The Gifts by Liz Hyder
⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ 💫

Thank you @bookmarked and @netgalley for the chance to read this lovely book before it publishes in the US next week.

Set in mid 19th century England, an ambitious surgeon is desperate for fame and fortune. A divine corpse is pulled from the river. At the same time rumors of a fallen angel swirl around London. Impossibly, a young woman in the countryside erupts glorious wings from her shoulders. The surgeon is obsessed with these women who are sprouting wings and determined in leveraging them as medical discoveries to secure his place in the London scientific society.

The writing is poetic and cinematic. The reader feels immersed in the Victorian setting. From the slums of London to the rolling countryside to the dank basement science labs. The book is dark and gritty without being depressing.

Told through alternating POVs, four women weave together a story of their constrained lives and how they take back their own power. The feminism shines through but doesn't feel out of place with the times.

The chapters were short and propelled the story along quickly without feeling rushed. Overall, this is a wonderful book for readers who enjoyed Ten Thousand Doors of January or even The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue.

This novel melds historical fiction with magical realism to tell the stories of four women straining against the limitations imposed on them in Victorian England. The patriarchy very much pins them down, like specimens. In fact, when two of the women, Etta and Natalya, inexplicably grow wings, a young surgeon with a god complex holds them captive in his seeping London basement. In Edward's eyes, they are "his angels" -- no more than scientific specimens, and he treats them as such. The other two women are Edward's wife, Annie, from whom he has kept his captives secret, and a talented writer and budding journalist named Mary. Short, alternating chapters are told from the perspectives of each of the four, plus the increasingly ambition-crazed Edward. Chapters are introduced by a charming illustration that signals the chapter's POV character -- Etta the botanist is represented by an oak leaf, Mary the journalist by an inkpot and quill, Natalya the Orkney Islands dweller by a seashell, Annie the artist and beleaguered wife by a painter's palette, and Edward by a key. This book is for those who like a well-paced plot, descriptive prose, and strong female characters who overcome grief and hopeless situations to finally find their wings.

[Thanks to Sourcebooks Landmark and NetGalley for an opportunity to read an advanced reader copy and share my opinion of this book.]

I really wanted to get into this story, but what a mess. It was hard to keep track of who was doing what and where they were. Plot holes, and deaths/violence/actions that made absolutely no sense, and added little to the story. I believe it all comes down to how it was written. Characters perspectives, voices, and mannerisms changed mid-paragraph and I honestly had a hard time following along. I finished this one quickly, but I honestly feel more confused by what I read than a story that had narrative I could follow along and enjoy. It just did not make sense.

Also - trigger warnings would be welcome. The death mentioned on just the very first page almost had me DNF right there. The death of the beloved "friend" was more descriptive than most everything else in the story.

Just a no from me, I am truly sad to say I will probably not read another story from this author.

Thank you NetGalley for the opportunity to read this and give an honest opinion.

I really wanted to love this, but I just couldn't get invested in what was happening. I liked the first chapter when we meet Etta and wings sprout from her back, but the POVs switched every chapter, and there were so many different POVs that it made it hard to be invested in any one person. I did like the last few chapters, but it wasn't enough to change my overall enjoyment of the story.

The Gifts by Liz Hyder is a historical fiction steeped in magical realism. The book is multiple POV which could be a bit confusing as the chapter was not titled and did not necessarily indicate whose POV was currently happening. There is a lot going on in this story and I really enjoyed the girl power theme throughout. Although it starts a bit slow, it is definitely worth sticking with until the end.

The Gifts is a beautifully written historical fantasy that delivers several strong female POVs with a touch of mystery and magical realism. This isn't the type of book that will answer a lot of questions, things happen, and its more about the events then the actual why of it. Though there is a part of me that would love to explore the magical phenomenon within this book, it by no means took away from the overall story.

