Book Review: THE HOUSE OF LOST WHISPERS

Title: The House of Lost Whispers

Author: Jenni Keer

Publisher: Boldwood Books

Pages: 378

My GoodReads Rating: ⭐⭐⭐

 

In 1912, thirteen-year-old Olivia Davenport is orphaned when her father, author Jasper Davenport, and mother Selina die on the maiden voyage of the Titanic. Olivia is invited to live with her father’s friend, Sir Hugo Fairchild and his wife Cynthia and their four sons, Clarence, Louis, Howard and Benji, at their lavish home, Merriford Manor.

The new house becomes the setting for Olivia’s overactive imagination, which she uses to deal with her grief, imagining that her parents aren’t dead but that they have lost their memories and will someday find their way to her.

Moving to an unused part of the mansion, Olivia has the initially unsettling experience of being able to hear and converse with a man called Seth who seems to be living on the other side of the wall in her tower bedroom. Both think the other is a ghost or a product of their overwrought imaginations.

Meanwhile, with the war breaking out in Europe, Sir Hugo and Lady Cynthia watch with increasing dismay and sorrow, as one by one, three of their sons go to war and never return.

It’s only after the war that Olivia realizes that Seth lives in another world where her parents are alive. And now she wants to get to that other world. But how can she find a way into his world?

 

 

I liked Olivia, her imagination, her contentment in her solitude, her longing for her parents, her faither, her larger than life outlook, her willingness to stand up for the bullied, Benji. These are the traits that get her in trouble, pushing some of the events forward, particularly in the fate of Seth, the undergardener.

I liked that Olivia wasn’t coy but knew exactly what she wants with regard to her future and the role she wanted to play in it. That she imagines a life for herself that isn’t limited to marriage and keeping house. But the scene in which she pleasures herself and explores her own sexual awakening was unreal and completely out of sync with the reality of an older teenager in the aftermath of World War I.

Among the others, the only one I liked was Lady Cynthia, who had the only developing character arc to speak of. From being standoffish and reserved, she learns to show affection, to get past her hangups. It’s a pity she ceased to play a role in Olivia’s life in the section called After the War.

 

I was a little uncomfortable with the scenes between Olivia, as a child, and Seth, because of the vast age difference between the two. While these scenes are driven by her imagination, there is no explanation for why Seth should turn out to be the one big love of her life.

 

It’s also more than a little strange that Olivia, no stranger to grief after the death of her parents and then the death of her fiancé soon after, should suddenly forget him, and begin to imagine that a guy she really doesn’t know all that well is the one great love of her life. What’s more, she is not even mildly curious about her parents who are alive and well in the other world.

 

The novel suffers because it tries to become too many things at once. Until the 23 percent mark, nothing happens. When things start happening, the novel starts shifting from one genre to another.

 

In the first part, Before the War, we get a hint of magical realism. This part of the novel is more than a little bulky. While the boys are away, and Olivia is basically entertaining herself, these scenes and chapters were boring and ordinary. Nothing of any significance happens during this period.

 

In Part II, During the War, we get historical fiction, and even war fiction, of sorts. This was the part I liked the most. The author brings out well the sense of bravado and adventure with which young men went out to the battlefront, unaware of the horrors that awaited them. The victorious nations found themselves just as broken as those they had defeated.

Through Clarence, the author gives us her views on the utter futility of war. Clarence says, “As a species, why are we so destructive?”

His mother tells him, “Poetry won’t sustain you in the trenches,” when poetry is sometimes the only thing that has the power to get us through the dark times.

 

In Part III, After the War, the brief hint of magical realism returns, then gives way to romance and a bit of a mystery, when Olivia tries to uncover why Seth’s old love suddenly disappeared.

 

This is where the problem arises, with the book trying to be several books at once. The back-of-the-book synopsis gives us a sense of this being a time-slip, parallel world issue, but in time, the romance between Olivia and two other characters takes precedence. I was disappointed by this turn.

 

Also, the parallel world bit doesn’t show up until quite deep into the book, when we have almost despaired of even seeing it. The explanation of how the parallel world came into being was interesting, but then it was sidelined and the story ended up being just another historical romance.

