My edition: Kindle Unlimited
Pages: 228
Series: Victorian Retelling #2
Genre: Historical, Romance, Mystery
Published: August 15, 2021
Rating: 4 STARS
Synopsis:
Grieving her father’s sudden death, Lady Ada Whitworth’s childhood stutter resurfaces. She seeks solace in her charcoal sketches secretly published in London’s Thames & Times newspaper. Her brother’s sharp tongue and quick temper shame Lady Ada into complete silence but not before she overhears his traitorous plot to kill the queen at the upcoming International Ball.
Mute and heartbroken, Lady Ada’s private pain is mistaken for arrogance, earning the ire of society.The Duke of Girard is tasked with sniffing out the elusive French spy called Tailor while an anonymous artist pokes fun at the duke’s failed pursuit, taunting him every step of the way. With the upcoming International Ball just weeks away, the Duke will stop at nothing to bring stability back to his beloved Britain-including finding the artist behind the sketches.
When Lady Ada’s accused brother disappears, she becomes the target of the Duke’s wrath, assuming her silence is from guilt, not grief. To loosen her tongue, the Duke demands Lady Ada be interrogated at his estate, a home hidden in the wild Welsh countryside. She sweeps the chimney, launders her clothes and helps the cook-she will do anything but speak to the Duke.
Lady Ada’s quiet service softens the Duke, his mind often turning to thoughts of her. But can he earn Lady Ada’s trust in time to save the queen?
Review:
If you have not read the first book, I highly suggest that you do. While the MCs are different it still follows the mystery line from the first book. Lord Rochelle also is a big play in this book.
I love the stutter aspect with Lady Ada. The mystery thickens on who the Tailor is and what he wants. A few more nobles are introduced and you don’t know who to trust after the ending.
I hope we get to see more of the ton in the next book. I want to see more of court since I have a thing for court drama. I’m glad that the author has done her research on not only the technology that was available at the time but also the dress. While on Goodreads main tag page, this is listed regency, it’s actually not. The regency era of Britain is 1811-1820. This is set after the regency era so I don’t know why on Goodreads it’s listed as a regency. This is fully victorian and you can tell by what the characters are wearing to the technology. This is another reason why I love that the author did her research. If you are extremely knowledgeable about the era, you don’t need the date to tell you nor do you need the series title to tell you.
I wonder if the next book is the final or if there is more to come. But it is Nikolas’s book and I don’t know quite how I feel about Nikolas.
The Kansan Reader 