BOOK REVIEW: The Uninvited by Cat Winters

This is a book review for The Uninvited by Cat Winters. I received this ARC from Edelweiss in exchange for my honest review. The scheduled publication date is August 11, 2015.

Set during the fear and panic of the Great Influenza of 1918, twenty-five year old Ivy Rowan rises from her bed after being struck by the flu, only to discover the world has been torn apart in just a few short days.  But Ivy’s life-long gift—or curse—remains.  For she sees the uninvited ones—ghosts of loved ones who appear to her, unasked, unwelcomed, for they always herald impending death. On an October evening in 1918 she she learns her younger brother and father have killed a young German out of retaliation for the death of Ivy’s older brother in the Great War. Horrified, she leaves home, to discover the flu has caused utter panic and the rules governing society have broken down. Ivy is drawn into this new world of jazz, passion, and freedom, where people live for the day, because they could be stricken by nightfall. But as her ‘uninvited guests’ begin to appear to her more often, she knows her life will be torn apart once more, but Ivy has no inkling of the other-worldly revelations about to unfold.

Let me say this: this was my first Cat Winters novel, but it will not be my last. The atmosphere in this story was amazing. I was able to picture everything so clearly: the horse drawn carriages on the road, the sick and the dying stuck in their homes, even the ghosts that Ivy sees sometimes. Cat Winters knows how to write historical fiction. I absolutely love historical fiction, but I have read very few books in this era. World War I is being fought overseas and everyone is running scared. Because of the draft, many men are going to war whether they want to or not. But what was even scarier was all the prejudice and bigotry happening towards Germans in the States. I am not sure how much of that bigotry is true or not, but it wouldn't surprise me. German music is forbidden, you are shunned if you do business with a German and Americans are legally able to kill Germans with no provocation. There was so much paranoia and suspicion. In addition to all of that, there is a new epidemic going around of the flu that is killing people. 

Ivy is very sheltered and isolated before she decides to leave her home. She is such an awesome character. This is a woman who had never been on her own, yet she didn't hesitate to attempt to make amends with the brother of the man her family killed. And she didn't hesitate to drive a Red Cross van across town to pick up the sick and dying and take them for treatment. This book started out as kind of a paranormal book because she sees ghosts, but then that took a backseat to the romance. She starts a romance with someone whom you would never expect, but the chemistry is undeniable. It's actually very, very hot. The romance starts very quickly, but I get it. It's not love so much as it is about two people trying to gather comfort from each other and living their lives knowing it could all end. There was so much passion. There was a huge twist at the end. Now I am not sure if others saw this coming or not. I know I didn't. But when the twist was revealed, I got goose bumps. Looking back at it, I noticed signs. But hindsight is 20/20, I guess. This was a wonderfully haunting book.

Buy/Borrow/Skip: Buy this one!! It is such a chilling book.