September 12, 2023
Red and her father are itinerant entertainers (don't call them gypsies), barely scraping by doing magic shows and telling fortunes. After her father's death, Red is taken in by a wealthy gentleman who lives in Bath and raised as a lady. She is skilled at fortune telling and entertains acquaintances by reading their cards. Many years later, Red finds a number of mysterious items in a trunk that belonged to her father, including an astrological chart and a legal document. She begins to suspect that her mother was part of an aristocratic family that disowned her when she married Red's father. Red sets out to learn the truth about her past.
DNF. I went into this book thinking that I would really enjoy it. But it was long, well over 500 pages, and SLOOOOW. The plot seemed clever but it took too long to get moving. I gave up about 1/3 of the way in and skipped to the ending and read the last two chapters, which filled in the previous 300 pages. Both plot and characters would have been better served by less minute detail and an editor whacking out about 100 pages. If you like long winding stories with loads of characters and a plot that doesn't move very fast and is loaded with minutiae, you will probably enjoy this historical novel.
Many thanks to Edelweiss and the publisher for providing an eARC for review.
Bath, England - the original wellness spa
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