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lakinglaze's review
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
This was a quick and fairly light read, given the murder mystery subject matter. It’s a romance book and there is a little spice in it. While this book was a pretty good read, it just wasn’t my cup of tea.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Alcohol, Emotional abuse, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Religious bigotry, Violence, Body horror, Abandonment, Classism, Confinement, Infidelity, Cursing, Blood, Sexism, Death, Domestic abuse, Kidnapping, and Murder
hayleythegoose's review
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
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? It's complicated
3.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Misogyny, Murder, Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Blood, Sexual content, Sexism, and Violence
Moderate: Classism and Infidelity
Minor: Grief, Abandonment, and Death of parent
katherinek's review
adventurous
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Death, Murder, and Violence
Moderate: Grief
Minor: Infertility and Emotional abuse
mrsdarcylynn's review
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.0
This was such a disappointment.
The characters weren’t developed, even a little bit. There just wasn’t anything interesting about any of them outside their professions! The entire side cast got names, and that was it!
The relationships (friendships, siblings, lovers) had no chemistry. Multiple characters were “best friends”, but for one pair they knew each other for less than two weeks and for the lifelong friends I just didn’t feel anything! Like, show me some banter or build a relationship. Show me, don’t tell me!
The mystery was boring, and largely about a poet. The original victims got no names (YIKES) and we learn almost nothing about the crimes. I dunno? It just wasn’t interesting.
Finally, the “feminism” was so weak throughout. At one point a character says she is not interested in marriage, so two male characters have a conversation about her before one of them will believe that she had a bad first marriage….YIKES! Is it feminism if you need to consult a man to believe a woman’s experience? Sorry- it bothered me a lot. There was just a lot of “social justice” topics that would get brought up as one liners and then the author moved on.
Overall, I was irritated. I can’t really recommend this one.
The characters weren’t developed, even a little bit. There just wasn’t anything interesting about any of them outside their professions! The entire side cast got names, and that was it!
The relationships (friendships, siblings, lovers) had no chemistry. Multiple characters were “best friends”, but for one pair they knew each other for less than two weeks and for the lifelong friends I just didn’t feel anything! Like, show me some banter or build a relationship. Show me, don’t tell me!
The mystery was boring, and largely about a poet. The original victims got no names (YIKES) and we learn almost nothing about the crimes. I dunno? It just wasn’t interesting.
Finally, the “feminism” was so weak throughout.
Overall, I was irritated. I can’t really recommend this one.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Murder and Blood
Moderate: Sexism and Domestic abuse
Minor: Emotional abuse
decklededgess's review
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
mysterious
relaxing
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
Trigger warnings: domestic abuse and emotional abuse mention, religious trauma mention, slut shaming, sexual content, physical violence, mob violence, murders, sexism
This book was very much fun. I thoroughly enjoyed the mystery and was very chuffed with myself for figuring out the twist and the culprit way way in advance.
The story building and mystery set up was amply intriguing except I felt like the greater cast of characters paled in comparison to the two romantic leads. That's well and good considering this is a romance first and a mystery second, but the lack of detail on the secondary cast left me unable to create a madcap red string conspiracy board for the book which is always a hallmark of a top tier mystery.
I appreciated the class and wealth disparity conversation, surface level as it was.
Overall fun book and I'm looking forward to reading the following books!
This book was very much fun. I thoroughly enjoyed the mystery and was very chuffed with myself for figuring out the twist and the culprit way way in advance.
The story building and mystery set up was amply intriguing except I felt like the greater cast of characters paled in comparison to the two romantic leads. That's well and good considering this is a romance first and a mystery second, but the lack of detail on the secondary cast left me unable to create a madcap red string conspiracy board for the book which is always a hallmark of a top tier mystery.
I appreciated the class and wealth disparity conversation, surface level as it was.
Overall fun book and I'm looking forward to reading the following books!
Content Warnings
Moderate: Sexual content and Murder
Minor: Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Sexism, and Misogyny
allisonwonderlandreads's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
In this historical romance, a detective and a journalist must team up to catch a murderer while the wrong man sits behind bars. Along the way, class and gender expectations and assumptions are interrogated along with suspects. In addition, a sentence cutting the upper classes down to size for wealth built on slavery and colonization was the realness I require in historical fiction.
It was fun to add a murder mystery element to the romance even if the culprit was glaringly obvious -- the investigating was still intriguing despite the fixed outcome. I enjoyed seeing the motives and connections uncovered by our intrepid team. I also appreciated having protagonists with professions and maturity with more on the line than an all-consuming love story. They both have expectations, boundaries, and are comfortable in their own skins, which was a refreshing take.
