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antoniac 's review for:
History Lessons
by Zoe B. Wallbrook
adventurous
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
I enjoyed this mystery, but its biggest strength was in its setting and vibes. the University setting felt very real, the problems faculty and students are facing relevant to today, but also the *feeling* of being in a university town was very well described and felt quite nostalgic to me.
Daphne was a believable character, fleshed out by a strong supporting cast. I especially liked her parents and the importance of her family history to her current research and values. This was helped by the great audiobook narrator who made each character come to life. I enjoyed the French elements too but as somebody who studied French I'm probably a bit biased on that front 😂
The mystery was engrossing and touched on some interesting and varied elements to keep you guessing, but I kept being taken out of it by the romance. I usually really like a romance subplot but this just felt too "instalove" for me, to the point that I didn't care about the subplot and just wanted Daphne to get back to business. Literally every time she looked at him she said something horny. It just all felt a bit much. This was probably worsened by the audiobook as if I read it in print I could have skipped over it, and it would have annoyed me less.
That said, this was an enjoyable well-written mystery and I would definitely read more from this author.
Thanks to NetGalley for a free audio copy of this book in exchange for a review.
Daphne was a believable character, fleshed out by a strong supporting cast. I especially liked her parents and the importance of her family history to her current research and values. This was helped by the great audiobook narrator who made each character come to life. I enjoyed the French elements too but as somebody who studied French I'm probably a bit biased on that front 😂
The mystery was engrossing and touched on some interesting and varied elements to keep you guessing, but I kept being taken out of it by the romance. I usually really like a romance subplot but this just felt too "instalove" for me, to the point that I didn't care about the subplot and just wanted Daphne to get back to business. Literally every time she looked at him she said something horny. It just all felt a bit much. This was probably worsened by the audiobook as if I read it in print I could have skipped over it, and it would have annoyed me less.
That said, this was an enjoyable well-written mystery and I would definitely read more from this author.
Thanks to NetGalley for a free audio copy of this book in exchange for a review.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Death, Rape, Sexual assault, Stalking, Murder, Sexual harassment