Despite the frequent POV changes, I found The Gifts to be an easy read. Each character has their own voice and I really appreciated how the author wove all these separate starting points into one. I never felt confused or lost through out and found myself completely engaged, reading late into the night.

That being said, there are some fairly emotionally charged moments within this book that make it a not so easy read. Trigger warnings regarding abuse, both with animals and domestic, should be noted.

I look forward to other works by Liz Hyder in the future! Thank you Netgalley and Sourcebooks for the ARC. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

I had high hopes for this book but i couldnt get into it at all. This wasnt for me and sadly i couldnt finish the book.

I almost put this down as I have a hard time following multiple characters at the start of a book. I kept going and love how the stories combine and cross paths.

This book is poetically written with moving language. I wish there was more of an end and explanation of the wings, but I understand why it was written that way. I enjoy the strong female characters.

WOW. This was a doozy of a book. Very detailed (not not overly so) and well-constructed plot and very real characters. The scenes set quite nicely. Oooh, and the twists and turns! I was a bit confused at the beginning, when it started out like I was reading five different short stories, as the narrative changed that many times in that many chapters, but it all pulls together in the middle. Each character has a specific place and purpose, even the Angel of the Thames and dearest George, both of whom are dead. The descriptions are lush but not pretentious and I kinda want to go visit Etta's landscape, which reminds me of the hollows of WV, and Natalya's islands.
The book is a bit long (514 pages), but after you get through the first introductory part, it takes off at a decent pace, while still keeping you on your toes with a smidgen of suspense and little bit of 'uh-oh' that keep the pages turning. I remain amazed at the depth these authors feel these stories and characters.
I received a copy of this book in return for my honest review, which you have above. I recommend this read!

This one was very much a slow starter for me and it never really managed to catch my interest 100%. Overall it was good, but we never get much resolution as to why the wings appeared and on those particular women. This is definitely not one of my favorites that I’ve read recently.

The Gifts novel is a little paranormal, a little women’s fiction, and a little book club read. Honestly, this was a DNF for me about a third of the way through. The POV changes so much it feels more like short stories smashed together and that’s not my thing. If you love multiple POV then this might just be the book for you but for me it’s a no go. My voluntary, unbiased review is based upon a review copy from NetGalley.

The Gifts by Liz Hyder was an amazing book. Incredible writing and strong plot. I loved it and will read more by the author.

Set in 1840 England and narrated from five different points of view The Gifts is a slow-burn gothic tale of a doctor’s obsession with the women with wings. I loved that book fell into many categories such as historical fiction, fantasy, magical realism and a touch of mystery.

This book wasn’t just magical it was magnificent. Some reviewers felt it was confusing with the different characters and their points of view but I have to disagree. Each chapter is clear and precise about whom is speaking. The chapters were short and each character’s life entwined with the others.

Although the book is set in the past it is still very pertinent today. There are many subjects observed in this book, including women’s lack of rights (I loved how there were strong female leads, one of whom is trying to be a journalist in a man’s world), race, greed, obsession, religion and mental health to name but a few. This is author Liz Hyder’s adult debut and what a magical one it is.

The Gifts follows a magical and charming cast of characters in 1840’s England as they explore the mystery surrounding “The Angel of the Thames”. Etta, Mary, Annie and Natalya are four highly individualistic young women, following unique paths to enlightenment and fighting to be seen as themselves in a time where women were largely viewed as assets to be traded like currency. Thrown into the mix is Edward Meake, an up and coming young surgeon whose point of view was both my most and least favorite, as he struggles to unravel the mystery of the angels from a medical and theological standpoint.

Exploring the dangers of ambition, the power of friendship and the nature of enlightenment as well as what can happen when the idea of enlightenment is tied to the desire for fame and acclaim, this magical and charming story is perfect for historical fiction lovers.

At times, there were minor historical inaccuracies for the time period, but considering much in this book requires one to suspend their disbelief, the inaccuracies had no real bearing on my overall enjoyment of the story.

