
Published by William Morrow on August 11th 2015
Pages: 368


From the award-winning author of In the Shadow of Blackbirds comes a stunning new novel—a masterfully crafted story of love, loss, and second chances. Set during the fear and panic of the Great Influenza of 1918, The Uninvited is part gothic ghost-story, part psychological thriller, perfect for those who loved The Thirteenth Tale by Diane Setterfield or The Vanishing by Wendy Webb.
Twenty-five year old Ivy Rowan rises from her bed after being struck by the flu, only to discover the world has been torn apart in just a few short days.
But Ivy’s life-long gift—or curse—remains. For she sees the uninvited ones—ghosts of loved ones who appear to her, unasked, unwelcomed, for they always herald impending death. On that October evening in 1918 she sees the spirit of her grandmother, rocking in her mother’s chair. An hour later, she learns her younger brother and father have killed a young German out of retaliation for the death of Ivy’s older brother Billy in the Great War.
Horrified, she leaves home, to discover the flu has caused utter panic and the rules governing society have broken down. Ivy is drawn into this new world of jazz, passion, and freedom, where people live for the day, because they could be stricken by nightfall. But as her ‘uninvited guests’ begin to appear to her more often, she knows her life will be torn apart once more, but Ivy has no inkling of the other-worldly revelations about to unfold.
So, as you may know (or maybe you don’t, I don’t know what you know), I adored Cat Winters’ The Cure For Dreaming. Like, all time favorite-status adored. Obviously, when this book popped up on Edelweiss, I knew it needed to be consumed by me as soon as possible. Good news- It did not disappoint! And now, we shall talk about all the reasons why:
Cat Winters is an absolute master of historical fiction.
How can someone who was very obviously not alive in the early twentieth century make me feel like she was? I do not know, and that is the genius behind this. Obviously, Ms. Winters has done her research incredibly thoroughly, but it goes beyond that. She somehow gets to the emotions behind how I’d assume a real twenty-something woman would feel in this era. How I would likely feel in this era, really. It’s a strange feeling, as though I am actually getting a legitimate glimpse into the past. The world building and characterization are extremely vivid, which ultimately leads to it being extremely thought provoking as well as entertaining.
I adore reading about history, especially this time period (and I really only found that out via Cat Winters’ work, so there’s that), but it is also terrifying to realize that this isn’t all fiction. Of course, this story is, but the events as a whole? Nope. The Spanish Influenza epidemic was very real, the war was very real, and the hate for Germans was real. Also real? The complete bullshit that women went through on the regular. After I read a Cat Winters book, I basically spend the next half hour silently thanking every suffragette for her work and paving the way for women. We may have a long way to go, but we sure have come a very long way, which Cat illustrates remarkably well.
There is mystery abound!
This is not just a run of the mill historical fiction, oh no. There is a supernatural element, but also a very real life mystery going on. Of course, Ivy knows that her father and brother were the murderers, but she doesn’t have any answers beyond that, and she seeks them. How could you not if you knew your family was behind such a heinous crime? Add to it that she is seeing the dead and is terrified that she may lose someone else close to her, and you’ve got a young lady that needs some answers, stat!
Romance & Swoons
So, I don’t want to say too much about the romance, but it’s pretty great. These characters may not have a lot in common at first glance, but delving deeper into their lives, they have both suffered loss, and being treated as “less than”, and it just works.
Fabulous side characters, complex familial relationships and friendships
Ivy is not the only star that shines in this book. She befriends a war widow who takes her in when she must leave home, she meets some incredibly courageous volunteers who help with the influenza outbreak, and she has a heartbreaking but beautiful relationship with her mom. Her relationships with her living brother and father are obviously strained, but still intricate. And even after Ivy leaves home, her family is still front and center in her life.
Bottom Line: Cat Winters has officially become an auto-buy author for me. Her stories are gorgeously vivid, inspirational, and multifaceted. Need I even say more?
I actually just started reading The Uninvited yesterday. So far, I am really enjoying it. I have never read a Cat Winters book before, but I may need to change that after reading this one!
Oh YAY I cannot wait to hear what you think! The Cure for Dreaming is INCREDIBLE- if you like The Uninvited you will LOOOOOVE TCFD!!
THis book sounds like it really fleshed out the era really well! The historical fiction meshed with supernatural is always a bonus. With the complex friendships and relationships and great side characters, it sounds fantastic! Wonderful review Shannon!
Thanks so much! I just love the way Cat Winters pulls all those things together- I am in love with her books 🙂
This is my first time hearing of Cat Winters. LOL I feel guilty for having not heard of her before, but really, I’m very interested in this book because (apart from the gorgeous cover) I’m a huge fan of historical fiction! So happy to hear that this one came off very well! AND ROMANCE + SWOONS. Totally in it for those! Thanks for the convincing review, because I’m definitely going to pick this real soon! ^_^
Oh if you are a historical fiction fan, you MUST read Cat’s books! The Cure For Dreaming is one of my all-time favorites, and this one was up there too!
Ooooh, this sounds creepy and oozing greatness! I wanna try this one after I read Dangerous Girls by Abigail Haas. 🙂 wonderful review, girl! <33
Aw thanks! Dangerous Girls is really good too 🙂 I hope you enjoy them both!
This book sounds right up my alley. I love historical fiction, and The Thirteenth Tale. This is a great review -you definitely convinced me that I need to read it!
Aw thanks so much! Cat Winters is just my absolute go-to for historical fiction, especially early 1900s. She blew me away with The Cure For Dreaming, and The Uninvited was no different. I hope you enjoy it 🙂
As I have told you before, I’m not a fan of historical fiction but you might just sway me. I can’t remember the title of the other book (will have to search your blog for it) but it was HF and it had hooked me just by the synopsis. While this book seems scary and creepy (will not read at night), I might give it a shot. It really sounds interesting and yay for women rights nowadays haha glad you enjoyed this one 🙂
Aw yayyyy! The Cure For Dreaming might have been the other one- if it was by the same author! I LOOOOVED that one, even more than this one (though I really, really enjoyed this one too!). I think the only other HF I have read and LOOOVED was Forbidden by Kimberley Griffiths Little (which I also recommend to anyone and everyone 😉 )
As for the scary/creepy factor, it really wasn’t’ too scary. Creepy, yes, but scary, not so much, so you should be okay 😉
Um, you obviously need to read In the Shadow of Blackbirds ASAP. Just saying!