In the Shadow of Blackbirds

By: Cat Winters

Narrated by: Angela Goethals

Length: 10 hrs and 44 mins

Publisher's summary

In 1918, the world seems on the verge of apocalypse. Americans roam the streets in gauze masks to ward off the deadly Spanish influenza, and the government ships young men to the front lines of a brutal war, creating an atmosphere of fear and confusion. Sixteen-year-old Mary Shelley Black watches as desperate mourners flock to séance and spirit photographers for comfort, but she herself has never believed in ghosts. During her bleakest moment, however, she's forced to rethink her entire way of looking at life and death, for her first love - a boy who died in battle - returns in spirit form. But what does he want from her? This is a tense, romantic story set in a past that is eerily like our own time.

©2013 Catherine Karp (P)2013 Recorded Books

I was so captivated by the story cat winters favor

favorite cat winters other book is also a good listen. I will be buying more.

Pretty good overall

Before anything, I must say that this is the first novel I have ever heard. I have only read a very very few amount of novels because I have been an avid fan of other genres. However, I must say, that this book had me pretty interested. The story was pretty good, but not super amazing. By that I mean that though I was not super captivated as I had hoped, I was still interested enough to keep going. Nevertheless, I must mention that though the beginning chapters were a bit of a drag, they were nothing terrible either. What I would recommend would be that the final notes of the author at the end of the book,be heard first in order to know how the backdrop is based on reality and no spoilers are given. I got this with the Romance package free trial, so based on that deal I give this a good review. However, if I had spent a credit on this, I am not sure I'd be this happy. PLus what I loved most is the type of ending this had. (*¨¨¨¨spolier alert on whether this had a happy ending or sad ending*******Do not read past this if you do not wish to know this) This had a happy ending, and I am sucker for happy endings.

Wasn't the best, but wanted to know what happened

The best way to describe this book is, this is a book you would be instructed to read in school. I was enthralled mostly by the World War I history within the book and not so much the "ghost" story line. However, it did keep me reading to find out what happened but wasn't one of those books you can't put down and want to keep reading. Wasn't a great story, but wasn't a bad story. Worth a read just for a history lesson if anything else.

Transported me to a different time and place!

Any additional comments?

I really enjoyed this book! I'm definitely an "old soul" that loves learning about the early 1900s-1940s so I was intrigued by this book when I found out the story took place around my favorite decade (the 1920s). I knew there had been an influenza that had hit our country at one time but I had no idea that it had happened around the 20s. Cat Winters did a great job of transporting the reader to that time of struggle when so many were fighting for their lives in battle during WWI and with the Spanish Influenza! The narrator was amazing at becoming Mary Shelley Black and her voice was very pleasant to listen to because she really drew me more into the story. The book covers a year (1918) when spiritualism and seances are a big deal and there is also a loved story involved as well. Happy reading!

Interesting Historical Fiction with Awful Narrator

I think the story was interesting but I wish I would have read it myself. This narrator was painfully melodramatic throughout the performance, to the point where melodrama itself became a sort of monotone. This feature made enjoying the story difficult.

Meh

I enjoyed the historical bits but the story was a bit far fetched. I wasn't expecting human possession. Odd.