When concert pianist Vivienne Mourdant's father dies, he leaves to her the care of an adult ward she knew nothing about. The woman is supposedly a patient at Hurstwell Asylum. The woman's portrait is shockingly familiar to Vivienne, so when the asylum claims she was never a patient there, Vivienne is compelled to discover what happened to the figure she remembers from childhood dreams.
The longer she lingers in the deep shadows and forgotten towers at Hurstwell, the fuzzier the line between sanity and madness becomes. She hears music no one else does, receives strange missives with rose petals between the pages, and untangles far more than is safe for her to know. But can she uncover the truth about the mysterious woman she seeks? And is there anyone at Hurstwell she can trust with her suspicions?
Fan-favorite Joanna Davidson Politano casts a delightful spell with this lyrical look into the nature of women's independence and artistic expression during the Victorian era—and now.
The longer she lingers in the deep shadows and forgotten towers at Hurstwell, the fuzzier the line between sanity and madness becomes. She hears music no one else does, receives strange missives with rose petals between the pages, and untangles far more than is safe for her to know. But can she uncover the truth about the mysterious woman she seeks? And is there anyone at Hurstwell she can trust with her suspicions?
Fan-favorite Joanna Davidson Politano casts a delightful spell with this lyrical look into the nature of women's independence and artistic expression during the Victorian era—and now.
My rating:
"No such thing as a hopeless case."
I...uh...okay, y'all, I'm not sure what to say, to be honest. This book, it...wow. I'm honestly left speechless.
(But not for long, because when am I ever speechless for any measurable amount of time?)
The prose was beautiful but not overdone (more like woven throughout instead of distracting from the plot), the suspense was spooky and kept me on the edge of my seat, the romance was...honestly some of the best I've read. The attraction between the couple was sparked not by their physical appearance, but the kindness and compassion they saw in each other's hearts amidst the darkness and chaos of their circumstances, and it was the sweetest thing ever.
Vivienne herself was an amazing character. Her qualities, her struggles, and her flaws all made for an unforgettably realistic character that I honestly adored.
Same with Mitchell.
They both felt so...so real and genuine that while the setting of the book basically placed me in a book-induced coma, I could. Not. Stop. Reading. Because of those two.
The Lost Melody is heavy. So heavy. I'm usually able to emotionally distance myself from such heaviness; call it a coping mechanism, call it insensitivity, whatever, but I can normally read things without being affected too much.
I was affected.
The first half of the book had me both longing to put it down and never pick it up again, and glued to the pages to see what would happen. Because, in the first half, there was no light. Just darkness and utter hopelessness, and yet, I found myself attached to Vivienne, and even though we had nothing in common physically or mentally (except our love for music), I was hopelessly attached and couldn't quit the book while she was still trapped in a home with barred windows.
*deep breath* okay. Let's try to get the rest of my thoughts sorted and expressed coherently.
There were spooky parts, obviously - hello, insane asylum with a rumored ghost - and I couldn't decide whether I loved the book or hated it.
And then I reached the second half.
Y'all...no words.
"We're all of us told to walk in the light, but we don't. We simply wish to drag the light over to where we're already standing, so we may better see the path we've set out for ourselves."
This isn't a bloom-where-you're-planted book; it's so much more. It's about bringing light to the darkness, because your light isn't needed in broad daylight. It's about reaching past the outward eccentricities of a person and seeing them for who they really are - a human being created in the image of God. It's about saying "yes, Lord" when the thing you want to say the most is "please, choose someone else." It's about surrendering your plans and dreams to God and watching them unfold in a way you'd never imagined possible. It's about clinging to hope when there seems to be none.
It's honestly one of the most inspiring books I've ever read.
*I received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher for promotional purposes. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.