 

The idea of another world being created out of nothing, a world in which the Titanic did not crash, unleashing a whole different set of possibilities and history, was interesting, but wasn’t explored on a larger scale. All we are left with is a world in which Olivia’s parents did not die, but the World War still took place.

 

It would have been better if the author had found some way of getting Olivia to the other world where her parents lived. Instead, we get a muffling of the parallel world in favour of making do with the current one.

 

I also disagree with the notion that Olivia and Seth are the same in both worlds. A person’s nature and character are heavily influenced by their experiences. An Olivia that had not known grief and sorrow would grow up to be very different from one that had. It would have been better if the book had ended without the forced and rushed happy ending.

 

(I read this book on NetGalley. Thank you to the author, the publisher and NetGalley.) 

Book Review: THE PROGRAM #1

Title: The Program #1  

Author: Suzanne Young

Publisher: Simon and Schuster Books for Young Readers

Pages: 416

My GoodReads Rating: ⭐⭐

Ever since a strange epidemic caught hold of teenagers, causing them to give in to suicidal depression, the governments of some states in the US have launched the Program. This faceless entity is always watching and aware of what young people are up to.

The mandatory six-week treatment aims to cure depressed teens by wiping them clean of all their memories, happy and sad alike.

When Sloane Barstow’s brother Brady falls sick and kills himself, she and her boyfriend James Murphy, who was also Brady’s best friend, slowly begin to give in to depression and sorrow. James promises to keep Sloane strong and safe, but the suicide of Miller, their other friend, tips him over and he seeks to kill himself. He is taken away by the Program. Now Sloane is on her own. it’s getting harder to keep a grip on herself. It’s only a matter of time before she gives in, and when that happens, the Program will come for her.

This Program, Book 1 in the series, is written in the first person present tense PoV of Sloane. The book is divided into Part I Uncomfortably Numb, Part II The Program and Part III Wish You Weren’t Here.

We don’t get a sense of what is causing this epidemic of depressive tendencies in young people. All we are told is that teenagers, but not adults, are getting sick. What is this world in which grownups are well adjusted and adult suicide is a thing of the past?

The author’s focus is not on the epidemic, or on what it means to lose one’s memories, and therefore one’s sense of identity. I would have liked the book more if it had had more about the suicides, the grief of those left behind, the grief, mourning and closure.

I didn’t like any of the characters. Sloane was uninteresting. Her only qualities are that she is pretty and good at Maths, or certainly better than James is. And the other characters don’t get much space.

Also, while I am no expert on mental illness, the past that the teens traverse while they contemplate suicide is not as singular as it is portrayed here. In this book, QuikDeath provides a quick fix. Depressive people draw endless loops of spirals in their books.

The Program follows a flawed reasoning, taking from young people their right to grieve openly.

The author’s focus is unfortunately on the romance between Sloane and James. That some things are destined to happen is the conclusion the author wants us to draw.

This book had the makings of a good dystopian novel. Had I known it was a romance, I would not have read it.

Book Review: THE SECRETS BETWEEN US

Title: The Secrets Between Us
Author: Black Swan
Publisher: Plough Publishing House
Pages: 544
My GoodReads Rating: ⭐⭐⭐

Devastated by the loss of her child due to stillbirth and the subsequent and the subsequent unfaithfulness of her partner, Laurie, Sarah is an emotional wreck. On a trip to Sicily with her sister May and brother-in-law Neil, Sarah meets Alexander in the hotel in which they are staying. She is drawn to Alex and his nearly-seven-year-old son Jamie, whose mother Genevieve has left their home.

After an impulsive act of sex, Alex invites Sarah to come and stay with him in his home in Burrington Stoke, look after his son as a “paid nanny and housekeeper” and explore their relationship. Sarah agrees, even though her family warns her not to go. She feels that both she and Alex have experienced heartbreak and that they might be good for each other. Also, having lost her child, her mothering instinct is aroused at the sight of Jamie, and she insists on going.

