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tmatlin's review against another edition
3.0
This was a fun read. I didn't realize it was second in a series, so I was confused during some parts. I'll probably go back and read the first book now.
chloebear21's review against another edition
adventurous
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
3.25
payal_reads_alot's review against another edition
3.0
It was fun but not thrilling!
As previous book, I loved the MC. Elizabeth was nuanced and well flawed. She made mistakes but was filled with compassion. She worked on her own moral scale and as we should already know, I love a good morally gray character. She wasn't as gray as I normally like, more a darker shade of white, but still not as pristine as normal period characters.
I really loved Mrs. Bates! She was funny and under handed, but still effective. She spoke with so much authority and got results from it. She wasn't forceful and wasn't putting pressure on anyone. That's a really good description of female empowerment! I hate when they show a powerful woman who is only physically strong like a man and has to basically act like a man to gain/maintain the power. As a matter of fact, the whole series has a lot of differently powerful women who aren't even close to what a man would be like.
I also liked the Old Man! He is a perfectly nuanced morally gray character. He loves his children and his women, but he isn't affectionate to the children nor loyal to the women. He is, however, loyal to the children, and affectionate to the women. His idea of protection and care is non-conventional but is able to step in when needed the most.
I was sad to see that Anne's part was reduced to a small mention here and there. As usual, I didn't think much of Gideon Bates. He was so boring! His only appeal is that he's a really honest man. He did
I liked Matthew Honesdale also who
The plot was pretty interesting but nothing that was unpredictable! I enjoyed it.
As previous book, I loved the MC. Elizabeth was nuanced and well flawed. She made mistakes but was filled with compassion. She worked on her own moral scale and as we should already know, I love a good morally gray character. She wasn't as gray as I normally like, more a darker shade of white, but still not as pristine as normal period characters.
I really loved Mrs. Bates! She was funny and under handed, but still effective. She spoke with so much authority and got results from it. She wasn't forceful and wasn't putting pressure on anyone. That's a really good description of female empowerment! I hate when they show a powerful woman who is only physically strong like a man and has to basically act like a man to gain/maintain the power. As a matter of fact, the whole series has a lot of differently powerful women who aren't even close to what a man would be like.
I also liked the Old Man! He is a perfectly nuanced morally gray character. He loves his children and his women, but he isn't affectionate to the children nor loyal to the women. He is, however, loyal to the children, and affectionate to the women. His idea of protection and care is non-conventional but is able to step in when needed the most.
I was sad to see that Anne's part was reduced to a small mention here and there. As usual, I didn't think much of Gideon Bates. He was so boring! His only appeal is that he's a really honest man. He did
Spoiler
help Elizabeth pull a con on the Honesdales albeit reluctantly when he found out that they wouldn't be punished by the law at all for killing Pricilla's first husband, drugging her into marrying her second husband and then blackmailing her second husband.I liked Matthew Honesdale also who
Spoiler
for his revenge against his uncle and cousin Peter, helped Elizabeth and Gideon con Peter & Daisy into letting them buy back the mortgage on Pricilla's second husband's house (with a large profit), persuading Daisy into burning the mortgage papers so Pricilla can have the house back without owning any money, and giving the extra profit back to Pricilla so she can live comfortably.The plot was pretty interesting but nothing that was unpredictable! I enjoyed it.
nasselin's review against another edition
5.0
LOVE! LOVE! LOVE!
This series has become my new favorite of Thompson's. While I love the gaslight series, it was still very Victorians in it's feel. This book is a feminist breath of fresh air and I LIVE for it!
Even though she was a former con artist, Elizabeth Miles is trying to go legit. She has a proper lawyer boyfriend, and she is making her way in society with the help of his suffragette mother. When drawn into helping her friend Pricilla find out what happened to her money after two husbands die in mysterious circumstances. There is a shady clergyman and his wife, a little bit of introduction to the mob as well. It was a great addition to the series.
I love that Elizabeth still retains some of her independence in a time when a woman is expected to go quietly into marriage. Even though her lawyer would like her to be like other women, he realizes that part of the reason he loved her was her contrariness. She is a modern woman stuck in. a decidedly backward time. I love that she is a strong character with flaws....just like in real life.
This series has become my new favorite of Thompson's. While I love the gaslight series, it was still very Victorians in it's feel. This book is a feminist breath of fresh air and I LIVE for it!
Even though she was a former con artist, Elizabeth Miles is trying to go legit. She has a proper lawyer boyfriend, and she is making her way in society with the help of his suffragette mother. When drawn into helping her friend Pricilla find out what happened to her money after two husbands die in mysterious circumstances. There is a shady clergyman and his wife, a little bit of introduction to the mob as well. It was a great addition to the series.
I love that Elizabeth still retains some of her independence in a time when a woman is expected to go quietly into marriage. Even though her lawyer would like her to be like other women, he realizes that part of the reason he loved her was her contrariness. She is a modern woman stuck in. a decidedly backward time. I love that she is a strong character with flaws....just like in real life.
octygon's review
4.0
I thoroughly enjoyed this book. This is the second book in a series, and the story here picks right up where the first book, City of Lies, ended. The mystery that the characters deal with here is completely new and separate from that they faced in the first book, and I suppose you could read this one without reading the first, but I think you would miss out on a lot of important background about the characters and their relationships. Besides: the previous book is a lot of fun, so go read that first!.
