I received this Uncorrected proof as an Advanced Reader's Copy. Looking forward to reading it as it looks like just the sort of thing I'd like.

My first thoughts on finishing this book, is what genre to put it in to? It's sort of a gothic-mystery-romance-historical novel I guess :) My second thought is that I really like the cover.

But onto the story itself .....

I can't say this a particularly original story - the themes and ideas have been done before in many different ways - but I really enjoyed the way it was done. The style is very reminiscent of the classical writers, like Austen and Dickens, but there is just enough of a modern hint about it to really appeal. For a first novel, it's quite tight and well executed.

I liked the main character - Hester is appealing naïve in many ways, but she shows a bit of 'spunk' as her and Rebekah investigate what is going on around them. As I mentioned before, it's not that hard to guess for the reader, but it was nice to see two characters sort of stumbling around, discovering things by accident and not always being the perfect little detectives. The romance sub-plot was nicely done as well - not too heavy and very subtly introduced, and so didn't detract from the main mystery.

Overall, I really enjoyed this read, despite not being overly surprised by anything that happened. I liked the author's style and will definitely look out for future work.

Sent to a fellow bookcrosser as a wishlist RABCK - hope you enjoy it :)

What a lovely parcel to receive in the post! Thank you SO much for this RABCK, it sounds really good, so I'm looking forward to reading this ASAP. Thank you also for the Bookcrossing labels, which are always needed. So kind of you, thanks again! Xx