This is perfect for fans of dystopia and The Handmaid's Tale!
Rating: 4.5/5
Imagine a near-future Britain in which women dominate workplaces, public spaces, and government. Where the gender pay gap no longer exists and motherhood opens doors instead of closing them. Where women are no longer afraid to walk home alone, to cross a dark parking lot, or to catch the last train.
Where all men are electronically tagged and not allowed out after 7 p.m.
But the curfew hasn’t made life easy for everyone. Sarah is a single mother who happily rebuilt her life after her husband, Greg, was sent to prison for breaking curfew. Now he’s about to be released, and Sarah isn’t expecting a happy reunion, given that she’s the reason he was sent there.
Her teenage daughter, Cass, hates living in a world that restricts boys like her best friend, Billy. Billy would never hurt anyone, and she’s determined to prove it. Somehow.
Helen is a teacher at the local school. Secretly desperate for a baby, she’s applied for a cohab certificate with her boyfriend, Tom, and is terrified that they won’t get it. The last thing she wants is to have a baby on her own.
These women don’t know it yet, but one of them is about to be violently murdered. Evidence will suggest that she died late at night and that she knew her attacker. It couldn’t have been a man because a CURFEW tag is a solid alibi.
Isn’t it?
I received an ARC of Curfew through Berkley Publishing. Thank you so much! I really enjoyed this one!
I wanted to read this as soon as I heard that this was described as “Think The Handmaid's Tale but with the women in charge.” And as a fan of The Handmaid’s Tale series and books, I must say I fully agree with that statement!
We see a sort of reversed premise, instead of tagged women, we see men are tagged. And men aren’t allowed outside after curfew. Women are now in charge of all aspects of life. No more fear of walking alone at night, no more pay gaps, and now being a mother is rewarding in more than one way.
This gave me all the vibes that I loved from The Handmaid’s Tale both series and books. In terms of flow and pacing and characters, this gave me a lot of similar vibes to The Testaments. But when it comes to the atmosphere, I also got heavy vibes of the show, especially in regard to the “past” scenes where we see the world before the rise of Gilead. Where we see how women were being treated as no longer equal.
This gave me all the vibes that I loved from The Handmaid’s Tale both series and books.
From the start, I was hooked. I couldn’t figure out who our victim was practically all the way through until it was finally revealed. It could have easily been any of the girls that we follow. I was worried for them all. I felt as if I was on the edge of my seat through to the very end.
And we get to see all sides for those both for and against this “curfew” set on men. It was interesting hearing all the mixed thoughts and the events that led to it being created in the first place. It was such a unique spin on a dystopian society.
It was such a unique spin on a dystopian society.
I loved reading every part of this. The atmosphere for this was just amazing. It kept me on my toes as I genuinely didn’t know what would happen. I had my guesses and while some were right, the details around them shocked me. And I appreciated that it wasn’t obvious who our victim was. I do wish we did get a little more details after the murder was solved. I have some lingering questions. But overall, I found this to be such an entertaining and thrilling read.
I highly recommend this to fans of The Handmaid’s Tale series and those who enjoy books on dystopian futures and feminine themes!