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3.54 AVERAGE
3.54 AVERAGE
I wanted to love this but it was just okay. Rating is Rounded up for the representation of a marginalized group that rarely gets modern romances, let along period ones. And also for the use of Yiddish in the dirty talk, I found that quite fun.
Tons of telling not showing, and a lack of fleshing out characters and the stakes/plot is just glaring in a 400 page book, where it would’ve been more understandable to drop the ball and do a bit of telling if the novel was half the length.
We only are told that MC Isabella is excellent at business but what we see is her stealing contracts and taking them home to read, and doing no business. Later she also mentions she spent months trashing the business partner’s office and hiding worms in his pockets when her dad, his best friend and business partner, died.
We are told she meets many suitors at balls to pick a suitable husband/business partner but we see her talk to one. We are told she code switches and charms gentiles at her parties but we only see her talk to one man, the Duke, who has known her since birth and was a friend of her father. We are told Aaron does secret spy stuff but all we see is someone telling him they know he’s a spy and bad at it, and him telling Isabella info he gathered on one person.
I would’ve loved to see her intelligence shown by how she interacts with and weighs criteria between suitors and potential gentile business partners, sees how different important individuals might react to her as a business partner and how their relationship with her would be effected by her choice of spouse. Even like the gossip within the community or by Gentiles being reported back to her by her friend or Aaron after the party so she can reassess her next moves. Actual strategy. Actually seeing the interesting scenes instead of her talking to Aaron scene after scene about the plot that happened off page.
There’s also a lot of inconsistencies with the characters. Aaron is scandalized by an ankle but not long later he strips her down and eats her out in public and is apparently god tier good at sex and extremely confident. Is he a conservative prude or sexually experienced? Is he shy or confident and adventurous?
Tons of repetition on how Aaron is sad he’s poor and bad at 100% of things, tons of repetition Isabella is clever and good at business, tons of being horny for one another, and about 100 pages of that could’ve been removed or more substance could’ve been added.
Tons of telling not showing, and a lack of fleshing out characters and the stakes/plot is just glaring in a 400 page book, where it would’ve been more understandable to drop the ball and do a bit of telling if the novel was half the length.
We only are told that MC Isabella is excellent at business but what we see is her stealing contracts and taking them home to read, and doing no business. Later she also mentions she spent months trashing the business partner’s office and hiding worms in his pockets when her dad, his best friend and business partner, died.
We are told she meets many suitors at balls to pick a suitable husband/business partner but we see her talk to one. We are told she code switches and charms gentiles at her parties but we only see her talk to one man, the Duke, who has known her since birth and was a friend of her father. We are told Aaron does secret spy stuff but all we see is someone telling him they know he’s a spy and bad at it, and him telling Isabella info he gathered on one person.
I would’ve loved to see her intelligence shown by how she interacts with and weighs criteria between suitors and potential gentile business partners, sees how different important individuals might react to her as a business partner and how their relationship with her would be effected by her choice of spouse. Even like the gossip within the community or by Gentiles being reported back to her by her friend or Aaron after the party so she can reassess her next moves. Actual strategy. Actually seeing the interesting scenes instead of her talking to Aaron scene after scene about the plot that happened off page.
There’s also a lot of inconsistencies with the characters. Aaron is scandalized by an ankle but not long later he strips her down and eats her out in public and is apparently god tier good at sex and extremely confident. Is he a conservative prude or sexually experienced? Is he shy or confident and adventurous?
Tons of repetition on how Aaron is sad he’s poor and bad at 100% of things, tons of repetition Isabella is clever and good at business, tons of being horny for one another, and about 100 pages of that could’ve been removed or more substance could’ve been added.
Thank you so much to Forever and Netgalley for providing an advanced copy of this! All thoughts and opinions are still my own.
I am not a big historical romance reader, but when I saw that this was Jewish, gender-bent Cinderella retelling, I knew it was one I needed to pick up! And I'm so glad I did. This was so different than any other Victorian(ish) era historical I've read and I loved the all the culture and history elements throughout.
I myself am not Jewish, however I am married into a Jewish family, and celebrate Jewish holidays. And therefore am always on the hunt for more Jewish romances.
