A review by melliedm
Lavender House by Lev AC Rosen

mysterious medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

I really wanted to like this one more than I did. Conceptually, I’m a huge fan, and I hope this becomes a longstanding series. Execution-wise, I think it’s a bit rough around the edges. 

For me—The mystery itself was frustratingly obvious, which made the path toward the end feel more grating than exciting. 

I also felt that the depiction of the time period was inconsistent. I think the future books should either commit to being delightfully revisionist, or commit to the historical fiction. 

I wanted to like the characters more than I did, but I think this ties back into the mystery itself. In my mind a great mystery either needs to use simple characters that allow for subversion and surprise in the mystery, or complex characters where by that nature they add to the mystery. In this case, the simple mystery also had simple characters. 

I will probably read one more Evander Mills book, to see if this was maybe freshman series growing pains, because I really do love the idea of a historical queer detective agency.
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