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A review by christinecc
Muskets and Minuets by Lindsey S. Fera
adventurous
emotional
funny
informative
medium-paced
4.0
American Revolutionaries, Patriots vs Loyalists, and girls with muskets and Mozart: a recipe for a fantastic piece of historical fiction.
Set in and around Boston, "Muskets and Minuets" stars a young cast of characters who want freedom at every level, starting with their life at home. Annalisa, second daughter of the Howlett family, yearns for more than ladylike talents and husband-hunting. Instead, she escapes into practicing music and, with the help of her older brother George, marksmanship. Incidentally, George is only a half-brother, so when George's cousin Jack Perkins turns up, we immediately see the chemistry bubbling between Jack & Annalisa. Not to mention tempers rising as the English Crown pushes its luck and the American opposition grows stronger.
What I loved about this adventure was the historical world it created. It's joyful and greasy and smells of gunpowder with perfume. There are shoot-outs, hideously painful tarring ordeals, crowds that go from invigorating to chaotic, and news from France about impending revolution and a new piece by Mozart. It's not polished or cleaned up for us, it feels lived-in. I especially appreciated the use of slang and the care put into better representation with Native American and African American people who were 100% present and actively involved in 18th century Boston. Fera's research payed off. Her book's world is as immersive and real as the best worldbuilding.
Plot-wise, look. It's got some romance, it's got a little twinge of "I'm not like Other Girls" with Annalisa, and the love triangle starts to wear thin after the halfway mark, but it's all entertaining. Maybe the second half suffered more from the plot contrivances than the first half did, and the American Revolution fades a little at the end so that we're mostly left with interpersonal drama. Ah well. I'd still read it again for a Fourth of July weekend.
Recommended for historical fiction fans, anyone curious about daily life circa the American Revolution, and romantic drama enthusiasts. (Also, Georgette Heyer readers might appreciate the slang with an American twist and familiar favorites a tad "disguised.")
Thank you to NetGalley and GenZ Publishing for granting me an eARC in exchange for an honest review.
Set in and around Boston, "Muskets and Minuets" stars a young cast of characters who want freedom at every level, starting with their life at home. Annalisa, second daughter of the Howlett family, yearns for more than ladylike talents and husband-hunting. Instead, she escapes into practicing music and, with the help of her older brother George, marksmanship. Incidentally, George is only a half-brother, so when George's cousin Jack Perkins turns up, we immediately see the chemistry bubbling between Jack & Annalisa. Not to mention tempers rising as the English Crown pushes its luck and the American opposition grows stronger.
What I loved about this adventure was the historical world it created. It's joyful and greasy and smells of gunpowder with perfume. There are shoot-outs, hideously painful tarring ordeals, crowds that go from invigorating to chaotic, and news from France about impending revolution and a new piece by Mozart. It's not polished or cleaned up for us, it feels lived-in. I especially appreciated the use of slang and the care put into better representation with Native American and African American people who were 100% present and actively involved in 18th century Boston. Fera's research payed off. Her book's world is as immersive and real as the best worldbuilding.
Plot-wise, look. It's got some romance, it's got a little twinge of "I'm not like Other Girls" with Annalisa, and the love triangle starts to wear thin after the halfway mark, but it's all entertaining. Maybe the second half suffered more from the plot contrivances than the first half did, and the American Revolution fades a little at the end so that we're mostly left with interpersonal drama. Ah well. I'd still read it again for a Fourth of July weekend.
Recommended for historical fiction fans, anyone curious about daily life circa the American Revolution, and romantic drama enthusiasts. (Also, Georgette Heyer readers might appreciate the slang with an American twist and familiar favorites a tad "disguised.")
Thank you to NetGalley and GenZ Publishing for granting me an eARC in exchange for an honest review.
Content Warnings
Minor: Sexual assault