Slashed Beauties by Allison Rushby

SUMMARY - Set in two timelines, present-day Seoul, Alys, an antiques dealer, is offered a large sum of money to transport one of the three anatomical venues to London to be destroyed.

Diving into the past, London 1769, naïve Eleanor finds herself swept away into luxury after meeting the beautiful Elizabeth at the Pleasure Gardens. Along with Elizabeth’s protégé, Emily, Eleanor starts her new life with the promise of having it all. The catch: she must hand over complete control of her life to Elizabeth.

THOUGHTS - Slashed Beauties by Allison Rushby

This beautiful, seductive tale is woven with dark and dangerous, tantalising temptation of wanting to be more than just an object, to be more than just a woman in the 18th century. The hope of living a life of purpose, even if morals are blurred. What a story this was! I felt so much emotion working through each page. Normally, I find it difficult to read dual timelines, but I really enjoyed the present and past storylines equally. I loved the past with the glamour and luxury of the Victorian lifestyle, the opulent atmosphere of dining, shows, and dresses. The Jack the Ripper back alley atmospheric horror with a touch of feminine revenge festering into sheer, straight-up revenge. Elizabeth is not a girl's girl, that is for sure! To the present with witchcraft, witches, and magic. Oh, and the ending! Perfectly done, Allison!

I also found the anatomical Venuses just fascinating. I learned about these as I read this book, and I am both fascinated and mortified by these wax dolls. Purely because they are beautifully grotesque, with visceral imagery of what a woman looks like when opened up, heavily emphasised on the reproductive system with a fetus shown. These were created to be used as a dissecting tool to help teach human anatomy without the ethical dilemma of using cadavers, as there weren’t enough bodies to use for medical studies. Usually displayed in gentlemanly museums and medical schools, proving that women are often objectified to the point where we are seen as literally just objects. As these Venuses were created with beautiful superficial features, the anatomist explained that the Venuses were designed to help male students stay focused while studying medicine. I genuinely found these anatomical Venuses really intriguing and am now looking into them further.

Not only did I love the world Slashed Beauties was set in, but I also loved the characters that made this book such an emotional ride. The character development from the beginning to the end was what made this book a five-star read. We start with the main characters, Eleanor and Alys, who narrate their way through the pages. As we see their stories through their eyes, we get to understand who they are and how they live. While I found Eleanor to be an absolutely frustrating character whose naivety and stubborn sincerity caused her more drama and pain than could have been avoided if she had just listened to Emily! Emily was probably one of my favourite characters; she embodied the knight, hero, true friend, and what unconditional love is meant to be. The relationship they had between them and the love they shared was what Eleanor deserved. If only she had actually listened! Now, I didn’t hate Eleanor, and she redeemed herself in the end; I just couldn’t help but wonder if she might have had a better life if she weren’t so gullible, naive, and so ready to please others. Alys, from day one, knew what she needed to do, and while she shut herself off to everyone (which is very understandable) she learned to love and be loved again. I really liked how Allison wrote both Eleanor and Alys and how their stories were interwoven together.

Spoilers ahead -

Now, someone made this story what it was: Elizabeth! Yes, I know, why would she, of all people, make the story? Because I wanted to root for her while at the same time wishing for her death. Elizabeth was everything you needed in a villainous character: the backstory that set her up for a life of hatred, the redemption arc where you want these women to build a dream and business, and to be successful. You want this opulent life for all of them; you don’t want to see the truth, not just yet… You want to see the good in her… and the revenge arc, the one that cements her as the antagonist you never wanted. She embodied the villain in every way, and by the end, the hatred you had for the men only intensified when she was around. But I loved her for it! I loved her as the character she was because without her, this book wouldn’t be as amazing as it was.

Okay, now what did I hate about this book? The men! Specifically, the men in the 18th century. I can tell you now, I could not have lived in that era. The anger and hate I had for Dr. Chidworth, who was just one of several male characters, made me fight so hard not to throw the book because of their utterly disgusting and twisted beliefs that women are just to be objectified, to be put on display for the male gaze, and for their bodies to be abused and destroyed by males who seem to think they are above any other living being. If you want to feel enraged and experience the satisfaction of revenge, read this… however, don’t expect this story to be a straightforward feminine revenge plot because while there are moments, those moments are also shrouded in grief, and once again, a woman’s body is not her own… it is, in fact, always someone else’s to use and abuse… the moments you feel happiness will last a split second. The sadness you feel will simmer slowly in the background, and the anger will bubble up to the surface, over and over again, because this book is not a happy tale; it isn’t a romance or fantasy… it is a feminine historical horror full of heartache. But what I can say is you will want more and be left feeling empty, but never wanting that feeling to end, because you will love every single bit of this tale. When I put books on my rereads, it means that these books are higher than 5 stars, and this is, in fact, on my rereads! I highly recommend this book to anyone who wants to be utterly ruined.