The Companion is an intriguing story told from the point of view of Lucy Blunt, a young woman sentenced to death by hanging. While she waits for news on her appeal her story is told with twists and turns along the way. It is hugely atmospheric and recounts perfectly the baser human instincts of loyalty and betrayal. However, it did lose me along the way sometimes, particularly when it jumped from Lucy in her prison cell and the events which led her there. It was a dark read, gloomy and I found it hard to remain focused on the story at times. The characters just didn’t engage me.
Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the advance copy
#TheCompanion #NetGalley

<i>Fingersmith</i> meets <i>Alias Grace</i>. But, Lucy isn't as engrossing as Grace and her love affair with Gene isn't as enthralling as Susan and Maud's.

I think I would have appreciated this more had a few more things been flushed out a bit better, but there are a lot of loose ends. Who killed Mary? What was Rebecca's motivation in all this?
And, really, Lucy didn't need that many tragi-secret backstories. One is actually enough. Historically, it doesn't take much to put a woman down on her luck and have no one believe her/be in her corner, so maybe stop at the one cause. Extras don't make it more believable or more sympathetic.
The denouement is also a bit chaotic, the big reveal of the events that lead to Lucy's imprisonment all happen in a rather madcap fashion that left me as much befuddled as enlightened.

That being said, I enjoyed this read and I think the frame narrative is really successful - I actually think I found it more compelling than the central plot. As Lucy is waiting for her execution (or stay from it) her days in prison are filled with interesting reflections, interactions with other characters (new and previously established), and come the conclusion of the novel, I think everything felt narratively earned.

My thanks to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for the arc to review.

I recieved a copy for review from NetGalley in exchange for review. Overall I very much enjoyed this one. It was slightly mysterious and featured a main character who was very flawed and of questionable character, yet her story was very poignant and resonated with the reader. The novel alternated between the protagonist Lucy's past and her current situation in prison for murder. The back and forth between time periods with no warning was the only real issue I had with the novel. I found it sometimes hard to follow, and was annoyed at the changing back and forth. I also expected a but more explanation of a few mysteries in the book that never were fully addressed. It's a solid "3" for the entertainment and characters.

I really enjoyed this book, its full of drama and twists. My first book to read by this author I will read all her work. Very good.

A well written atmospheric book...It centers around Lucy Blunt and what happens when she gains employment with the Burtons...It waived between Lucy in prison and what led up to her going to prison...Lucy is haunting in her narrative....
My thanks to Nergalley and the publishers for a free ARC.

Lucy is serving as a washer in the home of a woman she's fallen in love with, but Lucy is on the run from a past and an exploitative father that finds her no matter where she goes. He holds secrets that she would kill to keep quiet. But is she truly guilty of the things that land her in a cell awaiting the gallows? Perhaps, perhaps not. Dual timeline plot, told from Lucy's point of view, and just spectacular character development. I enjoyed every minute of this twisty tale and Lucy is one of the first characters in a very long time that I've genuinely liked. She's feisty, spirited, and intelligent. Absolutely great read.

The Companion is a top-notch piece of dark historical fiction with an unreliable narrator. Lucy Blunt tells us the stories of the murders she's about to hang for. She's not responsible for any of them. Or is she? As a reader I wanted to believe Lucy, but I also didn't trust her: there were so many troublesome loose ends and unlikely details. If you like historical writing, if you like mysteries that may never really be resolved, this is a book for you!

[I will put my review on Goodreads and Amazon closer to the publication date.]

The Book was a quite a thriller with many twists. The story was narrated from the point of view a doomed woman Lucy Banks. The story is set in a historical background which was very interesting and added to the interest in the book.

I loved this book but it was a bit drawn out in parts, which makes you wander out of story for a bit. Short review due to lack of time, but will update the review in details once I get some time.

