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noblelandmermaid's review
adventurous
mysterious
tense
fast-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
4.25
makennakjacobs's review
3.5
Similar in tone and subject to the first book, but not as much fun for me as it mainly focused on characters who were not Austen's. I didn't really love the love triangle and found it somewhat forced.
yourfavavery's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
So I seem to have fallen down a Jane Austen rabbit hole, which is interesting considering I haven't read any of her books (rest assured, I'm picking up a copy of Pride & Prejudice at the library today). This is a second murder mystery starring Austen characters in the series, which isn't a straight retelling of an Austen story but more of an AU fan-fiction sequel.
The Pros: A murder mystery/detective story set in the regency era is very Agatha Christie, and thus makes the best kind of cozy read. The plot lines were enough to fill out the plot without detracting from the main mystery, and the budding romance between the two leads is engaging enough to get me to read the next book in the series.
The Cons: The first is on me - I REALLY need to read some Austen. Most of the literary references are lost on me. That said, the last mystery was very "locked in" in that the characters were stuck in one place with no outside influences and so there was more organic tension. This wasn't that (the characters could roam freely), and the world of the village felt more empty and the story felt slower as a result.
The Pros: A murder mystery/detective story set in the regency era is very Agatha Christie, and thus makes the best kind of cozy read. The plot lines were enough to fill out the plot without detracting from the main mystery, and the budding romance between the two leads is engaging enough to get me to read the next book in the series.
The Cons: The first is on me - I REALLY need to read some Austen. Most of the literary references are lost on me. That said, the last mystery was very "locked in" in that the characters were stuck in one place with no outside influences and so there was more organic tension. This wasn't that (the characters could roam freely), and the world of the village felt more empty and the story felt slower as a result.
nose_in_a_book's review
emotional
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
4.0
No 🌶️
I simultaneously don’t think that this book was as good as the first while also somehow having enjoyed this one more despite the plot being barely existent.
The actual story beats could fill out a novella better than the full length novel they occupied. There are entire chapters where it seems like our two main characters have forgotten that investigating is part of solving a mystery. There’s rarely any clue gathering, witnesses who seem like they’d be at the top of the list aren’t approached until weeks later, and they spend more time saying we don’t have enough answers than they do discussing what could have transpired.
The author clearly enjoyed the many POVs that took place in the first book but the attempt to do so here made far less sense. Everyone was a reasonable suspect in book 1 so following their line of thinking added layers to the mystery. In this book, the POVs are scattered across physical space and topic. We get the ongoing POV of someone who clearly has nothing at all to do with anything but passively plays a part in propelling the resolution forward which I guess is why we hear from them so much but it was confusing every time we switched to their perspective.
If the mystery was moving at a snails pace, the romance was at a complete stand still. This is by far the slowest of the slow burns to the point where it’s hard to even say there’s much progression in this entire book unless you count the realization of jealousy as developing feelings. It’s hard to understand why there is so much stagnation either. Both people clearly enjoy the others company and there don’t seem to be external factors keeping them apart. If anything, it’s quite the opposite. Much like the authors borderline homophobia in this first book, she teeters the edge of ablism with the de-sexualization of Jonathan due to his autism. Based on later in the book he doesn’t appear to be either asexual or aromantic so her focus on how he can’t fathom kissing someone come off more as a deep misunderstanding of the autistic experience rather than a truth of Darcy’s.
Much like in the first book, where the plot and mystery severely lacked, I found I greatly enjoyed the characters themselves. She, smartly, chose to leave out the POVs of the many shithead characters this book was filled with to instead focus on characters with actual charm. I loved seeing the Brandons again and getting to watch how the first book affected their lives. The continuation of their plot from the first book was also welcome. It makes sense that this was the highlight for me (and at times the only reason I was reading) because these books read more as character studies than they do novels. We see so much of the inner workings for various players that it’s fun to watch all the puzzle pieces click into place in their interactions. Add in the societal elements of the historical rich and it’s a compelling world.
Her third book comes out soon and I will definitely read it with the knowledge that she’s often problematic when trying to add diversity and that my enjoyment of her books is based on how much I like the characters in them.
I simultaneously don’t think that this book was as good as the first while also somehow having enjoyed this one more despite the plot being barely existent.
The actual story beats could fill out a novella better than the full length novel they occupied. There are entire chapters where it seems like our two main characters have forgotten that investigating is part of solving a mystery. There’s rarely any clue gathering, witnesses who seem like they’d be at the top of the list aren’t approached until weeks later, and they spend more time saying we don’t have enough answers than they do discussing what could have transpired.
The author clearly enjoyed the many POVs that took place in the first book but the attempt to do so here made far less sense. Everyone was a reasonable suspect in book 1 so following their line of thinking added layers to the mystery. In this book, the POVs are scattered across physical space and topic. We get the ongoing POV of someone who clearly has nothing at all to do with anything but passively plays a part in propelling the resolution forward which I guess is why we hear from them so much but it was confusing every time we switched to their perspective.
If the mystery was moving at a snails pace, the romance was at a complete stand still. This is by far the slowest of the slow burns to the point where it’s hard to even say there’s much progression in this entire book unless you count the realization of jealousy as developing feelings. It’s hard to understand why there is so much stagnation either. Both people clearly enjoy the others company and there don’t seem to be external factors keeping them apart. If anything, it’s quite the opposite. Much like the authors borderline homophobia in this first book, she teeters the edge of ablism with the de-sexualization of Jonathan due to his autism. Based on later in the book he doesn’t appear to be either asexual or aromantic so her focus on how he can’t fathom kissing someone come off more as a deep misunderstanding of the autistic experience rather than a truth of Darcy’s.
Much like in the first book, where the plot and mystery severely lacked, I found I greatly enjoyed the characters themselves. She, smartly, chose to leave out the POVs of the many shithead characters this book was filled with to instead focus on characters with actual charm. I loved seeing the Brandons again and getting to watch how the first book affected their lives. The continuation of their plot from the first book was also welcome. It makes sense that this was the highlight for me (and at times the only reason I was reading) because these books read more as character studies than they do novels. We see so much of the inner workings for various players that it’s fun to watch all the puzzle pieces click into place in their interactions. Add in the societal elements of the historical rich and it’s a compelling world.
Her third book comes out soon and I will definitely read it with the knowledge that she’s often problematic when trying to add diversity and that my enjoyment of her books is based on how much I like the characters in them.
beversae's review against another edition
3.0
This mystery takes place shortly after the first book ended. I do love reading Jonathon and Juliet solving a murder, and was wary of an addition to their group. This book was slightly more predictable than the first which can be nice when you are also solving the murder. However the ending seemed to drag on and introduced characters on Marianne's side that I felt like were not necessary.