This was the first Jewish historical I've read it was a time period and history and I knew very little about. I loved getting to see the integration of Jewish culture and persons into upper class London as well as the cultural & community divide between Ashkenazi and Sephardic Jew at that time.
The Cinderella aspect was the perfect balance of an obvious nod to the classic plot and maintaining its own story. I loved the multiple events/balls and getting see the hero pin and sneak moments with the heroine.
The different worlds/classes trope is one of my favorites, and this one did it so well. The hero is reliant on the community thanks to random life circumstances, and wants to find a way to live his life and find love. While the heroine is pragmatic and is determined to choose her groom in a logical way for her family and fortune.
And watching the heroine slowly be undone and softened to the hero was everything. I loved their stolen moments in the garden, the "fairy godmother" neighbor, discussions of the political games/maneuvering that was required, and so much more.
This was just such a fantastic historical romance all around and definitely a series I want to continue with! If you want a want a wonderful romance outside the typical Christian, upper class stories normally found in this genre, pick this one up!
I am not a big historical romance reader, but when I saw that this was Jewish, gender-bent Cinderella retelling, I knew it was one I needed to pick up! And I'm so glad I did. This was so different than any other Victorian(ish) era historical I've read and I loved the all the culture and history elements throughout.
I myself am not Jewish, however I am married into a Jewish family, and celebrate Jewish holidays. And therefore am always on the hunt for more Jewish romances.
This was the first Jewish historical I've read it was a time period and history and I knew very little about. I loved getting to see the integration of Jewish culture and persons into upper class London as well as the cultural & community divide between Ashkenazi and Sephardic Jew at that time.
The Cinderella aspect was the perfect balance of an obvious nod to the classic plot and maintaining its own story. I loved the multiple events/balls and getting see the hero pin and sneak moments with the heroine.
The different worlds/classes trope is one of my favorites, and this one did it so well. The hero is reliant on the community thanks to random life circumstances, and wants to find a way to live his life and find love. While the heroine is pragmatic and is determined to choose her groom in a logical way for her family and fortune.
And watching the heroine slowly be undone and softened to the hero was everything. I loved their stolen moments in the garden, the "fairy godmother" neighbor, discussions of the political games/maneuvering that was required, and so much more.
This was just such a fantastic historical romance all around and definitely a series I want to continue with! If you want a want a wonderful romance outside the typical Christian, upper class stories normally found in this genre, pick this one up!
emotional
lighthearted
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
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
emotional
lighthearted
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
N/A
Loveable characters:
N/A
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Content Warnings
Graphic: Antisemitism
I was so excited to read this book and I found it really boring. I appreciated that I learned a bit about the inter- and intra-community conflicts that Jewish people in England faced. However, the romance didn't seem believable, the female protagonist wasn't very appealing, and I found a lot of the exposition to be very dense. I definitely would've given up if it had not been for a book club.
Took a bit of time to get into, but pleasant story
I found the first 60% of this book slow and tough to get through. (The audiobook narrator's male voices are indistinguishable, which didn't help.) There's some excitement toward the end, though, and I enjoyed learning more about Jewish history and culture in this particular period.
This cute Cinderella retelling was exactly what I was looking for in a retelling. I love the Jewish sprinkled in giving deapth to the story
The world-building is very good. The conflict legit and high-stakes. I tend to get frustrated with slip-shod conflict in romances, and this one is very compelling (the heroine under pressure to marry for various "reasons" and the cross-class nature of the romance). It's one of those books where you think "How the heck is the author going to pull off this happy-ever-after?!"
That said, as much as I enjoyed the world-building and conflict, the romance was kinda blah. I never felt tension? Chemistry? It just seemed to be missing something. There was no anticipation for the first kiss, let alone the first love scene. But there is a well-done Black Moment that does punch things up a bit in that respect.
Probably a B- on my personal scale. I am interested in picking up the next book in the series.
That said, as much as I enjoyed the world-building and conflict, the romance was kinda blah. I never felt tension? Chemistry? It just seemed to be missing something. There was no anticipation for the first kiss, let alone the first love scene. But there is a well-done Black Moment that does punch things up a bit in that respect.
Probably a B- on my personal scale. I am interested in picking up the next book in the series.