What a brilliantly fun historical fiction!

The main character, Violet, was such a brilliant protagonist. She’s in her late twenties, sure of herself and forthright, but also painfully naïve. Her mother disappeared ten years earlier, and without a parental figure to guide her (her father is physically present but emotionally not) she has some glaring blind spots in her knowledge of the world. I’ll be honest, I was worried at the start that she was just ‘not like other girls’ but her character made perfect sense within her world and her family. What was great across the course of the novel was that she not only grew more knowledgeable about the world, but actively took those steps herself, admitting to herself that there were things she didn’t know and seeking the answers.

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The mystery element of the story was really well-balanced with the rest. While I did really like the answer to the various questions behind the mystery, the way they were resolved was quite sudden, and honestly felt like an easy way out! I think there could have been more satisfactory ways of wrapping up that particular storyline (no spoilers!). One of the reveals also had me rolling my eyes a little bit at the start, but by the end it was pretty well-executed so I did enjoy it overall.

The character-led storyline is definitely the selling point of this book for me; it’s funny and outrageous, with a little mystery to tie it all together.

I received a free copy for review. All opinions are my own.