Review : In The Shadow of Blackbirds by Cat Winters
In The Shadow of Blackbirds by Cat Winters
Pages : 387
Genre : YA, Paranormal, Historical Fiction
Stand alone
My Rating : 4.5/5
From the back of the book :
Sixteen-year-old Mary Shelley Black watches as desperate mourners flock to séances and spirit photographers for comfort, but she herself has never believed in ghosts. During her bleakest moment, however, she’s forced to rethink her entire way of looking at life and death, for her first love—a boy who died in battle—returns in spirit form. But what does he want from her?
My Thoughts :
In The Shadow of Blackbirds was what I would call a very pleasant bookish surprise. It didn’t receive as much attention at the time of its release as some other books did (none that I saw, anyway), but the few reviews I read of it were enough to intrigue me. Early 20th century, war time, spirit photographers; everything was there to make a compelling story!
And compelling, it was. The setting was rich and I immediately felt transported to another era. The author seemed to know just which detail to insist on to create the perfect atmosphere, incorporating history, mystery and unexplained (paranormal) events. The way the story combines the romantic aspects and the paranormal ones felt gothic, yet the whole book came off as very realistic despite its spiritual immersions. If anything, this realistic tone amplified the book’s scariness.
The book also had a few monochrome pictures in between the chapters. These photographs didn’t relate specifically to moments of the story, but instead helped my imagination by giving me a hint of the world as it was in 1918. Loved that, and it certainly made it worth getting a paper copy of the book!
The writing was good and I liked how it felt a tad more adult than most young adult novels. Mary was a character like I love them; with faults and strengths, and a real personal growth through the story.
So despite a start that I felt was a bit unsure of its feet, I absolutely enjoyed my time reading Cat Winters’ first novel. The horrors of the spiritual world and the horrors of the real world created a unique atmosphere that I found very unsettling – all of which gave me an amazing reading experience. Despite what little detail I have of it, I am already super excited by the author’s new book coming in 2014, The Cure for Dreaming!
I have read a lot of books with horror and paranormal aspects, and yet I rarely feel honestly horrified when reading these.
It wasn’t the case here; some of Mary Shelley’s moments at night made me very, very uncomfortable in my bed, and I would give the Man of the House fearful side-glances to make sure everything was alright.
With a setting filled with death, fear and danger, In The Shadow of Blackbirds was, without a doubt, one of the greatest books I could have picked for the R.I.P. challenge!
