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dab_of_bookish_magic 's review for:
The Cairo Curse
by Pepper Basham
The Cairo Curse is the second installment of the Grace and Frederick mystery series. Since their romance was covered by the first book I was hoping for more mystery in the second one but that part was unfortunately a little disappointing.
Grace and Frederick are traveling to Egypt for a honeymoon but despite best laid plans the trip is anything but relaxing.
There was barely any plot in the first half of the book and I even briefly considered dnf. Luckily the story picked up speed in the second half and then everything happened at once; accidents, murders, betrayal and even a romance.
Even though I enjoyed parts of this story, the overall feeling was boredom laced with consternation.
The things that I didn’t like about Grace in the first book (childish, too much talking, emotional responses not adequate to the situation, not-like-other-girls) were still there and made it difficult for me to connect with her. This was however not the thing that bothered me the most.
This book has been written from the perspective of the British aristocracy visiting Egypt in 1914. It is extremely difficult to find the balance between historical accuracy and political correctness in such a setting and unfortunately that balance was not achieved. The idea of British archaeologists digging Egyptian tombs to prevent “thieves” from finding the treasure was extremely jarring. If you then add Grace comparing a local girl to an “exotic flower” it all gets really cringy.
Another thing; Frederick and Grace kept talking about being equals and partners and yet he was painfully patronizing towards her. Yes he loved her but their dynamic resembled a parent with a child rather than a husband with a wife, which was very disturbing. (On the other hand you couldn’t really blame him because she did act like an unpredictable and reckless kid all the time
Grace and Frederick are traveling to Egypt for a honeymoon but despite best laid plans the trip is anything but relaxing.
There was barely any plot in the first half of the book and I even briefly considered dnf. Luckily the story picked up speed in the second half and then everything happened at once; accidents, murders, betrayal and even a romance.
Even though I enjoyed parts of this story, the overall feeling was boredom laced with consternation.
The things that I didn’t like about Grace in the first book (childish, too much talking, emotional responses not adequate to the situation, not-like-other-girls) were still there and made it difficult for me to connect with her. This was however not the thing that bothered me the most.
This book has been written from the perspective of the British aristocracy visiting Egypt in 1914. It is extremely difficult to find the balance between historical accuracy and political correctness in such a setting and unfortunately that balance was not achieved. The idea of British archaeologists digging Egyptian tombs to prevent “thieves” from finding the treasure was extremely jarring. If you then add Grace comparing a local girl to an “exotic flower” it all gets really cringy.
Another thing; Frederick and Grace kept talking about being equals and partners and yet he was painfully patronizing towards her. Yes he loved her but their dynamic resembled a parent with a child rather than a husband with a wife, which was very disturbing. (On the other hand you couldn’t really blame him because she did act like an unpredictable and reckless kid all the time