The Careful Undressing of Love by Corey Ann Haydu

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The prose in this book is achingly beautiful. Seriously, if for no other reason than that, I think The Careful Undressing of Love is worth picking up. I was completely enraptured by the way Corey Ann Haydu writes – seriously, she must be an amazing person because her writing style is just breathtaking. Rarely do I get so caught up in the way a book is written that the plot sort of becomes secondary, but that was one hundred percent the case here. I didn’t really care what happened in the story, I just wanted to continue soaking up the lyrical prose.

I’m a huge fan of magical realism, and I was drawn to that aspect of the story immediately – The Devonairre Street girls are all cursed. If any of them falls in love, the one they love will die tragically. Everyone knows this, yet very few truly believe. But then, when a tragedy strikes close to home, everything changes and skeptics are forced to question their own doubts.

It’s such an intriguing premise, and I thought that the story flowed very well in the beginning. I was definitely caught up in the whole idea of a curse and the strange rituals surrounding Devonairre Street. I liked the mystery of what exactly happened during the Times Square Bombing, and how that incident changed America’s psyche forever. I was drawn into the whole guessing game… Was the curse real? Was it fake? Did it matter?

Unfortunately, as far as the plot goes, this book fell flat for me. I thought that the ending was absolutely insane, and not in the same whimsical way that the rest of the story was. I didn’t really buy it, and I was pretty dissatisfied by how it all wraps up. I don’t want to go to much into it, as I don’t want to spoil it for anyone, but the ending just really killed the story for me.

Now, that’s not to say you shouldn’t read this book. I think there is an audience that will immensely enjoy it (fans of Wink Poppy Midnight immediately come to mind), and I know that not everyone will agree with me about not liking the ending. I personally really loved the first half, and, as I’ve already said, the writing alone is worth a read in my opinion. I would definitely pick up another of Haydu’s books and give it a try.

Rating: 3.5/5 stars

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