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letrickster's review
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
2.75
Just alright. While the premise was interesting, and the opening quite gripping, it didn't keep me interested for long. Despite ostensibly being a mystery the main character never really did anything (especially after the first half) for the whole book it just felt like everything was happening around her or to her. She appeared to be taking action but in reality every step she took amounted to pretty much nothing. Mercia didn't even get to have a fun monologue about finding out the truth or all the clues she put together, it's all spelled out for her by other people.
Mercia was a decent character, she didn't have a lot of the issues I usually find in female characters written by men which was nice. But it's a shame that she didn't get to have any really positive relationships with other women.
The final reveal I found especially disappointing while it did surprise me to some extent and I thought the character was an interesting one, it meant that Mercia never really stood a chance no matter what she did. In hindsight almost every action she took was pointless. Perhaps she wouldn't have even made it to America if she hadn't done the early detective work, but they knew pretty much her entire plan all along. It just made the book feel worse in hindsight.
The quality of the writing was alright, I just wish the plot and character development had been stronger. It hardly felt like she grew as a character or that very much at all had changed by the end of the novel. I had also hoped, knowing the author is a gay man that there might have been any representation of gay characters, or just anything outside of a basic heterosexual romance (which was pretty minimal). I know it's historical fiction, but more than a single throwaway line about a character who tried to kill our protagonist would've been nice. There have been non-normative people in every era, to keep with tradition in this way is just a little bland and disappointing.
In terms of the actual romance, it featured pretty minimally, I had no issues with it but it wasn't anything very exciting either. It was somewhat nice that it wasn't the main focus and the priority was very much Mercia's familial relationships, I thought that fit the arc of the story quite well.
Overall a little disappointing. It had promise but it was not delivered upon.
Mercia was a decent character, she didn't have a lot of the issues I usually find in female characters written by men which was nice. But it's a shame that she didn't get to have any really positive relationships with other women.
The final reveal I found especially disappointing
The quality of the writing was alright, I just wish the plot and character development had been stronger. It hardly felt like she grew as a character or that very much at all had changed by the end of the novel. I had also hoped, knowing the author is a gay man that there might have been any representation of gay characters, or just anything outside of a basic heterosexual romance (which was pretty minimal). I know it's historical fiction, but more than a single throwaway line about a character who tried to kill our protagonist would've been nice. There have been non-normative people in every era, to keep with tradition in this way is just a little bland and disappointing.
In terms of the actual romance, it featured pretty minimally, I had no issues with it but it wasn't anything very exciting either. It was somewhat nice that it wasn't the main focus and the priority was very much Mercia's familial relationships, I thought that fit the arc of the story quite well.
Overall a little disappointing. It had promise but it was not delivered upon.
reginacattus's review against another edition
4.0
Goodreads giveaway!!! Beautiful cover, though sadly too tall for my bookcase.
If you're looking for a badass yet believable heroine, look no further (or at least pause to look at this one). Mercia is like an early and relatively passive feminist. I'm actually quite impressed by how Hingley handled the character - whenever I see a guy's name on the front of a book in which the main protagonist is female, I can't help but be on my guard for a thoroughly unbelievable character, but Mercia wasn't too ridiculous at all. Much as I think her quest is a little insane, it does spice the story up nicely. I must admit that I feel pretty sorry for her rather neglected son, after all, he spends half the book being looked after by- No, no spoilers. Still, I like the little snippets of real history, which only slightly have the taint of "oh, look what I found out when I was researching for this book, isn't it interesting", because it actually is interesting. Unless those tidbits are fictional, in which case I would be very disappointed. In any case, certainly worth a read for anyone who likes historical fiction.
If you're looking for a badass yet believable heroine, look no further (or at least pause to look at this one). Mercia is like an early and relatively passive feminist. I'm actually quite impressed by how Hingley handled the character - whenever I see a guy's name on the front of a book in which the main protagonist is female, I can't help but be on my guard for a thoroughly unbelievable character, but Mercia wasn't too ridiculous at all. Much as I think her quest is a little insane, it does spice the story up nicely. I must admit that I feel pretty sorry for her rather neglected son, after all, he spends half the book being looked after by- No, no spoilers. Still, I like the little snippets of real history, which only slightly have the taint of "oh, look what I found out when I was researching for this book, isn't it interesting", because it actually is interesting. Unless those tidbits are fictional, in which case I would be very disappointed. In any case, certainly worth a read for anyone who likes historical fiction.
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