Did not finish

This felt like 3 different ideas mashed together with over explained dialogue, emotions and characters. When it switched to a time travel plot I just totally checked out. ( )

The modern-day portions of the book were quite good. They followed Ivy as she fell in with a cult after facing rejection from her family and unborn baby’s father. Then, for a greater portion of the book, her daughter, Mia’s deprogramming and escape from the cult. Ivy’s feelings of entrapment and lack of options even as realizes she has made a mistake in joining the Community were heartbreaking and understandable, as was Mia’s awakening to all that the cult denied her. It was painful to see how their love and concern for each other both kept them trapped and gave them the strength to seek escape.
The execution of the Nathaniel Hawthorne plot line, however, wasn’t all that it could have been. Some interesting bits were floating around in there — Nathaniel’s sister, Elizabeth, seemed like a character that could add to the themes of Mia’s and Ivy’s stories, and there were things to be said about women’s lives in this time and about romanticizing the past. But the magical elements didn’t mesh well with the rest of the story. The first half was grounded firmly in the real world with only the vaguest hint of what was to come, so the sudden introduction of magic that then took over the plot was jarring. The way the magic worked wasn’t clear to me either. How much people from the present traveling to the past impacted history seemed random.
Also, the love story between Nathaniel Hawthorne and Mia wasn’t convincing. I understood Mia’s infatuation with Nathaniel — his book, The Scarlet Letter, played an important role in her life when she was on her to escaping the cult — but not so much Nathaniel’s sudden and supposedly profound love for her. It just… happened, but was played as as deep and consuming as Mia’s but without the reasoning behind it. I didn’t feel chemistry or accept the proposed love there. ( )

3.5 stars rounded up to 4 and I don't know. I'm convinced Alice Hoffman uses magic to make me fall in love with her books. Feels like 2 different stories. Wish they integrated a little better. ( )

"The only girls who survived were ones who saved themselves."

Hoffman is a great storyteller using a soft voice with a strong message. Her writing is lyrical and easily transports the reader to the New England settings. I was all in from the beginning and then the book kind of fell off the cliff for a bit. I was not drawn to the middle portion of the book which focused on a self-centered Nathanial Hawthorne. I enjoyed the protagonist and other strong female characters in the book were inspiring as well. The bit of time travel and magic was just fine to create the visual story. I would recommend reading The Red Garden prior to this as it takes place in the same town. Knowing the historical figures from the town’s history enhanced my enjoyment of the setting. ( )