But Sarah’s dream of setting up home with Alex and his son seems doomed. Jamie is deeply suspicious of Sarah. Genevieve’s wealthy family, especially her mother Virginia Churchill, is standoffish, while her step sister, Claudia, is friendly towards her. But Sarah knows that the animosities persist. The villagers are resentful of Sarah, seeing her presence as evidence of Alex’s crime, and of his shamelessness in bringing home his mistress.

Sarah is torn between the suspicion that Alex may be responsible for Genevieve’s disappearance and her love for him. Could he really have done away with her? Could a man like him, so charming and loving and kind, be capable of killing to get his way? Could he kill again?

The book is a re-telling of Daphne du Maurier’s classic, Rebecca. Genevieve is perfect, like Rebecca. Everyone in the village liked her and everyone, especially her own rich family, the Churchills who own the quarry and a great deal of property in nearly half the village, is suspicious of Alex, believing that he has something to do with Genevieve’s disappearance. That he is hiding something. Alex himself thinks that she has gone away to be with some lover that he doesn’t know of.

Like Manderley, the village of Burrington Stoke is picturesque, despite the quarry in the neighbourhood. There is also the hint of a ghost that plagues Sarah. The descriptions of the ghost are good, scaring Sarah and us, while we are at it. Sarah believes that the ghost she is seeing is that of Genevieve.

 

 

I feel conflicted about Sarah. Like her family, I disagreed with her decision and thought Alex to be too good to be true. Another thing that seemed odd was how she was so fond of Jamie, particularly when the kid didn’t bond with her at all.

Of the minor characters, I loved both May and Neil. Neil, in particular, was totally supportive of Sarah. Both of them were willing to do whatever it takes to keep her safe.

Even Claudia, Genevieve’s half-sister, and Betsy, the woman from the village who is the only one who holds a completely unselfish friendship with Sarah, stand out of the crowd. They were very real.

Another thing I enjoyed were the detailed descriptions, with just enough detail to paint a word picture. The house, Avalon, was big and rambling and creaky, adding to the atmosphere.

 

I lost interest in the book for a brief while. I only plodded on because I have a thing about not giving up on books. At 544 pages, this one was way too long. A good 200 pages could have been cut down, if Alex had quit brooding and come clean with Sarah.

Book Review: HONEYMOON ALONE

Title: Honeymoon Alone

Author: Nicole Macaulay
Publisher: 4B Pub

Pages: 211

My GoodReads Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Lucy Gray, a 26-year-old teacher of 3^rd grade students, is still unattached. Matron of honour at the ‘80s themed wedding of her older sister, Marian, who is obsessive compulsive, Lucy tries hard and fails to overlook the pity of her relatives at still being unhitched. Her ploy to invite colleague Ian to pose as her boyfriend and stave off the nosy questions of her relatives backfires when Ian makes out with her cousin at the wedding.

A psychic at the wedding tells Lucy that she must pay attention to the signs. When Marian forgets to cancel her second option honeymoon arrangements, in London, Lucy sees it as a sign to take a chance and sets out on a vacation to London. Armed with a fake ID, she goes to London, posing as Marian Gray, pausing to inform her mother only moments before the flight takes off.

Predictably, there is confusion and chaos. Mother Dolores, who presides over the writing of an entertaining blog on the happenings in her large family of husband and five children, berates her youngest daughter on the blog with the whole family chiming in. It is Lucy's father who encourages her to strike out by saying, You don’t win the Super Bowl Championship games by sitting on the sidelines.

When Lucy reaches the hotel in London, she finds out that the hotel is strictly meant for honeymooners, and she lies to say that her husband is coming later. The lie comes true when Cary James, an old classmate now taking acting classes in London, shows up at the hotel to take advantage of Lucy’s single status in a honeymooners’ hotel.

Lucy tells us, They say you’re never prepared for the honeymoon to end but Lucy’s might end before it has even begun, when Oliver, concierge at the hotel, gets suspicious. While Cary and Lucy make up a fictional romantic history, Oliver, it seems, is developing some feelings for Lucy.

