Title: The Cure for Dreaming
Author: Cat Winters
Release Date: October 14 2014
Rating: 7.5/10
Source: Store Bought
Olivia Mead is a headstrong, independent girl—a suffragist—in an age
that prefers its girls to be docile. It’s 1900 in Oregon, and Olivia’s
father, concerned that she’s headed for trouble, convinces a stage
mesmerist to try to hypnotize the rebellion out of her. But the
hypnotist, an intriguing young man named Henri Reverie, gives her a
terrible gift instead: she’s able to see people’s true natures,
manifesting as visions of darkness and goodness, while also unable to
speak her true thoughts out loud. These supernatural challenges only
make Olivia more determined to speak her mind, and so she’s drawn into a
dangerous relationship with the hypnotist and his mysterious motives,
all while secretly fighting for the rights of women. Winters breathes
new life into history once again with an atmospheric, vividly real
story, including archival photos and art from the period throughout.
So this book takes place over 100 years ago, at the time when women were beginning to desire the right to vote. Olivia Mead is one of the few women who support the cause. When she is spotted at a protest by one of her father's clients, her VERY conservative father hires Henri Reverie, an extremely talented hypnotist, to hypnotize the rebelliousness out of Olivia. Instead, however, he gives her the ability to see people's true characters when she looks at them, and restricts her ability to speak when she gets angry. Olivia is driven to sufferagism even more, and also begins a relationship with the very mysterious Henri Reverie, who may or may not have a few secrets up his sleeve.
Characters:
Olivia: Olivia is a great protagonist. She's smart, incredibly stubborn, gorgeous, and more than a little rebellious. She's horrified when she's granted the ability to see people's true natures, and desperately wants her normal sight back. She's driven to sufferagism in part by her mother, who is a feminist, and left Olivia's father, who is way more than a little sexist, and a few more things that I could mention. Olivia is very relatable, and her emotional journey throughout the book is completely tangible.
Henri Reverie: Henri is an EXTREMELY handsome and skilled hypnotist who is hired by Olivia's father to hypnotize her rebelliousness out of her. Instead he gives her the power to see people's true natures, and ends up helping her convince people that giving women the right to vote is the right thing to do. He is smart, loyal, protective, and caring, and has an illusive and mysterious past.
Mead the Mad (AKA Olivia's evil dad): I hate him for his evilness and cruelty towards Olivia and people in general. 'Nuff said.
Genevieve: She is Henri's sister and accompanying organist for his performances. She's intelligent, caring, friendly, and loyal, and becomes a good friend to Olivia. She's also less than honest about her and Henri's past, and still has more secrets to keep.
Overall: I went into this book expecting one thing, and found the book to be something else entirely. That isn't necessarily a bad thing, but there were several plot holes that completely threw me off, and made me go:
and:
One of them was Henri giving Olivia the ability to see people's true natures, and deciding to help Olivia instead of doing the job that he was paid for was totally unexplained. On the other hand, the characters were excellently portrayed and had unique personalities. Also, making Henri the hypnotist's last name 'Reverie' was very, very clever.
Other than those plot holes, the book was excellent! A job very well done to Cat Winters!
Have a wonderfully fantastic day everyone!
Bayli
P.S. I'm working on finding topics for my next vlog thingie - hopefully it shall be recorded and uploaded soon!
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