Belinda Kroll

This was a really interesting concept and fairly easy read. I finished the book because of those things, not because I felt very connected with the protagonists, which would have been my preference. There was just a little bit if world and character building lacking for me. I didn't realize we were turn of the century alternate-magical England until a quarter of the way through the book. I feel authors shouldn't be afraid to be more up front about that sort old thing. That said, the idea was so compelling, it did make up for it a little.

I couldn't get past how anachronistic the main character was, and ended up dropping this book about half way through. 😔

Honestly, I couldn't get past the first chapter. The story never engaged me, and the narrator already seemed like a marytr. 😔

This is a book for readers who savor the written word. It is a book for readers who enjoy the classics but have a modern sense of humor. It is a book I hope you don't jump into, but wade. I will say that if you don't have the patience for Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte, North and South by Elizabeth Gaskell, or Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen, then this book probably isn't for you.

Sensitivity warning: I wrote this book as a high school child who grew up in a predominantly white, upper middle class, socioeconomic situation with little awareness or sensitivity to my topic. I was uncomfortable with the idea that my family, had we arrived in the 1800s instead of the 1970s, would have been enslaved. As such, I glossed over Nell's enslavement, promoting her to Veronica's friend and confidante, giving her a strong, beautiful presence while never truly engaging the enslavement topic. The opening chapter is perhaps particularly triggering in my childish attempts at motif. I can no longer recommend my book but have been unable to pull it from digital bookshelves. I leave it here for historical purposes and to embrace my journey toward a more sensitive, nuanced understanding of the past.

I think I'm giving up on this book. The heroine isn't a “thinking woman” and I feel like this is the author's stereotype of Millennials rearing its ugly head. Too reactive, too willing to blame everything on everyone else, and I don't think I can stand the remaining 2/3 of the book since it doesn't seem like the character grows much (I jumped to the last chapter to see what I was in for).