Review: some romance, some history, a pretty good mystery
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 11 26, 2013
I'm always a little suspect of historical romance novels. I read the occasional romance novel, if it's particularly funny or well-written, but more often than not, it's a weak story interspersed with random sex scenes. I have no objection to a quality sex scene, if it fits a story, but I can't stand books that are just excuses for them.This novel is quite the opposite. The main characters are sometimes a bit idiotic in their inability to come to terms, but the underlying mystery is solid; the characters are otherwise interesting; the novel was fairly difficult to put down, once I got into it. I questioned the reactions to the revelation that the main character was a witch, and I would have liked to see a bit more information about apothecaries and that time period, because both are quite interesting. I don't think it would take much revision to take this from a pretty good novel to a very good one.I'd rate it as follows: mystery-4, romance-3, fantasy (magic)-2.5, historical-3. In the end, I liked it, and I'll look for more from this author. I'd love to see her revise a bit more and write a great novel. She's off to a solid start.