Review: The Dark Unwinding by Sharon Cameron

 

PUBLISHER:
SCHOLASTIC
 

I've been reading so many good books lately! Many of them like The Dark Unwinding are really hard to talk about. This is because what I enjoyed most about this book was the unraveling of the various plot details, and I'd hate to take that surprise away from potential readers. The title and even the cover might give you a glimpse of what the book holds but don't fool yourself, this isn't a typical YA read :)

Set in  1852, readers are introduced to Katherine Tulman. Katherine lives on the good graces of her Aunt Alice. Her Aunt has one very spoiled son, Robert  whose inheritance is at the forefront of Alice's mind. So when strange rumors reach Katherine's Aunt about the expenses and goings on at her sons future inheritance, Alice demands Katherine visit Stranwyne and have her Uncle Tulman be declared mentally insane and then committed.

It's a mission that Katherine is suited for, and one she isn't adverse to initially. All her life Katherine has strived to be useful. An orphan with no marital prospects or income of her own she must make herself indispensable to her Aunt and Robert, especially because a great number of English residents are in dire straits, many toiling and dying in workhouses.

Once she reaches Stranwyne however things change. Katherine finds a house full of empty rooms and suspicious staff. She also  finds her Uncle to be a slightly befuddled,  childlike genius. There is also and entire village that has sprung up around the keep. Ironworks , a hospital, various housing for over six hundred residents who spend their days crating and maintaining the creations of Uncle Tilman. Many of these residents have escaped from deadly English workhouses. The life they have built at the keep is all that stands between starvation and death.

Katherine agrees to stay and observe the daily life of the keep before making a final decision. As the days pass Katherine finds herself experiencing something she has never felt before: Freedom. But there is also a surprising darkness moving through the keep and forces out to turn her Uncles wonderful creations to a dark cause.

I devoured this book! I loved the combination of mystery and the overall Gothic feel to the read. There were some amazing plot twists and some emotional scenes and light romance. Katherine goes through quite the journey through this novel. She is very relateable, and I became very connected to her.
I've become quite the fan of Sharon and will be on the lookout for more books from her :)