Meanwhile, police get a tip-off that a couple of thieves have checked in at the hotel. These thieves have been robbing hotels and have recently added murder to their crime resume. When Lucy gets mixed up in the case, her deceptions threaten to unravel her secret. But after days of lying, can Lucy bring herself to tell the truth?

The story is told in the first person present tense PoV of Lucy. I had picked up this book hoping it would be a light read, after the non-fiction book I had just finished reading and I was quite pleased with the choice. This romance book had several LOL moments, as when Lucy checks into the hotel. I also loved the idea of a blog for the family.

It’s hard to tell what book this year is set in, but I liked the lead character’s fondness for the ‘80s. It was such a great decade.

I liked Lucy. She has a pleasant, fun style that makes me think she’d be a hoot to hang out with. London, through her eyes, isn’t bad either. I liked her way with words and her sense of humour, and the fact that she is independent and doesn’t need a man by her side, either in London or in Paris. The vacation helps her discover herself.

Lucy loves the I Love Lucy sitcom character, Lucy Ricardo and ABBA, both pop culture icons that I like too. There is always time for more ABBA in my life.

She teaches 3^rd grade because she feels that it’s a definite turning point in growing up. It’s a pivotal year.

This was a good, fun romance with just the right touch of mystery. I enjoyed this one.

(I read this book through Edelweiss.)

Book Review: THE BROMANCE BOOK CLUB

Title: The Bromance Book Club (Bromance Book Club #1)

Author: Lyssa Kay Adams
Publisher: Headline Eternal
Pages: 352

My GoodReads Rating: ⭐⭐

I don’t generally read romantic fiction, but, at one level, I liked this book because it broke out of the confines of the genre to make men see things from the perspective of women. To help men understand how women want to be treated and what they want out of a relationship.

Thea and Liv come from a dysfunctional family. Dad is a serial cheater, soon to be married for the fourth time. Mom is a narcissist who stopped caring for her daughters when her marriage broke up.

Thea and Gavin Scott, a professional baseball player, get married within a few months of knowing each other after an unplanned pregnancy. The birth of twin girls later, the marriage becomes stale and Gavin spends too much time on the circuit and drifts away from his wife.

On the night of a big grand slam win, Gavin comes to know that Thea has been faking an orgasm all through their marriage. Angry, he moves out, and Thea seeks a divorce. A drunk Gavin confides in his mates, all alpha males, and they offer to help him win his girl back with the help of a romance novel, Courting the Countess, and their generous advice, all part of the Book Club they run, dishing out relationship advice based on romantic fiction.

Will the efforts pay off? Will Gavin win Thea back or is it the end of the road for them?

The two stories play out parallelly with Gavin learning from the earl from the book, Courting the Countess. I liked the way the author made real life imitate the book.

The book draws parallels between life and fiction. We are all the sum total of our experiences at any given time, and our reactions to things are shaped by them. Just like in romance novels. Whatever a character went through before the start of the book will eventually determine how they react to things that happen in the book.

It also talks about the concept of toxic masculinity where women and their habits and attributes are mocked. It also touched upon the relationship between parents and children, between couples in a marriage and how marriage demands work.

I loved the chemistry between Gavin and Brader Mack more than that between Gavin and Thea, or even that between Thea and Liv. And that’s saying a lot, considering that Gavin and Thea do have a lot of chemistry together, and Thea and Liv are so supportive that it is stifling; Liv behaves like a petulant teenager in her interactions with Gavin. My vote goes to the chemistry between the men. This was bromance all the way.

Also, Mack made for a far more interesting character than all the other characters combined.

The efforts of the club members are amusing. The sort of thing that girlfriends do for one another. In fact, Thea’s back story made better sense the way the club members explained it than when Thea lived it.

Now for all the things I didn’t like:

For all the aura surrounding Gran Gran in Thea’s mind, the woman’s quotes are rather banal and insipid. Unfortunately, the woman is prolific; her quotes are peppered throughout the book. The only one of her quotes that made sense was A lonely marriage is the worst kind of lonely there is.

I didn’t like Thea. Her back story, her struggles as an individual, her woes in the marriage, none of it appeared convincing to me. Gavin was extremely one-dimensional. Between his jock masculinity and the sex he was supposedly good at, there wasn’t much to him.

