This book initially got my attention because I love historical fiction and I wanted to branch out into other genres too, fantasy being one of them. This turned into one of the most disturbing reads for this year, possible ever.

The cruelty in this book, to humans and animals alike made me want to stop reading several times. Edward was absolutely wrapped up inside his ideas of grandeur and what he saw as his mission from God. What kept me reading is hoping he would see sense. While that didn’t happen the way I thought it would, I have to say that part was good.

One of my favorite characters was Natalya. The stories she told within this novel were fantastic.

Etta, Mary, Richard. I wanted to see how their stories ended too.

I have seen a few people say that this book will be one the reader either loves or doesn’t. Sadly, I fall into the does not like category.

Thank you to Sourcebooks for the copy of this book. All views are my honest opinion.

It’s book review time. This month, I decided a little fantasy might be nice, mixed with a bit of historical fiction which is outside my wheelhouse. The Gifts by Liz Hyder was released yesterday (the 25th) from Sourcebooks Landmark. As usual, I must thank them and NetGalley for access to an ARC in exchange for an honest and unbiased review. Let’s get to it.

The Gifts follows a number of different characters on their journeys until it becomes clear how they all fit together. A woman who doesn’t really know what kind of man her husband is. The husband who doesn’t realize how far he has fallen in his path for righteousness and riches. Two women who lose everything before they can find themselves. And another young woman who follows her heart in an attempt to find her calling. It’s a story of fates intermingling and the strength it takes to look at the world even when you don’t like what you see.

So, I went into this book knowing that it was told from five different perspectives. That’s a lot, but manageable. What I didn’t know was that it’s written in third person omniscient, which means that we get thoughts and feelings from pretty much every character mentioned in this story. I hate this POV because it causes unnecessary confusion and is almost always a cluttered mess. This particular book has a few confusing moments, but it’s fairly good about separating people and their thoughts/feelings. It still seems cluttered, though. If you are wary about this POV, I admit this is one of the better examples of it that I’ve read, but I’m still bitter that I chose something with it. This is definitely a me thing.

For me, the pacing was slow and things were super repetitive. This seems to be a trend in most of the historical fiction I’ve read, so I don’t really know if it’s a pro or a con. I don’t care for it. I wanted to skip a lot of it. Is this something people enjoy? Being told basically the same stuff over and over? And then the ending feels rushed, even though it’s actually nicely paced, because everything else was so slow.

The characters were an interesting mix. I would’ve liked to learn more about Natalya. Her and Mary were my favorites. Annie and Etta came across as too perfect and didn’t really have any room to grow. I was a little annoyed that all the men were douches. Even Richard, though I don’t think he was supposed to be. The only male character with any hope of being a decent human being is Charlie and he’s just a kid. It was weird. I get the book is about tearing down the patriarchy and all that, but there should be at least one likeable dude.

The writing was nice. There were some lovely images and a few lyrical places. And there were grotesque places at times. Even though the book was long and slow, the writing made it a smooth read.

Ultimately, The Gifts wasn’t my cup of tea. Most of my issues with it were me problems, but I liked the writing, so I wouldn’t turn away from another book by Hyder.

Overall, I gave it 3 out of 5 stars. Maybe 2 and a half. If you’re into historical fiction with a little fantasy splashed in, check it out. Otherwise, you’re not missing much.

In a Nutshell: A historical fantasy written in literary fiction style. Won’t work for every reader due to the slow pacing and the writing approach, but I liked the plot. Triggers galore!

Story Synopsis:
1840, England.
Etta: A young woman of mixed parentage, Etta is dealing with the grief of her pet dog’s passing when two huge wings suddenly rip themselves from her shoulders.
Edward: An ambitious surgeon, Edward is tired of being under the shadow of his best friend Samuel. When an opportunity possibly leading to fame and fortune comes his way, Edward knows he mustn’t let it go.
Alice: Edward’s wife and hobby painter, Alice knows Edward is up to something, but can’t get him to reveal more.
Natalya: Cast out from her community, Natalya is making her way to her cousin in London, unaware of what lies in store for her.
Mary: A poor but clever young woman, Mary finds herself investigating a weird rumour in London about the ‘Angel of the Thames.’
How the lives of these five characters get crazily intertwined forms the rest of the bizarre plot.
The story comes to us in the third-person perspective of these five characters.

Bookish Yays:
😍 The unique plot, combining historical fiction and magical realism in a literary writing style. When it comes to magical realism, over-explaining kills the fun. The author reveals just enough details to keep us invested, but doesn’t explain/justify the reasons for the fantastical elements. This keeps the magic alive.
😍 The story covers some excellent themes, especially highlighting how the craze for science and the obsession over religion can have common roots. Both are a wait for a ‘Eureka’ moment, a miracle. Usually, one is based in logic and the other in faith. But this book depicts how an overlap is possible. It becomes quite thought-provoking.
😍 Surprisingly for a historical fiction work, there are many strong female characters. The leading ladies are all shown realistically (limited by the men in their lives), yet they aren’t doormats. They create their own space, and can fight for themselves when the time comes.
😍 The 1840s atmosphere is convincingly recreated. (With a feminist twist, of course.)
😍 I rarely have a soft spot for foreshadowing, but this book uses it effectively. I liked the hinted tidbits that sealed the gap between scenes without disclosing major spoilers.
😍 Mary’s arc was my favourite as it contains all the necessary ingredients for a memorable character and an impactful track. Her rapport with Richard is charming. The other women’s arcs are also quite well-written. Most of the secondary characters make a mark in their limited roles; only a few are stereotypical.
😍 There is a minor homosexual track. Though mainly hinted at, I still loved how it was woven seamlessly into the plot.
😍 The ending worked very well for me. It didn’t force a perfect solution; rather, the plot led itself to a believable culmination.

Bookish So-Sos:
😐 I enjoyed seeing the scenes from five different points of view, four of which were women. The third person narration ensures that the proceeding is somewhat easy. However, five perspectives automatically means plenty of characters and, as the story progresses, plenty of interconnections as well. It takes some time to remember who is who. Moreover, the switch in character perspectives sometimes happens too often. Though this isn’t too confusing because of the third person, it takes some time to get attuned to.

Bookish Nays:
😟 While slower pacing is to be expected in a character-oriented novel, the progress drops almost to a standstill in the middle. For an almost 450 page book, this is a substantial hurdle as it creates a dip in the interest level.
😟 There are a few highly triggering scenes concerning dogs. While a couple of these scenes might have been essential to detail the nature of that specific character, the rest felt forced in. This might be traumatising for sensitive animal lovers, so proceed with caution. I had to zoom through those sections because it was too much for me, but I also didn’t want to keep the book aside. Furthermore, there are dark scenes connected to the medical procedures of those times.
😟 While I am okay with the magical-realism bits remaining unexplained, I did want an explanation of the realistic parts of the plot that were left hanging. These weren’t major loopholes, but they stuck out like gaps in the jigsaw.


All in all, I enjoyed this unusual historical fantasy. If you like character-oriented novels, don’t mind (or can skip over) triggering scenes, and have no problem with multiple perspectives or magical realism, do give this a try. As the long list of ‘ifs’ indicates, this isn’t a book for everyone.
I must add that this is a novel to be read, not heard. With a mix of long and short chapters, multiple characters, and interlinked arcs, this won't be a comfortable audiobook even if you are an attuned listener.

4 stars.

My thanks to Sourcebooks Landmark and NetGalley for the DRC of “The Gifts”. This review is voluntary and contains my honest opinion about the book.

✨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.