Reviews

Mrs. England by Stacey Halls

ellenmadebookclub's review against another edition

3.0

Liked it! Interesting plot and setting. Slow start, but unsettling dynamics in the house and tension building slowly throughout the story. I had my guesses but couldn’t say for sure until the very end. Well done.

I loved that the focus was kept on Ruby and her work and story, rather than turning into a love story just because she is a woman of a certain age. No cheese. Just great story, well written characters and story.

amberindia's review against another edition

4.0

A very charming and suspenseful read :)

zhurley94's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

nbpamies's review against another edition

challenging emotional inspiring mysterious reflective sad slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

bethany_reads2003's review against another edition

dark emotional informative inspiring mysterious sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? N/A
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

slicciardi's review against another edition

4.0

Atmospheric, intriguing, and perfect for a rainy day

sally0yllas's review against another edition

3.0

This book was good, although I didn’t enjoy it as much as her previous two. The plot was interesting enough and the characters were again, very fleshed out and captivating, but I spent a lot of this book very frustrated - the main character, Ruby, is kept in the dark and/or very naive to the things happening around her, but I felt this could have been handled better. Too often Ruby said something like “it couldn’t have been what I thought it was” but without elaborating on what she’d thought something was, which didn’t give me the sense of mystery and intrigue I assume the author was aiming for and instead just left me feeling like I’d enjoy the story more if I knew what the hell Ruby was referring to.

As the story developed it became apparent that parts of Ruby’s past were relevant to her current circumstances but as these weren’t revealed until much later in the book I just spent a lot of time feeling quite detached from her and her story because I had no idea what she was on about.

Otherwise this was an enjoyable historical novel and Stacey Hall once again proves that she can write interesting stories inspired by different periods of social history and the way life was for those in a variety of different social classes.

stephanies8410's review against another edition

adventurous dark tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

clarareadss's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

nicolamarie84's review against another edition

mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0