jessreadthis 's review for:

The Other Daughter by Lauren Willig

4.0

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I really want to say THANK YOU to St Martin's Press (via Netgalley) for allowing me read this ARC. You made this Lauren Willig fan's day! I was so thrilled to be allowed to read this and review it.

This is another stand alone from Lauren Willig and it is a fun read. You will get swept into the gaiety and frivolity of the culture of the Roaring Twenties as you read. As is part of life, not everything can be ridiculous and light... Rachel Woodley is a governess working in France when she tragically receives news of her mother's illness. She leaves her position and life behind in France and journeys home to discover her mother is dead. As Rachel grieves she learns her long dead father is actually very much alive, an earl, head of a prominent family, and she has a half sister. A benefactor with dubious intentions (blackmail, boredom, revenge?) allows her to wade through the glittering circles of the elite to meet her father and half sister. Rachel begins to become a "bright young thing" and develops a worldly persona that is at odds with the roots her mother instilled in her. As she becomes embroiled in this world, Rachel learns truths take different forms, all that glitters fades, and all the makeup and alcohol in the world cannot take away pain.
I read this book over a long Sunday afternoon. The story was beautifully written but short. I felt if this book was lengthier the story might have been a tad richer and less contrived in some parts. Overall, a great book for a Lauren Willig fan!