I think I wanted this book to be something other than it was. The supernatural elements were there to drive the plot, but they weren't really part of the story in their own right and as soon as you introduce weird stuff going on, that becomes the interesting part of the book to me.
The historical world building was gorgeous, but it wasn't quite gothic enough for my tastes. And for all that the characters grew on me, I think I wanted more than a character study.