"Where the Light Enters" Is a Very Satisfying Follow-Up to "The Gilded Hour"

I mentioned last month that I had won a Goodreads giveaway for Sara Donati's new book, Where the Light Enters (on sale September 10th), and it arrived a few days before I went on my recent trip. In fact, it came two weeks ago today, and I was initially dismayed to see it only because I had had a moderately bad migraine that day, and was afraid I wouldn't be able to open it right away! Happily, the headache cleared itself off, and I was able to stay up far too late (hooray for a Friday) and finish it. (Yes, I need to read it again now and settle some of the details in my head, but this is what I do: rush along eagerly to see what happens.)

The book is the sequel to The Gilded Hour, which I really like; it's a historical novel set in New York City in 1883, focusing primarily but not exclusively on two women who are cousins and doctors there. Yes, there really were women doctors at that time and place! Anna and Sophie face issues of sexism, racism, women's rights, poverty, inequality, and other things that are sadly not resolved to this day. And yet it isn't a dry tome, but a lively book with characters you want to sit down and chat with over coffee. The descriptions make it a living place, and I have the sense the author has done tons of homework to be accurate as well as lyrical.

I own TGH in paperback and ebook, as well as having the audio version, and have read and listened to it many times. There are story lines that are resolved in TGH and some that are not, including the main mystery, and so I was especially eager for WTLE, to find out if any of my thoughts on whodunit were correct. (The answer to that was, well, sort of, partially, but I did not have the whole thing figured out at all!)

The stories of the characters in TGH continue, mostly in very satisfying ways, and sometimes in sad but believable ways. If something is going to happen in a book that I wish hadn't happened, I prefer it when my reaction is, "Why did that have to happen?" and not, "That would never happen, I don't believe it!"

Also, Donati is very good at including realistic settings and background without feeling like a textbook or a history lesson from that professor who always put you to sleep: she makes the material live, serving the story, and I like her style.

As for the question of whether you need to have read the entire Wilderness series, that would be a no; not that I recommend against reading them, not at all, but you don't have to read them in order to read the recent ones. Her website describes the earlier books as "six historical novels that follow the fortunes of a group of families living in the vast forests in upstate New York from about 1792-1825, with particular attention to the War of 1812"; these two books are descended from but not directly related to the action of the previous ones. But you really do need to read TGH in order to read WTLE; I mean, there's no point otherwise.

TL;DR
If you like historical fiction (with some romance*), I recommend her books highly; if you liked TGH, you will like WTLE.
*I note that because years ago, I chose Into the Wilderness for a book club, and the most outspoken member of the group didn't like it (which is fine), but was scathing about that aspect. I guess she preferred a more dry tone to history. But hey, without sex, there is no history.