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3.61 AVERAGE
3.61 AVERAGE
adventurous
lighthearted
mysterious
medium-paced
funny
lighthearted
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
2 1/2 stars
It takes me right out of a story when historical details or geographic information is wrong and this was a repeated problem in this story (two easy ones - howler monkeys and blow guns are on the wrong continent). Hopefully the series gets better :)
It takes me right out of a story when historical details or geographic information is wrong and this was a repeated problem in this story (two easy ones - howler monkeys and blow guns are on the wrong continent). Hopefully the series gets better :)
Lady Emily is a little bit Amelia Peabody, a little bit Eliza Bennett, and a little bit of the mother from Mary Poppins. She's the perfect lady, the adventurer, and flies in the face of convention. In this book she is a delightfully unsuspecting heroine. I thoroughly enjoyed this first installment in the series, and look forward to the next.
I would call this book more along the lines of delightful, rather than thrilling. It's a mystery in the Elizabeth Peters fashion, old fashioned classical mystery, not really any gore and violence, but well written, with a story that carries the reader along, keeps you guessing, but without unnecessary plot twists. It understands its era, while maintaining a heroine who pushes the boundaries on what a Victorian woman would be like, staying believable, but with the ability to charm a modern audience. It's a modern read with a little history set into an historical fiction.
Thank you, Ms. Alexander, for pulling me into yet another series. (I'm currently in progress on 13 book series, at last count.) sigh. Nothing I can do but continue to read!
I would call this book more along the lines of delightful, rather than thrilling. It's a mystery in the Elizabeth Peters fashion, old fashioned classical mystery, not really any gore and violence, but well written, with a story that carries the reader along, keeps you guessing, but without unnecessary plot twists. It understands its era, while maintaining a heroine who pushes the boundaries on what a Victorian woman would be like, staying believable, but with the ability to charm a modern audience. It's a modern read with a little history set into an historical fiction.
Thank you, Ms. Alexander, for pulling me into yet another series. (I'm currently in progress on 13 book series, at last count.) sigh. Nothing I can do but continue to read!
I read this a while ago and couldn't remember more than a general benevolent feeling about it, so I listened to it on audio book. It was delightful to revisit, and I'm looking forward to more of Emily's unconventional Victorian adventures. I particularly love her flowering as a student of Greek and Roman mythology/art/antiquities. The audio book was wonderfully read, and I'm only sorry I can't seem to find the second in the series in that format at my library.
I expected to enjoy this book more than I did, based on both the plot summary and reader recommendations.
medium-paced
Sweet and compelling read, with nice mystery elements and a super likeable main character.
lighthearted
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
A promising debut
This book seemed like it held such promise and I assumed I would love it, but it wasn't so.
The dialogue was so formal and stilted and the story moved so slowly, but the main problem was I just did not like the heroine! She seemed so cold and unfeeling. I also thought for someone who wasn't even married long, being so young, and going straight from her overbearing mother to her husband, she was very outspoken and liberal for her views at that time. She had a ton of self confidence and even arrogance for being so brow-beaten by her mother all her life, and then widowed so shortly after marriage. I just didn't buy it.
I love mysteries; even better romantic mysteries, but this was quite boring and tedious. Yet another reason I wasn't wild about it was the excessive Greek worship (for lack of a better word) the heroine was into. Don't get me wrong, I love archeology and history, LOVE it, but this was like being beaten over the head with it in such a dry way.
I just now noticed there are at least 14 books in this series. I'm interested in checking them out to see if they are better and different; to see the author's growth, and also to see if the author has made the characters 'come alive' and not seem so...well, as Gus in MBFGW said "Dry as toast!".
The dialogue was so formal and stilted and the story moved so slowly, but the main problem was I just did not like the heroine! She seemed so cold and unfeeling. I also thought for someone who wasn't even married long, being so young, and going straight from her overbearing mother to her husband, she was very outspoken and liberal for her views at that time. She had a ton of self confidence and even arrogance for being so brow-beaten by her mother all her life, and then widowed so shortly after marriage. I just didn't buy it.
I love mysteries; even better romantic mysteries, but this was quite boring and tedious. Yet another reason I wasn't wild about it was the excessive Greek worship (for lack of a better word) the heroine was into. Don't get me wrong, I love archeology and history, LOVE it, but this was like being beaten over the head with it in such a dry way.
I just now noticed there are at least 14 books in this series. I'm interested in checking them out to see if they are better and different; to see the author's growth, and also to see if the author has made the characters 'come alive' and not seem so...well, as Gus in MBFGW said "Dry as toast!".