Unfortunately, this book was not for me and I DNF. I found it tedious and also confusing. Maybe in print it would have been easier to follow! I got the characters confused and ultimately decided I did not care where they ended up or how the story would end.

When I learned this book was a fantasy novel I was only mildly intrigued. Although I don’t mind reading fantasy on occasion, it is not my go to genre. However I truly enjoyed this book. It fell more into the historical fiction category for me, which I do enjoy reading about. It took me a little bit to get the characters straight, but once I did I was able to easily follow each one’s story and was happy when they all intertwined with each other. I would definitely recommend this book to anyone up for a little adventure in their next read.

𝘚𝘱𝘦𝘭𝘭𝘣𝘪𝘯𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘳𝘦𝘮𝘢𝘳𝘬𝘢𝘣𝘭𝘦!
This is one of those stories that you’ll be thinking about it for a while after you finish it. A blend of historical fiction with fantasy in a Victorian setting that was unique and mysterious.

DNF @27%

Too slow-moving for my taste. Also, the writing lacked flow and clarity.

***Thank you to NetGalley, Liz Hyder, and Dreamscape Media for graciously sending me the audiobook to review. As always, all thoughts are my own.***

Thank you to NetGalley, Liz Hyder & Dreamscape Media for an audio arc in exchange for an honest review. This review is wholly my own.

I was hooked with the synopsis. It sounded like a fantastical mystery/thriller and I wanted to read it ASAP!!! All books I've previously read with fallen angels, I've loved and this one was not an exception!

I really enjoyed this story. It had more of a historical aspect that most books of the "type" and I loved that. It was very atmospheric and easy to get engrossed in. I stayed up way past my bedtime to continue scrolling through to the finish.

The writing style was nice and it kept a good pace. I was invested in the characters and could not wait to see what happened next.

This was the second book I've read this week revolving around women - GIRL POWER!!!!! And I absolutely loved it! It is so much more than it appears in the synopsis and will appeal to all of your emotions.

I would highly recommend reading this one when released!

I received a gifted copy of THE GIFTS by Liz Hyder from Sourcebooks Landmark. Thank you also to Dreamscape Media for the gifted audiobook.

THE GIFTS is a historical fiction novel set around 1840 with a fantasy twist. In the beginning we meet a woman running through the woods in pain when wings suddenly come from her back. In London, rumors of a fallen angel begin to spread. A doctor is obsessed with the stories and the potential for medical proof while his wife is left to wonder what he is up to. This multi-POV novel also follows a woman reporter and a stranger to town with secrets to keep.

The premise of this one had me intrigued enough to pick it up even though historical fiction has been a bit hit or miss for me. The opening chapter did immediately capture my attention though and I thought that it was so well done to gain interest. After that I had a bit of struggle staying engaged at times. Being inside the doctor’s head was the most rough for me and while I think his obsession and his negative qualities were intentional, it was rough to read from. Trigger warnings for cruelty against animals and women.

The women in the story were much more engaging for me and I did enjoy reading those POVs. I liked that these women were in a world where women didn’t have a lot of rights, but they tried to find ways to work around the system set against them.

The audiobook for this was well done and it helped me keep going even when there were a few places where I found the story to get a little slow. I did really enjoy seeing how everything wrapped up in the end.

Interesting premise: a few women start growing wings. Interesting issues: gender, class, medicine, magic. But the payoff was not what it could have been.


Review copy provided by publisher.

I found this book extremely hard to get into, despite the terrific narration. When I finally did get focused, I was rewarded with a graphic murder of a dog. I glanced at a few of the other reviews and saw that this was just a taste of more bad things to come, so I'm fine with putting this down as unfinished.

Set in Victorian England, this is a fable about females and the abuse they suffer at the hands of men- be it intentional or not. The plot is set in motion when a fisherman rescues an angel who has fallen into the Thames. We are then introduced to four female characters whose lives become entwined with both the angel, and a surgeon who is a religious zealot. His greedy ambition is his downfall, leading to the suffering of his wife and other women. I appreciated the nods to the importance and beauty of nature, but the mystical happenings left me cold. The chapters are brief; told by the varying women. I found this device to make the novel seem disjointed, creating a lack of flow of the story. I was ultimately disappointed in this brutal tale.

Thank you to Dreamscape Media & NetGalley for allowing me to read and review this book

Not for me, I found The Gifts difficult to get into, and I don't do well with novels involving harm to animals, especially dogs, so I decided not to finish.

I couldn't finish this book. The writing was not great, and the constant switching of perspectives was jarring. The worst, though was the dog murder that was pretty graphically described. I couldn't stick with it much after that. I know this book will probably be for some people, but it was not for me. I struggled with it from the beginning, and the violence toward animals just put it over the edge for me. I couldn't do it.

Set in the Victorian era - 1840, when women were second class citizens and poverty levels were high, this tale follows the frustrating lives of four women after a winged woman is dragged from the Thames. A wonderfully dark historical fiction, with a sprinkling of magical realism, the slowly interlinking tales really bind this narrative together. (I have given a brief outline of each woman below, as it was a little hard to remember each at first).


Natalia - Scottish traveller and gifted storyteller who journeys by ship to London after being disowned by her family.


Etta - A talented and entirely unappreciated botanist, who lives with her cruel half brother after her fathers demise.



Mary - An excellent writer, who lives with her uncle Joss, a grieving drunk, but a successful journalist whom she often covers for when he is in a drunken stupor.

Annie - Skilled artist and lonely wife of Edward - an ambitious surgeon who is desperate for prowess and status as he overlooks his wife’s sadness as they struggle with infertility.

This really is a brilliant and beautiful book, it took me about 25% to get into it properly, but thoroughly worth it as I couldn’t stop listening after that.

CW - Dissection, vivisection, amputation, graphic, infertility