Ok, with that out of the way, let's look at City of Secrets. Elizabeth Miles is a con artist, but because of her relationship with upright lawyer Gideon, she seems to be reforming her ways. She is spending time with Gideon's New York society family, and befriends Priscilla Knight, a widow who is part of their circle of society friends. As she gets to know Priscilla, Elizabeth learns that the other woman's husbands (both of them!) died under strange circumstances, and somehow the widow and her daughters have been left penniless. With her grifter background, Elizabeth is understandably suspicious, but the situation gets even messier and nastier than she feared. Elizabeth wants to use her skills to help Priscilla, but Gideon would prefer to pursue legal avenues.
I really enjoyed the mystery here, and I liked seeing how Elizabeth and Gideon deal with the conflicts in their philosophies. The author does a great job providing historical detail to set the stage for the story, and the characters are very nicely realized. I would have liked to spend more time with Gideon's mother and Elizabeth's father in this book--I like those characters very much!
Ok, with that out of the way, let's look at City of Secrets. Elizabeth Miles is a con artist, but because of her relationship with upright lawyer Gideon, she seems to be reforming her ways. She is spending time with Gideon's New York society family, and befriends Priscilla Knight, a widow who is part of their circle of society friends. As she gets to know Priscilla, Elizabeth learns that the other woman's husbands (both of them!) died under strange circumstances, and somehow the widow and her daughters have been left penniless. With her grifter background, Elizabeth is understandably suspicious, but the situation gets even messier and nastier than she feared. Elizabeth wants to use her skills to help Priscilla, but Gideon would prefer to pursue legal avenues.
I really enjoyed the mystery here, and I liked seeing how Elizabeth and Gideon deal with the conflicts in their philosophies. The author does a great job providing historical detail to set the stage for the story, and the characters are very nicely realized. I would have liked to spend more time with Gideon's mother and Elizabeth's father in this book--I like those characters very much!
karenmsecrest's review against another edition
lighthearted
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.75
gawronma's review against another edition
4.0
This was a very nice book with interesting characters. Enjoyed the plot. Interested in seeing what is next for Elizabeth and Gideon.
slc333's review against another edition
4.0
Very enjoyable. I really like Elizabeth, she is such an interesting lead with her colourful past as a grifter and family that still plies the trade, trying to fit in with society to start her new life with lawyer Gideon but without compromising who she is. The story is engaging as are all the secondary characters.
viktorian's review against another edition
4.0
Disclaimer: I received a free ARC (Thanks, Netgalley!), which doesn't sway my opinion, & etc.
I've been meaning to read Victoria Thompson for ages; I recommend her Gaslight all the time for historical fiction mystery readers at work, despite never having read her myself, and when I read the premise for the Counterfeit Lady series, I perked up immediately. Cons? Suffragettes? 1920s New York? Con ladies? Sharp lawyers? So many of my favorite things!
Book #1 charmed me thoroughly. I literally finished the book, put down my Kindle, and grabbed my phone on my way to take the dog outside to see about acquiring the second one, because I wasn't sure if I'd be in the window for getting the ARC. Thankfully, I did and Netgalley provided. (Allll the hearts.)
That being said, #2 was lovely and wonderful and the charm still holds, but it's playing the long game—because of that, I think some of the charisma of the Book #1 isn't as potent here. Yet it's a totally necessary character study for the series to propel forward, especially when you're talking about a Beguiling but Reformed Con Woman and a The Most Honorable and Adores Her Lawyer.
Pros: Excellent plot, the CONS!, still an amazing concept, more side characters, interesting character growth.
Cons: Series builder-y, less atmosphere and magnetism than the first.
tl;dr: When does #3 come out?
I've been meaning to read Victoria Thompson for ages; I recommend her Gaslight all the time for historical fiction mystery readers at work, despite never having read her myself, and when I read the premise for the Counterfeit Lady series, I perked up immediately. Cons? Suffragettes? 1920s New York? Con ladies? Sharp lawyers? So many of my favorite things!
Book #1 charmed me thoroughly. I literally finished the book, put down my Kindle, and grabbed my phone on my way to take the dog outside to see about acquiring the second one, because I wasn't sure if I'd be in the window for getting the ARC. Thankfully, I did and Netgalley provided. (Allll the hearts.)
That being said, #2 was lovely and wonderful and the charm still holds, but it's playing the long game—because of that, I think some of the charisma of the Book #1 isn't as potent here. Yet it's a totally necessary character study for the series to propel forward, especially when you're talking about a Beguiling but Reformed Con Woman and a The Most Honorable and Adores Her Lawyer.
Pros: Excellent plot, the CONS!, still an amazing concept, more side characters, interesting character growth.
Cons: Series builder-y, less atmosphere and magnetism than the first.
tl;dr: When does #3 come out?
puria's review against another edition
4.0
The con was simple but it worked. Gideon was annoying but I really liked Mrs Bates.
Hopefully the turn at the end of the book means both Elizabeth and Gideon have a better understanding of each other and their relationship.
I am looking forward to the next book in the series.
Hopefully the turn at the end of the book means both Elizabeth and Gideon have a better understanding of each other and their relationship.
I am looking forward to the next book in the series.