Towards the end of the book, Thea finds Gavin’s stock of romance books, lent to him by his friends, and reads from the one that has directed his course, namely, Courting the Countess, or at least that’s what we’ve been led to believe. Only now the name of the book has changed to The Annoyed Countess.

There is altogether too much sex in the book and far too little communication. Thea and Gavin spend far too much time being horny. The merest suggestion of sex, along with actual gestures of love and thoughtfulness would have been better.

The club of men learning about women from romantic fiction was the only sweet thing about this book. The two stars are for them, and for the sweet cover.

Book Review: THE FALL OF LORD DRAYSON

Title: The Fall of Lord Drayson

Author: Rachael Anderson
Publisher: HEA Publishing
Pages: 296

My GoodReads Rating: ⭐⭐

Lucy Beresford is not a woman who fits in in her time. She does not act according to the notions of propriety and decorum. Despite being a vicar’s only child, there is nothing remotely saintly about her. Her greatest weakness is her tendency towards creative truth-telling.

After the death of her father, Vicar Beresford, Lucy and her mother have been very kindly permitted by Lord Drayson to continue to reside in the dower house as long as they wish to. But now that Lord Drayson is dead, his son, the new Lord Drayson, Colin Cavendish, wants to oust the tenants and sell the property.

Landing up on their doorstep, he informs Lucy that she and her mother have two months to make alternate arrangements. Lucy has no idea what to do. They have no relatives, and no money. Who should she turn to for help?

She is also upset that he could so easily seek to break a promise given by his father to her mother.

When the young earl falls off his horse and loses his memory. Lucy and the maid, Georgina, rescue him and Lucy thinks that this is a good opportunity to teach him a lesson. She tells him that he is her servant, Collins.

The book is written in the third person past tense PoVs of Lucy and Drayson, as Collins.

I don’t generally read romances, but I started reading this one because of Lucy. She was so feisty, so completely uncaring of social mores that it was a pleasure to see how she ruffled feathers.

I stayed on for the banter and the quick repartee that constituted the conversation between Lucy and Collins. I also liked the fact that Lucy was her mother’s main confidante, that her mother actually sought her daughter’s advice.

There isn’t as much heartburn as such novels generally include, and the earl behaves far nicer than the limits of the genre permit. In fact, the earl even consults his wife when making decisions.

It’s only when Lucy moves to the earl’s home that the story becomes dull. I was surprised to see Colin’s mother take so easily to Lucy, as though the differences in station didn’t matter at all to her. Even if Lucy was gentry, surely she didn’t belong to a titled family. Nor did she have any wealth to her name.

Also, Lucy has no real rival for Colin’s affections, which was quite strange. Considering the wealth he had, there should have been another woman to spice things up, or at least some opposition that Lucy faced.

Amnesia to the extent that Colin faces is a favourite contrivance of novelists, though quite unlikely.

The fact that Lucy’s mother gets a second chance at love was nice.

All in all, much ado about nothing. Nothing really solid by way of plot.

Book Review: THE FRENCH GIRL

Title: The French Girl

Author: Lexie Elliott

Publisher: Berkley Books

Pages: 304

The French Girl by Lexie Elliott will inevitably get some of the fame that devolves upon all books with the word, girl, in their titles. But beyond that, these books must strive to make their own way.

The summer after they finished university, six friends, Kate Channing, Caroline Horridge, Tom, Seb, Theo and Lara Petersson, go on a holiday to a French farmhouse owned by Theo’s dad. They are friends, but they are also in relationships. Kate with Seb, Tom with Lara. Only Theo and Caro are not in a relationship.

Severine Dupas, a 19-year-old French girl, who lives next door to the farmhouse, often drops in to use their pool.

Ten years later her body is discovered in a well behind the farmhouse. A well that was filled on Saturday, the day the six left the farmhouse to return to London.

The friends have moved on with their lives. Seb has been married 3 years, Tom has split from long-time girlfriend, Jenna, Lara is happily promiscuous. Kate runs her own legal recruitment firm. Caro has as a career as a lawyer in Haft and Weil, one of the most prestigious legal companies. Only Theo has died in battle in the interim.

