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3.73 AVERAGE
3.73 AVERAGE
adventurous
lighthearted
mysterious
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
funny
adventurous
dark
funny
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:
Complicated
funny
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:
Yes
Highly recommend. I don't typically care for books set in the 1800s. This is an exception.
adventurous
funny
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
adventurous
lighthearted
mysterious
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I enjoyed this book more at the beginning than I did throughout the majority of the story. I did always find myself at least liking the story which was a positive.
One thing that annoyed me about this book is that Beatrice is deemed embarrassing and ridiculous by her community and she seems to accept this as an identity towards the end of the book. This identity is not adopted in a positive way; it is definitely more negative from the mc’s perspective. I could be interpreting this wrong but she just seems to acknowledge this is how things are and then moves on. I don’t agree with this assessment of her being embarrassing and ridiculous.
Favorite scenes/quotes:
“Mr Croacksworth has no sister, no parents, and is looking for a shoulder to cry on.”
“That’s hardly good for <i>him</i>, Beatrice said.
It certainly is. Edmond has inherited a great deal, and money heals all wounds. “ Mrs. Steele said sagely.
“Don’t you mean <i>time</i> heals all wounds?” Beatrice asked.
“No…that doesn’t sound right. It’s definitely money,” her mother replied.
Page 124-125
“There is something vile in that room, I can feel it,” Miss Bolton insisted. “I shall not cross the threshold. However…” She pulled a pair of opera glasses from within her hat. “I will not forgo my duties as your chaperone. I can use these to watch from a safe distance, and then there is no need for me to go down into the hellish secret room.
“Very well.” Beatrice said, and descended eagerly into the hellish secret room.
Page 295
Daniel Ashbrook hurtled to the ground and landed with a sickening squelch, and the swamp mud swallows him whole.
A good stitch <i>woild</i> have saved in a fix, but a true friend of Beatrice’s would have known: Beatrice could not sew to save a life. Only to end one.
Page 309
“Have you thought of a name yet?”
…
“If it’s a baby girl, we were thinking…” Louisa said, glancing at Frank, “of naming her Beatrice.”
…
“We would call her Bee Bee for short,” Frank said quickly, “to avoid any confusion.”
“Drat,” Miss Bolton said. “That’s what I was going to name my dog.”
All in all I can say I wish I had enjoyed this more but at least I consistently liked it. Also when I was nearing finishing it I started thinking about the book a bit outside of only while I read it so that was cool. My library just got the next book of this series in and I am planning on giving it a go. So we will see how much I enjoy this series from here. Not sure if it will be a duology or if there will be even more books. I did appreciate this was clean fiction and I liked the semi coziness (it didn’t feel cozy but it wasn’t a thriller) the story possessed.
One thing that annoyed me about this book is that Beatrice is deemed embarrassing and ridiculous by her community and she seems to accept this as an identity towards the end of the book. This identity is not adopted in a positive way; it is definitely more negative from the mc’s perspective. I could be interpreting this wrong but she just seems to acknowledge this is how things are and then moves on. I don’t agree with this assessment of her being embarrassing and ridiculous.
Favorite scenes/quotes:
“Mr Croacksworth has no sister, no parents, and is looking for a shoulder to cry on.”
“That’s hardly good for <i>him</i>, Beatrice said.
It certainly is. Edmond has inherited a great deal, and money heals all wounds. “ Mrs. Steele said sagely.
“Don’t you mean <i>time</i> heals all wounds?” Beatrice asked.
“No…that doesn’t sound right. It’s definitely money,” her mother replied.
Page 124-125
“There is something vile in that room, I can feel it,” Miss Bolton insisted. “I shall not cross the threshold. However…” She pulled a pair of opera glasses from within her hat. “I will not forgo my duties as your chaperone. I can use these to watch from a safe distance, and then there is no need for me to go down into the hellish secret room.
“Very well.” Beatrice said, and descended eagerly into the hellish secret room.
Page 295
Daniel Ashbrook hurtled to the ground and landed with a sickening squelch, and the swamp mud swallows him whole.
A good stitch <i>woild</i> have saved in a fix, but a true friend of Beatrice’s would have known: Beatrice could not sew to save a life. Only to end one.
Page 309
…
“If it’s a baby girl, we were thinking…” Louisa said, glancing at Frank, “of naming her Beatrice.”
…
“We would call her Bee Bee for short,” Frank said quickly, “to avoid any confusion.”
“Drat,” Miss Bolton said. “That’s what I was going to name my dog.”
All in all I can say I wish I had enjoyed this more but at least I consistently liked it. Also when I was nearing finishing it I started thinking about the book a bit outside of only while I read it so that was cool. My library just got the next book of this series in and I am planning on giving it a go. So we will see how much I enjoy this series from here. Not sure if it will be a duology or if there will be even more books. I did appreciate this was clean fiction and I liked the semi coziness (it didn’t feel cozy but it wasn’t a thriller) the story possessed.
Content Warnings
Minor: Murder
hopeful
lighthearted
relaxing
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
It’s a quick, silly little historical mystery that doesn’t do anything exceptionally well but also doesn’t do anything particularly egregious.
It was fine, cute even, but not anything special.
It’s a one time read for me, but I’d still consider continuing the series.
It was fine, cute even, but not anything special.
It’s a one time read for me, but I’d still consider continuing the series.
adventurous
funny
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:
Yes