Reviewed by shannonmiz on
This is such a freaking impossible review to write, because I adore Cat Winters. I have loved her YA books (The Cure For Dreaming, The Steep and Thorny Way) and her adult book (The Uninvited). There was basically zero doubt in my mind that I would love this one just the same. Only... I did not. I didn't hate it, but it just didn't captivate me the way the others had.
The writing is still absolutely stunning, and the atmosphere cannot be beat. It is clear, as always, that Cat Winters has done her homework, and it feels like a dreary, 1920s Pacific Northwest. I love that there are great bits of historical reference, and there are great details about women's rights and roles in society throughout the book. Alice, the main character, is a career psychologist, only she isn't able to advance because she's a woman. She's basically been relegated to work in schools even though her abilities surpass those of many of her male colleagues. I loved that Alice was driven, and wanted to make something of herself. She wasn't really interested in settling down and having kids, she wanted to focus on her career- something that women weren't exactly encouraged to do then. There's also frank discussion of how men view and dictate women's sexual and reproductive rights, which is all too timely even know- but was much, much worse then of course.
The problem was, I didn't connect that much with Alice. While I appreciated her as a character, I didn't really feel much for her. She wasn't entirely likable, which is okay, but I just never felt like I could totally understand who she was or what made her tick. I also didn't like the other characters, except for the little girl. I really liked Janie's character. Then... stuff got kind of weird- almost too weird. Actually, I appreciate the weird, I just didn't feel like the story explained the weirdness well enough, so it ended up not making a ton of sense to me. I know I am being vague here, because that is because I don't want to spoil anything.
Bottom Line: While the writing and atmosphere and historical parts were on point as always, the characters and certain parts of the plot left me wanting a bit more.
*Copy provided by publisher for review
Reading updates
- Started reading
- 31 August, 2016: Finished reading
- 31 August, 2016: Reviewed