The case is reopened by French policeman, Alain Modan, and suspicion begins to settle upon Kate. It seems that her then boyfriend, Seb, slept with Severine on their last night there.

Kate’s self-owned legal head-hunting business, Channing Associates, is about to strike a deal with Gordon Farrow, managing partner of Haft and Weil, a prestigious law firm, and Caro’s father. Kate gets the contract, a deal that saves her business from financial ruin.

When rumours of an imminent arrest spread, Kate wonders how long it would be before her life is upended.

The story is written in the first person present tense point of view of Kate. A number of flashbacks are woven through her piece, enabling us to understand how she met Seb, with whom she broke up soon after that holiday; how her business is in danger of closing down.

It seems that Severine got under Kate’s skin a little too much. There is a hint of something dark.

I liked Kate. She was direct, a trait that causes Farrow to respect and admire her. She is also feisty and loyal to her friends, particularly to Tom and Lara. She is good at her job and doesn’t feel intimidated advising Gordon. I also liked the conversations Kate has with the reader

I also liked the characterization of Tom who gives really good hugs.

What I liked most about this book was the word descriptions of the characters.

Kate says of Caro, The extra years have gnawed away any softness. Now she appears brittle.

Of Alain Modan, the French detective: His handwriting is like tiny spiders multiplying across the page.

Of Paul, Kate's partner: His trenchant defeatism curls around him like a fog; being near him brings a chill.

Of Alain again: His active brain working away behind those dark, ironic eyes; scurrying like a rat in a maze to explore all potential avenues.

While the book is a murder mystery and the focus is on the murder, and how the renewed investigation threatens to disrupt their lives, as a reader, I could not help feeling that it is more romance than mystery.

The investigator, Modan, is not quite neutral in his investigation. Ten years ago, he had refused to sleep with Lara. Now, both he and Lara are waiting for him to clear all five of any suspicion, so they can begin a relationship together.

Kate persists in believing that Tom still has feelings for Lara, while Tom has long admired another woman.

Seb’s marriage is being threatened by another woman.

What I found odd was Severine being a disembodied presence around Kate. Not exactly haunting her in the paranormal sense, but definitely one that insinuated herself into every conversation and thought of Kate’s.

The London locale is established through descriptions about what it is like on the Tube, as also smooth yet passing references to how Americans differ from the British.

I felt a little lost when the technicalities of legal procedure came up.

The ending was a let-down for me. Also, the manner in which the mystery was resolved was unreal. There were no clues. Everything was  explained too hastily.

Also, while the book was sweet, it was more than a little slow. 

(I received an ARC from First to Read).

Book Review: MAID OF SECRETS (MAIDS OF HONOR #1)

Title: Maid of Secrets (Maids of Honor #1)
Author: Jennifer McGowan
Publisher: Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers
Pages: 416

Maid of Secrets is the story of Meg Fellowes, a 17-year street thief who makes a living by lightening people’s pockets. Part of the Golden Rose acting troupe founded by her grandfather, Meg’s fortunes change dramatically when she is chosen to be one of five maids to spy for Queen Elizabeth.

Meg is caught and taken to Windsor Castle, where she expects to be punished. Instead, she is inducted into an elite group of five maids who will serve as the Queen’s ‘eyes and ears.’ She is to be the Queen’s property, utensils she can bend and shape as she wishes or throw into the trash heap without a backward glance.

Should she refuse this assignment, the members of her acting troupe will be hunted down and tortured, while she would be imprisoned for life.

While the adventure sounds exciting, poor Meg has to make do with tedious attempts to translate and study texts in Latin, French, Dutch and Spanish, besides politics, social graces, observation skills and poisons, manners and food, dancing and elocution, language and court behaviour and how to kill or maim without creasing our skirts. All this under the tutelage of Sir William Cecil, who does nothing to hide his disdain for her.

The other four maids are Anna Burgher, Sophia Dee, Beatrice Knowles, and Jane Morgan, who Meg nicknames the Scholar, the Seer, the Belle and the Blade respectively. She herself is named Rat by the others, on account of the task she is enjoined with, ferreting out secrets and reporting them to the Queen.

