This second of two books in the Waverly Place duology is the continued saga of the Savard and Mezzanotte families in 1880s New York City and suburban New Jersey. I found it a little more contrived than the first book. It was murder mystery meets historical fiction meets social ills meets love story. It almost was too much. Nevertheless, still well-researched and well-written. ( )

Kate Reading (Narrator)
Longest drawn uot book ever, Lots of plots going on. I enjoyed it ( )

"Where the light Enters" is a good read. I enjoyed reading about the early days of NYC as it grows in size. I enjoyed reading about women doctors during this time. The timeliness of abortion issues did not escape me.The mystery of disappearing and murdered women was intriguing. Still, I did not fall in love with the characters or the story completely. Perhaps its too big and too far flung. Women like Aunt Amelia and Aunt Quinlan were not believable to me as they took on mystic quallities that did not work.. Pretty sure there will be book # 3 and pretty sure I gave a similar review on book #1. ( )

Exceptional writing and story telling about the Gilded Age. This was a sequel to [The Gilded Hour], but it is also a stand alone novel. The carryover is that Sophie and Anna Savard are now living in New York City, both having made it through medical school. Within is contained a harrowing mystery. Great time period piece, although long. 672 pages ( )

Where the Light Enters - Donati
4 stars

This book continues the 19th saga Donati began in The Gilded Hour. It’s the second book in a series spun off her generational Wilderness series. I’ve read only the first book of the earlier series, so I had some knowledge of the family connections. It wasn’t necessary to have read all of the previous series to follow the characters in this story. Donati supplies a complicated family tree for reference. The only essential feature of that family tree is that it is multiracial.

The book is set in New York City in 1884. It revolves around the lives of the Savard cousins, Anna and Sophie. Both women are licensed physicians. Anna is white, married to Detective Sergeant Jack Mezzanotte. Sophie is black/American Indian and recently widowed. This book continues the mystery begun in the first book; the unexplained surgical murders of well-to-do women who sought illegal abortions.

This is a feminist story. The historical content is well researched. Donati’s immersive descriptions of a clamoring, rapidly growing New York City are at least partly responsible for the length of this book. The political power of the Catholic Church and Anthony Comstock continue to threaten the professional integrity as well as the families of the female doctors. I’m sometimes annoyed with the level of soap opera in Donati’s plots. But, I can’t quarrel with the historical content or the thematic message concerning the history of female reproductive rights. ( )