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A review by whatsheread
The Winters in Bloom by Lisa Tucker
The Winters in Bloom is a chilling portrait of a modern family and how they react when their greatest fear is realized. As the story goes back and forth from David and Kyra's memories to their present-day sufferings, the reader is left to guess as to Michael's whereabouts and to the identity of his kidnapper. Ms. Tucker explores the long-lasting impact of secrets on relationships.
Kyra and David are so filled with fear that they make one uncomfortable. How they can say they are living life is completely questionable. As for the impact of their fears on Michael, one's heart goes out to him for being hampered by his parents' rules, which do nothing to protect him in the end anyway. In seeing Kyra and David's rules through Michael's eyes, the reader is left questioning whether Michael's parents are causing more harm than good.
As for the much-touted secrets harbored by both Kyra and David, they are decidedly anti-climactic. Both are so scared, that the reader's expectations are artificially raised. The secrets, when finally exposed, are serious but nothing that would require keeping it private from everyone, at least in my opinion. The reader can all but feel the tension leave the story after the big reveal as a result.
There is something fundamentally lacking in The Winters in Bloom that prevented me from enjoying the novel as much as I hoped. Considering a large majority of the action dealt around keeping secrets from loved ones, I struggled finding common ground with any of the characters. I do not buy the fact that two people who are supposedly so in love would hide such secrets for such a long time. The fact that they do is ultimately the root of all their problems and is depressing for how avoidable it all is. While I understand that this is the point, it is a rather gloomy image of trust in relationships that forces the book to fall flat for me.
Acknowledgements: Thank you to Atria Books for my review copy!
Kyra and David are so filled with fear that they make one uncomfortable. How they can say they are living life is completely questionable. As for the impact of their fears on Michael, one's heart goes out to him for being hampered by his parents' rules, which do nothing to protect him in the end anyway. In seeing Kyra and David's rules through Michael's eyes, the reader is left questioning whether Michael's parents are causing more harm than good.
As for the much-touted secrets harbored by both Kyra and David, they are decidedly anti-climactic. Both are so scared, that the reader's expectations are artificially raised. The secrets, when finally exposed, are serious but nothing that would require keeping it private from everyone, at least in my opinion. The reader can all but feel the tension leave the story after the big reveal as a result.
There is something fundamentally lacking in The Winters in Bloom that prevented me from enjoying the novel as much as I hoped. Considering a large majority of the action dealt around keeping secrets from loved ones, I struggled finding common ground with any of the characters. I do not buy the fact that two people who are supposedly so in love would hide such secrets for such a long time. The fact that they do is ultimately the root of all their problems and is depressing for how avoidable it all is. While I understand that this is the point, it is a rather gloomy image of trust in relationships that forces the book to fall flat for me.
Acknowledgements: Thank you to Atria Books for my review copy!