✨DNF

✨I don’t think I have ever not finished a book that I didn’t see myself coming back to at a different time. but I simply cannot bring myself to finish this book.

✨I was very interesting in the concept of this book and the synopsis sounded extremely promising. the biggest issue that I had though, was that the cast of characters felt never ending and I could not differentiate between them at alllll. they all had the same voice to me and i wasn’t interested in the different stories they had to share.

✨another huge part of this story is very scientific and almost Frankenstein in nature. there’s essentially a mad scientist character that performs a bit of a barbaric act in the first few moments of the book, which was unsettling and I know was another reason a lot of people ended up not enjoying the book as well.

✨for me, in the end, I was quickly nearing the halfway point and could not identify the voice between most of the main character perspectives and that is a big issue for me.

✨thank you to NetGalley and Sourcebooks Landmark for allowing me to read an eARC in exchange for my honest review.

I am not sure I can say much more than I loved this book. The plot, the flow, that characters, they are all great! I have recommended this book to many already, and I requested out campus library buy a copy!

The Gifts is a captivating story that seamlessly blends historical fiction with elements of fantasy. This remarkable tale explores themes of ambition, faith, and survival, taking readers on a haunting and thrilling journey. Hyder's writing is wonderful, drawing me in with vivid descriptions and well-crafted characters.

I’m a little obsessed with stories set in the 1800s that follow oppressed women who fight back so when I saw this new release from Sourcebooks Landmark I knew I needed to read it.

🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 Setting - England October 1840

🙋‍♀️ Characters:

🩺 Edward - An obsessive surgeon who is desperate to get out of his colleague’s, Samuel, shadow

👩‍🎨 Annie - Edward’s wife, she loves to paint and is having trouble conceiving with Edward, her marriage begins to strain as Edward becomes preoccupied with his latest mysterious research in their basement

😇 Etta - A mixed race young women who opens the book by running through the countryside sprouting wings

🕵️‍♀️ Mary - A wannabe journalist who wants to get to the bottom of the “angel” sightings that are the talk of the town

😭 Natalya - After losing her baby, she travels to London to connect with her distant relatives after denouncing God.

For the first 30% of this book each of these character’s stories remain separate. I found the pace to be a bit slow as I wasn’t sure where this book was going and how these characters were going to connect.

Once all the storylines blur the story becomes much more engaging, but I think this book could’ve been much tighter. It’s 448 pages! There are a lot of chapters of characters traveling or just check-ins. I think all of those could’ve been edited out. The reader can connect the dots.

There is an interesting discussion here about religion and science that just scratches the surface. I would’ve liked Hyder to lean into this a bit more. My biggest complaint is that the real mystery isn’t really solved.

BUT the female characters are compelling and I will never get tired of reading about the bonds of female relationships.

This had an interesting premise, and I liked all of the women main characters and the overarching plot. This novel addresses so many things, including the arts, humanities, and sciences, and the women practicing them despite all of the roadblocks in their way in Victorian England. I appreciated how these women just wanted to pursue knowledge for its own sake, providing a sharp contrast to the one male main character, the doctor. It really does serve to show the dark sides of both ambition and religious zeal, how both can be used to justify inhumane and indescribable actions.

However, the book fell a little short in a few areas. The characterization felt a bit flat and honestly confusing for the doctor's wife. I am still honestly not sure whether it was the character who couldn't make up her mind on what to do about her husband, or the author who couldn't quite decide what to do with the character. Either way, there wasn't much character development here until the end of the book. I also felt like too much time was spent with the doctor, with his whole personality/schtick of ambitious, greedy zealot getting pretty repetitive and one-note. I wish even more time had been spent with the women of this story instead, since the whole story was about the women's gifts .

Finally, while I am glad that this book emphasized the ultimate courage and determination of the women, I wish more time had been spent showing them thriving besides those very brief glimpses at the end. They were all wonderful characters, and deserved more happiness and joy.

In the end, I didn't like this book as much as the premise would have suggested, even though it had some great characters and themes.

“The Almighty has entrusted me, Edward Algernon Meade, with an angel and I must tell no one else of it.” The Gifts by Liz Hyder is a slow burn novel that is told through five different points of view; the surgeon, Edward Meake and his artist wife, Annie, a journalist, Mary, a storyteller, Natalya and Etta, a botanist. The Angel of the Thames becomes the talk of the town. “If there’s an actual body, it would be proof that angels exist!” said Mary. Thanks to NetGalley and Sourcebooks Landmark for the ARC.

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.

The very different lives of Mary, Annie, Etta and Natalya will collide in this intriguing tale of historical fiction about women with wings- yes wings. It's 1840 and Annie's husband Edward is a surgeon who has always felt second best to his colleague Samuel but then he acquires the corpse of a woman fished out of the Thames- a woman with wings. Mary is struggling to keep her head and that of her uncle above water by finishing the articles he's supposed to be writing. Etta, born in the Caribbean, has been living a small life in the countryside where she loves botany and her dog Scout. And then there's Natalya, whose loss is huge and who is the first live angel Edward captures and imprisons in his basement. The story unfolds through these women as Edward's madness accelerates. Annie has no idea what's happening but Mary smells a story and sets off to find the truth about a woman with brown wings brought to London. It's fascinating and layered with both tragedies and bright spots. I was surprised at how much I enjoyed this (wings, really?) . Hyde's a terrific storyteller and this became a page turner for me. Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC. Great read.

