Spirited

Written by Julie Cohen

Narrated by Gemma Whelan

'I stayed up late, gripped. An unusual, moving read. I LOVED it!' Marian Keyes
'Haunting, tender and true - this story cast a spell on me' Kirsty Logan
'This haunting story about the power of love will give you the shivers' Best
'Wonderfully written and evocative' Woman & Home

----

A moving and gripping story about three extraordinary women from the Richard & Judy recommended bestselling author Julie Cohen.

Viola has an impossible talent. Her photographs seem to capture things invisible to the eye - only a leap of faith could mean they are real. Until one day a woman arrives in Viola's life and sees the truth - about her pictures, and about Viola.

Henriette is a celebrated spirit medium, carrying nothing but her secrets with her as she travels the country. The moment she meets Viola, a dangerous connection is sparked - but Victorian society is no place for reckless women.

Meanwhile, across the world, invisible threads join Viola and Henriette to another woman who lives in secrecy, hiding her dangerous act of rebellion in plain sight.

Faith. Courage. Love. What will they risk for freedom?

---

Driven by passionate, courageous female characters, SPIRITED is your next unforgettable read!

• Language: English
• Publisher: Orion
• Release date: Jul 9, 2020
• ISBN: 9781409179917

Julie Cohen

Julie Cohen spent most of her childhood with her nose in a book and today still reads everything in sight! She gives workshops for fiction writers all over the UK and the US, and belongs to the Romantic Novelists’ Association in the UK and Romance Writers of America. Her hobbies include walking, travelling, listening to loud music, watching films and eating far too much popcorn. Julie lives in Berkshire, England with her family. Visit her website at: www.julie-cohen.com

Reviews for Spirited

[adonisguilfoyle · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I bought this book for the pretty cover - I am that person - and thought the subject seemed fairly obvious, but I was pleasantly surprised to be only partly right. In 1859, in Portland, Dorset, a young woman who has recently lost her photographer father marries her childhood sweetheart. He has just returned from India and has also suffered a tragic loss, which prevents him from loving his new wife. The woman who can help both of them, for different reasons, is a spiritualist who claims to be able to contact the dead - for a price. But soon Viola, the neglected young wife, discovers that she can capture the 'spirit' of the recently deceased in her photographs - and that she and Henriette, the mysterious medium, share a special bond.

The story is slow to unravel but beautifully paced, picking loose enough threads to keep the reader fascinated. The characters are also sympathetically wrought - I even like Jonah, the poor little rich boy haunted by his 'heroic' deeds in India, and I usually can't stand dithering men in novels. Henriette is perhaps the best character, however, from her murky methods to her relationship with Viola - I loved her fierce independence. Learning about spirit photography, and even early photography in general, was also interesting.

The 'happy ever after' epilogues did let the story down a little for me - Jonah's, especially, was ridiculously far-fetched. And I didn't think that Pavan would have been able to pull off such a deception in nineteenth century India, but hey ho, this is fiction after all! Overall, though, a well told and atmospheric tale.