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its_cold_'s review against another edition
4.0
i loved this!! the settings were so vivid i felt like i was there, and there was some beautiful imagery. i think there were a few historical inaccuracies but overall it was really good :) i loved Henry and Olivia sm.
i might check out the author’s other books too <3
i might check out the author’s other books too <3
burningupasun's review against another edition
5.0
Wow. Wow, wow, wow. I want to write this review while it's still fresh in my mind, but at the same time my brain is pretty much like this right now:
Just imagine I'm holding a book instead of a paper and you've pretty much got it.
So. Okay. Wow. Okay. HERE WE GO.
The Cure for Dreaming is, according to it's summary, a book about a girl whose father wants to use hypnotism to 'cure' her 'rebellious' thoughts. On a micro level, yes, this is a book about Olivia, a girl in 1900, a burgeoning suffragist with a controlling, 'traditional' father, who tries to use hypnotism to control his daughter, only for the hypnotist and his methods to awaken not only her dreams and her true sensibilities, but the ability she had within her to see the truth of the world. On this macro level, this is sort of a 'coming of age' story, mixed with an enchanting hint of the supernatural that shows in Olivia's ability to see 'visions' of the world as it is; women who are oppressed fading before her eyes, horrible men and women appearing as monsters in her eyes. There is a love story, but it isn't the focus of the book. This book is, on a micro level anyway, about Olivia and her fight to get to start on her own journey.
On a macro level, however, this story is about society, I think. It's about patriarchy, and how it's attempts to stifle women can only cause them to fight back harder. It's without a doubt a feminist book with a very feminist message and gosh, did I love it. Honestly. This book was intense at points and hard to stomach, especially when it came to the things her father tried to have done to stifle her, but it was worth that suffering in the end to see how it all turned out.
Absolutely amazing book.
Just imagine I'm holding a book instead of a paper and you've pretty much got it.
So. Okay. Wow. Okay. HERE WE GO.
The Cure for Dreaming is, according to it's summary, a book about a girl whose father wants to use hypnotism to 'cure' her 'rebellious' thoughts. On a micro level, yes, this is a book about Olivia, a girl in 1900, a burgeoning suffragist with a controlling, 'traditional' father, who tries to use hypnotism to control his daughter, only for the hypnotist and his methods to awaken not only her dreams and her true sensibilities, but the ability she had within her to see the truth of the world. On this macro level, this is sort of a 'coming of age' story, mixed with an enchanting hint of the supernatural that shows in Olivia's ability to see 'visions' of the world as it is; women who are oppressed fading before her eyes, horrible men and women appearing as monsters in her eyes. There is a love story, but it isn't the focus of the book. This book is, on a micro level anyway, about Olivia and her fight to get to start on her own journey.
On a macro level, however, this story is about society, I think. It's about patriarchy, and how it's attempts to stifle women can only cause them to fight back harder. It's without a doubt a feminist book with a very feminist message and gosh, did I love it. Honestly. This book was intense at points and hard to stomach, especially when it came to the things her father tried to have done to stifle her, but it was worth that suffering in the end to see how it all turned out.
Absolutely amazing book.
chocaholicmuggle's review against another edition
5.0
No other book has made me feel so outraged, indignant, and angry.
Don't ever let anyone make you feel inferior to them. Don't let anyone tell you you "don't need to be burdened with impossible dreams".
It's better to dream and to fail than to never try at all.
Don't ever let anyone make you feel inferior to them. Don't let anyone tell you you "don't need to be burdened with impossible dreams".
