I don't know when I've enjoyed a historical romance more than this one. It has been a very long time. My advice is to hurry up and buy it, but don't start reading it when you settle into bed because you'll look up and suddenly it will be 2 AM! I couldn't believe how quickly time flew while I read. I'd think, just one more chapter, and two hours later, my eyes all bleary, I'd have to reluctantly put it aside and turn out the lights.
The characters are delightful, very well developed and quite believable. The dialogue is magnificent. The 1890s were atrocious times for women who had to suffer in corsets and really were not their own persons. The 1890s were also a time when women began to come out of their cocoons, but it would be another 20 years before women would be professionals at anything except "polite society".
Siri Mitchell has captured an era in intricate detail, with an understated flamboyance. All the glitter and the pomp are there, with the underlying concern of how the poor lived, the station of daughters who must catch The Catch of the Season with no regard for love or honor are displayed with seeming ease.
My favorite is that she has captured the art of nuance in prose. She tells the story in dialogue, and a sharp reader will “get it” without it having to be explained. I absolutely LOVE that! I do not need or want for everything to be laid out in neon signage. Just tell the story with the lifted brow, a slight smile and the turn of a shoulder at the perfect moment.
Excellent read!! Five out of Five Stars. A keeper.
Siri Mitchell is the author of nearly a dozen novels, among them the critically acclaimed Christy Award finalists Chateau of Echoesand The Cubicle Next Door. A graduate of the University of Washington with a degree in business, she has worked in many different levels of government. As military spouse, she has lived in places as varied as Tokyo and Paris. Siri currently lives in the DC-metro area. Visit www.sirimitchell.com
I have reviewed this book for Bethany House with no compensation.
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