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A review by bellesmoma2021
While the City Sleeps by Elizabeth Camden
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
While the City Sleeps by Elizabeth Camden is a well-researched, highly engaging Historical Romance that I thoroughly enjoyed. One of my favorite aspects to this novel is the mystery. This book is such a good whodunit that kept me reading well into the night. I was turning pages furiously to see if my hunches were correct or not. In addition to the mystery, I really loved how deep this story is. There’s all kinds of themes discussed: various family issues, a great discussion on pride and what lying really means, difficulty to forgive once you’ve been hurt deeply by someone you care for, and regret after a loss. While the City Sleeps would make for an excellent book-club choice as there are tons of topics for discussion.
As far as characters go, I really appreciate how colorful and vivacious and unique all of Camden’s characters are. The women who reside at the Martha Washington Hotel are warm, supportive, and tough. I really loved learning about Dr. Edgar “Painless” Parker and his incredibly forward-thinking dental establishment. The world would be a better place if more people thought like Dr. Parker. As far as the hero and heroine go, I LOVED Jonathan. He is the best kind of hero. He is strong, capable, and handsome. He is also the kind of guy who runs into a bad situation to save as many as he can. Jonathan is a hero through and through. Of all his qualities, my favorite is his maturity. Jonathan has lived through a tumultuous childhood. He had to grow up very quickly in an environment that didn’t allow for kids to be kids. This allowed Jonathan to grow into an adult who is compassionate towards the downtrodden, but not gullible to the seedier sides of humanity. And this is why he is such a good cop…and a good match for Katherine. I’m gonna be honest, Katherine drove me bonkers. She is such a Pollyanna, and she is so confident in her certainty it is annoying. She definitely needed Jonathan to come into her life and help her mature into a better woman. And that is what I loved the absolute most about this story — how Jonathan and Katherine, together, make each other better people, people God always meant them to be. Having someone in your life who helps draw the best out of you is quite a blessing for sure.
While the City Sleeps is a great beginning to what I feel will be an excellent series by Elizabeth Camden. If you’re a fan of excellently written Historical Romances and Mysteries then you will not want to miss out on this story.
I received a review copy of this novel in eBook form from the publisher, Bethany House, via NetGalley. In no way has this influenced my review. The opinions expressed in this review are my own.
As far as characters go, I really appreciate how colorful and vivacious and unique all of Camden’s characters are. The women who reside at the Martha Washington Hotel are warm, supportive, and tough. I really loved learning about Dr. Edgar “Painless” Parker and his incredibly forward-thinking dental establishment. The world would be a better place if more people thought like Dr. Parker. As far as the hero and heroine go, I LOVED Jonathan. He is the best kind of hero. He is strong, capable, and handsome. He is also the kind of guy who runs into a bad situation to save as many as he can. Jonathan is a hero through and through. Of all his qualities, my favorite is his maturity. Jonathan has lived through a tumultuous childhood. He had to grow up very quickly in an environment that didn’t allow for kids to be kids. This allowed Jonathan to grow into an adult who is compassionate towards the downtrodden, but not gullible to the seedier sides of humanity. And this is why he is such a good cop…and a good match for Katherine. I’m gonna be honest, Katherine drove me bonkers. She is such a Pollyanna, and she is so confident in her certainty it is annoying. She definitely needed Jonathan to come into her life and help her mature into a better woman. And that is what I loved the absolute most about this story — how Jonathan and Katherine, together, make each other better people, people God always meant them to be. Having someone in your life who helps draw the best out of you is quite a blessing for sure.
While the City Sleeps is a great beginning to what I feel will be an excellent series by Elizabeth Camden. If you’re a fan of excellently written Historical Romances and Mysteries then you will not want to miss out on this story.
I received a review copy of this novel in eBook form from the publisher, Bethany House, via NetGalley. In no way has this influenced my review. The opinions expressed in this review are my own.