Why I Picked itThis book was one that my future mother-in-law for Christmas. It was a physical book added to my TBR, and I was interested with the title and synopsis. Plus, it was about time to read another historical fiction, but one not quite as long as The Queen's Lady. This also was a mystery novel, and it has been FOREVER since I've read a mystery. SummarySet in 1800's San Francisco, Blanche Beunon, a French burlesque dancer is working for a living, supporting her lover and his friend. One day, she runs into Jenny Bonnet, a frog hunter and notorious for wearing men's clothing. The book starts in the middle of the story, at Jenny's death. For the next three days, Blanche is on a mission to find Jenny's killer. Throughout, Blanche remembers the days between meeting Jenny up until her death, creating a story being woven from two sides at once. This is a story of love, heartbreak, friendships and bloodshed. DISCLAIMER: There are a few sex scenes, which is really to be expected in a book about a burlesque dancer. In my opinion, they are done well, in a way that describes the important emotions and feelings that Blanche is having as it happens without being too descriptive or cringy. Though some of the things that happen are cringy. I just read through those parts quickly. What I likedI loved the two different timelines. At first it was a little confusing, but then I started to see what signified the change between before the murder and after. The information that came out throughout both timelines matched up, helping the other make better sense. I also loved the realness of the whole book. I could picture myself walking along the streets in California with Blanche and Jenny. I could feel Blanche's pain and worry and stubbornness. There were moments that I could see what was going to happen next, and other times that Donoghue sent the story in a totally different direction. I pride myself at being good at guessing the plot of books and movies before I get to the plot twist and before anyone else realizes what is happening. That was not the case with this book. Jenny is such an interesting character, and the reader gets to learn about her life alongside Blanche, surprising us both. Another awesome thing about this book as that it is very much based on real events. I've always hated history, but if I could learn what was happening socially, politically, and culturally through books like this one, I think that will help me! This book did a good job of setting up the context around all of those social and cultural environments. Smallpox is a huge part of the story, as well as "farm houses" (which you'll figure out if you read the book), and burlesques. So needless to say, I was able to learn from this (always a good thing!), not just emotionally, but in terms of history too. What I didn't likeThere wasn't a lot I didn't like. I do wish I would have known about the French Glossary in the back of the book. There are plenty of French words and phrases used, but Donoghue (in addition to the Glossary that I found at the end when I was done reading…) normally does a loose translation in the text as well, or helps you translate it based off of the context around the word. Other than that, I really can't think of anything that I would have liked more. This book was a great work! Overall Impression 🌟🌟🌟🌟4/5 stars. It was really a great read. Really the only reason it doesn’t get 5 stars is because it's not one of my absolute favorites. I liked a lot of the book, and it was really really good, but I don't know if it's going to stick with me as long as a lot of my 5/5 star books do. I guess time will tell, but for now, 4/5. I strongly recommend it!
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorJust sharing my passion of reading through my passion of writing. Archives
May 2020
Categories |