This book is a slow burn and felt a bit disjointed at times, but really picked up around the 40% mark. Even with the slow start, the characters were so endearing I don’t know if I minded lack of plot up front.

Hyder’s exploration of British jingoism, morality and religious fanaticism were very tastefully done and overall, I think this was a gorgeous read.

First, thank you to the publisher, SOURCEBOOKS LANDMARK, and to Netgalley, for letting me read an advance copy of this book.

This is a complex story, but one that's definitely worth your time and energy to read and think about.
At first, the introduction of various parallel characters confused me, but I soon became very invested in the stories of Etta, Annie, Natalya and Mary, and was eager to see how they would intersect. The writing is lovely, and all the characters are fully three-dimensional and rendered with much care.

I don't want to spoil any of the plot, but this tale contains elements of the best fairy tales, historical fiction and feminist allegory -- all wrapped into one. If you're interested in any of those, I highly recommend you give The Gifts a read once it's published later this month.

The Gifts by Liz Hyder certainly kept me turning the pages! I liked the writing style, and the story was definitely unique and interesting. For those reasons, I recommend it – but there were a couple of things that seemed lacking to me.

The emergence of wings was never explained, at least in any way that I recognized. Maybe it was subtly hinted at, but if so, I didn’t catch it. To me, that seemed like a loose end that was never tied up.

All the male arrogance and cruelty! I know the setting is back in history when there was definite inequality between the genders, but I still found it wearing after a while. The women were, at the least, ignored and disrespected, and at the worst, physically and mentally victimized over and over. In the end, the two protagonists escape and the antagonist gets his comeuppance, but basically the two women have to withdraw from society to survive after that. Though I was happy they were going to live another day, it bothered me that they had to hide for the rest of their lives.

At the same time, I understand why the writer might have had a hard time explaining the emergence of wings or keeping the protagonists safe without them reclusing, while also remaining authentic to the time period. That’s just the hazard of introducing a magical element into an actual setting sometimes – and so I was able to just go with the story most of the time, and with the exceptions above, I enjoyed it!

After reading the summary of this story before I began, I felt sure that I wouldn’t like this book. So I’m surprised to say I did enjoy it more than I expected. I’m a fan of historical fiction and some magical realism, but not fantasy. I really liked the time period of 1840 London and reading about how difficult it was for women to have the freedom to choose just about anything. The four women who are the main characters were interesting enough, but having two of them grow wings without a satisfying explanation left it feeling unfinished for me. The treatment of dogs by the surgeon in the story was hard to read and I skipped over some of that. Overall I think it’s worth reading if you enjoy this genre.
Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for an advanced readers copy in exchange for my honest review.

Thank you to netgalley and the publisher for the ARC!

The writing in this is really good. However I must be honest there was too much animal harm for me to continue reading, I had to DNF about 40% in

A dynamic tale of how power and love can both invoke good and evil, and what happens when those two elements consume a person.

This novel blends many themes such as art, science, and religion in a fast-paced, easy to follow way while simultaneously keeping the reader anticipating what happens next.

As a warning, there are a few instances of animal brutality, of which came out of nowhere and I had to skip entirely, so that put a bit of a sour taste in my mouth. I was also disappointed to find I wouldn’t receive an answer to the one over-arching question I had for this story, which left me wanting.

Overall, the author provides the reader with a fun and engaging experience and I hope to see more of author Liz Hyder as she develops her craft.

DNF at 27%

Nothing about this book worked for me. The story feels disjointed, continually jumping from one POV to another, often in the middle of a paragraph. And there are a whole lot of POV characters.

There are a couple of unnecessarily graphic scenes with animal violence, specifically with dogs. I skipped these scenes once I realized where they were going. I'm not a fan of gratuitous violence of any sort, especially when it's there solely for shock value, and animal violence is a big no for me.

None of the characters were well developed. Even as the multitude of characters' lives started to intersect, I just wasn't invested in the story or the writing style.