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sheltzer 's review for:
The Other Daughter
by Lauren Willig
I think what Lauren Willig is best at is the gentle goofiness of the Pink Carnation books. This was sadly missing in The Other Daughter.
Rachel is a governess in France who loses her position when she rushes home to be with her sick mother. But she finds her mother to have died from the illness before her arrival. In her grief, she uncovers a recent photo of her father. The same father who she thought died 23 years prior. In order to see him, she becomes Vera, toast of the Bright Young Things, with the help of Simon the gossip columnist.
The first half of the book was spent with Rachel insinuating herself in her half sister's set. During the second half, the veneer of the 20s social scene is slowly shaved away to reveal the motives behind some of the peripheral characters, culminating in the reveal of Rachel to her father.
I wanted more time devoted to understanding these characters better. A large chunk of what makes them tick is related to WWI and it was relegated neatly to the background when it could have been an emotional hook. I was not at all surprised when I found out how Rachel was deluded into believing her father to be dead. I was surprised at the romantic attachment at the end, I rather felt like it was an after thought that a "romance novelist" needed a romance.
For the most part I found this book to be okay, but not as engaging as other books I've read by the same author.
Rachel is a governess in France who loses her position when she rushes home to be with her sick mother. But she finds her mother to have died from the illness before her arrival. In her grief, she uncovers a recent photo of her father. The same father who she thought died 23 years prior. In order to see him, she becomes Vera, toast of the Bright Young Things, with the help of Simon the gossip columnist.
The first half of the book was spent with Rachel insinuating herself in her half sister's set. During the second half, the veneer of the 20s social scene is slowly shaved away to reveal the motives behind some of the peripheral characters, culminating in the reveal of Rachel to her father.
I wanted more time devoted to understanding these characters better. A large chunk of what makes them tick is related to WWI and it was relegated neatly to the background when it could have been an emotional hook. I was not at all surprised when I found out how Rachel was deluded into believing her father to be dead. I was surprised at the romantic attachment at the end, I rather felt like it was an after thought that a "romance novelist" needed a romance.
For the most part I found this book to be okay, but not as engaging as other books I've read by the same author.