Rating: ★★★★★
I received this book for free free as part of an Instagram tour (TLC Book Tours specifically) I did to promote the book.
Wow. This was one of the most fascinating novels I have read in a long time.
First off, I love that the book description does not give away too much. You get to discover the truth about Bert’s family on your own.
It’s really hard to describe this book because it is so unique and I don’t want to spoil anything. There’s some gothic suspense, but also some family tragedy. Then underneath that there is the element of genetics. It just makes an intriguing combination.
The book is also so beautifully written and encapsulates the creepy gothic vibe perfectly. The author is an amazing storyteller.
Lastly, the book has some wonderful descriptions of books and reading. One of the characters states:
“These books are like living creatures to me. Caring for them takes a great deal of time. I repair damaged spines…No one ever thinks that books need tenderness, but they do, quite a lot, in fact”
pg 117
At another point the main character states:
“Stories became a place of respite, a refuge from the thoughts that swirled through my mind like acid in a stomach. I clung to these books with the same obsessive need that I had felt for the genepy, reading them with an addictive greed…Had it not been for my time in bed, I might never have come to love books as I had, or developed the desire to write about my own tragic life”
pg 226
Overall, this is a book you have to read for yourself. I know there will be some people who read it and won’t like it and that’s totally okay. But others will just devour it. It’s a very different book so the only way to know is to read it for yourself.
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