While Anna and Sophia treat her with kindness and Jane tolerates her, Beatrice does nothing to hide her contempt of Meg, of the fact that is unlettered, and her humble background.

Meg herself cares nothing for literacy skills, but she does want to learn to read well enough to decipher the contents of a book that her grandfather gave her on his deathbed. The book and a set of golden picklocks are his legacy to her.

The queen assigns her to spy upon the newest member of the Spanish delegation, Rafe Luis Medina, the Count de Martine, who she suspects of being an agent of King Philip of Spain. King Philip was married to Elizabeth’s late half-sister, Mary, and Elizabeth suspects him of causing disruptions at the court in an attempt to prove her unfit to rule. She asks Meg to find out who is causing the disturbances and brutal attacks. It is a top secret mission and Meg must trust no one. 

Meanwhile, Cecil and Sir Francis Walsingham, the Queen’s spymaster, urge Meg to spy on the queen herself. Meg is torn between fulfilling her duty to the Queen and following their orders, knowing that she and her troupe will be punished if she doesn’t.

Intrigue is rife and everyone has secrets and is playing games, manipulating situations for their own ends.  The danger is very real, Meg realizes, when she comes to know that she has been brought in as a replacement for Marie Claire, a spy who was brutally murdered for her pains. Marie’s ears and tongue had been cut off and her eyes hollowed out of their sockets.

It’s all overwhelming for Meg, and the situation gets even more complicated when the Count turns out to be astonishingly handsome and charming. Isn’t her assignment hard enough without having to guard her heart?

Unfortunately Meg has no idea who is a friend and who a foe. She has to follow conflicting orders while ensuring that she doesn’t meet Marie’s fate. And it all comes to a head when the Queen announces the masked ball when there will be Sworn enemies.

Desperate conspirators. 

Fawning opportunists. 

Cunning traitors. 

And every one of them in disguise. 

God save the Queen.

Written in the first person of Meg, the story is an engaging one that sweeps you off your feet, straight into the London of April 1559, shortly after the coronation of Elizabeth as Queen.  The voice is friendly, winging her way into our confidence and goodwill.

Meg is an interesting character, intelligent and witty. I wouldn’t say her voice is distinctive, but she manages to meet adventure and danger head-on without simpering in the manner of other heroines of the time. And that is an achievement. 

I liked the fact that marriage wasn’t the end-all of her existence, as well as her sense of loyalty to her troupe and her secret skills. These include her light-fingeredness and the ability to repeat verbatim anything she has heard once, down to inflection, no matter what the language.  I also appreciated the fact that she fell into the deep end and learned to swim.

The author conjures up the London of the time, the sounds and smells of the streets, the rotting fish carcasses pooled in narrow ditches, the foul-smelling passages, that one knows from the works of Charles Dickens.

She also does a fine job of making the milieu come alive. It is a time when men have all the rights, and a married woman is at best a prize goat or a sturdy cow. She also excels in her descriptions of the outrageously flamboyant and slightly ridiculous costumes of the era.

I appreciated this book for the strength of the women in it. Elizabeth says she does not need a husband. She says The people need only a strong monarch to rule them, not a male one. And I need no one but myself to rule. It is a reminder that strong women have always stood up for themselves. Yet again, Elizabeth says, All men are a threat to women…no matter if she is maid or monarch…Especially those men we most want to trust.

Above all, kudos to the author for keeping the excitement burning throughout the story. The nervous tension, the danger all felt real. The Trenchmore dance where Meg steals the letters from Rafe’s pockets and has to return them to his pockets before the dance ends was a moment when I had my heart in my mouth.

I found myself getting caught in the excitement of it all. I also liked the fact that the romance here was not intrusive, and did not ever supersede the intrigue and the adventure. In this book, set within the genre of historical fiction, the romance was not without its charm.

With a sound knowledge of the Elizabethan era and its history, and a feisty and independent minded heroine to recommend it, Maid of Secrets is a book that deserves to be read.