Many thanks to NetGalley, St Martin's Press, and Macmillan Audio for gifting me both a digital and audio ARC of the latest book by Sarah Addison Allen, with the audiobook narrated by the fabulous Marin Ireland. All opinions expressed in this review are my own - 4.5 stars!
For decades, the women of Wester House have been the source of talk in their small North Carolina town. Told in two timelines, we first meet Willamena in 1976, when she's desperate to escape the Wester legacy and have some freedom. In the present day, her granddaughter, Bailey, returns to Wester House. As she reconnects with Wills, she begins to understand the choices that shaped the women in her family.
I love generational books and was equally fascinated with both timelines. It's both a coming-of-age story and one of generational trauma, as Wills repeats the pattern of isolation impressed on her. I really liked the magical realism part of this story, and the those that haunt us for various reasons. Between that and the small-town isolation, you could feel the past settling over the characters. Marin Ireland's narration just added to that gothic atmospheric tone. Wonderful!
