evangeline, a girl with an extremely sheltered life - apart from the boarding school she gets dumped at, she had only been away from the castle grounds once and even then it was only to the local village! This helps set...more

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May 27, 2012 Elise Marion rated it 3 of 5 stars

After an incident with her frightening uncle on her sixteenth birthday, Lady Evangeline Languish is sent off to boarding school without explanation. After suffering for a few months, Eve is informed that her parents have died. Her parents' death unlocks the secrets that have plagued Eve since she was sent off to St. Rita's, and opens up a world of terror and intrigue she would have never imagined.

There are a lot of things I loved about this book. For one, the author has a hauntingly beautiful wr...more After an incident with her frightening uncle on her sixteenth birthday, Lady Evangeline Languish is sent off to boarding school without explanation. After suffering for a few months, Eve is informed that her parents have died. Her parents' death unlocks the secrets that have plagued Eve since she was sent off to St. Rita's, and opens up a world of terror and intrigue she would have never imagined.

There are a lot of things I loved about this book. For one, the author has a hauntingly beautiful writing style that borderlines on Gothic. She creates very powerful images and feelings with her words and truly brought to life the environment in which the characters lived. Unfortunately, sometimes these elements outshone the heroine, Eve, who to me came across as a bit flat at times. She is very naive and innocent, as her parents have locked her away her whole life to protect her. She is a dhampyr (half human, half vampire) and is considered dangerous. For me, though, her doe-like innocence got old after a few chapters and it just got annoying.

The writing also drags in places and is, as we say in the South, 'slow as molasses'. I found this to be the book's greatest flaw as we spend a lot of time reading things that had absolutely no bearing on story progression.

However, I found the secondary characters to be much more intriguing and added a lot of life to the story. Eve's best friend from boarding school, Sive, had me laughing in every scene in which she appears. Lorcan, the vampire love interest of Eve, was the very definition of 'strong, silent type'. He was quiet, mysterious, and I truly wanted to know more about him. Even the villain of this story, Eve's uncle Malachy, was created into a character I could sort of sympathize with. Made a vampire against his will, his story is one that will at least make the reader understand how and why he became what he is.

I will say that the second half of the book is better than the first half and definitely worth hanging in there for. Though the story does drag in the beginning, things really take off in the last half and make this a very pleasant read.

(less)

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Jun 02, 2012 Charlotte Black rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: reading-romances-challenge, 5-out-of-5-s, rec-d-from-author-publisher

As many of you know I'm not a big fan of vampire books, I've read so many and after a while they all read more or less the same. But I was honoured to be asked to read Lady Languish and after being told it was more in the same vane as the great Dracula I happily obliged. But nothing could have prepared me for the most beautifully written piece that should surely go down as proper YA literature. SCD Goff has such a way with creating imagery that once I was into the story I felt my world around me...more As many of you know I'm not a big fan of vampire books, I've read so many and after a while they all read more or less the same. But I was honoured to be asked to read Lady Languish and after being told it was more in the same vane as the great Dracula I happily obliged. But nothing could have prepared me for the most beautifully written piece that should surely go down as proper YA literature. SCD Goff has such a way with creating imagery that once I was into the story I felt my world around me dissolve and I was actually in the story as an observer. Not many authors have this strong writing ability but if that isn't recommendation alone to read this wonderful piece then I don't know what is!

Lady Languish is the story of a young girl, Evangeline Languish. Her privileged upbringing and doting parents have kept her away from all forms of society, even denying her the pleasures of shopping or visiting the local village except once, which caused a family uproar.
She lives in a castle on a huge estate and has yet to make any friends. Sad? Not really. At no time do you get the impression that Eva is lonely, or pining for an escape. She's content and happy with her life and truly loves her parents. An incident on her 16th birthday throwing everything into the open. An uncle, Malachy, arrives. An uncle she has never met before and one that makes her queasy when he's near. He seeks an opportunity to get her on her own and then makes her drink a red liquid that she's never drunk and almost instantly she feels awakened. The uncle gets sent from the castle immediately but shortly after, and without any explanation, Eva is sent to St Rita's boarding school.

Sooner after she hears about the death of her parents and after arriving back at her family castle strange events start to occur. The mysterious Lorcan shows up, injured beyond measure and she takes taking him back to the castle to get proper care. Soon she realises that he's not normal and he in turn predicts that her life is in incredible danger. A vampire hierarchy going back to the first vampires is now under the leadership of Slane, a young power-hungry woman whose second in command is none other than her uncle Malachy. And Slane wants Eva dead.

