this book changed how i see gothic romance

Added: 2026-05-12

[00:00:02][music] [music] [music] [music] [music] [music] [music] [music] >> I started reading Wuthering Heights back in early March.

[00:01:09]Back then, my mindset was trying to revert back to that of reading as much as possible instead of actually spending time with what I was reading. There were quite a few gothic horror books coming out all at once.

[00:01:24]And I just really wanted to devour them all because they were gothic horror. But, I got that out of my system. And I been thinking a lot lately about how different it feels to read for emotion instead of for productivity. Because, honestly, sometimes in this space, it's easy to become consumed with reading the latest release and [music] following the trends. But, it's honestly so refreshing not reading just to finish something or hit a goal, but to read because you want to feel completely immersed in something.

[00:02:08]And this book really pulled me into that space.

[00:02:12]>> [music] >> And what's interesting though is that this was also my introduction to Gothic romance.

[00:02:28]And I think part of why that fact has resonated with me so hard is because for a long time, up until this point and still, Gothic romance feels like one of those genres I was standing on the outside looking into.

[00:02:48]>> [music] [music] >> Because a lot of books people consider classics in this genre are so rooted in >> [music] >> white European settings and experiences.

[00:03:18]>> [music] >> But, reading Wuthering Heights though, this felt so new and refreshing and raw.

[00:03:26]I do wish that there were more stories by Black authors in this genre because [music] I feel like it's a well with so much potential that hasn't been tapped into.

[00:03:40]>> [music] >> I really enjoyed exploring the different themes and emotions in this Gothic romance book.

[00:03:50]And to be honest, I don't think I would have gotten the same experience out of it if it wasn't written through a black lens. But before I get into that, let's talk a little bit about what makes a gothic romance. So, gothic romance is usually described as dark and obsessive and can include some supernatural and haunting elements. It's basically where love and dread coexist within a relationship. And I know that sounds a lot like dark romance, but gothic romance and dark romance are two completely different genres. And again, I could not really find a clear definition of what gothic romance is.

[00:04:34]So, I'm pretty much just going off of what other people have experienced and what was similar to my experience reading this book. But we all seem to agree that gothic romance is a love story, but make it dark. And again, do not confuse this with dark romance. Gothic romance still has those same elements and aspects that I talked about with gothic literature. Like the gloomy setting, the isolation, the mentally unstable characters, the supernatural, and the suspenseful atmosphere. But add in add in a brooding love interest and a destructive relationship, and that's pretty much gothic romance. The love The love between the characters is not soft or comforting. It's extremely toxic and destructive and intense. And you kind of get this feeling that nothing is ever going to get resolved and there is not going to be a happy ending. There are the times when this genre is brought up, Gothic romance, um, you often hear of the book Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte. That is considered to be like the epitome of this genre. I went into Windward Heights knowing that it was a retelling of Wuthering Heights, but I never actually knew what Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte was about. Like I've never read a synopsis of it or seen a movie or anything.

[00:06:22]So, went into Windward Heights knowing that it was a retelling of that book, but I still didn't know what this book was going to be about. I just had heard from a subscriber here that it was a retelling of Wuthering Heights, so of course I was going to read it. It's about the destructive love relationship between a man named Rasier and the daughter of the man who takes Rasier in as a young boy and raises him.

[00:06:57]And her treatment of Rasier just causes him to lose his damn mind. There's so much more to that, of course, but I got to have that kind of reading experience people talk about having after they've read Wuthering Heights for the first time. To me, this wasn't just a love story. It was intense and dramatic and most of the time it was very frustrating. All of these emotions felt specific to Gothic romance and I got to experience that without comparison. This book did it for me. Like I don't feel like I'm missing out by not reading the original because this version did something that I know the original would never be able to do and that's tell a gothic romance story from an African diasporic lens. So, like I said, it's a Caribbean retelling and honestly that's one of my favorite things about it because it takes us out of the standard gloomy European moors and puts us in this beautiful lush [snorts] island setting. It takes place mostly in Guadeloupe, but we also travel to islands like Cuba and Dominica and there is also mention of Haiti and other um Caribbean islands. Along with this violent and destructive love story, we are also getting this contrasting beautiful island setting. I believe the author was from Guadeloupe if I'm not mistaken. So, the descriptions in the story are phenomenal. You really got that wild and untamed nature gothic aspect in the story, but with a little Caribbean twist. So, I love the contrasting elements of beauty and violence within the setting and also with the setting comes so much culture and diversity. The society is made up of mostly people of African descent. There are also people from England and India and other parts of Asia on the island as well. It also takes place right after the emancipation of those countries.

