What a rollercoaster of a book!

The author has written this book in such a way that at times I was left feeling completely confused and disorientated, much like Mrs March. I feel that this was the authors intent and it made for a very odd experience.

The book doesn’t really say when it is based in time which adds the the general feeling of unbalance - sometimes it reads as though it is based in the 50’s, however it could apply to today.

This book is definitely not for you if you are looking for something light to read that doesn’t require much thought. However if you like to read books that are a bit quirky, this ones for you.

I couldn't believe this was a debut honestly. It's so well written, with characters that pop off the page, especially Mrs March of course. She's such a well developed, interesting character that grows on you and you can't stop reading. It's an accomplishment, I'm not surprised it's going to be a movie. I can't wait.

This book is difficult to review as although it is well written, with multifaceted realistic characters, it failed to keep my interest. I struggled to finish and eventually had to give up at around 60% as I was loosing the will to live and didn’t care about the ending. I think it’s probably a good book, just not for me.

There was a lot to enjoy in this novel, but ultimately, I found it a bit predictable and sad to say, a bit unoriginal. It tells the story of the eponymous Mrs. March, the wife of a successful author, as she uncovers dangerous truths and secrets. The first part of the book felt like a modern day Mrs. Dalloway and I enjoyed seeing our protagonist's view of her social circle. I thought the character of Mrs March was well fleshed out and had an authentic quality, which I appreciated. I think that my main issues are with the plot. I felt that the direction taken was a bit obvious and didn't live up to the potential set by the first part. I thought that the ambiguity surrounding Mrs. March's past and her paranoia should have been more firmly defined, otherwise the risk run is a rather unsympathetic depiction of potential mental illness, which left a bad taste in my mouth. For me, this book just didn't quite accomplish what it set out to do, but I will be interested to see what the author does next.
I received a free copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for a fair and honest review.

Mrs March is a fascinating yet very confusing read. The fact that Mrs March is referred to as Mrs March throughout the story creates a level of distance from the other characters in the story who we know on first name terms, especially her husband George. The ambiguity in its period in time adds to the essence of the story. As you are drawn deeper in to the mind of Mrs March, what is real and what is only in her mind becomes less obvious.

A compelling dark read.

I was given a copy of Mrs March by NetGalley and the publishers in return for an unbiased review.

The story follows Mrs March and her obvious mental health decline. I found it to be well written with very descriptive details which at times were quite dark humour and sometimes a little uncomfortable.

I would be interested to read future books by this author.

3.5 stars rounded to 4.

Thank you to #NetGalley and the publisher’s #4thEstate and #WmCollinsBooks for an ARC in exchange for an honest review. #MrsMarch

I received an ARC of this novel in exchange for an honest review. Thank you to NetGalley, 4th Estate and William Collins, and the author Virginia Feito.
This book is incredibly well written and almost viscerally uncomfortable at times. The author takes us on a journey with the unreliable narrator Mrs March as her mental health slowly unravels. It is incredibly descriptive and engaging but as a result almost painful to read. No doubt an incredibly talented author and I'd be interested to read more of her work. 3.5 stars rounded up.

EXCERPT: When she padded back to bed, something caught her eye in the building opposite. A red light in one of the windows. She tensed, her first thought that it was a fire, but as she looked longer, she realized it was a lamp draped in cherry coloured organza, which cast a warm glow. The various other windows in building were mostly dark, some strobing with the soft pulse of a television screen.

She moved closer to her own window, her nose almost pressing against the glass. It had begun to snow. The snowflakes floated down, the ones passing by the window illuminated red for a split second, lighting up like embers before continuing their descent, the black night flickering saffron, hellish.

Her eyes went back to the glowing room. It was a bedroom, dark except for the reddish glow. After some seconds she managed to make out a woman, bent over, her back to the window. She was wearing a pink silk slip, her milky thighs on full display. Mrs March cleared her throat, then looked over her own shoulder, as if someone had caught her spying. She trained her eyes back on the woman. What was she bending over? Mrs March could see the corner of a mattress, or a couch cushion. Leaning further, she bumped her forehead against the windowpane and, as if she had heard her, the woman in the pink slip turned around.

From Mrs March's throat issued an unwilling sound, some tortured garble between a gasp and a scream. There was blood - so much blood - soaking the front of the woman's slip and matting her hair and staining her hands - hands now pressed against the window to form bloody prints. Mrs March pushed herself away from the window in one jerky movement, falling backward onto the bed, her book crunching underneath her spine. She failed her arms toward George's bedside table, shaking her hands free of the numbness creeping up to her fingers. She pulled the telephone to her and crept to the window. The cord went taut, halting her movement.

She stood there, the receiver pressed to her ear - the dial tone now a harsh beeping - as she looked out across the courtyard. The red glow was gone. The woman was gone, too.

ABOUT 'MRS MARCH': George March’s latest novel is a smash hit. None could be prouder than Mrs. March, his dutiful wife, who revels in his accolades and relishes the lifestyle and status his success brings.

