veronicachp 's review for:

And Only to Deceive by Tasha Alexander

3.0

---

I have some mixed feelings about this one. On one hand, self reliant, forward thinking Victorian heroines solving mysteries is like. My favorite genre. So in theory, this should have ticked all my boxes, but it missed the mark somehow. I think that the heroine, Emily, just felt...hollow. She presents as this very smart, sensible, progressive woman, but then throughout the book her behavior is consistently naive and rash and a bit...stupid. I think that the author was aiming for strong and determined but what she got was headstrong and obstinate, as Lady Emily brashly does the opposite whenever anyone has the gall to give her advice, tarnishing her sensible facade. The side characters as well, felt like merely tropes. The eccentric one, the bad boy, the heart-throb, etc., without very much actual substance. One thing I do appreciate is that the author states in the notes following the story that she didn't want to put a 21st century woman in Victorian clothing, that she wanted her to be a believable product of her time, and I think she did reasonably well there. Overall, the plot of the novel was fairly predictable. A mystery, a love triangle, an "is he REALLY dead" subplot, etc. I enjoyed it as a light read during a long car ride, but as for deeper interest and connection with the story and characters, it just wasn't quite there.