Interesting premise, beware trigger warnings

Following the death of his brother thirty years ago, Benson Rimer has had one goal in mind. To find his mate and make her pay for the pain she has inadvertently placed on him. Being trapped in the body of a thirteen year old has left him unstable and without his father keeping him in check, his powers pose a risk to everyone around him.

Troubled twelve year old Belle Thompson has recently moved into town after her father gets a teaching post. While trying to escape the unwanted attention from a bully, she’s intrigued when she stumbles across a mansion with a tall fence and two huge dogs who surprisingly take her under their protection. Belle finds herself drawn to the mansion and begins to seek refuge there on a regular basis. Ben watches her from his window and becomes increasingly incensed that a mere girl has infiltrated their defences and practically made herself at home. He demands to know how she could have gotten past his personally trained Guardians.

Despite their first meeting getting off to a rocky start, Ben and Bella find themselves drawn to each other. Unfortunately Belle’s regular visits are no accident and as the book progresses we learn that she’s hiding a terrible secret. A secret that threatens not only their budding relationship but her very life...

The Boy in the Mansion is a paranormal romance novel about the relationship between two teens who are fated mates and the obstacles they face. I found myself intrigued by the prologue which sees Ben not only finding himself in a teenagers body but losing his brother due to a sacrifice of sorts. Trying to figure out who and what Ben was had me gripped from then on.

The book skips ten year after Belle’s first meeting with Ben as a child, and sees her arrival in town and consequent first meeting with Ben. It becomes increasingly apparent that Belle is being harassed by Jake, a boy at school who tries to accost her on a daily basis. Incredibly, despite her trying to report him, no one well believe her - not even her parents.

As Jake’s attacks become more vicious and revelations come to light about the extent he’s gone to in his sexual abuse, I became increasingly uncomfortable with the book, mainly due to Belle’s tender age and the lack of trigger warnings that weren’t given in the synopsis. This is by no means a young read despite the ages of both protagonists who are 12 and 13. Other themes include bullying, self harm, physical and mental abuse, sexual assault/rape, suicidal thoughts and even a scene of self gratification (Ben)

While the premise of the story was intriguing, this book just wasn’t for me unfortunately.

I received an advanced Audible copy of The Boy in the Mansion and the views expressed here are my own

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