Wednesday 3 September 2014

The Cure for Dreaming by Cat Winters

GoodReads: Olivia Mead is a headstrong, independent girl—a suffragist—in an age that prefers its girls to be docile. It’s 1900 in Oregon, and Olivia’s father, concerned that she’s headed for trouble, convinces a stage mesmerist to try to hypnotize the rebellion out of her. But the hypnotist, an intriguing young man named Henri Reverie, gives her a terrible gift instead: she’s able to see people’s true natures, manifesting as visions of darkness and goodness, while also unable to speak her true thoughts out loud. These supernatural challenges only make Olivia more determined to speak her mind, and so she’s drawn into a dangerous relationship with the hypnotist and his mysterious motives, all while secretly fighting for the rights of women.

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Expected publication date: 14/10/14

"Now, that's womanhood perfected, Percy my boy. That's the type of girl you want. Silent. Alluring. Submissive."

Am I surprised that I loved this book? Nope. I fell head over heels in love with Winters' debut, In the Shadow of Blackbirds and was expecting The Cure for Dreaming to be every bit as amazing. 

The Cure for Dreaming is set in the beginning of the 20th Century, in a time where upon leaving school women were expected to marry and be domestic house wives. However, this did not stop them from dreaming. Olivia, the headstrong mc is among these dreamers, she has, as her dad refers to them "unfeminine" dreams about college and the women's suffrage. This is where Henri, a turn of the century hypnotist comes into the story. Wanting to rid his daughter of her unfeminine dreams Olivia's dad hires Henri to cure her. And what follows from there? Well, you'll just have to read the book for yourself to find out. I will say this, however: Olivia's journey had me feeling a blaze of different emotions, and although Olivia's dads actions angered me I have to admit that by the end of the book I kind of felt sorry for him. In his own way, I think he genuinely thought what he was doing was best for Olivia.

I easily related to Olivia. Ever felt awkward around cute guys? *nods* Read your favourite book (in Olivia's case, Dracula) way too many times to count? *nods again* Yep, I definitely see a piece of myself in Olivia. Moving onto the the romance: I thought it was lovely, but what I loved most about it was that the mc wasn't defined by it. 

If there was was only one word I could use to describe this book it would atmospheric. Centered around an important movement: the women's suffrage, The Cure for Dreaming is littered with photos which really add to the tone of the story. I enjoyed the way in which Winters portrayed this piece of history, she presented a society in which there was a growing fight for the right to vote, and where women were no longer content being silent and obedient house wives.

The ending was bittersweet, it made me feel both sad and hopeful. All in all, The Cure for Dreaming was a deliciously compelling read full of atmosphere and allure.

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17 comments:

  1. My review for this is coming up to and I loved it as well. It was such a great read!
    Wonderful review!

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  2. Yay :D I'm so glad you loved this book Renu. <3 I loved it too, so much. Sniffs. It was just perfect, wasn't it? I adored Olivia. And yess. I found something of me in her too, hih :) And yess. The ending was very bittersweet. Ack. I did love it. But it also made me so sad. But hopeful too, like you say :) Thank you for sharing your awesome review. <3

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  3. I loved Blackbirds too. Can't wait for this one. Great review!

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  4. Sounds wonderful!! Thanks for the great review... and other one to add to my TBR pile :)

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  5. I haven't read this one yet, Renu, but am really excited to because I loved In the Shadow of Blackbirds. It sounds like Winters has written another great read :)

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  6. I've had this for such a long time and just haven't found the time to read it--that needs to change! I'm so excited to pick this up because I know I'm going to absolutely LOVE it, no questions asked. So glad you fell for this one, Renu--lovely review! :)

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  7. Lovely review; I've been going back and forth on whether I'm going to pick this one up or not; definitely sounds like I should!
    Liza @ Classy Cat Books

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  8. This sounds fantastic. I'm so happy to hear the romance wasn't the main focus either. I am dying to read In the Shadow of Blackbirds still!!

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  9. Such a fantastic review, Renu! I definitely have to read In the Shadow of Blackbirds so that I can read this.

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  10. This book sounds fantastic! Can't wait to read it - although the bittersweet ending probably won't be my favorite thing. :P

    Lovely review, Renu. Glad you enjoyed it so much!

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  11. Loved In the Shadow of Blackbirds SO much and I'm glad you loved this just as much!
    Thanks so much for stopping by! Jen @ YA Romantics

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  12. This makes me very, very happy! I have a copy to read and also loved In the Shadow of Blackbirds. Looking forward to reading it!

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  13. Good to hear! I also fell in love with In the shadow of blackbirds and I can't wait to read this one. I love headstrong (female) characters :D

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  14. ohmy, glad you enjoyed it! now I really can't wait to get my hands on this. Bittersweet ending + atmosphere (really something Cat Winters is good at). Great review :)

    czai @ the Blacksheep Project

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  15. I heard of this a while back and didn't anticipate it would be something I would want to read particularly, but after reading your review my opinion has changed drastically! It sounds less creepy than I had imagined (by far) and I'm adding it to my tbr in a few seconds. I think the whole thing sunds pretty fascinating, and really well done, by the way you've written about it! Lovely review!

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  16. There are so many books coming out that are set in the women's suffrage era, so I am so excited to see what this has to offer! I can already see myself really enjoying this one - Olivia sounds like a character I would absolutely adore and connect with really easily - and the ending sounds so bittersweet, yet wonderful in the same way. Definitely going to give this a try! Thanks for sharing Renu and, as always, BRILLIANT review! <3

    ~ Zoe @ The Infinite To-Read Shelf

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  17. Beautiful review, Renu! This book seems to create quite a ripple lately. It's awesome that I haven't seen anything but glowing reviews so far! I'm very interested in the feminism side of this book. Equality isn't an issue usually found in YA, and I'm glad that the way this book brings it up is very delicate and authentic. I'd love to see the photos in this book. :)

    Thank you for the fabulous review! :)

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