Alternate history novels can sometimes be formulaic and clichéd ridden, but Carey has created an intelligent story with substance that it is very difficult to turn away from. The idea that a country and its citizens can be so subservient with such ease is frightening. The level of submission pushed onto the women of this society in particular is astounding, and yet totally possible. The finer details of the caste system and the ways in which the author reinforces the uneven lives of the women was a particular highlight for me. It gave the story more depth and made it linger long after I finished the last page. It really made me feel like this book was something different. Making the main character from the elite caste could’ve backfired, but instead of alienating the reader, it makes you see an unexpected point of view. Yes, it leans into elements of Fatherland, The Handmaids Tale and 1984, but I think this is in a good way and was an excellent hook for the world of Widowland. This book is going to be to make a major impact on readers due to the strength of Rose and the way the author has constructed the unjust world around her. I received a copy from the publishers via NetGalley in exchange for a review.

Widowland is a really atmospheric thriller, set in an alternate timeline - one where the German National Socialists and the British reach a compromise in 1940 and become the Grand Alliance. This alliance reads more like occupation though. Britain doesn’t have it’s own government, all laws come from Germany, and Britain is ruled by a German, the Protector, Alfred Rosenberg. Even though there’s a huge shortage of young men (they’ve been ‘shipped off’ to the rest of occupied Europe to ‘work’) and women greatly outnumber men, women are divided into categories, or castes. These depend on their age, heritage, reproductive status and physical characteristics, and each category is named after a significant woman in Hitlers life. Rose is a Geli, one of the elite. Young, beautiful, and most importantly, fertile. I thoroughly enjoyed this and read it far too quickly. It had a black and white, 1950’s movie atmosphere about it, and I could easily picture the people and scenes in my head. It brought to mind The Man in the High Castle with regards to Occupation, and 1984 with regards to feeling as though you’re constantly watched - as well as the people being told how to react, think and live. This was especially evident in Rose’s job: she rewrites classics so that they’re in line with the regimes ideals: so no independent, strong females, and all the male leads are changed to Sturmbannführer (at least!). The drudgery of everyday life made me think of how I envisaged life in the GDR - as well as only allowing state sanctioned literature, there was only one radio channel in Grand Alliance Britain, with some brave people listening to illegal foreign radio stations, knowing that this could result in extreme punishment. When Rose goes to Widowland near Oxford (there are a few throughout the country) to find the source of a potential rebellion, she’s shocked to see older women living in abject poverty, only permitted to eat a subsistence diet and work menial jobs. But these women are intelligent, and they’re not happy in their state regulated lives. Between her reading of classic books and meeting these women, Rose begins to see what’s wrong with the world she has been living in, and this dawning realisation is so well described. We see how reading ‘subversive’ classics seems to get under her skin, and how she realises that the treatment of women is wrong in this Grand Alliance. I could go on and on. I raced through this book, and I loved the ending, which came far too quickly!

Well, this was a little different to my usual reads but, I hasten to add, definitely in a good way. I do like to mix it up a bit every so often and thought that this book would fit that bill nicely; and I wasn't wrong. It's set in the UK in 1953 but not the 1953 we all know. Prior to that year, an alliance was formed between GB and Germany which has led to all sorts of knock on effects. We catch up with the action in the time leading up to the Coronation of Edward VIII - yes, he of Wallis Simpson, abdicated fame. Well, he's back and since the "removal" of George VI from the throne, is eager to take his place in history. Whilst all that is going on, we meet our main character Rose who has a rather interesting job - rewriting novels. Yes, you read that right, she takes the book and rewrites it according to specifications - basically, in a nutshell, women characters have to be subservient. You can imagine...! Anyway, as with any regime, there are those who (rightly) oppose it. Small factions who make their presence know despite the penalty for doing so. Obviously with the Leader visiting from Germany for the Coronation, those in power would really rather these rebels would wind their necks in, and pipe down. Specifically troublesome is an area known as Widowland and, for reasons you will discover in the book, Rose is sent there to try and infiltrate and suppress... But will she manage to do this or will she be swayed by their cause...? This was an interesting book for me. Probably mostly as it is a genre I am not overly familiar with but, on the back of this book, one I am eager to continue my relationship with. It's especially interesting to see Edward back in the frame for King what with the shenanigans with Harry at the moment - definitely some parallels there - American divorcee and all! But I digress. We have a caste system in this book, categorising women for all sorts of things, which places them in certain positions job and society wise. I had to write down what was what but, tbh, it doesn't really matter the ins and outs, only that they exist. The storyline wasn't quite a cohesive as I would have liked it to be. It meandered around quite a bit and there were some things that I would have liked more on and some that, in my opinion, were a bit superfluous to the main storyline. That said, I did find it easy to follow once I had got the concept of what was happening straight in my head. Characterisation was excellent which is a good thing as it is quite a character driven story. Rose did take some warming to but as the scales started to come off her eyes and she started to see things more clearly, I really started rooting for her. I was trying to check the author out but I have learned that CJ Carey is a pen name. Probably for someone I have never heard of as they are apparently an Historical Novelist and that's not really my bag. That said, I wouldn't be adverse to reading more by this author, whoever they are!

I enjoy alternative histories and this book is a great example of 'what if' with England entering an Alliance with Germany in the early days of WW2 to avoid invasion. England becomes the ideal place for the German regime to implement some of its ideas for the future of its empire. Females are categorised according to various Aryan and other criteria, with widowed women being the lowest of the low. Very medieval ideas abound with sartorial laws reinstated and also the areas in which one can live, what one can eat, and more. A very well conceived and well written story, and quite a fast paced read. Thanks to Netgalley and the publishers for the e-ARC for me to read and review this title.

Widowland is an alternate history book, exploring what might have happened if the UK had entered into an alliance with Nazi Germany instead of going to war in the 1940s. It's a readable and engaging dystopia, where Britain is now a client state of Germany, with British women sorted into castes and with the whole populace kept quiet with propaganda and dissidents being disappeared by the state. I particularly liked the parts of the book set in Widowland itself, where older women without children are kept in a barbed-wire-encircled ghetto and are considered highly dangerous if they join a book club. A recommended read. Thanks to the author, publisher and NetGalley for providing a review copy in exchange for honest feedback.