Category: Victorian Era (1837-1901)

In the history of the United Kingdom, the Victorian era was the period of Queen Victoria’s reign, from 20 June 1837 until her death on 22 January 1901. The era followed the Georgian period and preceded the Edwardian period, and its later half overlaps with the first part of the Belle Époque era of continental Europe.
Preceded by: Regency era
Followed by: Edwardian era
Monarch: Victoria

Portrait of a Scotsman by Evie Dunmore

On By BarbaraIn Barb's Reviews, Victorian Era (1837-1901)2 Comments

Portrait of a Scotsman (A League of Extraordinary Women, #3)Barbara’s Rating: 3.5 of 5 Stars
Series: A League of Extraordinary Women #3
Publication Date: 9/7/21
Period: Victorian London/Scotland
Number of Pages: 448

Hattie Greenfield is many things: She attends Oxford where she is studying painting; She is a loving sister and dutiful daughter; She chafes under the close eye her father keeps on her; She is a dedicated suffragist. While the rest of her family are all astute at business and investments, Hattie hasn’t a clue about that. Her world is art. That is why she ditched her bodyguard and managed to sneak away from Oxford to attend an art tour that was featuring a painting she dearly wanted to see in person. What a fateful decision that was! She meets the owner of the exhibit and he kisses her soundly because he mistakes her for someone else. OOPS!

Lucian Blackstone’s reputation is definitely not a good one. Rumor says he’s ruined more than one peer and who knows what else he may have done. He is reclusive and few have ever even seen him. However, Lucian wants to change that reputation because he wants to be able to have more influence in order to make the changes he wants to see in the country. He needs relationships with men who have more influence than he does, so he can meet other men with more influence. Then, the perfect solution drops right into his lap – in the form of Miss Hattie Greenfield. Her showing up to see his painting gave him the perfect idea – he’d marry her – after all, kissing her was certainly not a chore.

Hattie and Lucian square off from the beginning, and it was fun to watch them fall for each other despite their best efforts not to do so. Both hold tightly to past hurts and secrets and overcoming the lack of trust will be a major stumbling block. Their romance kept me engrossed until about the 93% mark and then I was done with Hattie. Frankly, I was wishing Lucian would leave her totally alone and find someone who would really love him and appreciate him for who he is.

This was my first read by this author and I was really sorry to find it just isn’t my cup of tea. I was really looking forward to a more romantic read and what I got was a treatise on how great socialism/communism is as well as an introduction to some very rabid feminists. When I say rabid feminists, I am referring to the female leads in the first two books of the series – and I didn’t read those – and won’t from what I saw in this book. I love a book with a strong, intelligent female lead, but those two are total shrews. I’d say I liked 65-70% of this book, but the rest I just really, really didn’t like at all.

While I won’t recommend this book – because I wouldn’t read it a second time – I will say that there will be lots of readers who will read it and love it. Perhaps you’ll be one of those. I was not.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an Advanced Reader Copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

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Crooked In His Ways by S.M. Goodwin

On By BarbaraIn Barb's Reviews, Historical Mystery, Victorian Era (1837-1901)Leave a comment

Crooked in His Ways (Lightner and Law Mystery #2)Barbara’s Rating: 4 of 5 Stars
Series: Lightner and Law Mystery #2
Publication Date: 9/7/21
Period: New York, 1857
Number of Pages: 336

This series is based on the delightful premise of pairing a wealthy, aristocratic, proper, stuttering son of an English Duke with an Irish-American partner who was raised in an orphanage in the slums of New York. While it sounds like a recipe for failure of the partnership – oil and water don’t mix – it turns out to be quite engaging and a great pairing of complementary strengths and talents. I did not read the first book in the series, and while I don’t feel that it detracted from this story, I do think it would have provided a better foundational understanding of Lightner’s being in New York. Still, I didn’t need that to enjoy the story.

There is definitely a LOT going on in the story and you’ll have to pay close attention as you read or you won’t keep it all straight. We have multiple victims and hundreds of suspects. The victim who sets the case in motion is found in multiple pieces – packed with salt – in a crate on a New York City dock. With nothing on the body to identify the victim, Lightner and Law start out behind the eight-ball. When they finally identify him, they discover what a despicable man he was and discover a list of people he has been blackmailing. Any one of the people on the list could be the murderer – or it could be someone they’ve not even heard of yet. Then, there are more bodies of people associated with the case that turns up. Uh-Oh — busy times ahead!

While the investigation continues, we meet some really unsavory characters as suspects. While we root for one or all of those unsavory people to be the culprit, we also root for those very likable characters to find happiness after they are out from under the thumb of the blackmailer. Lightner and Law’s lives are at risk multiple times – and that is particularly dangerous for Lightner who was severely injured in the Crimea and now has a metal plate in his head and holes in his memory.

I enjoyed watching Lightner and Law become closer friends and seeing their respect for each other grow. I loved Paisley, Lightner’s valet, as well as his cook, a freed slave named Mrs. Freedman. I thought the addition of the street urchin/pickpocket, John Sparrow, to the household was a great idea. I thoroughly enjoyed his character and I think he’ll be a marvelous addition to the series. One character I didn’t care for – and I hope he disappears from the series, is the ‘boss’, Captain Davies.

I chose not to read the first book of the series because – and this is totally a personal flaw – I don’t usually seem to enjoy books set in New York City – especially during the time this book takes place. However, I heard so many good things about the first book that I decided to give the second one a try. I’ll quickly admit I still did not enjoy the setting – but I did enjoy the writing, the story, and the characters. It was a bit darker and grittier than I normally enjoy, but it had a bit of lightness woven into it since Lightner is assigned a dog-napping case. The dog in question is owned by one of the richest men in New York and he has personally requested that Lightner handle the case.

I can recommend this book to you if you don’t mind darker, grittier reads. If you require a bit of romance with your mysteries, I can tell you this series doesn’t have any – at least not yet. I really enjoyed the characters, but I didn’t enjoy the turbulence in New York City while the story was unfolding. Yes, I understand that is what was happening at the time, it just isn’t my prime choice. All of that said, I will probably go back and read the first book in the series and then I’ll decide if I’ll want to read more. Again, this is a personal thing because it is darker than I normally like and set in a place/time I don’t normally care for. The writing is excellent and the story is fast-paced and well-delivered.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an Advanced Reader Copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

View all my reviews