A creature of routine and decorum, Mrs. March lives an exquisitely controlled existence on the Upper East Side. Every morning begins the same way, with a visit to her favourite patisserie to buy a loaf of olive bread, but her latest trip proves to be her last when she suffers an indignity from which she may never recover: an assumption by the shopkeeper that the protagonist in George March’s new book – a pathetic sex worker, more a figure of derision than desire – is based on Mrs. March.

One casual remark robs Mrs. March not only of her beloved olive bread but of the belief that she knew everything about her husband – and herself – sending her on an increasingly paranoid journey, one that starts within the pages of a book but may very well uncover both a killer and the long-buried secrets of Mrs. March’s past.

MY THOUGHTS: Mrs March by Virginia Feito is a strangely compelling and disturbing read.

We follow the journey of Mrs March as she descends from a lifestyle of privilege and status as the wife of a successful author, into the realms of paranoia and psychosis as she comes to believe that the main character in her husband's latest book, an ugly prostitute named Johanna, is based on her.

Mrs March is very much a character driven book, and Mrs March is very much the main character. She appears to have no friends, merely acquaintances. She is terrified of her housekeeper. She maintains a very distant relationship with her son. And even the relationship between her and her husband is very formal. We don't even know Mrs March's first name until the final few sentences. She is quite childlike in her inability to take care of herself and her family.

The era Mrs March is set in isn't specified, although I would guess it to be the late 1950s or early 1960s.

The book itself is a bit of an enigma. I had questions racing through my mind all the time I was reading. Some were answered. Some weren't. The finale is quite spectacular, and for me was totally unexpected.

This is an outstanding debut novel.

⭐⭐⭐.9

#MrsMarch #NetGalley

I: @4thestatebooks

#domesticdrama #historicalfiction #mentalhealth #mystery #psychologicalsuspense

THE AUTHOR: A native of Spain, Virginia Feito was raised in Madrid and Paris, and studied English and drama at Queen Mary University of London. She lives in Madrid, where she writes her fiction in English. (Amazon)

DISCLOSURE: Thank you to 4th Estate and William Collins via Netgalley for providing a digital ARC of Mrs March by Virginia Feito for review. All opinions expressed in this review are entirely my own personal opinions.

For an explanation of my rating system please refer to my Goodreads.com profile page or the about page on sandysbookaday.wordpress.com

This review and others are also published on Twitter, Amazon, Instagram, Goodreads.com and my webpage

Mrs. March is very proud of her husband's latest book. Not that she's read it. But when picking up her olive loaf at her favorite bakery, the clerk comments that the main character, Johanna, is obviously based on Mrs. March.

That can't be. Johanna is a prostitute.

Thus begins Mrs. March's descent into madness. How does her husband really see her? How does anybody see her? And how does she see herself? She doesn't even divulge her own first name.

Creeping in George's study, she finds a clipping about a young woman murdered in the small Maine town where George sometimes hunts with his editor and becomes convinced George is the killer.

This book is super-creepy, told entirely from the point of view of Mrs. March, who the reader almost immediately senses has a few problems. Many things are murky--the time period of the novel, Mrs. March's first name, what their Jonathan did to get suspended.

Many of the psychological suspense novels I read ultimately blend together. This one stands out. #MrsMarch #NetGalley

Read through netgalley

This book read more of a character exploration, mirroring that of the books that the main characters husband writes.
I really liked the portrayal of someone either descending into paranoia or struggling to find out the truth about her husband. It’s really hard to say what the book is about without giving too much away but it was cleverly written and kept me thinking about it afterwards

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC.

In Mrs March, Feito explores what happens when women are oppressed, repressed and trapped in a box of the patriarchy's making. Mrs March seems like an intelligent person - she went to college and used to read and edit her husband's books before they were published. However, a lifetime of trying to be the perfect woman has taken its toll, and one of the most enjoyable and disturbing things about watching the events of the book unfold is wondering if they were avoidable or completely inevitable. I can't wait to see the screen version of this - Elisabeth Moss is the perfect casting and I can't imagine anyone else who would do it justice.

Well we’ll well. What more could you want from a book! This was beyond amazing! I absolutely loved the writing of this so much. Man it was stunning!

This account of the descent of a woman from precision, power and control into a mental maelstrom of doubt and despair, all the while clinging to her very personal notion of respectability, grips one slowly but surely, ensuring you’ll keep turning the pages till the final full stop. Interestingly, she’s not a woman easy to relate to, so it’s hard to engage with her on a more personal level, until more of her backstory becomes apparent. This is a tale of repression and its hideous results in a society unused to speaking its thoughts and unwilling to reveal its secrets.

