The Awakening by Kate Chopin

The Awakening by Kate ChopinWhen first published in 1899, The Awakening shocked readers with its honest treatment of female marital infidelity. Audiences accustomed to the pieties of late Victorian romantic fiction were taken aback by Chopin's daring portrayal of a woman trapped in a stifling marriage, who seeks and finds passionate physical love outside the confines of her domestic situation. Aside from its unusually frank treatment of a then controversial subject, the novel is

When a mysterious prisoner is brought from the front

she's in the trenches writing puff pieces

dark and haunting

the pair will discover something more sinister—and far less holy

a fascinating

He’s everything I’ve always avoided in men: rude

A modern retelling of Hades and Persephone that’s as sinful as it is sweet

and causing trouble I can’t allow

but they want us gone

Say a little prayer for me

Princess Jory’s home needs the protection of the fearsome warrior king

but also her life when every blood-soaked thread that holds her world together begins to unravel