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3.61 AVERAGE
3.61 AVERAGE
Rating : 1,5 ⭐
This book was a big disappointment for me. I think it really suffered from the erroneous way it's being marketed as a mystery. It reads more like a character study of a young woman growing into herself after losing her husband, with the mystery playing out in the background as an afterthought. The solution was so obvious, I guessed the whole plot of the book very quickly. After waiting for 20 chapters for the main character to catch up, I was just indifferent to the story. Her leaps of logic and suspicions were infuriatingly stupid at times. Again, it felt like the purpose of the book was seeing the character growth of Lady Ashton, and not the solving of the mystery. I don't think it makes for a necessarily bad reading experience, but it definitely wasn't the book I was expecting to read. The other characters, while interesting, just weren't enough to make me rate the book higher. I still intend to read the second book, to see if the author can write an actual mystery, but if the same issues arise I think this will be a series DNF.
This book was a big disappointment for me. I think it really suffered from the erroneous way it's being marketed as a mystery. It reads more like a character study of a young woman growing into herself after losing her husband, with the mystery playing out in the background as an afterthought. The solution was so obvious, I guessed the whole plot of the book very quickly. After waiting for 20 chapters for the main character to catch up, I was just indifferent to the story. Her leaps of logic and suspicions were infuriatingly stupid at times. Again, it felt like the purpose of the book was seeing the character growth of Lady Ashton, and not the solving of the mystery. I don't think it makes for a necessarily bad reading experience, but it definitely wasn't the book I was expecting to read. The other characters, while interesting, just weren't enough to make me rate the book higher. I still intend to read the second book, to see if the author can write an actual mystery, but if the same issues arise I think this will be a series DNF.
Impressive debut. It was in many ways a coming of age story of Lady Emily, a young Victorian widow. Great charachters and wonderful story telling.
This book came recommended to me with the tag line "If you liked Deanna Raybourn, you'll love this."
Ummm, not so much.
Lady Emily Ashton is widowed soon after her marriage when her adventurous husband dies of a fever in Africa while on safari. As she attempts to reconcile her own very ambivalent feelings towards her husband, each interaction with his friends and family, and her own exploration of his private journals, reveals a much more complicated and romantic man. Lady Emily finds herself falling in love with her dead husband while also being courted by two very different men. In the midst of all this personal turmoil, someone's stalking Emily and she could be in grave danger with the answer lying somewhere in her husband's papers.
The set up for the novel is great, however it's poorly executed with scenes that are loosely tied together and little sense of urgency.
Soon after her husband's death, Emily travels to Paris and soon after arriving is presented with a painting by Renoir, commissioned by her husband before his death. Renoir shows up on the front door step to present Emily with this work. Much is made about how no one appreciates the Impressionists, and while it was very true at the time (late 1880s), do we really need a Renoir on the doorstep to show a) how beautiful Emily is, or b) how much her dead husband loved her? Alexander works much better with the smaller details, like the journal excerpts which preface each chapter.
The mystery is really no big secret and it seems to take FOREVER for Emily to finally GET A FREAKING CLUE! I seriously wanted to smack her upside the head multiple times. It was frustrating because when she's interacting with Margaret or Cecile or reflecting on why she got married (to escape her overbearing mother), she's written as a smart, capable woman trying to carve out her own independent existence in a society that wasn't so accepting of that just yet.
And yet .... (sigh) ... and yet ... Emily is unbelievably naive and stupid when it comes to the motives of all the people fluttering around her, asking pointed questions about her husband and the very obvious clues kicking around.
Without much urgency, and many many side tracks into the very creepy idea of falling in love with one's dead husband, the mystery is eventually solved, though of course the romance is unresolved.
Overall I was pretty "meh" about this book. It was a quick read, but lacked the depth and immediacy I look for in mystery novels and romances.
Ummm, not so much.
Lady Emily Ashton is widowed soon after her marriage when her adventurous husband dies of a fever in Africa while on safari. As she attempts to reconcile her own very ambivalent feelings towards her husband, each interaction with his friends and family, and her own exploration of his private journals, reveals a much more complicated and romantic man. Lady Emily finds herself falling in love with her dead husband while also being courted by two very different men. In the midst of all this personal turmoil, someone's stalking Emily and she could be in grave danger with the answer lying somewhere in her husband's papers.
The set up for the novel is great, however it's poorly executed with scenes that are loosely tied together and little sense of urgency.
Soon after her husband's death, Emily travels to Paris and soon after arriving is presented with a painting by Renoir, commissioned by her husband before his death. Renoir shows up on the front door step to present Emily with this work. Much is made about how no one appreciates the Impressionists, and while it was very true at the time (late 1880s), do we really need a Renoir on the doorstep to show a) how beautiful Emily is, or b) how much her dead husband loved her? Alexander works much better with the smaller details, like the journal excerpts which preface each chapter.
The mystery is really no big secret and it seems to take FOREVER for Emily to finally GET A FREAKING CLUE! I seriously wanted to smack her upside the head multiple times. It was frustrating because when she's interacting with Margaret or Cecile or reflecting on why she got married (to escape her overbearing mother), she's written as a smart, capable woman trying to carve out her own independent existence in a society that wasn't so accepting of that just yet.
And yet .... (sigh) ... and yet ... Emily is unbelievably naive and stupid when it comes to the motives of all the people fluttering around her, asking pointed questions about her husband and the very obvious clues kicking around.
Without much urgency, and many many side tracks into the very creepy idea of falling in love with one's dead husband, the mystery is eventually solved, though of course the romance is unresolved.
Overall I was pretty "meh" about this book. It was a quick read, but lacked the depth and immediacy I look for in mystery novels and romances.
I really enjoyed this - and it's been lingering on the kindle for so long. Again. Another one. Baaaah. Really need to work on that backlog! Have gone straight on to the next book in the series (which was also waiting on the kindle!)
adventurous
mysterious
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
I read this in 1 day. I couldn't put it down and loved all the description of the art. Can't wait to read on.
adventurous
lighthearted
slow-paced
I really quite liked this first-in-the-series novel, with it's unique setting, enjoyable characters, and fun antiquity focus. At the same time, the mystery was a little too obvious, the characters were a little too transparent, and the world a little too stereotypical. An overall enjoyable read, but I'm not going to rush out for the rest of the series.
Lady Emily's an interesting character and very modern for the age she lives in. Makes a good sleuth.