Another great read, not so much my thing will be checking out author and this type more often. I’d like to say this was more than 3 star but please just because it was 3 star don’t skip

I was excited about this book but it just didn’t grip me and I DNFed this book at about 25%, I was very disappointed with this one as I thought I’d love it

Thank you to the publisher, author and Netgalley for an Advance copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. This is a masterfully written novel about a young woman trapped in a marriage and her unusual friendship with a murderess.

At the beginning of the novel we learn that Clara Blackstone is returning from time spent in asylums to her husband's house in Durham. She is determined to put the horrific death of her child behind her and settle into married life with her ambitious husband - she is under pressure to be a prominent wife in the community and help him with his social climb.

She is encouraged to begin some charitable work and visits the infamous child and husband killer, Mary Ann Cotton, who is being held in the prison in Durham, awaiting trial. What starts out as morbid curiosity becomes a strange bond between these complex women and a possible means of escape from Clara's increasingly unbearable existence as the wife of an evil man.

I found some parts of this book very difficult to read, especially the terrible treatment Henry, Clara's husband, and other men subject Clara to. But this book is very well written and the black despair of Clara's life in interspersed with the knowledge that she eventually escapes her husband's devious plans.

The sympathy I felt for Mary Ann Cotton is difficult to explain and also a credit to this talented author, who writes with an equally strong grasp on empathy and history.

This is a dark, macabre and at times, uncomfortable read - but I relished every word.

thanks to netgalley and the publisher for providing me with a digital arc in exchange for an honest review.

this was quite the interesting read, i just think this book wasn't for me. i was frustrated the whole time i was reading this and just wanted to finish it. the main character is stagnant, the scene transitions are rough and not in a subtle way. i wanted more out of this, but it just didn't work for me at all.

It had a very interesting promise as a plot, but somehow I have found it very boringly written and I could only read it very slowly. Maybe it was because of my english knowledge as the writer used old and literature-like language. However, I have liked the parts when Clara and Mary Ann discussed, but Clara altogether and her life had the more boring parts until the last 100 pages. Oh and the end, it was so sad and annoying!! I would have written it differently.

" I BECAME ACQUAINTED with madness at the age of twenty-six"

After giving birth to a stillborn baby, Clara suffered a mental breakdown and as a result of the psychological trauma, her husband Henry locked her away in an asylum.
After a full year of physical and mental torment, a doctor declared that Clara can go back to her normal life with her husband. Soon after the release Clara finds out that her husband is not happy about her return and that he would do all he could to prove her mad and lock her in an asylum once more, this time for good, and his only aim is to seize her fortune.

As Clara and her husband go to their house in Durham, they face the news of Mary Ann Cotton, England's first female serial killer, who was thought to have killed twenty persons.
As her husband and his colleague attempt to prove her mad and do all they could to restrict her movement, Clara resorts to charitable work at the prison, where she meets the famous Mary Ann. Soon enough their relationship proves to be more than charitable work and develops into a friendship and a strong influence.
As the time passes we follow Clara's attempt to gain her freedom, but when everyone calls her mad, is there any chance of ever getting away?

What I loved about the book:
OH MY GOD!! This book is so dark. It has the right amount of horror, the right amount of madness and the gripping tale that will keep you on the edge of your seat.
The writing style was just so good. This is an absolute page turner.
This is a very good book that doesn't shy away from the fact that many women suffer a lot of pressure and hate.

Trigger warnings: violence, PTSD, Sexual violence, sexism, and mental disorder.

Thank you to Netgalley and Inkshares for providing a review copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Having suffered through the trauma of a stillbirth, Clara Blackstone is finally being released from the asylum her husband had committed her to. Joining her husband in his new home in Durham, where he has a new position, she quickly finds that her freedom is tenuous and her husband cold. A chance sighting of an infamous poisoner, Mary Ann Cotton, leads to obsession as she repeatedly visits her in prison.

Set in Victorian England, a time when women had no rights within marriage, this story explores ways in which women were endangered by a husband's power and greed along with other women's compliance and complicity. When all it took was two Doctor's signatures and a woman could be consigned to an insane asylum for life.

Clara is traumatized after the delivery of her child, at the asylum, and then in her new home as her husband Henry forces her to take a sleeping draught each night. And under the influence of a senior professor, it is Henry's mind that seems to be coming unhinged with the power he wields over Clara. As his intentions become clearer, Clara sinks farther under the influence of Mary Cotton.

Written in Clara's voice, this is not altogether an easy read, but the early scenes hooked me in as her narration reflects the splintering of a mind subjected to torturous medical treatments. Conversely, the lessons she learned in the asylum see her attempting to hold everything, allowing conversations to go on about and around her or to be overheard that illustrated the thinking of the time but were maddening to read.

