beautiful well written and absorbing. Just loved this story. I expect a movie will be made ! Many thanks to publisher and to NetGalley for providing me with a galley in exchange for my honest opinion.

HEster was a really well done re-telling of The Scarlet Letter. I really enjoy all of these women led retellings as I find it really takes back the story.

Thank you to netgalley and the publishers for providing me with an arc for an honest review.

Not at all what I was expecting but that is probably more my fault than anything else so I'm not factoring that in. I did not enjoy this book, the characters were hard to connect with.

Isobel is trying to hide secrets and find her place in a whole new world. Nathaniel Hawthorne and her meet, they are drawn toward one another. When Isobel’s husband leaves on another voyage, they spend more time together. This story is about the complicated history of our ancestors and how we try to understand the choices they make.

Unputdownable. I tore through this book like wildfire. The Scarlet Letter but a thousand times better. I love when you can tell the author loves reading. Phenomenal.

Isobel Gamble is a young seamstress carrying generations of secrets when she sets sail from Scotland in the early 1800s with her husband, Edward. An apothecary who has fallen under the spell of opium, his pile of debts have forced them to flee Edinburgh for a fresh start in the New World. But only days after they've arrived in Salem, Edward abruptly joins a departing ship as a medic––leaving Isobel penniless and alone in a strange country, forced to make her way by any means possible.

When she meets a young Nathaniel Hawthorne, the two are instantly drawn to each other: he is a man haunted by his ancestors, who sent innocent women to the gallows––while she is an unusually gifted needleworker, troubled by her own strange talents. As the weeks pass and Edward's safe return grows increasingly unlikely, Nathaniel and Isobel grow closer and closer. Together, they are a muse and a dark storyteller; the enchanter and the enchanted. But which is which?

In this sensuous and hypnotizing tale, a young immigrant woman grapples with our country's complicated past, and learns that America's ideas of freedom and liberty often fall short of their promise. Interwoven with Isobel and Nathaniel's story is a vivid interrogation of who gets to be a "real" American in the first half of the 19th century, a depiction of the early days of the Underground Railroad in New England, and atmospheric interstitials that capture the long history of "unusual" women being accused of witchcraft. Meticulously researched yet evocatively imagined, Hester is a timeless tale of art, ambition, and desire that examines the roots of female creative power and the men who try to shut it down.

If you've ever read The Scarlet Letter, this is for you. An enchanting back story to a book that I read in high school with a leading lady that discovers her strength as she journeys from England to America and finally Halifax. What Wicked does for the Wizard of Oz, this one does it for The Scarlet Letter. I love getting to read books on @NetGalley. #Hester #lovereading #readinggoals2022 #reading #netgalley #netgalleyreview #netgalleyreads #laurielicoalbanese

Hester came across my newsfeed quite awhile ago and I had requested it from Netgalley, then promptly forgot to read it because my to-read pile is rather insane. The premise sounded amazing--bits and pieces of The Scarlet Letter, Puritan New England, and more, so when I finally noticed it again, it ended up being a two night read. Historical fiction is a favorite of mine and Hester covered a time period I don't usually pick.

I seriously regret not reading this book sooner. Once I started it, I could barely put it down, only the need for sleep finally convinced me to pause for the evening.

Unlike a lot of current historical fiction, there wasn't a dual storyline in Hester detailing the past and the present. While Hester's family history is shared in the book, the majority of the book is Hester herself, taking place during the early 1800s.

The story covers a time period that isn't really covered in many contemporary novels. Reading the early days of New England, the people, the societal expectations, etc, made for an amazingly well done story, and provided a unique background into what could have driven Hawthorne to write The Scarlet Letter. While Hester's character is obviously fictional, the setting really provides so much more insight into the mindsets of the people of New England at the time.

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Such an wonderful read. The Scarlet Letter retold from the viewpoint of Hester and her experiences made of a compelling tale.

This one was a little slow going for me, I had trouble staying focused on the story and as I was listening to the audiobook I found myself having to go back to relisten to parts quite a bit. I may have done better with a physical copy, but I didn't receive one to review. The premise is interesting and the historical details seem to be on point. I was fascinated with The Scarlet Letter when we read it in school so I was excited to read this book.

Hester by Laurie Lico Albanese is a work of historical fiction that has a very creative and interesting plot. The main character is a seamstress who is married to a man who has a opium addiction. In the 1800's a woman's life was extremely difficult and this is aptly depicted in this novel. The main character meets Nathaniel Hawthorne. It is believed that the main character was the inspiration for Hester in the Scarlet Letter. Although this is a work of fiction it is certainly plausible that this was how the Hester Prynne character in the Scarlet Letter came to life. I would highly recommend reading Hester. Thank you to Laurie Lico Albanese, NetGalley, and St. Martin's Press for allowing me to read this novel in exchange for a fair and honest review.

This is such a cool retelling. I live history, especially that of the Salem witch trials, and enjoy retellings focused on female stories and power. Having read the scarlet letter in school like many, and generally learned about this era, it was neat to go back into that world through a novel like this that felt at once both narrative and meticulously researched.

Who was the muse behind Nathaniel Hawthorne's The Scarlet Letter? Can a town move beyond its past?
Can a person, particularly a woman, move beyond their own past and the generations before them?

We find that although witch trials in Salem are a thing of the past, women still live in fear of standing out in ways that may draw unfavorable attention. and though Massachusetts outlawed slavery, slave catchers still wander the town looking for their next bounty. These two facts drive the engrossing plot of Hester by Laurie Lico Albanese. It is a compelling read and perhaps what I enjoyed most was the strong, wise women who willingly risked everything to help not only each other but those whose only desire was to live free.
And what about Nathaniel Hawthorne? Well, he pretty much comes off as a schmuck. A recommended read for lovers of historical fiction and/or stories with women who rock.

I received a drc from the publisher via NetGalley.

Nathaniel Hawthorne’s The Scarlet Letter is an American classic familiar to almost anyone who took an eleventh-grade English class. Your mileage will almost certainly vary when it comes to how you feel about the novel—it can be difficult to find its heavy themes of sin and shame compelling in a modern-day context or square our own sensibilities with Hester Prynne’s insistence on protecting a man’s reputation at the expense of her own. But if you too have long struggled with finding something in Hawthorne’s novel to relate to (or had problems navigating its occasionally plodding prose), then Laurie Lico Albanese’s Hester is the book you need in your life this Fall.

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.