My thanks to NetGalley and publisher Lake Union Publishing, for the ARC.
This is an intriguing book, but I really can't rave about it.
This is Lucy Blunt's story, her reflections upon the circumstances which have brought her to prison, having been condemned to death by hanging there are some who are still working to overturn the sentence.
It's 1855 in New Hampshire. Lucy arrives at the Burtons' mansion for the position of washer-up/maid. She has forged her references which are only cursorily glanced at by Cook. She's there to replace Mary Dawson who had recently drowned in a near-frozen river.
Mr Burton is a mill owner and his cousin Rebecca is his wife Eugenie's companion. All doors are kept locked and upstairs is quite a mystery to Lucy until she spies Eugenie one day entering the house unconventionally and realises the Mistress is blind.

Eugenie begins to enjoy Lucy's company to Rebecca's. causing a catastrophic rivalry. Lucy is a murderess - or is she? Lucy is a thief - or is she? Is she misunderstood?

This is an historical drama, but I found the constant references to the frozen ground, ice and freezing temperatures all too detailed and rather tedious. Yes, there was well-written atmosphere of the time - the horse/carriage/cart transport and dated dialogue, but I didn't find any of the characters particularly interesting. It was all, well, a bit boring.

Thank you to NetGalley, Lake Union Publishing and the author Ms. Kim Taylor Blakemore for the opportunity to read this Advanced Readers Copy of "The Companion".

This is an absolutely delicious read!

Drawn in to the characters immediately, there was no stopping this book...dark and atmospheric with an "Atwoodesque" feel, this is exciting Historical Fiction.

It's 1855, New Hampshire;
From behind prison walls "Lucy Blunt" reflects on the circumstances that brought her here. She is soon to hang in the gallows for heinous crimes...that she may or may not have committed, its difficult to know...

Weaving a rich tapestry of lusts, possessions, and hate, her story is a compelling one as she narrates her life before prison and now on death row.

"Lucy" has a strong descriptive voice that emotes feelings of suffocating hardship, which women can fully appreciate, throughout this Victorian Era story. Struggling with what is about to happen, we listen helplessly as "Lucy" has to accept her fate and come to terms with the choices she created.

A little too wishy-washy for me, although there were some passages of tense plot exposition and dark description of surroundings.
Who exactly is Lucy Blunt? Not a thief, although she has stolen, not a murderer although she has killed.....
I liked the switching between the present day and the events leading up to Lucy’s imprisonment, that kept the tension high. However, my attention drifted an awful lot throughout the book and around halfway I realised I just didn’t care about any of the characters enough to give it my full attention. Peripheral characters came and went, without ever adding much. There’s an excellent book in here but it was swamped by melodrama, well worn tropes about female relationships and a jarring sense of having read similar yet superior novels. It was also unsure about where it was set, which was irritating. I’m not sure the domestic set up would be applicable in the US at that time and it ticked along as if it were set in an English stately home before throwing in the odd anachronistic mention.
Excellent Reading Club questions at the end for readers who enjoyed the book, but it just didn’t gel together sufficiently for me to like it a lot.

This book wasn't quite what I expected but I'm glad I read it. It reads like a first had account of events and switched between the current time and a remembrance of events that lead the main character there.

This is a difficult review for me.
I thought the writing of this novel was well done. The details were great.
Yet, I could not follow this story easily.
It wasn't until the very end that I realized the fate of the main character, Lucy Blunt and could finally connect with her.
It took me three attempts to read this historical fiction novel set in 1855.
I did finish the book after awhile with difficulty.
Definitely a very different type of book that I am sure some will truly love.

The Companion by Kim Taylor Blakemore
Source: NetGalley and Lake Union Publishing
Rating: 2/5 stars

**MINI-REVIEW WITH SPOILERS**

The Bottom Line: This page sat blank for more than 24 hours thanks to me wondering what I really wanted to convey about this book. Shifting through all the thoughts and feelings came down to one thing: while I didn’t dislike this book, I also feel like it is a story that has been done before, many times over, and done better than what I found between the covers of this book. The most recent iteration of this trope that comes to mind is Alias Grace though I freely admit there are some large differences between the two stories. I think what I was looking for in this book, one I was very excited to read based on the synopsis, was something different, some new twist or element that would allow this book in particular to stand out from all the others like it. Sadly, I did not find that element.

