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yourbookishbff's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
mysterious
reflective
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
This was a reread, and my enjoyment only improved from my first read! The first half of this series-start is very character-driven, and readers should be prepared for a lot of world and character building. The mystery plot takes off in the second half, and its conclusion can be a bit confusing given the wide cast of characters. That said, I loved revisiting Charlotte's launch into the world, and you can't beat narration by Kate Reading.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Misogyny, Murder, Death, and Classism
Moderate: Sexual content, Child abuse, Stalking, Pedophilia, and Sexual assault
molsreads's review against another edition
mysterious
slow-paced
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Suicide, Sexism, and Death
Moderate: Incest and Pedophilia
Minor: Abandonment
blewballoon's review
mysterious
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
I am being a bit generous with my rating for how much I personally enjoyed the book, but that's based on the writing quality and how I can see how other people would like it if they aren't bothered by the things that bothered me. I really wanted to like this, but unfortunately I just kept having issue after issue with it.
Our character introduction is Charlotte getting caught sleeping with a married man. Infidelity really bothers me, so I knew it was gonna be an uphill battle to try to like her. We then spend a big chunk of the first part of the book in a bunch of other character's perspectives (mostly Charlotte's sister, so I was a little confused as to who the main character actually was for a bit) before we even get to hers and learn her poor rationale for her choices. So smart yet so dumb? An argument could be made that maybe the author is going for her being smart with facts and riddles, but bad at interpreting emotions and human behavior. She seems to be strongly coded as autistic as well. There's a bunch of casual fat-phobia sprinkled around because one of Charlotte's other main character traits is that she really likes food, but of course it would be bad if she got too plump. 🙄
I was going to DNF the book, but thenMrs. Watson became a character and I loved her and how she stepped in to help Charlotte so much. I got really into it at that point. Unfortunately, that turned out to be an orchestrated situation by someone else, so the most redeeming part of the book for me turned out to be a lie.
Most of the investigation of the main mystery is not done by Charlotte herself, but by an Inspector. Huge chunks of the book are just him interviewing people and considering their testimony. He's fine at his job. He feels sad and surprised whenhe realizes that his wife may have had any other desires apart from being his wife and that women might actually think about things.
I could not get on board with the love interest. I get that this is historical England and people were in unhappy marriages, but I do not feel the chemistry, I do not feel the friendship, I feel like I'm being told that I should want them to be together (as master and mistress? 🤢) but I don't feel why I should.
The resolution to the big mystery is pretty dark in subject matter, I wasn't expecting that, but I do think it was talked about in a remote enough way not to be overly disturbing.
I think the author did overall do a decent job of coming up with puzzles and mysteries and tying things together for Charlotte and the other characters to solve. I like that other characters had skills and specialized knowledge to contribute,like Mrs. Watson with her ear for accents and acting/costuming skills to create disguises, and Lord Ingram's photo development and manipulation talent. I think the writing quality was good apart from the jarring switches between perspective and how little perspective Charlotte herself gets.
Our character introduction is Charlotte getting caught sleeping with a married man. Infidelity really bothers me, so I knew it was gonna be an uphill battle to try to like her. We then spend a big chunk of the first part of the book in a bunch of other character's perspectives (mostly Charlotte's sister, so I was a little confused as to who the main character actually was for a bit) before we even get to hers and learn her poor rationale for her choices. So smart yet so dumb? An argument could be made that maybe the author is going for her being smart with facts and riddles, but bad at interpreting emotions and human behavior. She seems to be strongly coded as autistic as well. There's a bunch of casual fat-phobia sprinkled around because one of Charlotte's other main character traits is that she really likes food, but of course it would be bad if she got too plump. 🙄
I was going to DNF the book, but then
Most of the investigation of the main mystery is not done by Charlotte herself, but by an Inspector. Huge chunks of the book are just him interviewing people and considering their testimony. He's fine at his job. He feels sad and surprised when
I could not get on board with the love interest. I get that this is historical England and people were in unhappy marriages, but I do not feel the chemistry, I do not feel the friendship, I feel like I'm being told that I should want them to be together (as master and mistress? 🤢) but I don't feel why I should.
The resolution to the big mystery is pretty dark in subject matter, I wasn't expecting that, but I do think it was talked about in a remote enough way not to be overly disturbing.
