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4.14 AVERAGE
4.14 AVERAGE
Wow! Mid century is one of my favorite timeframes and this novel perfectly encaptured it, down to every frustrating detail. After you read, you’ll know what I mean. And that cover? Amazing!
Fellow fans of Shirley Jackson will devour this one.
I will warn, parts of it were hard to read. Beautifully written, but heartbreaking. Truly gothic in all the most incredible ways.
I will definitely be checking out more from this author!
Fellow fans of Shirley Jackson will devour this one.
I will warn, parts of it were hard to read. Beautifully written, but heartbreaking. Truly gothic in all the most incredible ways.
I will definitely be checking out more from this author!
dark
inspiring
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
dark
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
challenging
dark
emotional
inspiring
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Missouri, 1955.
Loretta Davenport is a mom, homemaker, and housewife—at first glance her life seems picturesque with a home and children and a successful husband who is a professor at the nearby university. She found comfort in the teachings of church and her husband, Pete, is also deeply religious.
After being very sick, Loretta is disconcerted by some strange visions she has about a recently missing girl in her community. When her visions turn out to be true and end up helping find the missing girl’s dead body, Loretta’s life starts to go up in flames. Her husband thinks her behavior and independence of thought is “of the devil” and is determined to bring her to heel. As the cracks in her life start to crumble the very foundation of her marriage and home, Loretta tenaciously and cleverly rebuilds one where she can fully embrace her abilities and redefines how she wants to be as a mother, wife, and career woman.
Empowered through therapy, facing her past and present trauma, and refusing to be abused anymore by her controlling, alcoholic spouse, Loretta will not continue to live a life she is barely surviving in. She must figure out how to break free from her hellish, violently escalating marriage while also trying to use her psychic powers to track down the devil who is killing young girls in the area before it is too late…both for herself and other victims.
This book pleasantly surprised me. Loretta grew a backbone and realized her worth fairly quickly, which can be credited to therapy as well as positive friendships in her life. I adored how Loretta did not give up on a better life for herself and her kids, no matter how hard her husband tried to break her and made it impossible for her to leave. The more she learned about herself, the more competent and formidable she became, and was eventually ready to face the devil himself by the end of the book. This book does have quite a few trigger warnings though, so please make sure to look those up before reading. Loved this book, through and through. I will be reading more of Paulette Kennedy’s books.
Loretta Davenport is a mom, homemaker, and housewife—at first glance her life seems picturesque with a home and children and a successful husband who is a professor at the nearby university. She found comfort in the teachings of church and her husband, Pete, is also deeply religious.
After being very sick, Loretta is disconcerted by some strange visions she has about a recently missing girl in her community. When her visions turn out to be true and end up helping find the missing girl’s dead body, Loretta’s life starts to go up in flames. Her husband thinks her behavior and independence of thought is “of the devil” and is determined to bring her to heel. As the cracks in her life start to crumble the very foundation of her marriage and home, Loretta tenaciously and cleverly rebuilds one where she can fully embrace her abilities and redefines how she wants to be as a mother, wife, and career woman.
Empowered through therapy, facing her past and present trauma, and refusing to be abused anymore by her controlling, alcoholic spouse, Loretta will not continue to live a life she is barely surviving in. She must figure out how to break free from her hellish, violently escalating marriage while also trying to use her psychic powers to track down the devil who is killing young girls in the area before it is too late…both for herself and other victims.
This book pleasantly surprised me. Loretta grew a backbone and realized her worth fairly quickly, which can be credited to therapy as well as positive friendships in her life. I adored how Loretta did not give up on a better life for herself and her kids, no matter how hard her husband tried to break her and made it impossible for her to leave. The more she learned about herself, the more competent and formidable she became, and was eventually ready to face the devil himself by the end of the book. This book does have quite a few trigger warnings though, so please make sure to look those up before reading. Loved this book, through and through. I will be reading more of Paulette Kennedy’s books.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Body shaming, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Toxic relationship, Forced institutionalization, Grief, Medical trauma, Car accident, Abortion, Death of parent, Murder, Gaslighting, Abandonment, Alcohol
dark
emotional
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
dark
inspiring
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
dark
emotional
hopeful
lighthearted
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Content Warnings
Moderate: Self harm, Murder
challenging
dark
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes