Cat Winters

In Portland, Oregon, in 1900, seventeen-year-old Olivia Mead, a suffragist, is hypnotized by the intriguing young Henri Reverie, who is paid by her father to make her more docile and womanly but who, instead, gives her the ability to see people's true natures, while she secretly continues fighting for women's rights. Includes timeline and historical photographs.

The Cure for Dreaming

Gisela Ayala 

I definitely have a few tears in my eyes after reading those final lines. This book takes place during the early 1900's when women were fighting for the right to vote, and that ending gave me so much hope. 

I could see so much of myself in Olivia (as I'm sure almost everyone lady can), but mostly because throughout the book she becomes awaken to the realities of the world and how unequal it is. She did already have a little spark in her in the beginning of the book, but because of the events with her father and the hypnotist (swoonnnn) that spark turned to flame. 

I look up to her. It's a brave than to finally find your voice, and it is even braver when you finally use it. I guess the them of this week was dreamers, because again, this book reinforced the fact that when we dream and act for a better world... it can happen. We can make it happen. 

I leave you with this: "Perhaps it is better to wake up after all, even to suffer, rather than to remain a dupe to illusions all one's life." - Kate Chopin (The Awakening)

Lisa Collins

Jeni Enjaian

Much of this book felt incredibly cliché, including the setting. There are are certain time periods of history that seem to be the favorite for authors. My hypothesis is that these time periods are the easiest for authors with little historical experience. Unfortunately, that means that they get the historical aspects wrong or not quite right. That is the case with this novel.
Even more than the setting, the characters are one-dimensional. The expected bad guys are the bad guys as revealed by the protagonists' "gift." The protagonist also does not really show much growth as a character (or person) although that is hard to do when the author writes the plot as if she had picked up a "customize your own plot" kit and stuck the character in it.
Admittedly, there were aspects of this book that made it a slightly pleasurable read and thus kept me from giving this book a two or one star rating. Those limited positive aspects, however, do not redeem this book enough for me to recommend it.

b.andherbooks

Olivia's father decides to have her hypnotized to quell her growing sympathies for the Suffragette movement, but the sexy memsmerist Henri Reveri doesn't fix her, but opens her eyes to people's true natures.

Lovely and historically researched, my only problem was with the 'supernatural' portions of this tale. I wish Winters instead had focused on science, reason, and history for what happens to Olivia post-hypnosis. However, this would make a great pick for a classroom setting, and I ADORE that she added a list of recommended non-fiction reading at the end.

Tania Joana da Silva Monteiro

Very cool story, perfect for this time of the year. And it sure take a route I was not expecting (maybe because I didn't know what it was about before getting into it) but that I very much appreciated it. I enopued the atmosphere and the interaction between the characters. Many times, the reasons for our main male character to do what he was doing left me hesitant, just like it happened to our main female character, but then the male character would explain it or come up with a plan and I was okay with it. So I guess the story took some risks but I think that they made sense and were not only plausible but also acceptable. Really happy to have read it and will for sure read more from Cat Winters!

Haley Murray

Winters breathes new life into history once again with an atmospheric, vividly real story that includes archival photos and art from the period. Olivia Mead is a headstrong, independent girl—a suffragist—in an age that prefers its females 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.

The Cure for Dreaming

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