I think the author did overall do a decent job of coming up with puzzles and mysteries and tying things together for Charlotte and the other characters to solve. I like that other characters had skills and specialized knowledge to contribute,
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death, Murder, and Sexism
Minor: War, Sexual content, Pedophilia, Grief, Classism, Rape, and Incest
knit_the_resistance's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
funny
lighthearted
mysterious
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
4.0
I do not recommend this as an audiobook. It's very confusing to try to keep the characters straight. I enjoyed it. I did not see the plot twist coming at all and it was really disconcerting.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Drug use, Fatphobia, Incest, Homophobia, Murder, Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, and Death
arsrose's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
3.75
Content Warnings
Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Death, Infidelity, Murder, and Child abuse
reading_historical_romance's review
adventurous
dark
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? No
4.0
Content Warnings
Minor: Pedophilia, Sexual assault, Child abuse, Death, Incest, Rape, Adult/minor relationship, and Murder
hanz's review
lighthearted
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death and Suicide
Moderate: Body shaming, Child abuse, Infidelity, Grief, and Child death
carmnsndiego's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
lighthearted
mysterious
medium-paced
4.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual assault and Child abuse
Moderate: Death
anntharai's review against another edition
lighthearted
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
3.5⭐️A fine premise, a suitably tangled mystery, and likeable enough characters. I like the take on Holmes and Watson, but something was lacking. Not lacking enough to dissuade me from reading it in one sitting, but just short of being truly compelling. I docked a .5⭐️ because of the authors instance on including the almost mandatory bemoaning of wearing corsets as being a vain and universally painful experience 🙄 when the rest of the book rests in decent research the least they could have done is look beyond the ‘corsets are evil’ line touted since it became fashionable to do so.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Murder, Death, and Child death
Moderate: Pedophilia, Sexual harassment, Rape, Fatphobia, Body shaming, and Suicide
ibeforem's review
challenging
dark
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
4.0
This series is a re-imagining of Sherlock Holmes where Sherlock is really a young woman named Charlotte Holmes.
Charlotte is the daughter of a well-off family, and as such she is expected to do one thing - marry. But she has no interest in marrying, she'd much rather go to university and become the headmistress of a school and make enough money to support herself with no husband in sight. After her father breaks a promise to send her to school, Charlotte exacts her revenge by making herself unmarriageable in the eyes of society and then running away to London, certain she will be able to find a job and make enough money to send herself to school. But along the way, she is posing as the mysterious Sherlock Holmes, sending letters to the local authorities to try to help solve a series of deaths that threaten to ensnare her sister at home.
I enjoyed this story, though I found the construction clunky at times. I felt we were just thrown into the Sherlock thing, and I felt like it had been happening for a while before we are brought in on the secret. I also thought the revelation at the end was very much out of left field. There is no indication ahead of time that that was where the story was headed, or if there was, I missed it. I did enjoy the slow introduction of people to match up with the names/roles we know from the classic Sherlock canon.
Overall I thought the story laid a promising foundation for the series. I know there was a lot she needed to accomplish in this book, and now that all that backstory is out of the way maybe the next one will move a little more smoothly.
Charlotte is the daughter of a well-off family, and as such she is expected to do one thing - marry. But she has no interest in marrying, she'd much rather go to university and become the headmistress of a school and make enough money to support herself with no husband in sight. After her father breaks a promise to send her to school, Charlotte exacts her revenge by making herself unmarriageable in the eyes of society and then running away to London, certain she will be able to find a job and make enough money to send herself to school. But along the way, she is posing as the mysterious Sherlock Holmes, sending letters to the local authorities to try to help solve a series of deaths that threaten to ensnare her sister at home.
I enjoyed this story, though I found the construction clunky at times. I felt we were just thrown into the Sherlock thing, and I felt like it had been happening for a while before we are brought in on the secret. I also thought the revelation at the end was very much out of left field. There is no indication ahead of time that that was where the story was headed, or if there was, I missed it. I did enjoy the slow introduction of people to match up with the names/roles we know from the classic Sherlock canon.
Overall I thought the story laid a promising foundation for the series. I know there was a lot she needed to accomplish in this book, and now that all that backstory is out of the way maybe the next one will move a little more smoothly.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death
Minor: Pedophilia