I haven’t actually read The Scarlet Letter, though I’ve always wanted to. The concept has always intrigued me. Yet, I still really enjoyed this novel. I liked how she included the author of The Scarlet Letter as a character in this book.

The historic setting is richly built and told with beautiful imagery. It’s a slow build and atmospheric, as I have found many books surrounding witch trials tend to be.

I thought the use of synesthesia (the wondrous phenomenon of one associating colors with letters and sounds) in correlation of what is presumed to be magic was genius.

A very interesting novel that tales the fictional tale of how Nathaniel Hawthorne may have been inspired to write The Scarlet Letter by stealing another woman's story an molding it to better fit the Puritan era.

Hester is a fictional telling of the woman who could have been the inspiration for Nathaniel Hawthorne’s novel The Scarlet Letter. Isobel is a very young Scottish woman who has very poor luck in men. Early in life she realizes she can hear in color; she has synesthesia. Her grandmother, also named Isobel, had this gift, and was cast out as a witch. It is very dangerous to be different, especially if you’re a woman. The book alternates between the stories of both Isobels, though I’m not sure this adds much to the story, other than to demonstrate the heritability of synesthesia and the enduring legacy of witchcraft. Isobel marries young to a man who is a quack doctor, and also an opium addict. They travel to Salem, Massachusetts where Isobel is almost immediately left alone to fend for herself. Eventually she meets Nat Hawthorne, they have an affair, and she becomes pregnant. Predictably enough, his ‘love’ for her evaporates when faced with this responsibility, and he uses the convenient excuse of her synesthesia to claim he has been bewitched, and is the victim in the relationship. Funny how the men can be irresponsible, selfish, and cruel, but the women are the witches who made them that way. Isobel’s hobby of sewing and embroidery becomes her livelihood. It was really unbelievable how many gloves and dresses Isobel could embroider in just a few days. Ultimately the novel is a story of friendship and the power of using the gifts you have to make your way in the world. I especially enjoyed the descriptions of the colors Isobel saw when people would talk and how the colors changed with their moods. Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for an ARC in exchange for an unbiased review.

This was a quick and easy read. I enjoyed reading about Isobel.

I felt like there were all the tropes in this book. Jilted lover, racism, witchcraft. I didnt know which one we were following. It just felt like there was so much going on, too many things. Foe Isobel to be this woke back then seems strange. Anyway the book was good, I enjoyed myself, but I had a hard time with so many different topics going on and not really knowing where this was going.

This is my first book by this author which I enjoyed reading from start to finish. I look forward to see what is next for this author. This is a historical story that will bring inspiration to women. A story where desire and ambition contribute to women empowerment. I enjoyed how the characters pulled me into the story. They are engaging characters that make the story pop. They add so much to the story which just added to the entertainment of the story. This is a well written story that is fast paced and hard to put down. A story that has great growth of the characters as well as the plot. This is a story you don't want to miss, a great inspiration to all women. I highly recommend this book.

This is a retelling of The Scarlet Letter with a feminist vibe. Many thanks to the author and NetGalley for a complimentary copy of the book. The opinions expressed in this review are entirely my own.

Thank you to NetGalley for this advanced reader's copy.

This is a reimagining of The Scarlet Letter. Hester can see in colors and each letter has its own color. Her mother stops her from doing this when she is young so that she isn't labeled as a witch. Her mother dies and she moves to America to start over after meeting her apothecary husband.

She takes on jobs as a seamstress and does beautiful embroidery after her husband leaves on a ship to find great medicines to bring back to the people. She learns that he has taken her entire savings and is left with nothing.

Hester makes the acquaintance of Nathaniel Hawthorn and their story begins.

This was a delightful reimagining of the classic and a well done one. I look forward to future books by this author.

Those who have read The Scarlet Letter, no doubt remember Hester Prynne. I can’t help but feel that the book would make an interesting reread in this time of MeToo.