This isn't a story that has been rushed in any way. The pace doesn’t canter along losing your perspective and instead you get to savour the different characters, all well thought out and that spring to life in the story at opportune moments. Especially Eva's friend from school, Sive. I have a soft spot for her. Sive's father was a close friend of Eva's parents but little did Eva know this until their terrible death. Sive doesn’t shirk at the sound of danger; she helps Eva unravel the conspiracies occurring with the aid of Ann, the housekeeper who enlightens Eva to her past.

Another great character was Lorcan that I loved. His history is undeniably horrid, and he's tortured by his past life. But slowly he begins to open up a little with Eva and there's a connection that neither of them expected.

And the bad guys? They are really bad and nasty. I even felt scared just reading about them!

The book is set in Ireland which helped create such a stunning, almost Gothic, backdrop inviting in the beautiful descriptions that take you to another place entirely, and Eva has to be one of the loveliest heroines I've ever read. And if you think she's had her fair share of heartache then just wait till you get to the end. An ending that will lead you to desperately wanting the second book!

It isn't often that I gush about a book but there aren't enough good words to say about Lady Languish. This is definitely one of my books of the year so far.(less)

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Jan 07, 2013 David Brown rated it 3 of 5 stars

SCD Goff’s novel is one of the more recent vampire novels, of which there are now many thanks to the likes of Twilight and True Blood. This one is set in Ireland and focuses on sixteen year old Evangeline Languish who lives with her parents in a remote castle. Eve has always been here, never really known the outside world but that soon changes. When her Uncle Malachy appears on her sixteenth birthday, he gives Eve a cup of red liquid and attempts to strangle her. Malachy is thrown out and Eve is...more SCD Goff’s novel is one of the more recent vampire novels, of which there are now many thanks to the likes of Twilight and True Blood. This one is set in Ireland and focuses on sixteen year old Evangeline Languish who lives with her parents in a remote castle. Eve has always been here, never really known the outside world but that soon changes. When her Uncle Malachy appears on her sixteenth birthday, he gives Eve a cup of red liquid and attempts to strangle her. Malachy is thrown out and Eve is packed off to boarding school. She later returns following the death of her parents and discovers a wounded man, Lorcan, and comes to realise that her life is in danger from both Malachy and his superior Slane.

There is an intriguing opening segment with Slane and Malachy before the story moves on to Eve and the many trials she faces at boarding school. Teenage girls can be cruel and Eve is immediately targeted by a small group of girls as the newcomer. Thankfully, Eve has a friend in Sive who initially shows her around the school. Goff’s novel paints a pretty grim picture of boarding school and although I know not all children find the experience a bad one, I’m glad it was never a way of life for myself.

The novel improves in the second half with Eve returning home after the death of her parents. She meets the mysterious Lorcan close to her home and invites him back to the castle to help tend to his wounds. Lorcan becomes something of a love interest for Eve but there’s little time for love with Malachy intent on killing Eve at the behest of Slane. Why is Eve’s uncle so intent on harming her? Why has Eve led such a sheltered life for so long? What of Slane? Will Eve be able to defeat Malacy?

This was a good story with some great characters. Eve is pretty naive but she grows up a lot by the end of the novel. Malachy is not your one dimensional villain, in fact there is a lot of depth to him which was a welcome change. This is the first in a series of books and it is a decent enough opening though unfortunately quite short. Hopefully the next instalment will build on the good work in this one.(less)

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Apr 09, 2013 Chasity rated it 4 of 5 stars

I thought ‘Lady Languish’ was a rather intriguing story. I believe it was different from the typical reads in this genre. To begin with the writing style was very different than the usual vampire tale that we see in today’s reads but I thoroughly enjoyed it. I think the writing was done beautifully and I loved the way the story was told.

I think the descriptions of the boarding school and the Irish country side was done flawlessly.
I think Dublin was the perfect setting for this story, it was bri...more

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Jul 28, 2012 Eva rated it 2 of 5 stars

My complete review can be found on my blog.
http://vampirekiss1967.blogspot.com/2...
I give this book 2.5 out of 5 stars

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Feb 14, 2013 Sarah marked it as to-read

Jan 01, 2013 Alexandra May rated it 4 of 5 stars

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May 22, 2012 Melissa E rated it 3 of 5 stars

Apr 28, 2012 Sarah (Workaday Reads) marked it as to-read

Shelves: tbr-review-request

Apr 28, 2012 Steph marked it as to-read

Shelves: kindle-ebooks, to-review-up-next, for-review

Apr 22, 2012 Maya marked it as to-read

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About S.C.D. Goff

I work in the publishing industry by day, but at night I join the legions of YA writers and fans online to talk about books, writing, What the Industry Wants, the day that's in it, vampires, banshees, and how I want to be a writer and not just talk about being a writer.

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