I found every moment of this one a pleasure to read. Somehow it gave me a Victorian rather than Georgian feeling - but that may have been its sensationalist and gothic vibes or it may just be that I have read far more Victorian novels .

I loved the character explorations of the two mothers, especially of Alexandria.

The sense of place and time was definitely 18th Century London, with a lot of details of dress, the Thames, powdering of hair, etc. However, the language, with the exception of a couple of swear words, is definitely 21st Century English. Not a bad thing in and of itself.

The novel relied a little too much on coincidence but that is common in many of the Victorian novels I have read, if not the Georgian period and so is forgivable in this kind of tale.

However, the ending was too trite, sugar-sweet, and wrapped up in ribbons for me. I would definitely recommend this novel to those of my friend who read for escapism only and desire happy endings. The ending was not for me though I am far too dark at heart . Nevertheless, a four-star read.