A review by bethandhertea
Silent in the Grave by Deanna Raybourn

3.0

I adored the first Veronica Speedwell book so much that I decided to give her first book a try! I listening to it on audio and while it's not her best work (at least of the two I've read so far), it's a solid beginning. It definitely feels like both a first novel, and largely different from the Veronica Speedwell series! This is a pretty slow paced mystery, long and full of details and characters so it won't be to everyone's taste. It reminds me a lot in pace of Georgette Heyer! Also reminiscent of Georgette Heyer - the utter lack of description of any kissing scenes. I'm a little sad about that part. :P

I liked Lady Julia and her journey of self discovery! She was learning who she was without her husband, and who she wanted to be. I also appreciated how she was slowly having her eyes opened to the lives of the people around her! It was a pleasure to see her grow up a bit, and I really loved how open and kind her and her family were to everyone.

Now, I really like Brisbane, mostly. I did not really like his attitude, especially in the beginning, however his growly nature grew on me near the end. I will say though, that he certainly is a very perfect person. He speaks several languages, has wealth, has royal connections, has a secret past, knows about poisons, fights really well, plays a musical instrument perfectly - basically nothing in the book came up that he was bad at or couldn't do. That got a bit out of hand, but since it's her first novel I have great faith that the rest of the series will be a bit better.

The biggest thing that bugged me about the book, and if I am very lucky will be unmentioned later on, was the whole "Brisbane has the second sight!" thing. Honestly when the fact that he has headaches because he doesn't want to use his psychic powers came up I rolled my eyes so hard and I almost gave up on the book entirely. I love fantasy and sci-fi, but I don't like those elements cropping up in an otherwise normal setting, unless it's expected. This is why Nora Roberts and I have never gotten along! Thankfully it wasn't a big deal in this book - but really. Can we just never mention it again?

I did love how their relationship was developing, but I was sad at where the book left off. Obviously there are 4 more novels to get through - I will be starting the second one shortly!

I did guess the bad guy, though not the motivation behind it!

I actually thought they were brothers for the entire book, so I never would have thought it was because they were lovers. Were they related? Maybe they were cousins or something....

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