A provocative, possibly polarizing, psychological thriller that is propelled as much by the writing as the story.

This review refers to a temporary digital galley I voluntarily read through NetGalley, courtesy of the publisher. A positive review was not required and these are only my own, honest opinions.

Thriller isn't something I usually go for: I've read exactly one book before The Savage Instinct that was meant to be haunting and it didn't really deliver. This one, though, did. Steeped in atmosphere and beautifully written, this book absolutely sucked me in from beginning to end. The pace at which the story unfolds is definitely a slow burn, but not so slow that you'll lose interest. As more and more eerie aspects about the two women it follows are revealed, the tension ramps up and then doesn't let go until the conclusion of it all.
Full review to come on my YouTube channel.

⭐⭐⭐
#thesavageinstinct
#marjoriedeluca
#arc
#NetGalley published 5/18/21
#inkshares

This was a perfectly OK book. Nothing special enough to keep me reading it quickly. Prior to the book, Clara had a still birth. She apparently lost her mind. He husband committed her to an asylum. Now she is trying to survive living with him again. Only with his current attitude, it is pretty impossible. She starts to visit MaryAnn Cotton, Britain's first female serial killer in prison. She get some interesting advice from her.

I wanted to like this more. But ALL of the men surrounding her were ready to re-commit her to the asylum for various reasons. Just hated the attitudes. They were probably "normal" of the time but there had to be some opposition, no?

The writing was done well enough. The descriptions were good. It just wasn't my thing. The publisher categorized this book as a #thriller and #mystery. I just didn't see it. Yes, there was a slight surprise at the end. But I definitely would not put it in any category but #historicalfiction.

#bookstagram #booknerds #bookworm #booklover #bookdragon #readalot #ilovereading #inkdrinker #librarymouse #booknerdbookreviews #bookaddict #bookaholic #bookreview #booknerdigan #bookish

I give it a sold 2.5 meh stars out of 5. I thought the premise was interesting, but it left a lot to be desired.

I really enjoyed that this was based on a real person, but also brought in a fictional character to propel the story forward. This is a stark truth of the way women were treated at the time, and I thought it was amazingly researched and written. If you enjoy historical fiction, I think you'll like this one!

There are some books which keep us on the edge of our seats and throw many twists and turns at us, thereby establishing a thrilling mood and feel to the story. But there are some which horrify and disturb us, where we feel like we have been thrust into a dark,  dank room with no light showing at the end of the tunnel. That is how I felt after reading The Savage Instinct by Marjorie DeLuca and I mean it in the best possible way. 

In terms of narrative and story- telling, I felt the author has a very great talent for bringing the reader into the world she weaves in the pages. The reader is completely transported into Victorian England and can almost feel they are there. She is a marvelous  writer and these are not the only reasons I am saying so. Marjorie has also explored and exposed the madness,  savage instincts and cruelty of all people around us - every day, ordinary people, along with the depraved, criminals and heartless people we are all so fond of condemning. 

She paints a clear, unvarnished and no-holds barred picture of Victorian society and how hard-put it was to be a woman then, so much so that, I felt chilled to my core. The lack of rights and means women endured then is a horror story in itself (not that things have improved a lot, we still have a long way to go). She has also managed to give insights into the minds of people, who want to get back at those who had wronged them. It is done brilliantly by not being judgmental, either way,  throughout the book. It's a brilliant work by the author but I am not sure I will read more of her work,  if they are going to be this dark as well. Nevertheless, 5 stars from me for a wonderful creation.

Love this crossover of historical thriller. The main character was so well-developed, I truly felt for her. I could not put this book down! Compelling and well-written, would definitely recommend!

Thanks to NetGalley and Inkshares for an egalley in exchange for an honest review

Mary Ann Cotton, she’s dead and she’s rotten. Lying in bed with her eyes wide open. Sing, sing, oh what should I sing? Mary Ann Cotton, she’s tied up with string. Where, where? Up in the air. Selling black puddings, a penny a pair.”

Marjorie DeLuca has written a book that is one of my favourite type of storylines. Victorian period, the wife is in an impossible situation where her husband treats her like a child, and all the men around her just want to put her in an asylum. Take my money, please!

The main protagonist, Clara Blackstone, reminded me of the woman in Charlotte Perkins Gilman's The Yellow Wallpaper, both faced trauma from their childbearing experiences yet they are treated like hysterical creatures with no higher intellectual skills. Add to that the tale of Mary Ann Cotton, a notorious serial killer who was found guilty of poisoning her own children and I felt that I just couldn't look away from this one. Such a good tale!

#TheSavageInstinct #NetGalley

Goodreads review published 03/06/21
Publication Date 18/05/21

Overall, I felt kinda meh about this book. Not necessarily bad, but not particularly memorable either. Giving it 2.5/5 Stars.

