Review: Hidden Wives by Claire Avery

Thanks to the author for sending me a copy for review.



About the Book

Hidden Wives follows the journey of two young girls forced to grow up in a polygamist community where religion is distorted to justify rampant abuse, incest, misogyny and the taking of child brides.

Fifteen-year-old Sara and her beautiful sister, Rachel, are too young to legally drive a car, but are approaching spinsterhood in Utah’s secret polygamist Blood of the Lamb community. Having long since reached the “age of preparedness,” they will soon be married off to much older men selected by the hidden sect’s revered Prophet.

As Sara, chosen to become her uncle’s fifth wife, grows more distraught over her impending incestuous marriage, she begins to scrutinize the faith she has followed blindly her entire life.

But for Rachel, who will be married to one of the many powerful community leaders vying for her hand, disobeying the Prophet means eternal damnation. Her friendship with the newest member of the community, the young and handsome Luke, starts as an attempt to save his agnostic soul, but ends with the pair falling helplessly in love. When Rachel is forbidden to see him, her absolute faith in the Prophet is severely tested.

When Rachel’s future husband is finally announced, violence erupts, and the girls must find the strength to escape the only life they have ever known… before it’s too late.

For more information about Hidden Wives please visit Claire Avery's website.

My Review

I absolutely LOVED this book. It was such a heart-wrenching story. From the very beginning I was wishing for those girls to get out of there.

Rachel and Sara were great characters. Although Rachel was a bit dense, or I guess I should say brainwashed, she was such a compelling character. Sara, right from the word go showed so much intelligence. Her want to get away, but not leave her sister behind really made me heart ache for her.

The writing was beautiful, not in a poetic kind of way, but in that it was so simple, yet so compelling. Even though what happens in the story is hard to read I didn't want to put it down. There's a certain finesse to this book that makes it hard to put down (even when you have homework or sleep to get to).

The subject matter was difficult to read, but I think it's something that needed to be written. I think TV has sensationalized the polygamist lifestyle, and there's a much darker side that doesn't really come through in these shows. The abuse, incest, and brainwashing that occurred in this book was disgusting, for lack of a better term. I know that not all polygamists and compounds condone or practice this kind of behavior, but I'm sure that there are some (of both) that do, and that is a scary thought.

Such a compelling and heart-wrenching tale. I was hooked right from the beginning!

Hidden Wives