Review: Catherine by April Lindner

Catherine by April Lindner
Publisher: Poppy
Release Date: January 2, 2013
Purchase: Amazon / Barnes & Noble

A forbidden romance. A modern mystery. Wuthering Heights as you’ve never seen it before.

Catherine is tired of struggling musicians befriending her just so they can get a gig at her Dad’s famous Manhattan club, The Underground. Then she meets mysterious Hence, an unbelievably passionate and talented musician on the brink of success. As their relationship grows, both are swept away in a fiery romance. But when their love is tested by a cruel whim of fate, will pride keep them apart?

Chelsea has always believed that her mom died of a sudden illness, until she finds a letter her dad has kept from her for years—a letter from her mom, Catherine, who didn’t die: She disappeared. Driven by unanswered questions, Chelsea sets out to look for her—starting with the return address on the letter: The Underground.

Told in two voices, twenty years apart, Catherine interweaves a timeless forbidden romance with a compelling modern mystery.

My Thoughts:
I am not sure what to make of this book honestly. On one hand I really enjoyed it and it definitely left a lasting impression on me. On the other hand though the characters felt a little to whiny and I am so mad at them for the way they behaved! I can’t decide which hand I feel more strongly about so I am going to go with undecided at the moment.

There are 2 different stories that make up this book. We have Chelsea first who is trying to find out what really happened to her mom who disappeared fourteen years ago. After finding a letter from her written before she left, Chelsea follows the clues that were in the letter to The Underground. This is a nightclub and as with every nightclub I am sure it holds many many secrets. The other story is Catherine’s, Chelsea’s moms. Her story takes place when she was in high school and how things came to be later in her life. Her father owned The Underground and after convincing him to hire Hence, a musician who had nowhere else to go, she finds herself smack dab in the middle of a great romance only her brother Quentin doesn’t approve. This makes things very hard for the two and well things go from bad to worse quickly in more ways than one.

These two halves make up one hale of a story. Like I said some parts I liked some parts I didn’t. Catherine’s story was made up of high school puppy love and what happens when we don’t give the people we love time to explain. Her part infuriated me more so than her daughter’s. I didn’t care for some of Catherine’s choices and I felt like she needed to woman up and tell Hence what she was up to. That being said though I remember being in love at a very young age and well we all do stupid things for love so I get it to a point. Chelsea’s story hit home and I enjoyed it more. Yes she was a bit irritating but she never gave up on trying to find her mom and she never backed down when things were tough. I wish the story would have been told just in her point of view, but I can see why the other was needed.

I know this book is based very loosely on Wuthering Heights and I can see the similarities, but I still wasn’t prepared for that ending. That ending by itself deserves a full star. I am still totally blown away with what the author did there and I give her so much credit for doing that. This is a story of love and loss and no matter how the characters bothered me I know this will stay with me for a long time.

3 Snowflakes

*ARC provided by Publisher*