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gawronma's review against another edition
3.0
It was a nice debut novel. My only wish was that it wasn't uneven. At times it was promising but at other times it dragged.
verityw's review against another edition
2.0
****Copy from NetGalley in return for an honest review****
This just did nothing for me. I nearly gave it 1* but I'm feeling nice this morning.
I'm used to outlandish plots that stretch credibility of what might have occurred, but this just went too far for me. I can some times get past crazy like this if the characters are totally engaging, but this was slow to pick up for me and I never got past my sense of "Huh? What's this?". It's a shame, because I like Regency romances, I like Cozy Crime, I like Regency crime but this just didn't work for me.
This just did nothing for me. I nearly gave it 1* but I'm feeling nice this morning.
I'm used to outlandish plots that stretch credibility of what might have occurred, but this just went too far for me. I can some times get past crazy like this if the characters are totally engaging, but this was slow to pick up for me and I never got past my sense of "Huh? What's this?". It's a shame, because I like Regency romances, I like Cozy Crime, I like Regency crime but this just didn't work for me.
wordnerdy's review against another edition
3.0
http://wordnerdy.blogspot.com/2016/07/2016-book-116.html
Hooray for a historical mystery set in Regency England! All my Jane Austen and romance reading prepared me to like this quite a bit, and the story mostly lived up to my high expectations. It centers on a woman whose father ran off after some major financial problems, and now she survives by helping gentlewomen with party planning and other useful things. But! An acquaintance is found dead at Almack's! And his sister asks her to investigate! And his sister is engaged to the man SHE hoped to marry! Also there is a Bow Street Runner on the case! The solution was pretty predictable and I wasn't super interested in the love triangle being set up for future books, but I found the main character to be interesting and liked seeing all the relationships between the women, as well as their class tension. I would definitely read another one in this series. B/B+.
Hooray for a historical mystery set in Regency England! All my Jane Austen and romance reading prepared me to like this quite a bit, and the story mostly lived up to my high expectations. It centers on a woman whose father ran off after some major financial problems, and now she survives by helping gentlewomen with party planning and other useful things. But! An acquaintance is found dead at Almack's! And his sister asks her to investigate! And his sister is engaged to the man SHE hoped to marry! Also there is a Bow Street Runner on the case! The solution was pretty predictable and I wasn't super interested in the love triangle being set up for future books, but I found the main character to be interesting and liked seeing all the relationships between the women, as well as their class tension. I would definitely read another one in this series. B/B+.
dangerpronedaphne's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
llambe01's review against another edition
3.0
Loved the Setting and main character- but felt like at the end she acts out of character several times, almost a change of character without enough to explain it- and there was something off in the way mystery’s was solved to me, was pondering it after finishing but couldn’t put my finger on it
amylee218's review against another edition
2.0
Sometimes you see a perfect review, written by someone else. That is what happened here, so I am going to suggest you all read Sheri South's review-- she says just about everything that I was thinking.
The only thing I would add is that I never really understood how Rosalind became a "Useful Woman." One minute her father was leaving them in ruin, the next minute she was already known as a problem-solver throughout the Ton. I would have rather read about her struggles and how she went from ruin to developing this reputation for herself.
The only thing I would add is that I never really understood how Rosalind became a "Useful Woman." One minute her father was leaving them in ruin, the next minute she was already known as a problem-solver throughout the Ton. I would have rather read about her struggles and how she went from ruin to developing this reputation for herself.
viktorian's review against another edition
2.0
It might be me? I don't mind a slow moving mystery, but I just could not get into this. I may have felt differently if it had been told entirely from Rosalind's perspective or the POVs had varied more; instead, the other character's perspective's really teased me and I wanted more time with them (especially Adam & also Honoria, who charmed me despite herself). While I could see the series' potential, I didn't like the first enough to stick with it, especially when I see the summaries.
Also, with the audiobook: the narrator does this weird thing where people either sneer or dramatically whisper things all the time, which is annoying, and sometimes you can't tell whether they're saying something to another person or having some kind of internal revelation. It's annoying.
Also, with the audiobook: the narrator does this weird thing where people either sneer or dramatically whisper things all the time, which is annoying, and sometimes you can't tell whether they're saying something to another person or having some kind of internal revelation. It's annoying.
haramis's review against another edition
5.0
This is the rare case of the perfect book for me finding me in the perfect moment to read it. I enjoyed it so much that I immediately reread it. As to the perfect time, after basically three years of having my face in romance books, I finally find I’m a little worn out on them. I have two tags which are “romance” and “romance-element,” and I don’t think that this book would even qualify for the latter. There’s a prickly relationship with an ex and maybe a future relationship with a new person, but neither are even really an emotional blip in the greater plot. The book is, however, a Regency, which means that I’m getting a mystery with my very favorite window dressing. What I liked the very best though is that the author adroitly writes with multiple POVs which gives her secondary characters some real heft, and that the main character is struggling with some very realistic blind spots, while trying to figure out the whodunnit. I absolutely loved this, top to bottom.
savagemoose's review against another edition
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Minor: Sexism, Classism, and Gore