D.H. Dhaenens' "Lockhart Returns" review

It’s not always possible to pester a brand for a re-release of your favourite print to the point where they relent – but it is entirely possible to pester your favourite author into writing a sequel!

Back Again!

Two years ago now D. H. Dhaenens released “Lockhart Mansion,” a story about three lolita friends who move in to a house rumoured to be haunted because, you know, cheap rent is nothing to scoff at. The incredibly funny, painfully relatable, and only mildly scary story resonated with every lolita who read it and we’d frequently ask the author, only half-jokingly, when the sequel was coming out. And then she wrote it! Just like the first one, it was funded through Kickstarter and comfortably met its funding goal earlier this year.

There isn’t a way to talk about “Lockhart Returns” without some spoilers from “Lockhart Mansion,” so if you’ve yet to read it (and honestly, what have you been doing with all that time?), then I suggest opening the link above to buy book 1, then skipping to the end of this post to pre-order book 2. You can read my review of book 1 here and now – onto reviewing book 2.

The Review

“Lockhart Returns” opens with the aftermath of a tea party gone horribly wrong. And I mean horribly! Imagine a bonnet stuck to the ceiling with cakes level of bad. One could simplify things to say that the whole book is a story of how a tea party this bad could possibly happen – but that would not do it justice.

Once again we return to Lockhart Mansion where the three lolitas: Valiant, Ramona, and George, now live with Adam as the fourth member of the group. They got him to be into ouji (stuff of most lolitas dreams) and we see them continue with the lives they’ve had: navigating university work and jobs, organising lolita meetups, and spending their hard-earned money on brand. But not all is as it once was as their still new frilly bliss is interrupted by altogether new kinds of hauntings…

Just like in the first book, the whole story is broken up into narrative sections led by each lolita’s point of view. Thus we get to see each characters’ arc develop as they deal with their own struggles, from relationships to finding their purpose in life and discovering more about themselves in the process, as well as learning more about each other in that way that only people who live together get to experience. At the same time, each segment carries on the wider story of new paranormal activity that has befallen on the mansion, as well as insecurity and discord amongst its occupants. To say anything more would be dangerously close to spoiler territory, so if you’re still unsure if this book is for you, know that it is ultimately a story of friendship and growth, a story of young adults figuring out life and trying to do their best in that – and getting interrupted by the supernatural once more.

The immediate first question is whether you have to have read “Lockhart Mansion” to follow the events in “Lockhart Returns” – and my answer is that you don’t. The events from book 1 are referenced, as well as explained as much as is necessary for the current plot to make sense. You should be able to get into the story as is without missing out anything that matters to the plot at hand. However, by jumping straight into book 2 you would be missing out on the backstory to these characters, which makes their current behaviour and growth all the richer. The reader still gets plenty of introducing to Ramona, Valiant, George, and Adam, including their personality quirks and personal lives, so there is never any risk of getting them mixed up or of feeling like you’re being expected to know previous things. After all, even those who have read the first volume appreciate a reminder. But those familiar with “Lockhart Mansion” will get more out of “Lockhart Returns” than those who have not, simply by virtue of already having a relationship with these characters and being invested in them and their relationships.

Similarly, someone completely new to the world of lolita fashion will not be left stranded. The author continues to delight with witty footnotes on some of the more insular concepts where it would not be natural to insert an explanation into the main body of the text. Those footnotes are a highlight to those in the know, showing a great sense of humour and allowing us, the lolita readers, to look at out fashion with a bit of distance instead of always treating it so seriously. That being said, the main body of the text will also keep up with explaining the things you encounter – which is a necessity because I feel like in “Lockhart Returns” we get more lolita fashion. Yes, just like in “Lockhart Mansion” brands and prints are referred to by name, coords are described using the proper terminology, and references are made very casually to the things we do, from Taobao group orders to sniggering at poor quality releases. Yet I feel like as the author grew more confident in who is predominantly reading this story, the sprinkle for flavour and authenticity became a generous pinch. And I, for one, am here for it.

What I also picked up on, in a very visual way this time too, is the flow of penmanship. Don’t worry, “Lockhart Returns” is still as easy to sink your teeth into as “Lockhart Mansion” was. This time, in anticipation of writing this review, as well as thanks to actually getting home before starting the book rather than reading it on the train back from the launch, I placed sticky tabs to mark quotes that particularly made me laugh or that resonated with me in some way. (Those are the ones you are reading on the images, by the way.) There are 26 in total and that is after holding myself back a little. Blink and you’re a 100 pages into the story. Then another blink and you’re sacrificing sleep to finish it. D. H, Dhaenens’ writing has this wonderful quality of being very unpretentious and to the point without sacrificing on any of the important details. The reader is never left feeling like they are watching characters float in empty space and they are always given a clear picture of what is happening in any given scene without it going on for ages.

Where I think the book lacks, sadly, is in some copy-editing. I sincerely hope that this is only an issue with the copy given to tea party backers, since these had to be printed and bound for a date nearly a month ahead of the general release, but a few too many tiny oddities have snuck in, particularly in the latter half of the book. One page Ramona is talking with Reese and the next Reese has suddenly become Rachel. Or George will be described as answering to herself in the space of a paragraph. These little imps are easy to miss when writing (authors do become blind to their own words after months of familiarity), and unfortunately they can jerk a reader out of a great story. If there is time to fix this before the general release, I sincerely hope that the author can do that. If not – please, give the author some grace. After all, when they were writing this book, their no-buy was only one year long and they are now on their fourth! That does things to a person, you know.

TQiD mentioned

Because ultimately, although writing gremlins are never fun to find, they are just tiny glitches. As a story that’s very much driven by the characters and their growth, “Lockhart Returns” absolutely defends itself through George, Valiant, Ramona, and Adam. And the great cast of secondary and tertiary characters too! The cast of “Lockhart Returns” was joined by a few new faces, as well as some returning ones, who are just as fleshed out and lovable as the main trio. It was particularly heart-warming to see the fan favourite get a love interest (and all “Lockhart Mansion” readers know exactly who the fan favourite is). And say what you want about the goth and sweet dating trope, but it’s a classic because it works (not because a goth and a sweet make a classic, that’s not how maths works). Just like during the first book’s Kickstarter campaign, backers had the option of purchasing an add-on where they would be written into the story. This time we get to see them more than once, which not only is a great perk for these specific backers, but also cements the lolita community in the story as a real one, with people who attend these meetups regularly and don’t just appear once only to disappear like ghosts. And make for great supporting characters, of course.

Overall – she says after waxing poetic about the book for good two pages already – I have had a fantastic time reading “Lockhart Returns.” It was a genuinely laugh-out-loud and frequently heart-warming story of friendship and frills. And yes, the paranormal too. But the paranormal is not too intense or too gory, so if you’re a wimp like me, you will only be really scared maybe once. That’s excluding any fictional danger posed to Japanese branded clothing, that is.

Get the Book

“Lockhart Returns” is launching for the general public next Thursday, October 31st 2024, a perfect date to mark the release of this spoopy story. You can pre-order it already, but like before, if you are having any problems with doing so, shoot Flammable Penguins a message on Instagram. As a small indie publisher they will go above and beyond to help you. And don’t forget to review it once you’ve read it! We’ve been told the top secret info on the impact of reviews for indie books and it is actually quite mind-boggling how much that means to an indie creator. 

The two books together, reunited as they should be.

Just like last time, there was a tea party to celebrate the launch, though as it was a smaller affair compared to the first one, the vlog is a little bit shorter. Hopefully you still enjoy it though.