The Companion by Kim Taylor Blakemore is a historical fiction novel with a treat for suspense lovers. The reader is made to believe he knows the plot all along, which is obviously tuned upside down as the story progresses.

The best part about this book is the character build up. Every chapter makes the reader change their opinion about the way a certain character will lean, which is beautifully presented even though the task is complex to say the least. Using flashbacks to present important facts about the leading character is a tool perfectly deployed in this case. The gloomy surroundings in which the story is based add to it.

The prose is written for the patient reader: there were times when I wanted the story to take some turn but I was offered with more-and-more useless details.

Even though I am an advocate of open-to-interpretation endings, this one didn't quite fit the bill. Too much is left unsaid.

Thanks to the author and the publisher for the ARC.

Verdict: Read it for the character build up.

A dark read about lost and forbidden love. The characters are all devious and back stabbers. The atmosphere and setting is gloomy and cold which adds a chilling dimension to the prison setting and Lucy’s working in a house where she is a companion/ slave to the selfish blind mistress. The events leading to the demise of Lucy come to a head at the end of the book. All were responsible for their own fate.

Unfortunately, I do not think this was a book for me. I did not care for it all. I am giving it one star.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC.

Lucy Blunt is the perfect unreliable narrator, ensuring that the reader never feels truly comfortable with this novel. You're never quite sure whether to believe her protestations of innocence or not. I thought Blakemore built up the world very well and the characters were all well drawn, although I would have liked more background on some of them, especially Rebecca. That's also the flaw of a first person unreliable narrator I guess! There was a definite sense of unease and tension that ran throughout the novel and made it difficult to put down. The constant jumps between time periods also serve to discomfort the reader, though there were definitely places where I felt this could have been signposted slightly better.

Perfect for fans of Alias Grace and See What I Have Done.

The Companion

Lucy is cold-hearted, and throws a mean punch. A damp, cold feeling followed me through her entire story. I knew for sure that there was nothing I knew for sure. . . .except I couldn’t trust any character as far as I could throw them! A sexual tension slipped around, just under the skin of conversations, and I kept looking over my shoulder to see if anyone was coming up behind me as I read. Finally, I just found a cozy, dark corner. Did she or didn’t she kill? She’s smart, she’s planning every second, and knows more about poison and botanicals than the usual Jill. She’s easy with girls, and boys? well, she’s not happy about it, but makes it available. . . .a calculating currency, it seems. Her partners react, but she is indifferent and acting-as-if.

Her new situation with the Burtons – is it new cover or a saving grace? They are blissfully caught up in their own day-to-day worries, and the household servants all looking out for their own Main Chances, it seems. Between the narrative about the Burtons, and the events of the community, breadcrumbs are dropped, disappearing along the path on which Lucy walked in, and that’s the path where it feels like the all the answers will be found. Yet I never got my feet on that path to the degree that I felt I understood what happened when to whom. My satisfaction was kept safely out of reach in that I got very few of the answers. . .even when I stayed to the very last word. I have a “vote” for what certain answers are, but would not submit to an exam of any kind on the subject. The questions for bookclubbers at the end. . . .well, that would be a C for me, at best.

Yet the writing is tight and painterly, and the details attended to so carefully and fully that the actual bones of the story are strewn about in such a way that it required multiple reads for me to sort my way through the Before story and the After story, and the Present/Final story. Not a bad requirement, but not something a casual reader usually pursues. Perhaps this aspires to something bigger – Required Reading text for English 203? Still, the bleakness feels rather Bronte-ish. I’m done with it, and the wind keeps whipping my legs. . . .in spite of blue, blue skies.

A 3.5 Star Recommendation from me!

Thank you to Kim Taylor Blakemore, Lake Union Publishing and NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review this ARC.

Disliked this book. Characters were one dimensional; plot uninteresting and predictable. I do not recommend this book.