A review by emleemay
The Uninvited by Cat Winters

4.0

Mama paled. "Are you saying that you and Peter killed a man tonight?"
"No." Father shook his head. "That wasn't a man. He was a German."

Yet another instance where I pick up a Cat Winters novel and the real world just melts away.

Firstly, you should know that this isn't supposed to be a YA book, unlike Winters' other marvelous works - [b:In the Shadow of Blackbirds|13112915|In the Shadow of Blackbirds|Cat Winters|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1348721608s/13112915.jpg|18286614] and [b:The Cure for Dreaming|20702018|The Cure for Dreaming|Cat Winters|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1397628715s/20702018.jpg|24967486] - but I do think that all her books have a lot of crossover appeal. The romance is more mature, more sexual, and the characters themselves are in their mid-to-late twenties, but that's where the differences end.

Winters is a master at blending horrifying historical fact with beautifully eerie supernatural elements. This is her second story set in 1918 America, a time when America's young men were sent to their deaths in Europe, and the home front was fighting an entirely different war against the Spanish influenza pandemic. Hospitals were full, untrained young women were performing nurse duties, and the scent of death constantly filled the air.

But [b:The Uninvited|19547848|The Uninvited|Cat Winters|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1415313161s/19547848.jpg|27679567] is also different from Winters' [b:In the Shadow of Blackbirds|13112915|In the Shadow of Blackbirds|Cat Winters|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1348721608s/13112915.jpg|18286614] because it tells another story - a dark underside to American life in 1918. In 1918, being "American" was of utmost importance and the American Protective League roamed the streets looking for German sympathizers. German immigrants were often murdered and the police didn't care enough to investigate the crimes. It was a time of panic, suspicion and xenophobia.

“The world’s about to end. I can feel it in the marrow of my bones."

When Ivy Rowan's father and brother murder a German man, she leaves home and gets taken in by an old acquaintance. Unable to cope with the shame she feels on behalf of her family, she approaches the dead man's brother - Daniel - in an attempt to alleviate her guilt and offer some solace.

From this, their relationship develops. What starts as a means of seeking comfort on both their parts becomes something more. But both Ivy and Daniel must constantly keep looking over their shoulder. The APL is on the warpath and they certainly wouldn't take kindly to a romance between a German man and an American woman.

It's a sensual, frightening and eye-opening book. The author once again crafts wonderful female characters and develops complex and humourous relationships between them. It's so strange how the book can be at once a quiet, introspective read and a fast-paced, supernatural adventure through the horrors of history.

I impatiently wait for her next book, adult, YA or otherwise.

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