"Children of the Shadows" by Erica Vetsch

About this book:

  “Detective Daniel Swann and debutante Juliette Thorndike once again team up to solve a dangerous mystery--while trying to keep their growing romance secret.
    Someone is preying upon the street children of Regency London. They seem to think no one will notice when urchins go missing--and even if they are noticed, who will care?
    Daniel needs to do something about the missing children. But with recent revelations about his past and an unexpected, somewhat unwelcome inheritance to deal with, this is a terrible time to dive back into the seedy underbelly of the crime world. Nevertheless, he's still a Bow Street runner, and his partner Lady Juliette is sensitive to the plight of these wayward youngsters. They're on the case, searching shadowed alleys and coal-drenched streets to find the missing.
   But the tangle of expectation and the dynamics of power cannot be easily ignored, even if there are children in danger. When Daniel's past threatens to overwhelm his future, he will need a miracle and the help of his friends to both apprehend the villain and unravel his tangled family web. And it may be that his new responsibilities demand that he leave the children of the shadows to their terrible fate--or lose everything.”


Series: Book #3 in the “Thorndike & Swann Regency Mysteries” trilogy. Review of Book #1 Here and Book #2 Here! (It is best to read them in order as they are connecting and about the same characters.) Mentions characters and events from the author’s other series “Serendipity & Secrets” and the novel collection “Joy to the World”. 


Spiritual Content- Scriptures are remembered, mentioned, & quoted; Prayers; Talks about God, His will, praying, & callings; 'H's are capital when referring to God; Daniel has recently come to terms with the idea that God is a benevolent Father (Book #2) but thinks that following God isn’t easy; Mentions of God, Jesus, His will, & callings; Mentions of those & events in the Bible; Mentions of prayers & praying; Mentions of churches, church going, services, & clergymen; Mentions of blessings & being Blessed; Mentions of abbeys & monks; A few mentions of Bibles & prayer books; A few mentions of Easter Sunday; A few mentions of sins; A couple mentions of miracles; A mention of a shelter for women where the women are taught Scriptures and a goal of the place being to “save their souls along with their bodies”; A mention of some scientists believing that “God and science are separate and science is the greater” (and a man who is challenging that view); A mention of Jesuits; 
             *Note: A mention of a place looking haunted; A mention of a place being cursed.
 

Negative Content- Minor cussing including: a form of ‘shut up’; A mention of damning evidence; A few mentions of curses (said, not written); Some sarcasm & eye rolling; Being thrown into jail; Many mentions of murders, murderers, seeing murders happen, the weapon used, & bodies (including in Book #2, up to semi-detailed); Many mentions of crimes, crime scenes, criminals, arrests, prisons, hangings/gaols, & pickpockets; Many mentions of missing children, kidnappings/abductions, & kidnappers (including in Book #1); Mentions of gangs/street mobs, thieves, stealing, & stolen items; Mentions of robberies, burglaries, & break-ins; Mentions of fights/brawls & fighting; Mentions of being drugged (children) & laudanum; Mentions of threats & blackmail (including a criminal threatening to kill a child if he doesn’t listen and the child being terrified, barely-above-not-detailed); Mentions of lies, lying, & liars; Mentions of rumors & gossip; Mentions of alcohol, pubs/ale houses, drinking, & drunks; Mentions of pipes, cigars, tobacco, & smoking; Mentions of gambling & debts; A few mentions of a man being beaten to death; A couple mentions of an almost drowning (Book #2); A couple mentions of treason; A mention of a war; A mention of a massacre; A mention of assassins; A mention of a shooting & death (Book #2); A mention of a death of a woman’s first husband; A mention of the high mortality rate amongst those who live in the streets; A mention of a fire; A mention of child labor; A mention of a child (not) being beaten; A mention of jealousy; 
             *Note: Daniel has a strained relationship with his mother because she sent him away with a mysterious patron when he was young to a school (He always thought that she was paid for him to go away and that it solved her “problems” (See Sexual Content Note); He recalls his thoughts when he was a small child wanting to beg her to take him back and then angry words in university); *Spoiler* They have harsh words and Daniel tries to hang on to his old hurt, but towards the end, they have a conversation that is healing *End of Spoiler*; A man talks about a woman’s “delicate sensibilities”; Mentions of some in society believing they are better than commoners (including a man telling Daniel that he is his better); A mention of a cabbie possibly not liking a dark-skinned person riding in his cab (thought by a main character, and while never said one way or the other, I believe it has to do with the person’s place of employment instead).
 