A dark feminist novel that mixes historical fiction with magical realism and a dash of fantasy. In 1840’s London, a young surgeon is desperate to make a name for himself, and when he finds a woman with natural wings, he’s sure he’s found his way to fame, but ambition can bleed into obsession and when more than one fallen angel is discovered, the cost can never match a woman’s worth. With short chapters and 5 POVs, this gothic novel is atmospheric, pensive, and exploratory!

I’m not exactly sure how I feel about this book quite yet. The plot and writing are fine, but for some reason I wasn’t pulled into the story. The chapters are short and there are at least 5 different points of view. Sometimes you’ll have a chapter from a random minor character’s POV so there was a lot of “head hopping.” We never find out WHY these women grow wings and perhaps that was the point? Edward’s point of view kind of overpowered the others. For me, this book was less about strong women in Victorian London and more about the dangers of confusing greed and ambition with “god’s will.”

In the mid-1800’s, an angel is pulled from a river in London. Or so a surgeon believes when he comes across the body of the woman with wings. He is desperate to dissect her, to head a great scientific discovery, to gain fame. But the story isn’t truly about him — it’s about the ordinarily extraordinary women.

It is an interesting book that combines fantasy, history, and the gothic. I had a hard time really getting invested in the writing. It is slow, methodical, while at the same time often having extremely short chapters… which only makes things stretch out longer (and in present tense, which was unusual enough to make me pause a few times). But it seems to be well-researched and carefully planned.

CW: There are dissections and amputations that are described in a fair amount of detail… just imagine what you could expect in an 1800’s surgery.

This book started out slow for me. There seems to be a lot of characters and it took away to keep them straight.
I do think the book got better more than half way through.
It has a bit of a mystery to it and a little romance also.
Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for the early copy

This was a great read-a different book than my usual, but I’m so grateful to NetGalley for the advanced read!

Thank you to Sourcebooks Landmark’s and Poisoned Pen Press’s influencer program for the advanced copy of this book!

The book follows the lives of multiple characters in 19th century London after the rumors of a fallen angel start circulating. Multiple women end up with wings sprouting from their backs, which causes a frenzy across the city, and causes a surgeon to become obsessed. The book mixes historical fiction with science, religion, fantasy, and a bit of horror so well. The blurbs about the book mention Essex Serpent as a similar book, but I would suggest this to people who love Carnival Row. While it's not as fantasy as Carnival Row is, it gave me the same feeling. A darker, grittier historical novel with fantasy elements, but even the description of the wings bursting forth feels very real. It kept me guessing about what was going to happen until the very end. Very much recommend for people looking for a low fantasy novel.

The Gifts is a historical fantasy with elements of mystery and romance. The story is told from the point of view of four strong women who refuse to conform to societies expectations of them. The plot is difficult to sum up because of the different perspectives and subplots so I will skip straight to my thoughts.

This story is so rich with historical detail! The read is transported to the Victorian Era and immersed in the city life of London and the beauty of the English countryside. Along with the setting, the writing was beautiful and felt authentic to the time period.

The author does an amazing job of creating strong dynamic characters. Mary and Richard were my favorite. I loved Mary’s adventurous spirit and how Richard treats her as an equal. Edward, the antagonist, is a despicable but strong character. His ambition creates the main conflict in the novel and ultimately causes his downfall.

There are several subplots and the story is told from multiple points of view. This made the beginning of the novel extremely hard to follow. I ended up writing a list of characters so that I could keep them straight. However, once the characters stories started to co verge it was a lot easier to follow.

I really had no idea what to expect when I started reading this book. I knew it would have some supernatural aspects, some science, and probably some religion. It really was so much more. It really showed what the role of women was in that time period and how it was for women to go against the beliefs of that time. It was a thoroughly enjoyable book and I would recommend it highly.

Not at all what I expected! But just as good. When I hear about angels and swings i automatically think that the book will be about messages from God and be hopeful and reaffirm my faith. Wrong! This is a book about the majesty of women. It showcases the power that women have stored within them. It’s the power that is released when needed. Aside from all that, the storyline is clever and makes for a great read. It’s a book about friends, evangelical fanaticism and surgeons in the London of the 1840’s. I was given a digital ARC to read by Sourcebooks Landmark and NetGalley. This review is my own and the book deserves 4 stars.

Unique story set in the 1800s in London where a female with wings is pulled out of the Thames river. A surgeon, desperate to make a name for himself, quietly acquires the body, dissects it, then happens upon 2 more similar, but live, "specimens." He spirals down with compulsive, self-centered behavior. Several heroines emerge in the story.

This is a really unique historical fantasy, about three women who were changed into what can be described as fallen angels, a medical surgeon, and a few curious women. I really loved the way the women essentially stood up to the men and worked together to save themselves. Edward, the surgeon, is a very twisted and sadistic man who enjoys experimenting and dissecting women and pets. He is a bit of a religious zealot and the theme of saving the damned, finding gods way, and punishing the wicked was prevalent. This isn’t my usual genre but I did enjoy the mix of historical and fantastical aspects. It read on the slower side for me, which most historical fiction does. I definitely enjoyed the writing style.

I received an electronic ARC from SOURCEBOOKS Landmark through NetGalley.
It takes a few chapters to sort through the various characters and their places in the overall storyline. Hyder has chosen a short chapter (sometimes one paragraph) format to spin out the lives of her women and the men who move through their lives. Readers meet three women who, for unexplained reasons, develop wings - one is dead; one's wings are removed; one is stunning and finds her power. All cross paths with the surgeon, Edward Meake and become prisoners of his ambition and need for accolades and acceptance. Through the course of the story, readers find out the background for each character and why they have become who they are. The story is a bit disjointed in some of the transitions but the overall themes are clear.