Book Synopsis:
After a whirlwind romance, a young woman returns to the opulent, secluded mansion of her new fiancé Max Winter – a wealthy senator and recent widower – and a life of luxury she’s never known. But all is not as it appears at the Asherley estate. The house is steeped in the memory of Max’s beautiful first wife Rebekah, who haunts the young woman’s imagination and feeds her uncertainties, while his very alive teenage daughter Dani makes her life a living hell.
As the soon-to-be second Mrs. Winter grows more in love with Max, and more afraid of Dani, she is drawn deeper into the family’s dark secrets – the kind of secrets that could kill her, too.
Inspired by the classic novel Rebecca, The Winters is a riveting story about what happens when a family’s ghosts resurface and threaten to upend everything.
The Winters is available in ebook and hardback now, purchase your copy here.
My Review:
Rebecca is one of my favourite books so I was a little nervous about reading The Winters which is based on the classic story. I needn’t have worried though for whilst there are elements of Rebecca in the story the author has added a modern slant which makes it very original. These are done by firstly moving the setting of the book to The Hamptons giving the book quite an American feel. The inclusion of a daughter rather also adds a new edge to the book and helps provide an enemy to the main character instead of the housekeeper in the original story.
The main character is a very fascinating one as, like in Rebecca, we never find out her name but follow the story entirely from her point of view. She comes across as being very innocent and unworldly which immediately made me suspicion, wondering whether she had an ulterior motive. I was very interested to find out more about her. The daughter is another very interesting and colourful character whose hatred for her new stepmother is almost palpable. I wasn’t sure whose side I was on throughout the book so I sometimes enjoyed the arguments between the two of them.
The plot is quite fast paced with a creeping sense of unease which gradually increases as the book develops. The tension is also racked up as we learn more about the characters and their stormy relationship with each other. There is a definite feeling that something has to happen to break the tension and atmosphere so the reader is on edge trying to figure out what it will be. I often found that what I thought would happen didn’t and the actual twists took me by surprise which I thought was very cleverly done!
This is the author’s debut novel and I’m very interested in reading more from her in the future. If you like atmospheric, tension filled books with a gothic feel to them or a different take on a classic book then you’ll enjoy The Winters.
Huge thanks to Mia from Vintage books for my copy of this book and for inviting me onto the blog tour.
About The Author:
Lisa Gabriele is the author of several bestselling novels. Her writing has appeared in Glamour Vice, Elle, the New York Times Magazine and Salon as well as various anthologies, including The Best American Nonrequired Reading series. An award-winning T.V. producer, she has lived in Washington D.C. and New York City, and now lives in Toronto.
Over The Rainbow Blog 
Nice review Joanna, this sounds like a great read.
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