EVENTIDE

In 1907, a web of secrets is unraveled after 17-year-old Verity and her younger sister, Lilah, arrive by way of an orphan train.

Verity Pruitt is forced to abandon her offer of college acceptance when her widowed father is involuntarily committed to an asylum. Arriving in Wheeler, Arkansas, Verity is heartbroken to discover that Lilah is to be adopted by Maeve Donovan, a beautiful, mysterious woman, and her taciturn uncle while Verity is taken in as an indenture by brusque but kindly farmers. It’s clear from the start that there is something otherworldly about the woods near the town, and as Verity struggles to find a way to reunite with her sister, she uncovers layer after layer of a tragic backstory that echoes traditional fairy tales, interspersed with her straightforward narrative. Verity’s smart, determined, and sometimes stubborn persona will bring readers into her corner. The plot spools out lengthily though there’s never a lot of question about its likely resolution and even less doubt that Verity and the bookish, handsome Abel Atchley will find their way past their initial friction. Still, this blend of genres will appeal to a variety of readers with its detailed setting and plot. All characters, both primary and secondary, seem to be White.

An engaging, if predictable, take on the tropes of historical fiction and fantasy.