On My Bookshelf : In The Shadow of Blackbirds by Cat Winters

I'm trying a more relaxed reviewing style for this review. :)

Rating : 5 billion trillion million/5 stars

Source : from publisher, in exchange for this honest review

Synopsis : In 1918, the world seems on the verge of apocalypse. Americans roam the streets in gauze masks to ward off the deadly Spanish influenza, and the government ships young men to the front lines of a brutal war, creating an atmosphere of fear and confusion. Sixteen-year-old Mary Shelley Black watches as desperate mourners flock to séances and spirit photographers for comfort, but she herself has never believed in ghosts. During her bleakest moment, however, she's forced to rethink her entire way of looking at life and death, for her first love - a boy who died in battle - returns in spirit form. But what does he want from her? 

My review : WARNING : I can't manage to get my thoughts all neat and orderly for this review, even thought i've let this review stew in my mind for a few days, so this might be some disjointed love about the book more than a review, so bear with me. :)

I loved this book from -it's beautiful, look at it, it's on the right- cover to cover.

I think one of the best ways of describing In The Shadow of Blackbirds is an overused sentence : I read it with the same feeling the whole time as the sickly fascination of watching a car accident, knowing you should look away but not being able to tear your attention from it.

VERY SLIGHT SPOILER I FOUND OUT FROM READING SUMMARY AWAITS, HIGHLIGHT TEXT TO READ

It’s this feeling I got multiple times as I read through this novel, even though I knew Stephen and Mary were doomed before I even opened the book (I read some very detailed summaries before reading!) I kept reading even though I knew it was going to end up breaking my heart.

And it did – this lovely, beautifully written and researched novel that will forever stay in my heart has broken my heart, but the best novels do this, and you love them all the more for it, after you get over that period of throwing the book at the wall and cursing the author’s name, of course.

This book was so much more than a ghost story – it was a love story, a ghost story, yes of course, but it was also a tale of the Spanish flu, a tale of family, of being unique, of war, and of finding strength even in the darkest times.

RUN to your nearest bookstore to buy this amazing book, you will not be disappointed by this amazing debut novel.

I can’t say much more without spoiling, as this novels various twists and turns are one of the best things about it, so I’ll depart with another sentence to sum up the book, this one I don’t think has ever been used before : Make room, John Green, Cassandra Clare, and Kristin Halbrook, Cat Winters is joining you guys on the pedestal of my all-time favorite authors, the ones I auto-buy!