Shy Creatures

4.25 stars.  Historical fiction taking place in 1960s England where Helen, an art therapist working in a psychiatric hospital, discovers with another colleague (who also her lover), a mute and recently cloistered adult man called William who exhibits great artistic talent. 
I really liked this book ! The author had an engaging style that read smoothly.  I really liked Helen as a main character, she has her own faults and qualities and I did love her character arc, especially in regards of her relationship status. She also acknowledged her own flaws and tries to do better, her growth as a person was great to see.  Throughout the novel we learn about William's past through a series of flashbacks that shows his life as a cloistered child until his discovery by Helen. His story was truly sad and you really felt for him, though some parts felt less interesting to me, I really liked how his character ended up at the end of the book.  The various subplots were also well written but I wished we spend less time on them especially Helen's relationship with her lover that was an absolute red flag.  I also wished the book delved more on the artistic side of William and the art therapy by Helen. I'm not familiar with psychiatry and its history, but it would have been interesting to see more of the patients and doctors.  I felt the 60s atmosphere was represented well enough but I do feel it could have been more pronounced and maybe less idealistic.  Also the big reveal about one of the characters felt a bit anticlimactic.  This was overall a very good story, though not perfect but really heartwarming.