Seventeen-year-old Edgar Poe counts down the days until he can escape his foster family—the wealthy Allans of Richmond, Virginia. He hungers for his upcoming life as a student at the prestigious new university, almost as much as he longs to marry his beloved Elmira Royster. However, on the brink of his departure, all his plans go awry when a macabre Muse named Lenore appears to him. Muses are frightful creatures that lead Artists down a path of ruin and disgrace, and no respectable person could possibly understand or accept them. But Lenore steps out of the shadows with one request: “Let them see me!”

approx. 368 pages

Out April 16, 2019

MY THOUGHTS:

I received this book in exchange for my honest review.

Poe is known for his dark, creepy yet whimsical writing. So I wondered how Winters was going to do bringing a young Poe to life.  Remarkably, she did very well. You can tell she researched her subject extensively and the work paid off.

The atmospheric book tells a beautiful tale of muses and dreams from two POVs, Poe’s and Lenore’s. This is fine except the two POVs made it feel like the author ran out of gas midway through the book. I found a bit of repetition that was slightly off-putting. Now, don’t get me wrong, I still loved it. The author is incredibly talented with her lyrical writing style and smooth pacing. The best part was the authenticity of Poe, followed by the eerie setting development.

Overall I recommend this book to classic readers but with a warning that there isn’t a romantic element between Poe and Lenore that they may expect.

I gave this book: