by Cat Winters
♦publisher: Amulet Books
♦release date: April 16, 2019
♦hardcover, 368 pages
♦intended audience: Young adult
♦stand-alone, historical fantasy
♦source: arc from publisher for honest review
Seventeen-year-old Edgar Poe counts down the days until he can escape his foster family—the wealthy Allans of Richmond, Virginia. He hungers for his upcoming life as a student at the prestigious new university, almost as much as he longs to marry his beloved Elmira Royster. However, on the brink of his departure, all his plans go awry when a macabre Muse named Lenore appears to him. Muses are frightful creatures that lead Artists down a path of ruin and disgrace, and no respectable person could possibly understand or accept them. But Lenore steps out of the shadows with one request: “Let them see me!”
{My review}
This was spectacular! Just beautiful and moody and dark and perfect. Granted, Cat Winters was already of favorite of mine, and her taking on the early life of Edgar Allen Poe was nothing short of a dream pairing for me---but this still blew me away. Winters has so perfectly captured what I would imagine Poe being like as a teen.The fictional story she has lovingly intertwined with what is obviously hours upon hours of detailed historical research culminates into a wonderfully rich, eerie, and heart-wrenching fantasy. I took my time with this one, savored every beautiful word and just enjoyed every moment.
As with many of Cat Winters works, I feel that this book won't be for everyone. It's not fast-paced or action packed, and it certainly isn't lacking in it's peculiarity. I felt completely immersed in Poe's world..his troubled home life, his hopeful romance, his triumphs and failures at school. As an enchantingly dark and bizarre twist, Poe's muse becomes a physical being with needs and emotions and hopes. Lenore is a shining character, even in her grotesqueness, and all she wants is to be seen and acknowledged and made whole. The story manages to have almost no actual romance but still be completely romantic.
Those new to Poe's work will hopefully get a taste enough that they're left with the desire to seek out more. And fans of Poe are sure to adore every easter egg of his many works, every insight to his dark genius, every carefully Poe-stylized phrase, and (my personal favorite moments) the imaginative take on his creative process, with him wildly spinning tales and gushing out poetry line by painstaking line, with Lenore at this side setting his mind ablaze with dark images. This whole story was such a cool concept and I absolutely loved it!
{About The Author}
Cat Winters is an award-winning, critically acclaimed author of fiction that blends history with the supernatural. Her young adult works include IN THE SHADOW OF BLACKBIRDS, THE CURE FOR DREAMING, THE STEEP AND THORNY WAY, ODD & TRUE, and a forthcoming novel about Edgar Allan Poe's teen years, THE RAVEN'S TALE (available April 16, 2019). She is also the author of two adult novels, THE UNINVITED and YESTERNIGHT. She has been named a Morris Award finalist, a Bram Stoker Award nominee, and an Oregon Spirit Book Award winner, and her books have appeared on numerous state and "best of" lists.
Winters was born and raised in Southern California, just a short drive down the freeway from Disneyland, which may explain her love of haunted mansions, bygone eras, and fantasylands. She currently lives in Portland, Oregon, with her husband and two kids.
Winters was born and raised in Southern California, just a short drive down the freeway from Disneyland, which may explain her love of haunted mansions, bygone eras, and fantasylands. She currently lives in Portland, Oregon, with her husband and two kids.
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