In this novel, author Albanese, offers a twist of the kaleidoscope variation on that book. Here readers meet a young woman with synesthesia who emigrates to the U.S. with her husband. Isobel meets Nathaniel Hawthorne, the author of The Scarlet Letter. They are brought together with intensity.

Readers will long remember Isobel. She is a risk taker, a woman of action who acts upon her strong beliefs.

Many thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for this title. All opinions are my own.

Hester is the perfect book club discussion book! It takes a character you think you know and gives us a reimagined tale. The writing style was so easy to read, and hard to put down. Awesome story!

This is a good read for historical fiction lovers. I enjoyed the aspects that described life in Salem, MA during that era. I hated the book The Scarlet Letter so I was interested in how this would connect with that novel. Sometimes the book was a bit slow, but overall it held my interest.

Beautiful, imaginative story inspired by the classic The Scarlet Letter that we all had to read in high school and didn't necessarily like. Hester brings to life a period in time when very few women had a voice to tell their stories. Fascinating and engaging. Recommended.

I have really been enjoying quite a few retellings lately, and this was no different! Grounded in the story of The Scarlet Letter, this was a creative reimagining of the real story behind Hawthorne's motivations for the book.

The writing was exceptional, pretty, detailed and flowery which I enjoyed. And the cover is absolutely stunning. The book could be a bit slow at times, but I think overall kept within the theme of the original text while still providing a novel and creative approach.

Such a fascinating and well written book. I loved the research that went into it and found this a really gripping book. The author is a delight and I will happily read anything she writes!

It was great to read a classic from another perspective. This books takes nothing away from the Scarlet Letter.

This was an interesting retelling of the inspiration for Nathanial Hawthorne's The Scarlet Letter. Isobel Gamble is a Scottish woman who had to leave Scotland because of her husband's opium addiction. Isobel has a secret in that she can see certain colors when sewing and has a talent with her needle. When she arrives in America, her husband, who is an apothecary, goes off on a voyage with the captain of the ship they were on leaving her alone in the New World. In Salem, no one wants to help when she realizes that her husband made off with all of her money because she is Scottish. She quickly realizes that there are still prejudices here and that no matter what freedom the country was based on, this is not afforded to everyone. She ends up meeting Nathanial Hawthorne by chance and ends up striking up and friendship and later a relationship with the author. He also quickly leaves her behind when it suits him making her realize even more that she is the only person who will be willing to help her. The story is told with interspersing notes from Salem witch trials and highlights the similarities to Isobel's situation. It was a very interesting read.

I loved this book! What a great and powerful story! I loved the characters and the historical world. This was an amazing read from start to finish!

Hester by Laurie Lico Albanese is a well written story that I really liked.

This is a reimagination of The Scarlet Letter was really well done.

The story of love between parents and a child, races and women.

The author did a great deal of research on this book and that was evident to this reader.

Characters were very well developed and Isobel is someone that I would want as a friend - faithful, creative & strong. I appreciated the detail that Ms. Albanese included in regards to the witch trials of Salem, which only added to the story. A very interesting, and seems realistic, take on what could have prompted Nathaniel to write The Scarlet Letter.

Throughout, she was able to touch on many aspects - witch trials, slavery, adultery, friendship, trust and strength. I absorbed in the book from the beginning.

Highly recommend all to grab this book. It not only is a fantastic story on it's own, it made me appreciate The Scarlet Letter a little morel.

I enjoyed The Scarlet Letter and was so excited to get a deep dive into that world, through a historical fiction lens, and see the angle of a misunderstood synesthesia-enhanced powerful woman.

I enjoyed this book, but I did feel like it could have given us a stronger female character to root for. I liked Isobel and I know that, for the time presented, she was holding her own, but I wanted just a bit more … something…

That being said, I enjoyed the detail and the imagery of the writing and I support the take on a classic.

From the beautiful cover to the idea of the story thjs was a great story. I struggled with the scarlet letter, this novel gave me appreciation for it