It's better to dream and to fail than to never try at all.
mickeymooze's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
inspiring
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
kim_j_dare's review against another edition
4.0
On her 17th birthday (fatefully October 31, 1900), Olivia's friends treat her to a hypnotist show, where she is chosen to go up on stage to demonstrate Henri Reverie's mesmerizing skills. Her mother ran off with the theatre when the girl was 4, and Olivia's father, an overly-enthusiastic dentist, is ever-vigilant for signs that Olivia is displaying unbecoming independence. He has his hands full, for the suffragists are in full force in Oregon, trying to get women the vote as they have in Idaho. As Olivia begins voicing her own opinions more, her father hires Henri to hypnotize his daughter into a state where she will not show anger or disagree with the men in her life. Instead, all she can utter when frustrated is "All is well"-- where, clearly, it is not. Her father's actions set off a series of events in which Olivia gets to know Henri (born Henry) better and becomes more determined than ever to speak her own mind and help other women do the same. Wonderful historical fiction with a touch of the supernatural. Turn of the century handbills, cartoons, and photographs captioned at the beginnings of chapters complement the story nicely.
Thanks to NetGalley for the digital ARC.
Thanks to NetGalley for the digital ARC.
amyhungerford's review against another edition
5.0
I cannot begin to describe how much I love Cat Winters.
This is just as beautiful, atmospheric, and addicting as In the Shadow of Blackbirds. I cannot understand why Cat Winters doesn't get more attention. Her books deserve it.
This is just as beautiful, atmospheric, and addicting as In the Shadow of Blackbirds. I cannot understand why Cat Winters doesn't get more attention. Her books deserve it.
emleemay's review against another edition
5.0
“Come along. Let’s get out of here and go toast to youth and vampires and rebellion.”
Cat Winters has done it again. I have been captivated by this book for every spare minute of reading I've managed to fit in. I'm not quite sure how Winters manages to so thoroughly take me out of this world and plant me into another time full of atmosphere, history and a little dash of the paranormal. But she does.
“I’ve said this before,” he said through his teeth, “and I’ll say it again: This is all for your own good. You do not need to be burdened with impossible dreams.”
In the opening years of the twentieth century, women's dreams often remained just that. Expected to leave school, marry, and look after the home, the world's wonders would glitter off in the distance and women had to accept that they would never have the opportunity to reach for them. But that didn't mean these women didn't dream and want and hope and - eventually - fight. Winters has a certain knack for bringing ambitious and feisty women into a setting completely at odds with their personalities. As with her first novel, In the Shadow of Blackbirds, Winters once again portrays the difficulties of being a young woman with dreams in a society that won't let them happen.
“Your future is to become a respectable housewife and mother. Women belong in the home, and inside some man’s home you’ll stay.”
Prepare to be more than a little pissed off. And then be prepared to grin madly as Olivia repeatedly proves everyone wrong. Then there's that whole part of this novel with the sexy almost-French hypnotist... what more do you need from a book, anyway?
There are a number of interesting and complex things happening in this novel - all of which, I found fascinating. Firstly, there is the relationship between Olivia and her father - who I wanted to die a million painful deaths - and yet... I felt a certain glimmer of sadness for him in the end because he was nothing but his own worst enemy. Then there is the historical woven with the paranormal aspect that just completely transported me into the time and place of the novel. The author captures the time perfectly and the feeling of frustration that many women must have felt.
“I love that books allow us to experience other lives without us ever having to change where we live or who we are.”
In this book, Olivia's father hires a hypnotist to cure Olivia of her "unfeminine" dreams of college, suffrage and freedom. However, Henri Reverie instead makes her see the world "as it truly is", giving those she cannot trust a monstrous visage. I can hardly begin to describe the array of emotions this book took me through: anger, sadness, frustration, warm fuzzies... all of them in a good way. It is, in the end, a book about equality and how silencing a group of people will only make them more determined to fight harder.
I loved it.
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summerinohio79's review against another edition
4.0
I had a couple problems with this book but overall an enjoyable read.
summerinohio's review against another edition
4.0
I had a couple problems with this book but overall an enjoyable read.
samanthas92's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
funny
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
i enjoyed the characters the most but the plot of the story was fitting even though i was holding out hope for the father, of course he failed and lost pretty much everything
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexism