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anabel_unker 's review for:
Once Upon a Murder
by Samantha Larsen
*I received a copy of this book on NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for this opportunity*
In the second installment of the Lady Librarian Mystery series, our heroine Miss Tiffany Woodall-- no longer forced to dress and act as her older brother-- literally stumbles across a the body of someone familiar dumped right outside her cottage. Forced once again to solve a mystery to clear her own name (and the name of those she's fond of), Tiffany has to balance her growing responsibilities as librarian for the Duchess of Beaufort and her deepening affection for a certain Mr. Samir Lathrop with the mystery at hand.
I loved the first book of this series, and there was so much I loved about its sequel! Set in the 1700s, I particularly appreciated Tiffany's desire to explore more traditional female roles. (Here me out! I promise I'm not anti-feminism!) While I am 250% for female representation in all types of roles and forms of media, it was nice to read about a character that wants to raise a child and (in the vein of Bridergton Season 1) who discovers more about her body throughout the story (albeit in a child-birthing manner rather than sexual) which would have been accurate for the time period. Tiffany is a different sort of female character than most written about today, and I think her desires and goals should be just as celebrated.
However, while the mystery was fun and the characters weirdly interconnected, I feel like some of the main characters strayed a little too far from their characterizations in the first book. I found myself frankly shocked at one character's secret marriage, another's blatant (and out of character) racism, and Tiffany's loss of gumption. It felt as though Larsen had an idea of how she wanted the mystery to end and, rather than working with the lovely characters she had, she twisted them to fit her needs.
While I still enjoyed the story, and the epilogue absolutely stole my heart, I found myself wishing some things had played out a little bit differently.
In the second installment of the Lady Librarian Mystery series, our heroine Miss Tiffany Woodall-- no longer forced to dress and act as her older brother-- literally stumbles across a the body of someone familiar dumped right outside her cottage. Forced once again to solve a mystery to clear her own name (and the name of those she's fond of), Tiffany has to balance her growing responsibilities as librarian for the Duchess of Beaufort and her deepening affection for a certain Mr. Samir Lathrop with the mystery at hand.
I loved the first book of this series, and there was so much I loved about its sequel! Set in the 1700s, I particularly appreciated Tiffany's desire to explore more traditional female roles. (Here me out! I promise I'm not anti-feminism!) While I am 250% for female representation in all types of roles and forms of media, it was nice to read about a character that wants to raise a child and (in the vein of Bridergton Season 1) who discovers more about her body throughout the story (albeit in a child-birthing manner rather than sexual) which would have been accurate for the time period. Tiffany is a different sort of female character than most written about today, and I think her desires and goals should be just as celebrated.
However, while the mystery was fun and the characters weirdly interconnected, I feel like some of the main characters strayed a little too far from their characterizations in the first book. I found myself frankly shocked at one character's secret marriage, another's blatant (and out of character) racism, and Tiffany's loss of gumption. It felt as though Larsen had an idea of how she wanted the mystery to end and, rather than working with the lovely characters she had, she twisted them to fit her needs.
While I still enjoyed the story, and the epilogue absolutely stole my heart, I found myself wishing some things had played out a little bit differently.