The Marriage of Opposites by Alice Hoffman

source: free review copy via AmazonVine
title: The Marriage of Opposites
auhtor: Alice Hoffman
genre: Magical Realism
pages: 365
published: Simon and Schuster (August 4, 2015)
first line: I always left my window open at night, despite the warnings I’d been given.
rated: 3 1/2 out of 5 stars

Blurb:
From the New York Times bestselling author of The Dovekeepers and The Museum of Extraordinary Things: a forbidden love story set on the tropical island of St. Thomas about the extraordinary woman who gave birth to painter Camille Pissarro—the Father of Impressionism.

Growing up on idyllic St. Thomas in the early 1800s, Rachel dreams of life in faraway Paris. Rachel’s mother, a pillar of their small refugee community of Jews who escaped the Inquisition, has never forgiven her daughter for being a difficult girl who refuses to live by the rules. Growing up, Rachel’s salvation is their maid Adelle’s belief in her strengths, and her deep, life-long friendship with Jestine, Adelle’s daughter. But Rachel’s life is not her own. She is married off to a widower with three children to save her father’s business. When her husband dies suddenly and his handsome, much younger nephew, Frédérick, arrives from France to settle the estate, Rachel seizes her own life story, beginning a defiant, passionate love affair that sparks a scandal that affects all of her family, including her favorite son, who will become one of the greatest artists of France.

Building on the triumphs of The Dovekeepers and The Museum of Extraordinary Things, set in a world of almost unimaginable beauty, The Marriage of Opposites showcases the beloved, bestselling Alice Hoffman at the height of her considerable powers. Once forgotten to history, the marriage of Rachel and Frédérick is a story that is as unforgettable as it is remarkable.

My thoughts:
After having read several of her books, I am a fan of Alice Hoffman’s. She has penned gems like Practical Magic and The Ice Queen, that became instant favorites when I read them. Then again, I wasn’t too crazy about Incantation and while Here on Earth had an engrossing storyline and was inspired by Brone’s Wuthering Heights but I really disliked the main characters.
I was curious to see what I would find upon reading The Marriage of Opposites.