Gothic Revival?

I seem to be reading a lot of gothic-esque books these days. I guess it's become trendy (even though this book is from 1997). But some authors do it better than others...

Annalise by Libby Sydes
(1997, Georgian) 11/13/06
Grade: 3

After the deaths of her other children, Eleanor, the Duchess of Marchfield, sends for her last remaining son, imprisoned in an insane asylum for 6 years. Despite his insanity, she will marry him off to a naive village girl and hope that he produces an heir. But he’s not as insane as his keepers believed - and the village girl isn’t as naive as Eleanor might want.

It started off as an intriguing gothic, in the style of Victoria Holt. Bryson’s struggle to regain his sanity was poignant and Annalise’s strength was admirable as well. But the I hate you - I love you - I hate you - I love you dance went on far, far too long. (At page 300 out of 375, Annalise was still fighting Bryson every time he touched her, and he was still consumed with “animal lust”.) And then both characters turned on a dime, and were devotedly in love, as a convoluted French Illuminati plot threw them together. It was just too much. If Annalise and Bryson had developed their relationship earlier in the story, the book would have worked a lot better.

I loved Libby Sydes earlier book, Until Spring. This one felt... overcooked.