The romance is a bit of a whirlwind for my tastes. To be fair, there are a lot of interesting moving pieces to accommodate the plot. I didn't feel that the romance took a backseat, but it was low on angst and tension and instead proceeded in a streamlined fashion towards true love, etc. I think more than an increased romantic presence on the page, I was looking for a deeper knowledge of the characters and seeing the two gain that understanding of one another, as well.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content and Toxic relationship
Moderate: Blood, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Misogyny, Murder, and Sexual harassment
Minor: Child abuse, Colonisation, Infidelity, Kidnapping, Pregnancy, and Slavery
samchase112's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.5
Mystery and romance combine in this fun romp through historic (period???) England. The plot was fun, the characters were fun, and it was an enjoyable journey overall. I had a few issues that I want to talk about, but the main takeaway here is that this was an easy-to-read yet mysterious romance that I think would appeal highly to non-historical romance readers.
That being said, I think the romance was the least thought-out portion of this book. It was insta-lovey, moved extremely quickly, and not well set-up. A lot of the relationships between characters - in general - were not explained or explored. For example, we're led to believe that Caro and Kate (does everyone in this book need a nickname??? giving me fanfic vibes here...) meet in the first chapter, yet throughout the book Kate makes references to knowing Caro and her mannerisms, and vice versa, as well as she and Valentine know each other. It was clear that the mystery was most important to the author, and even that becomes muddled at some point, with so many connections and complications spinning webs throughout the murders. If this is true, then, I wish the author had simply focused on fleshing out the mystery and murders, with a side-helping of Kate and Eversham beginning to date, rather than full-on falling in love (and don't even get me started on Kate's ultimate decision). That being said, both characters were easy to love and fun to root for. The ending and character relationships simply became much too rushed because of all the competing storylines going on.
Ultimately, this was an enjoyable book, but it had many issues I'd expect from a debut novel, rather than a veteran author, that just jumped out at me and stuck in my mind.
That being said, I think the romance was the least thought-out portion of this book. It was insta-lovey, moved extremely quickly, and not well set-up. A lot of the relationships between characters - in general - were not explained or explored. For example, we're led to believe that Caro and Kate (does everyone in this book need a nickname??? giving me fanfic vibes here...) meet in the first chapter, yet throughout the book Kate makes references to knowing Caro and her mannerisms, and vice versa, as well as she and Valentine know each other. It was clear that the mystery was most important to the author, and even that becomes muddled at some point, with so many connections and complications spinning webs throughout the murders. If this is true, then, I wish the author had simply focused on fleshing out the mystery and murders, with a side-helping of Kate and Eversham beginning to date, rather than full-on falling in love (and don't even get me started on Kate's ultimate decision). That being said, both characters were easy to love and fun to root for. The ending and character relationships simply became much too rushed because of all the competing storylines going on.
Ultimately, this was an enjoyable book, but it had many issues I'd expect from a debut novel, rather than a veteran author, that just jumped out at me and stuck in my mind.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content and Sexism
Moderate: Murder, Blood, Death, Emotional abuse, Domestic abuse, and Stalking
Minor: Death of parent, Gaslighting, Child abuse, and Confinement
philmarie321's review against another edition
funny
inspiring
lighthearted
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? It's complicated
4.0
Content Warnings
Minor: Blood, Death, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Misogyny, Sexism, and Toxic relationship
mmmmmellie's review against another edition
emotional
lighthearted
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.5
I think this is one of those moments when being able to identify a well-written Good Book vs a poorly-written book you enjoyed is important.
I knew from the beginning chapters that this wasn’t going to be ~amazing~ but I did find myself continue reading. I’ve been in a bit of slump recently so being able to let my brain go smooth and just enjoy a cheesy romance and a blegh mystery was nice and now I’m ready to read smth else!!
I will mention some pluses though. Having an outspoken female character who already has empathy for lower classes and real critiques of women’s issues (husbands taking ownership of their wife’s property) was cool! Having a male love interest who was like“i love you and also its ridiculous that i would own your newspaper so i’ll do a prenup to make you happy” was cool!
I knew from the beginning chapters that this wasn’t going to be ~amazing~ but I did find myself continue reading. I’ve been in a bit of slump recently so being able to let my brain go smooth and just enjoy a cheesy romance and a blegh mystery was nice and now I’m ready to read smth else!!
I will mention some pluses though. Having an outspoken female character who already has empathy for lower classes and real critiques of women’s issues (husbands taking ownership of their wife’s property) was cool! Having a male love interest who was like
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content and Murder
Moderate: Child abuse, Religious bigotry, Gore, and Misogyny
Minor: Blood, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, and Kidnapping
thereadinghammock's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.75
I was suspect of Caro as a potential accomplice for a hot second, but the twist of twins (!) as the culprits was fun and unexpected.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Sexual content
Minor: Blood, Child abuse, Death of parent, Death, Emotional abuse, Misogyny, Murder, and Sexism