I had high hopes for this horror novel set in a psychiatric clinic following the treatment of two sisters Addie & Dorian who have a strange condition in which they're violent tendencies have stopped them from being 'quelled' or form attachments to people, other than each other.
I was intrigued at first, the imagery was punchy and there were some horrific moments at the beginning. I was also interested in Dr Lark the psychiatrist in charge of the sisters care. The book looks at at control and nature vs nurture but doesn't go into much depth so I was left wanting.
Unfortunately not very interesting and I ended up skimming the final 50 pages or so just to get it finished.

I recieved an ARC of this book from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. I loved this book and will recommend it often to lovers of mysteries, thrillers, and suspense novels!

This book follows two sisters who suffer from attachment issues. I enjoyed(?) the themes about mental illness and how the book was told from different perspectives. It also left me with lots of unanswered questions but not necessarily in a bad way.

Addie and Dorian are sisters. Wait. They are more than sisters. They do not exist without each other. Living together in an mental facility since their childhood, they only interact with each other, their strange doctor, Dr Lark, and Simon and Ellie - their nurses.

The sisters are suffering from attachment disorder, as result of their traumatic childhood. This isn't trauma in the way that some books will gloss over - this is trauma where they beat the shit out of each other, breaking bones and disfiguring each other. This is trauma where they only watch nature programs and are made to hold hands constantly. There are elements of Constance and Merricat from "We Have Always Lived In A Castle" minus the wonder and beauty of Shirley Jackson. This is gritty.

Told in a few different point of view (the sisters, Simon, Ellie, Dr Lark), we see the sisters growing and changing, while Dr. Lark spirals in his need for a 'cure'. This is a story of more than just the sisters, but also of the state of mental health.

Some readers have noted the rather rushed and abrupt ending. Frankly, I loved it. It was exactly what this story needed.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read and review this book.

I received this as a digital copy from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
I read this over the course of a day, beginning around noon, and finishing at midnight, This was a very different style of book for me, and I welcomed it, and the authors writing as a nice divergent from my usual book taste. I found this book to be interesting, well written for the most part, just, unfortunately, a little disjointed.
This book follows a period of time in the lives of sisters living in a mental health facility. They suffer from Reactive Attachment Disorder, and disorder when first described in the book didn't sound real, and I thought to be a cheap reason the author used to have these girls be oddly violent and have a reason to be in this facility. However, after a Wikipedia black hole search session, this disorder is very real and very interesting. It's a disorder in which a child (or in this case two) fail to develop proper attachments with people, and have heightened defensive instincts, trust issues, anger management, and as with these girls very violent, somewhat sociopathic and manipulative tendencies. These girls literally beat each other up a lot.
The book is written from multiple perspectives, the two girls Addie and Dorian, two nurses, Simon and Elsie, and finally Dr. Lark, who has spent his career researching this disorder. This style holds both this books strongest and weakest moments, which I'll get into later in this review. We follow their life when they are in their late teens, undergoing therapy and a new attempt at curing them, and as Addie begins to mature and desire physical intimacy and motherhood.
The beginning was incredibly interesting. The author's writing was flourished, and filled with flowery metaphors, but at no point did this bother me in the beginning, it felt right and helped give these girls a very thoughtful and introspective air about them. Reading about their treatment, and their thoughts from their two varying perspectives helped me get to know them, they were well fleshed out and individuals. Also, reading from multiple perspectives allowed you to see that not all is what it seems. You'd read an encounter and form opinions and judgments, only to read the same encounter from the eyes of the other and see that more was happening, each slightly editing their stories to how they believed it happened. Dorian's seemingly less successful participation in the treatment, and Addie's seemingly more successful one, and her desire for intimacy that made me feel she was on her way to being cured, that she was the most "cured" of the two.
As the book goes on, Addie somewhat self-medicates herself by seducing a nurse, Simon, which the intentions of getting pregnant, something Dorian seemingly has a lot of disdain for. She also seduces Dr.Lark, and when she does get pregnant the story takes a different feel and route. These early chapters of their day to day, the treatments, them tending their seahorse tank and garden, the seduction of Simon, I loved. Somehow in this day to day, I found a beautiful story, one that had many layers as each character showed their side (like learning that Dorian is actually showing the most success when reading Dr.Larks side).
However, the middle of this book lost steam for me, the consequences of the pregnancy, Simon and Dr. Lark handling it in their own ways. The involvement of pro-lifers and a megachurch when abortion is suggested. This part drew on and on and on, and wasn't nearly as well written. What used to be a fantastic tactic to tell the story (the perspectives) became repetitive, as the story would be retold 3 different times, by 3 different people with nothing added to it, no "oh so this is what really happened". Full blocks of conversation would be repeated, the timeline got muddled in a few places when flashbacks or flash forwards weren't given enough room to breathe or framed properly. For example, there was a chapter referencing Simon as having quit 2 months ago, and then suddenly it was the same day again, I had to reread the section to reorient myself so I knew where in the timeline it was. Also after a while, all the characters sounded the same. Everyone thought in the same flowery metaphors which just wasn't fitting for the characters. Addie and Dr. Lark and even Dorian's thought were fitting with these introspective poetic thoughts, but the nurses Simon and Ellie, it just didn't work, and sometimes I'd have to double check whose perspective it was from. Certain tertiary characters were pointless, the mentor's role, Simon and Mel's "relationship". Also, certain character's story arcs felt uninspired and forced (cough Simon cough).
The book regains it's steam in the end, with the carrying out of the pregnancy, the culmination of the treatment, and the subsequent finale that leads you to wonder how much of it was planned by these manipulative girls, were they playing a long game? You learn to love them and care for them, only to be very harshly reminded that they are unwell, and how much of their actions were recovery and how much were them playing the game the only way they know.
This book writing parallels the pattern of their treatment, it's a slow burn and builds nicely, then a catharsis, and then the lingering question of regression or success. The mood was ever present and looming. I truly wanted to know the result, only to be met with something that I love, but many hate, and that's a someone anticlimactic ending. No final release. This is not a happy book, nor does it end on a happy note. Sometimes there is no cure, and no matter what you hope for (as a reader, and as the nurses and doctor in this book), sometimes, things just don't get fixed.
With a reworking of the middle of this book, it would be extremely good, and one that would stick with me, like "One Flew over the Cuckoo's Nest", "Flower's for Algernon" and "The Music of Dolphins". As someone who suffers from Bipolar disorder I found myself very introspective while reading this. However, it suffered from bullet point syndrome, though not nearly as bad as many books I've read. This syndrome is when it feels too obvious that the author had fits of passion and wrote these moments like bullet points, and then kind of just filling in the gaps in between. More often than not books have multiple bullet points, this book I'd argue had the beginning and the end planned, and then the middle was just kind of written to connect the two but lacked the inspiration of the two.
All in all, an interesting and very well written read, and worth the read as well. I just won't judge you if you skim the middle chunk, as it took everything in my power not to. I'm intrigued to see what else this author will bring to the writing world.
P.S. Add this book to GoodReads, as it's a bibliophile's best friend, and I'd love to put my review there.

