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krisrid 's review for:
Silent in the Grave
by Deanna Raybourn
I vacillated back and forth on how I felt about this book most of the way through. It had some good aspects that I enjoyed, but it also had some things that just didn't connect for me at all. In the end the description "it was okay" that Goodreads uses to describe a two-star rating was the best way for me to settle on this book.
As other reviewers have noted, the character of Lady Julia seems to be trying to be a multitude of qualities, which in the end for me was simply not believable. She was sometimes painfully repressed and correct so utterly of her time. But at other points she was so modern as to push the boundaries far past credibility for me. I appreciate that the author was attempting to demonstrate Julia's wish to be more progressive, and to push past her self-imposed strictures, but it just did not ring plausible for me. I had a great difficulty maintaining a like for Julia as she vacillated between following the rules and breaking them. She also did some incredibly foolish things, and that always annoys me, especially in a female protagonist. I wanted better from Julia and she never *quite* got there for me.
Nicholas was a bit more likable for me, but again as others have noted, I did not feel any romantic connection between him and Julia at all. It just did not feel plausible and I couldn't suspend disbelief enough to see them as a romantic couple at all.
The story itself was well written and had some interesting, if disturbing and dark, aspects, but I like best books where I feel a real connection to the characters. That was missing for me in this book, so while it had its moments and I did finish it, I can't say I loved it. There are other series in this vein which worked better for me, such as Anna Lee Huber's Lady Darby books.
As other reviewers have noted, the character of Lady Julia seems to be trying to be a multitude of qualities, which in the end for me was simply not believable. She was sometimes painfully repressed and correct so utterly of her time. But at other points she was so modern as to push the boundaries far past credibility for me. I appreciate that the author was attempting to demonstrate Julia's wish to be more progressive, and to push past her self-imposed strictures, but it just did not ring plausible for me. I had a great difficulty maintaining a like for Julia as she vacillated between following the rules and breaking them. She also did some incredibly foolish things, and that always annoys me, especially in a female protagonist. I wanted better from Julia and she never *quite* got there for me.
Nicholas was a bit more likable for me, but again as others have noted, I did not feel any romantic connection between him and Julia at all. It just did not feel plausible and I couldn't suspend disbelief enough to see them as a romantic couple at all.
The story itself was well written and had some interesting, if disturbing and dark, aspects, but I like best books where I feel a real connection to the characters. That was missing for me in this book, so while it had its moments and I did finish it, I can't say I loved it. There are other series in this vein which worked better for me, such as Anna Lee Huber's Lady Darby books.