It's a disturbing, darkly humorous and enthralling story. A travel into the mind of a woman after her breakdown.
We don't know a lot about Mrs March, we don't know her name till the end.
But we get to know her mind, her attention to social niceties and how she's easily broken by a casual observation.
It's a slow burning book, a story that it's fascinating and repulsive at times.
The descriptions of New York and of social life made me think of Truman Capote, there's a sort of common dark humor.
The author delivers a story with an unreliable and unlikeable main character, lonely and damaged.
It's an excellent read, highly recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are mine

My thanks to 4th Estate William Collins for an eARC via NetGalley of ‘Mrs. March’ by Virginia Feito in exchange for an honest review.

This proved an unusual literary domestic noir that follows the titular Mrs. March down a dark path.

She is only referred as Mrs. March throughout the novel (until the final sentence) and it is clear that being the wife of a successful novelist is very central to her identity. Her life on the Upper East Side is ruled by routine and decorum.

At the opening of the novel as she does every morning, Mrs March enters her favourite patisserie where a casual remark changes the course of her life. The manager, Patricia, compliments her on the success of George’s latest novel and asks: “But isn’t this the first time he’s based a character on you?” Mrs. March is shocked as Jessica, the protagonist of the novel, is everything that Mrs. March would never want to be. Yet this idea increasingly plays on her mind, including growing paranoia and eventually psychosis.

Given her rigid routine, Mrs. March was clearly pretty tightly wound before this day and through flashbacks we learn of the secrets of her past as well as witnessing her disintegration in the present.

I found this a fascinating novel that explores the borderlines of madness. The writing is excellent- crisp and evocative, relishing in details. This gives it a cinematic feel. There are also flashes of dark humour as well as wry commentary on New York society and the publishing industry.

While comparisons have been made with Shirley Jackson and Patricia Highsmith, elements of Mrs. Marsh’s carefully curated life reminded me of Patrick Bateman’s fastidiousness in Bret Easton Ellis’ ‘American Psycho’.

The novel appears to take place in an unspecified time period, though mention of a microwave in the Marchs’ kitchen does mean that Mrs. March could be more contemporary than she appears.

I appreciated reading a psychological drama that explores how someone’s mental health can deteriorate very quietly.

Overall, I felt that this was a stunning debut. I will be looking forward to its film adaptation as well as Virginia Feito’s future projects.

Highly recommended.

An unnerving and claustrophobic read.

Very enjoyable read with an interesting premise. I found the main character likeable and I felt for her.

The book is very detail oriented which I liked.

Is Mrs March the character in her husband's latest novel? This literary novel set in gossipy New York is soon to be a film and I can see why. We follow Mrs March coming apart with a lot of suspense thrown in.

Essentially a really fun and wild character piece, full of unexpected wit and very dark humour. I've come out of it not quite sure what to make of it other than knowing I had a lot of fun reading. The premise of finding out your husband has based this character you find scandalous on you is already interesting, but it gets all the better as we meet everyone in their lives and explore the bounds between the real and creative worlds. Dark, mysterious and quite the page turner.

Mrs March by Virginia Feito.

Happy Publication Day Mrs March 🍸

Mrs March is married to George Marsh, a successful novelist for many years and his latest novel is a big hit, a bestseller and is being read far and wide. Nobody is prouder than his wife,.

Mrs March is an Upper East Side housewife and the novel is in the most, set here ,in I’m guessing the late 1960s although it’s not specifically stated. Mrs March has a son and a large apartment and a housekeeper, fur coats and ostrich leather bags. She dines out and orders catering from New York’s finest restaurants and she buys baked delicacies every morning from her favourite patisserie. It’s here that her surface perfect life is cracked. The shopkeeper mentions Mr March’s latest book and suggests the protagonist is based on Mrs March. Mrs March hasn’t read the book but knows the protagonist is a deeply unpleasant woman. That comment sparks Mrs March’s slow and spiralling descent into psychosis.

Mrs March is quite a closed character, is it the fact that how she is viewed is different to how she’s always perceived herself or is this the one comment that finally breaks a building darkness thats been within her for years.

As the book goes on, Mrs March slips further into paranoia. We learn of her past and we watch her new reality play out and it’s dark and twisted and uncomfortable. There were strong vibes of a Hitchcock movie from this novel and it’s already been optioned as a movie. Some of the scenes within the book will be brilliant on screen. I could picture the cinematography when reading there’s several mentions throughout of colours like maroon, mint green and burgundy and the rich descriptions of the clothes, location and food all made it very easy to be transported right there watching Mrs March lose her sanity.

I was fully engaged from the opening chapters of this book. It’s a really well written and strong debut . I did find my interest waning little about halfway through temporarily, the pace shifted a bit, then it completely hooked me back in.

A dark, disturbing yet deeply realistic psychological thriller. I’ll look forward to more from this author and I will definitely watch the film, I hope it does the book justice.

4 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

I didn’t particularly enjoy this, and am a bit bemused by the comments about people staying up all night to read it in one sitting. It didn’t immediately grip me - or at all, actually - and felt repetitive, especially towards the end. I think the premise is interesting, and it’s a different kind of novel to your usual psychological thriller, but it fell a bit flat for me.