This is the strange story of two sisters, Addie and Dorian, who have been institutionalised in a mental facility since children. They have been diagnosed as suffering an attachment disorder as a result of their traumatic childhood. Under the management of Dr Lark who uses them to find a 'cure' for their disorder, the story explores themes of psychiatric treatments and abuses.

It is very engaging and accessible in terms of the writing and subtle in the points it's making. There are numerous layers and would make for a good discussion as important turning points are open to interpretation. The characters aren't particularly likeable but the intriguing story makes that irrelevant. I've not read a story quite like it before and as such it was an original take for me. I found the ending sudden and didn't expect it. It was almost like someone said to the writer: 'Ok, that's enough, wrap it up now' and she did - very quickly. Overall, well worth a read and a good book for book clubs.

Alien-like Tennessee siblings neglected by an unstable mother and absent father, are blamed for a gruesome and wholly unfathomable crime and fueled by wildlife TV programming at their childhood home and subsequent psychiatric institution. The narrative point of view switches jarringly from Dorian and Addie the patients and members of their medical team, Dr. Lark, Evie and Simon. Everybody's objectives and motivations were so skewed I found it debilitating. I liked the title, and the theme of divergence among family members (sister victims Addie and Dorian, sister heroes Evie the nurse and Mel the activist, Dr. Lark and his mother, etc) and the author does an epic job of presenting medical horrors - from new age quackery to opiate addiction to the loss of basic mental health. All the elements just didn't come together cohesively for me.

Two sisters who are now in their late teens, have been in a secure mental institution since they were young children. The story revolves around the girls and the people treating them. In this literary novel, the themes of the most severally mentally ill are treated and the motives of those who treat them are vividly illustrated. There is also an explanation motives of the people in the anti-abortion movement.

The writing is tight with no extra words added. The story is propelled by several unique points of view that each add a layer to narrative.

I hope this book gains the success I think it deserves at is amazing.