⭐⭐ -- I wanted to like this book more than I did. I just found it a bit on the boring side. I also didn't love Clara as a character or the ending. In fact, the ending very nearly made me throw my tablet across the room. 🤬 However, I enjoyed learning more about Mary Ann Cotton.

**ARC Via NetGalley**

The Savage Instinct gripped me from the start. It runs between two timelines which ultimately intersect, with you guessing throughout how the protagonist, Clara, reaches one from the other. What has happened to her husband?!

Taking elements from the true story of "Britain's first female serial killer', the infamous Mary Ann Cotton, said to have poisoned scores of husbands, lovers, and even her own children, the story gives a tale of how women in the Victorian era were ultimately at the hands of their husbands and fathers. There are parts that are infuriating, specifically as a female reader and get you thinking, how far would one have gone for freedom?

Thank you to Inkshares and Netgalley for a copy of the ARC in return for my honest review.

4.5*

I first heard about Mary Ann Cotton on a Lore podcast. When I saw the synopsis of The Savage Instinct on NetGalley, I had to request. This is a gloriously gothic, wonderfully grim and dark exploration of the confining social norms and expectations placed on Victorian women. I was hooked from the open page.

Mary Ann Cotton is England's first female serial killer. I adored how M.M. DeLuca weaved in the required historical fact into the narrative. Mary Ann is paradoxical and utterly unreliable. She pleads her innocence up until the end. I enjoy how DeLuca has represented her; she is charming. At times you believe that Mary Ann is the victim in all of this while, at other times, it is easy to justify her actions.

Despite Mary Ann's captivating history, she's not the focal point. Instead, she is the warped role model and close confident for our protagonist, Clara Blackstone. Clara sees the strength in Mary Ann that she lacks. The accused murder has taken control of her life and answers to no one.

My heart goes out to Clara. What we would not recognise as postnatal depression is the reason she's been lock away in an asylum. She classed as insane and deemed unfit for polite society. After one year of horror treatments, Clara's released. Her husband, Henry, expects her to slide back into her role as a dutiful wife. Despite the trauma, she’s been through. You can feel the suffocation and oppression Clara feels in her marriage. Henry lurks in the edges, watching her every move and quick to threaten to throw her back into the asylum. To escape the house, Clara volunteers as a spiritual guide at the prison. It is here she meets Mary Ann.

I am absolutely horrified at the medical treatment Clara received at the asylum. I had a vague understanding that the asylums were not the best, but I had no idea how much abuse they doled out to their patients. Clara's cures range from heavy doses of laudanum to daily cold-water treatment. These treatments start when she first arrives despite the fact, her body is still recovering from her traumatic labour.

M.M. DeLuca introduces some flash-forwards as the story moves on, which didn't work for me. I found them jarring. They cut the tension and suspense that has been building. Personally, I would have preferred these sections to part of an epilogue. In saying this, DeLuca was still able to throw in some unexpected twists.

This book holds back no punches. The Savage Instinct provides a terrifying and graphic look at the life of Victorian women. Gone is the romance of the period. They had no agency or control over their bodies, their minds or their lives. I adored the strange and unlikely friendship that bloomed between these two outcast women — the accused murder and the madwoman. Perfect for fans of Hannah Kent’s Burial Rites.

This book was really good. I felt with Clara and sometimes I got so frustrated and angry with how women was treated at that time I had to put the book down for a moment. The story was believable and it was well written. I can really recommend it.

This fascinating look at the tyranny of a male dominated Victorian age and its devastating effect on women is well illustrated in this novel in a unique way. Clara is a woman who is totally dominated by her fortune hunter husband Henry who commits her to an insane asylum in hopes of eventually inheriting the fortune bequeathed to her by her grandmother Izzie who lives in India for her health. When she is eventually released from the asylum and returns to Durham where her husband is a professor of mathematics at the local university she joins a group of ladies who visit the prisoners to offer "spiritual guidance" and meets the infamous poisoner Mary Ann Cotton. They develop a bond and Clara visits her often and learns much about her past as well as her philosophy concerning the domination of men and what women should do to protect themselves from it. She begins to take some of this advice to heart and thinks up a way of escaping from her husband but is thwarted several times. Eventually she pawns all her jewelry and escapes to her grandmother in India through the mysterious murder of her husband by two thugs which reminds Clara of something Mary Ann said to her once that for a bit of money some people would do anything. The part of the book that describes Mary Ann's hanging is quite emotional and moving. Her death throes show "the savage instinct" of life trying to override death even in the final moments. I thoroughly enjoyed this book and thank Net Galley and Inkshares, Inc. for giving me the opportunity to read this fascinating look at the dark side of Victorian society.