Reviews

I am at a loss when attempting to rate this book. On the one hand, the pacing, dialogues, and characterization are outstanding and have me utterly consumed right from the beginning till the end. Had this book been set in the 21st century, not even the slightly predictable and flawed plot could have halted me from giving it a 5-star rating. Unfortunately, this book IS a historical fiction, set in Victorian England, and the actions of the characters are so ridiculously modern that I find it hard to believe they are ACTUALLY living in Victorian London. Granted I am no expert in 19th century London and people then COULD have behaved like Veronica and Stoker, but I think chances are slim. For that, I had to deduct at least 2 stars because I read historical fiction for a reason, I want a taste of Victoria London in the universe I'm living in, not a Victoria London in some alternate universe as depicted in this book.

In addition to the unbelievable context (based on my understanding of history), there are also many other "illogical" scenes in this book, of which I shall simply describe in the spoilers below:

Spoiler

1) Veronica is in grave danger as she is "allegedly" the legitimate daughter of the Prince of Wales. Had she made her claims to the throne, that could lead to the devastation of the monarchy, if not set off wars between countries. Given the significant importance of her "status", I am extremely surprised she could live for nearly 25 years without a single incident of being kidnapped or assassinated! This simply is impossible. What's more ridiculous is the fact that the aunts let her go off chasing butterflies in other countries when they KNOW the importance of her existence. Seriously, she is not safe just because she's no longer on British soil. If things were THAT simple, they could just find a quiet spot on the continent and Veronica would be a lot safer there, especially when the Baron came from Germany, he could easily provide a hideout in Germany for the trio. Sorry, this completely does not make sense.

2) Veronica proclaims herself to possess a scientific mind, yet, when the Baron initially told her that her life was in danger and the men were there to kidnap her, she didn't even mull at the possibility and dismissed it readily.

3) The most unbelievable part, however, is how easily the whole mess is resolved. When Veronica threw the papers documenting her birth and her parents' marriage into flames, the special branch of the Met police simply BELIEVED her and left her alone! How could they confirm the papers burned were the REAL documents !? (Well, they may not exactly leave her alone, they may send people watching her secretly, but it appeared as if they let the matter end there). Turns out the documents burned were FAKE copies and the real ones were still in her possession. THIS IS INCREDULOUS! Police so incompetent certainly couldn't be in the special branch.

All in all, I find the plot (and nearly everything else) in this book too detached from reality. If you are simply looking for entertainment, not caring about authenticity, this is the right book for you. If you pay attention to historical details when reading historical fictions, I believe you should look elsewhere.