So I bought this book from Book Outlet. It was the cover that first intrigued me, and when I read the synopsis, I was further intrigued. A Civil-War-era Wuthering Heights re-telling? Yes please. Unfortunately, I did not end up enjoying this book in the slightest.

Things I disliked:

1. INSTA-LOVE: I have read several 'love at first sight' type books. This has them all beat on the absurdity scale. Catrina finds a naked, feverish man in the middle of a field. He's essentially unconscious. And yet, she immediately feels connected with him and wants to be with him. Ummm...what?! They never, throughout the entire course of the book, have a real conversation that isn't just about how much they love each other and spouting poetry to one another. They also have a psychic connection that allows them to communicate telepathically...this is established while he is still unconscious and they have 'known' each other for literally minutes. When they are parted after only knowing each other a couple of weeks, Catrina has a full-on manic breakdown...which leads me to my second issue.

2a. CATRINA: Catrina is crazy, but we are obviously supposed to be rooting for her. After she and Stonefield are separated, she goes freaking nuts. The people around her think she has a demon inside her (remember this is the 1860s we're talking about) and so they tie her to a bed and call for the local minister. It is obvious from the writing that we are supposed to be on Catrina's side, understanding her position. But her behavior is completely erratic. She rips her clothes off and rips them to shreds. She hysterically screams Shakespearean insults at a horrified preacher. He supposedly doesn't know who Shakespeare is, which I assume is supposed to be an amusing moment, but I was so done by that point. Later on she makes a dress that is cut above her knees (again, in the 1860s, when that just WOULDN'T happen) and cuts Stonefield's name into her skin until it bleeds. I really feel like this character is mentally unstable, and being in her head actually made me feel sick to my stomach. It all became a little too 'Fatal Attraction' for my liking.

2b. STONEFIELD: His character is not at all fleshed out. This can mostly be attributed to the fact that they have no real conversations. It's all the two of them frolicking around the forest reciting poetry. We learn his backstory later in the story, but I just didn't care. Then, after he tells Catrina that he is going to find his people and she freaks out on him for abandoning her, his character does a complete 180. I guess we're supposed to be all twitterpated because he gets all intense and moody, but I just can't. When they take Lu and Catrina from the church and later when we find out that Frank raped Lu and none of the gang (which included Stonefield) did anything to stop it, I was so done. He is a scumbag, and no amount of Shakespeare or Whitman can change that.

3. ANACHRONISMS: This mostly relates to Catrina and the way she reacts to the world around her. She seems to be completely oblivious to the challenges presented in an interracial relationship, both between her and Stonefield and also her brother and Effie. She is genuinely shocked that Effie (a black woman) would refuse her brother's offer of marriage, even though they are in love. I'm sorry, but that is just not historically authentic. Even an idealistic daydreamer like Catrina would see that society would view their marriage as unseemly.

Things I liked:

1. Effie. I would love to read a story about her character. I just don't know if I trust this author enough to craft a decent character/story. I know that sounds harsh.

At the end of the day this book, while beautifully covered, was a big miss for me.