Day: July 15, 2025

Haunting Beauty and Hidden Grief: A Review of ‘The Rose Window’

‘The Rose Window: A Gothic Historical Romance’ is book 1 in the Thornecrest series by Alsen Barrett. Courtesy photo, used with permission.

📖 The Rose Window: A Gothic Historical Romance by Alsen Barrett

🕯️ Synopsis

In the year of our Lord 1673, amid the heathered hills of northern England, there stood a castle that had not known laughter in many years. Its walls, veiled in ivy and mist, held secrets like dried flowers pressed in an old book — fragile, faded, and forgotten. (Amazon, 2025)

A carriage wound its way through the bleak moors of Northumbria. The wheels creaked over rutted roads, and the horses’ hooves struck dull thuds against the earth, muffled by the ever-rolling fog. Inside the carriage sat a girl, pale of face and quiet in manner. Her name was Elowen Gray, and she was seventeen.

She had been summoned by a distant relation — a Lord Ashenleigh — whom she had never met, whose name she had only seen on the brittle corner of a letter.

It was to this castle that young Elowen Gray was sent. Orphaned in a far-off parish and now to be taken in by a man she did not know, she arrived on a gray autumn afternoon, with only a travel-worn satchel and a heart full of uncertainty.

✍️ About the Author

Alsen Barrett is a writer of fiction, non-fiction, and poetry. She enjoys reading, history, travel and of course, dogs, which feature prominently in many of the stories .

🕯️ Book Review

The Rose Window is a haunting tale that blends gothic atmosphere, emotional depth, and slow-burning romance. After seventeen-year-old Elowen Gray, orphaned and shaped by quiet grief, is summoned to the shadowy estate of a distant relative, she steps into a world of hidden histories, stained glass, and forbidden longing.

Barrett’s prose is lyrical and immersive, perfectly suited to the fog-draped moors and shadowed corridors of the manor:

“Though beautiful, there was a sadness in its stones, as though the castle itself mourned.”

Elowen’s introspective nature and quiet strength make her a compelling heroine, while Lord Ashenleigh, aloof yet magnetic, hides secrets that echo through the manor’s creaking halls. The novel is richly atmospheric, with a romantic melancholy that fans of the Brontë sisters or Daphne du Maurier will deeply appreciate.

More than a romance, The Rose Window explores themes of grief, inheritance, memory, and the fragile hope that love offers in the darkest places. A story that lingers like a half-remembered dream, it is a poignant and captivating debut that deserves a place among modern gothic classics.

“The castle appeared not gradually but all at once, rising from the hills like something unearthed. High towers pierced the sky. Ivy clung to its stone bones like the grasp of time itself.”

🏰 The Thornecrest Series

The Rose Window is a stand-alone novel and the first in the Thornecrest Series, a collection of interconnected gothic tales exploring generations of secrets, romance, and legacy. Book 1 and Book 8 are currently free on Amazon Kindle Unlimited for a limited time.

Books in the Series:

  1. The Rose Window: A Gothic Historical Romance
  2. The Rose Window: Return to Thornecrest
  3. The Rose Window: Rosamund’s Tale
  4. The Rose Window: The Ashen Flame
  5. The Rose Window: The Legacy of Thornecrest
  6. The Rose Window: Flame of the Firstborn
  7. The Rose Window: The Healing
  8. The Rose Window: Christmas at Thornecrest

Have you read this gothic gem? Share your thoughts in the comments — or tell me your favorite moody, romantic reads! 🌒📚

*This review was sponsored by the author. I received a complimentary copy and all views and opinions expressed are my own.

Enter the Phenomenomaly: Meow Wolf’s Summer Spectacle Blends Theater, Puppetry, and Magic

Meow Wolf’s Phenomenomaly: a wild immersive performance this summer in Vegas and Denver. Photo: Paul Torres

Phenomenomaly: Meow Wolf Unleashes a New Immersive Spectacle This Summer

Santa Fe, NM — Imagine Sleep No More meets Theater of the Mind, then throw in a glowing puppet parade and a swirl of surrealist dance. That’s Phenomenomaly, Meow Wolf’s latest mind-bending experience unfolding inside their Las Vegas and Denver exhibitions from June 21 through August 9, 2025. (Meow Wolf, 2025)

A New Era of Interactive Art

Known for crafting wild, genre-defying festivals and installations, Meow Wolf is taking immersive storytelling to new heights. Phenomenomaly is part immersive theater, part art party, and part glow worm migration (yes, you read that right).

Set on a continuous loop, this interactive performance weaves live theater, dance, puppetry, and audience participation into the very fabric of Meow Wolf’s already-surreal multiverses.

What to Expect Inside Phenomenomaly

As guests explore the exhibition, they’ll encounter:

  • Otherworldly characters
  • Strange rituals
  • Moments of intimate magic
  • A crescendo that erupts into a luminescent parade—featuring massive puppets, strange instruments, and shimmering creatures known as Flickerwermz

These glowing, migrating beings are part of a multiversal mythos whose fate depends on the playful engagement of the audience. Each 90-minute loop is layered seamlessly into Meow Wolf’s fantastical environments, making for a performance that feels both spontaneous and deeply woven into the space.

Unique Every Time

Each location—Denver and Las Vegas—hosts over 15 performers per show: dancers, puppeteers, clowns, and more. New guest artists are introduced every week, ensuring that no two shows are ever the same.

Phenomenomaly is the result of collaboration with an incredible team of national and local creatives, including:

  • Basqo Bim, Iggy & Andy, Kate Major, and Monsters of the Underworld (Costume Designers)
  • Sam Johnson of Colossal Collective (Puppet Project Manager, Designer, Fabricator)

🎟️Each city also showcases a rotating roster of local artists, spotlighted weekly—check the Denver and Las Vegas event pages for full schedules, lineups, and ticket information.

Photo: Meow Wolf

📍 Event Details

  • Dates: June 21 – August 9, 2025
  • Times:
    • Denver: 3–7 p.m. (select dates)
    • Las Vegas: 2–6 p.m. (select dates)
  • Cost: Included with standard admission

About Meow Wolf

More than an arts and entertainment company, Meow Wolf creates extraordinary experiences that blur the line between reality and imagination. With millions of visitors across its locations, Meow Wolf collaborates with hundreds of visionary artists to build stunning, interactive worlds. As a certified B-Corporation, they’re committed to innovation, community, and play.

Step inside Phenomenomaly this summer and become part of a story that shifts with every step, every glance, and every imagination brave enough to follow.