Book Review for The Bloody Key: A Bluebeard Retelling by L.J Thomas

I received this book for free. This does not impact my review in any shape or form. 

The Bloody Key: A Bluebeard Retelling by L.J Thomas is a gothic fairytale about trusting your instincts and your family, no matter how good a promise may seem. Anne is the youngest daughter of a peasant goatherd. Creative and critical, she dreams of being a writer. One day, a mysterious nobleman named Bluebeard decides to court, and later marry, her older sister, Liesl. The two sisters are then whisked away to Bluebeard’s castle, where everything isn’t as it seems. Terrible secrets are etched into the castle walls. Soon enough, Anne tries to uncover the past, if only to protect her sister from the darkness within. 

I remembered reading Women Who Run with the Wolves by Clarissa Estés. It offers a Jungian analysis of age old fairytales from around the world, and in it, an empowering retelling of Bluebeard. Bluebeard’s wife had failed to heed her sister’s warnings, and it wasn’t until she was finally confronted with her husband’s dark secrets did she realize she needed to escape. In the same way, Anne, as well as the other wives, helped Liesl find herself and rely on herself and the people she cared about to keep her safe, even if help was far away. While it’s okay to lean on the men in our lives for protection, at the end of the day we have to know who our allies are. I used to volunteer at a rape crisis center, and from then on, even with my private practice, worked with community centers dedicated to empowering individuals who have experienced homelessness and domestic violence. You wanna know the sad truth? A lot of the clients I serve were women who trusted the wrong men, who refused to heed their families and loved ones, and found themselves trapped, very much like Liesl. The difference is, unlike those women, Liesl has Anne. The fact they’re giving back to their own village speaks volumes to how important they understand it is to be independent. 

I also liked knowing Bluebeard’s point of view. In a twisted way, he did love his wives, even though he chose himself every single time. It humanizes him, and we get to see how his thirst for knowledge and power led him to become so inhumane. He reminds me of the pastors who try manipulating their congregations into giving more money for their own personal desires, or priestesses from covens who put their fellow members down to build themselves up. 

I enjoyed this book, and as such, I would give this book a 5 out of 5 stars.