[00:09:19]There's a lot of turmoil amongst this society of different classes and races who are discovering how to coexist with each other during this time of great change. That is doing a lot for the story, not only the setting, but a lot of the plot, a lot of the themes, and a lot of the emotions come back to that divide amongst the classes and races in the society. And it really helps you to understand why this man Rosier is so crazy. And there is the haunting aspect. You know I love the creepy stuff. When you think of haunting and gothic romance literature, it's easy to assume that the haunting is just like something emotional, like guilt or regret. But in Wuthering Heights, it's just this kind of feeling that you get while reading this book.

[00:10:22]Like it's always there on the island.

[00:10:25]The haunting was something that was present throughout, but also tied to the past.

[00:10:34]And it just felt like it was following along with each character in the story.

[00:10:39]It wasn't something that was just hiding in the background. The haunting kind of built the foundation of the relationship and love story. It's not going to be something that jumps out at you.

[00:10:51]Um you'll kind of realize it over time, like what the actual haunting is. So, there was that, and there are also um there are some ghosts, too. A lot of references to Caribbean folklore and cryptids. Like Rosier was referred to as a soucouyant soukounian multiple times throughout the story. His appearance was often described as monstrous. And there was this mystery as to what he was doing during his alone times in his room.

[00:11:29]Vodou or voodoo plays a big role on the island, but secretly it's very it's not something that's openly practiced. It seems more secretive because Christianity also plays a major role in the story.

[00:11:51]We see a lot of focus on both of these practices especially when it comes to dealing with deaths and the passing of spirits between the realms. I thought that was another interesting layer to the story. So, really the meat of the story and what I was able to differentiate gothic romance from other types of romances has to do with like the power dynamics and the intensity of the relationship. Love how the author was able to express this so well from a black perspective because Rosier was a monster, but he kind of had a point.

[00:12:37]Not with his treatment of his wife and children. I mean, he was terrible for that. But when you really thought about it, you kind of can see that he had a point with this one-sided revenge that he wanted to get against Americ and his business.

[00:12:57]I could kind of see where he was coming from. His anger was coming from a place of generational trauma and social injustices all because the color of his skin. And he saw that Americ had the money and the status and his girl all because he had the right skin color.

[00:13:21]But, Rosier felt that he was no better than him. So, I can kind of see where he was coming from with that.

[00:13:29]But still, you don't like Rasier.

[00:13:31]You never feel sorry for him. Rasier is just this brooding male character and you would assume that he has the upper hand and control of the relationship, but it's really Cathy that he allows to run him. And Cathy herself is so annoying. I could not feel sorry for her because Cathy was always going to do what Cathy wanted to do. Cathy wanted Rasier, but Cathy didn't want Rasier.

[00:14:07]But she didn't want anybody else to have Rasier. She also invites him to come on vacation with her and her husband. Then kind of got mad when he came and I don't know, it's like, girl, pick a struggle.

[00:14:21]Like, what do you want? But she would never choose what she truly wants because he reminds her of her African ancestry. And anything that comes from that relationship going forward would remind her of her African ancestry. And the way she views her ancestry is how her society does. As I was reading, I just thought their relationship was always going to be doomed because they were both coming from a place where they were allowing their ancestry to hold them back from who they want to become and what they want in life. Rasier is never going to be seen as the man that he is because of his dark skin. Cathy would never truly be accepted into the society that she's in because her skin is not light enough. This wasn't just a typical oldest relationship is toxic.

[00:15:17]It's really the why that gave this relationship its intensity. And I have never read a romance book where I didn't like either one of the characters.

[00:15:29]I didn't like either one.

[00:15:30]I didn't like any of the characters in this book. So, I'm so glad this was my introduction to the Gothic romance genre cuz this book really made me think and it made me realize that when people talk about Gothic romance being intense or haunting, that can mean very different things depending on who is telling the story.

[00:15:51]And I really enjoyed it.

[00:15:53]I do hope that more books by black authors are published in this genre with this caliber of storytelling. This was a really good book.

[00:16:05]I'm curious to know what your experience was with Wuthering Heights if you read it or with Windward Heights if you've read this one or if you have a retelling of a classic novel that you really enjoyed.

[00:16:20]Um let me know your thoughts in the comments. I think I have a Southern Gothic video coming up for you next and then I need a break from the Gothic genre.

[00:16:34]That is some heavy reading. So, I want to take some time off and I want to focus more on horror, but I also have a couple of fantasy books that I want to get to as well. So, stay tuned for that and make sure you like this video and subscribe to my channel and follow me at I read black books on Tik Tok and Instagram for more book recommendations.

[00:17:01]Happy reading and thanks for watching.