Review: In the Shadow of Blackbirds by Cat Winters

12 March, 2013 Reviews 20 comments

In the Shadow of Blackbirds, or ItSoB as I shall refer to it from now on, is not a happy book. However, it’s dark themes and setting do not stop this brilliantly written book from lifting its wings and soaring. See what I did there?

I have two major bones to pick with this book before I sing its praise, the first being the paranormal aspect. A properly mixed Historical/Paranormal leaves the muscles of my reader arms (super buff, from the book holding) turning to mush with all the excited feels. The combination can sometimes go awry, however. In ItSoB, I was enthralled from the beginning to the end, but there were some moments along the way that grew muddled and seemed slightly ridiculous, which can really shake you from the scene. But anything Paranormal is always hit or miss in its believability, and for the most part, ItSoB was right on target. Some of the scenes seemed to real that I was starting to get paranoid about various noises and shadows in my house. I could almost hear Aunt Eva’s Magpie, Oberon crowing “Who’s there?”

The second contention I had was with Mary Shelley, and it was a small as well. She was awesome, really. Every change in her character, from hope to despair to complete insanity was amazing, and overall I thought her voice was perfect for solving mysteries. But there were moments when I rolled my eyes. I can’t stand when the main character goes through a bought of what I call “beautiful social pariah syndrome” (TM), where they are striking in the looks department, but almost everyone will avoid them due to the fact that they are so. gosh darn. smart. Mary Shelley only complained about this a couple times, and it wasn’t enough to stave my growing adoration for her proactive and generally awesome demeanour.

The other characters were great too. Of course Stephen Embers, Mary’s childhood friend turned love who goes off to war, was fantastic, both in Mary’s memories, the letters he wrote to her and the hollowed out person he becomes in spirit form. Aunt Eva was wonderful, and so were the boys Mary met volunteering at the hospital. And the darker characters were thrilling and engaging, but you’re not getting a peep about them from me.

Of course, this book was really brought to life by it’s magnificently haunting setting. The dizzyingly grim quality of 1918 re-envisioned through Winters prose isn’t one I’ll soon forget. It was incredibly well researched, and I loved the pictures throughout the novel that really heightened the reality of it all, that the world of 1918 was somehow in a broken and horrifying way, the predecessor of our’s. I am a sucker for an excellent Historical Fiction, and I highly recommend this book to anyone else who is.

Actually, I recommend this book to generally anyone. Anyone enticed by mystery and near death experiences and ghosts that reappear from the past to beg the living to unravel what brought them to their grave. Anyone with interest in old photographs, anyone who loves anagrams, anyone who loves the feeling you get when you read the last words of a book and they’re so bad-ass and perfect, you just want to dance. I hope that’s all of you 🙂

20 Responses to “Review: In the Shadow of Blackbirds by Cat Winters”

  1. cynicalsapphire

    YES! I’m always scared when I see that a blog I love has reviewed a book I love. I’m always afraid the book will get ripped a new one, and that I will cry. But you loved it. As one should do.
    Huh. I really didn’t get that sense about Mary Shelley having that syndrome at all. She was pretty much always wearing that mask, anyway. I know she gets hit on a lot, but I thought that was more because she wasn’t flu-ridden than because she was the most beautiful girl ever to happen.

    • Adrienne Fray

      cynicalsapphire The way I see it, it would be really difficult to dislike this book 🙂
      That is a good point. I guess I was mostly frustrated with the beginning descriptions. On a scale of characters that express this, she was definitely at the bottom of the spectrum 🙂

    • Adrienne Fray

      cynicalsapphire The way I see it, it would be really difficult to dislike this book 🙂
      That is a good point. I guess I was mostly frustrated with the beginning descriptions. On a scale of characters that express this, she was definitely at the bottom of the spectrum 🙂

  5. NerdyBookReview

    I’ve heard lots of good things about this book, so I definitely need to pick up my copy and read it soon. I love history and I’m glad for most parts the characters and the paranormal aspects are pulled off well.
    Great review! 🙂

  6. NerdyBookReview

    I’ve heard lots of good things about this book, so I definitely need to pick up my copy and read it soon. I love history and I’m glad for most parts the characters and the paranormal aspects are pulled off well.
    Great review! 🙂

  7. athousand_lives

    Ooooh! I’ve never heard of this one but it sounds absolutely fantastic. Thanks for great review.

  8. RadiantShadowss

    It has pictures?! Sign me up!
    But seriously, “magnificently haunting” and “dizzyingly grim” ? And “bad-ass and perfect” last words? This just moved up my TBR list 🙂

  9. EscapeInABook

    So the last words are bad-ass and perfect? This sounds almost like an excellent read, Adrienne. I loved reading your review and Jason Segel flirting with me just made my day 😉

  10. BookDen

    I’m not big on historical fiction, but dark and haunting I’m all over. Thanks for the review. I would have passed this one up otherwise.

  11. BookDen

    I’m not big on historical fiction, but dark and haunting I’m all over. Thanks for the review. I would have passed this one up otherwise.

  12. alexalovesbooks

    This book really creeps me out because of the cover, but it does sound like a pretty atmospheric, interesting read. I like that it’s really historical fiction with a mix of paranormal, as both those elements usually appeal to me.

  13. alexalovesbooks

    This book really creeps me out because of the cover, but it does sound like a pretty atmospheric, interesting read. I like that it’s really historical fiction with a mix of paranormal, as both those elements usually appeal to me.

  14. veela_valoom

    I really liked this book. My biggest problem with it was…something to spoiler to explain even in my review lol.