The Glass Woman by Caroline Lea- ARC Review

Thank you to Netgalley for providing me with this book, in exchange for my honest opinion. This will be available to purchase on September third.This takes place in the late 1600’s in Iceland. Rosa agrees to marry a rich man she doesn’t know because he will provide food and health care for her sick mother. She’s his second wife: his first having died mysteriously. Her new husband, Jon, is distant and cold, expecting her to stay away from all the villagers, as well as a locked loft in their home. Rosa hears sounds coming from the loft and rumors reach her- maybe she needs to fear her new husband.The strongest part of this book is the desolate setting. The author easily used the loneliness of the small village, as well as Rosa’s isolation, to add to the growing sense of unease the character feels. She begins to wonder whether she can trust her own senses.This was a very unsettling book. I couldn’t stand the husband, Jon, even after reading some things that are supposed to explain his behavior. He didn’t allow Rosa any sort of outside contact, nor did he include her in his life at all. If the author intended for me to want to reach into the book and smack him, then she succeeded magnificently.In fact, none of the small cast of characters was very likable, although I did pity Rosa. I didn’t like how meek she was. I was often annoyed at her while feeling sorry for her at the same time.Trigger warning: There are some very harsh things in this book. I actually struggled with it quite a bit, because of a rape scene (easily skipped, but still very upsetting). That is something I try very hard to avoid reading. Honestly, if I’d known about the scene ahead of time, I wouldn’t have read the book.That being said, if you don’t mind harsher books, this was incredibly well written. It was a slow builder (think drama instead of action), and definitely gets under the skin.