 
Sexual Content- Three hand/palm kisses, four head/forehead/hair kisses, two not-detailed kisses, a barely-above-not-detailed kiss, and three semi-detailed kisses; Wanting to kiss (barely-above-not-detailed); Touches, Embraces, Dancing, Hand holding, Tingles, Warmth, Nearness, & Smelling (up to semi-detailed); Wanting to touch & embrace (up to semi-detailed); Winks; Noticing (barely-above-not-detailed); *Spoilers for Book #2* It was revealed in the second book that Daniel is not an illegitimate child of a servant like he’s always thought, but that he is actually the legitimate son of a wealthy man and his parents were married; His biological father was threatened by his father to annul the marriage, however, he faked the papers and still got married to another woman while still legally married to Daniel’s mother (the second marriage thus being a bigamous marriage and his child from that marriage being illegitimate) *End of Spoiler*; Daniel & Juliette are caught in an embrace by one of her chaperones (the woman is very upset by this and Juliette is embarrassed by the woman making it sound like she’s a strumpet); Juliette says she would make her parents understand how important Daniel is to her if they didn’t approve of their relationship; Juliette wonders if a man was a client of a former prostitute (but then thinks that she may be doing him an injustice); Many mentions of illegitimate children & one not knowing who his father is for most of his life (also called “by-blow children” and “baseborn offspring”); Mentions of a woman who was a Cyprian/courtesan (prostitute) & now planning to help other women so they can “support themselves with selling their bodies to men in order to survive” (a couple other mentions of them selling their bodies to be able to eat); Mentions of kisses & kissing (including married and engaged couples kissing, barely-above-not-detailed); Mentions of reputations, chaperones, & scandals; A few mentions of a young woman running away with someone in her household’s staff; A couple mentions of seducing & not being seduced; A couple mentions of a loose woman; A couple mentions of jealousy; A mention of a woman “getting herself into a bad way” (pregnant); A mention of when a child was conceived; A mention of a man keeping a mistress; A mention of houses of ill repute; Love, being in love, & the emotions;}
             *Note: There is a conversation about there being some men who have “lascivious natures” when it comes to children, but usually being “gender-specific in their taste. If they seek to abuse boys, they don’t often have any appetite for girls” and vise-versa (This conversation sickens Daniel and he thinks that there’s “no legal punishment too harsh for men with such evil proclivities”); A few mentions of Daniel’s mother having the option to “end [her] pregnancy before [Daniel] were even born” (Daniel is hurt by hearing this, but she says she did not think about killing him before he was born, but did think about trying to find a better place for him than she could provide); A few mentions of butting into a conversation; A mention of a young girl not yet developing into womanhood.
 
-Juliette Thorndike
-Daniel Swann
                                P.O.V. switches between them 
                                            Set in 1816
                                                      304 pages

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Pre Teens- 

New Teens- 

Early High School Teens- 

Older High School Teens- 

My personal Rating- 

{Certain comments noted in the Sexual Content section have dropped the ratings for Older Teen Girls}

I have been greatly anticipating this book since I finished the second book over a year ago and sometimes the books you anticipated don’t meet those expectations. I’m thankful to say that this was a good conclusion to the series. *big sigh of relief* 

 

More so in this book than the prior books, I did feel a bit left out with the mentions of characters from the author’s prior series. My fault, I know, since I haven’t read those (they’re on my ever-growing TBR!) but I felt like I was missing the excitement of seeing characters again. I’m pushing that series up my TBR to hopefully get to in the new year. And then if I just have to reread this series after that? Oh, well, woe is me. ;)

 

Speaking of series, can there be a spin-off series about Uncle Bertie, Rosebreen, and Rhynwock? They stole the scenes they were in, and I want to see them again!

 

Throughout this trilogy, Juliette and Daniel were just so cute and good together, fighting crime and falling in love. In this final book, there wasn’t much romance, more case work which I found interesting, but I did miss seeing them together more. Because of the focus on Daniel’s cases, the romance definitely took a backseat at times—which I didn’t hate because I prefer a good light romance, but I was missing their cute moments together. Juliette really doesn’t get involved in the cases until 75% in, which was a bit disappointing, because she was an equal help in the prior two books and she kind of felt like a side character at times in this book. 

 

Like both prior books in the series, I love the vocabulary and phrases used. It gives the book such a different charm to it compared to many other regency books I’ve read. 

 

Birth secrets were finally revealed in the prior book and now are truly coming to play. There’s different angles to it which we see in the book and it was interesting how both Juliette and Daniel thought how it would help their relationship. There was only one way this book was going to end in my mind and I felt my blood pressure rising in the last 15 or so percent because of it. Daniel being a noble idiot made me want to scream into a pillow. So needless to say, I was stressed because of the rather rushed ending and having to take deep breaths at times, hahaha! 

 

While this book didn’t match up to my adoration of the first book (that bar is just too high!) this was still a good conclusion to a series I’m sad to see end and am overall satisfied by the ending. (Mainly not satisfied with the fact that it’s over. I like Juliette and Daniel too much!)

 

 

 

See y’all on Friday with a new review! 

*BFCG may (Read the review to see) recommend this book by this author. It does not mean I recommend all the books by this author.

 

"Millstone of Doubt" by Erica Vetsch

About this book:

  “Caught in the explosion of the Hammersmith Mill in London, Bow Street Runner Daniel Swann rushes to help any survivors only to find the mill's owner dead of an apparent gunshot.
   Even though the owner's daughter, Agatha Montgomery, mourns his death, it seems there are more than a few people with motive for murder. But Daniel can't take this investigation slow and steady. Instead, he must dig through all the suspects as quickly as he can, because the clock is ticking until his mysterious patronage--and his job as a runner--comes to an abrupt and painful end. It seems to Daniel that, like his earthly father, his heavenly Father has abandoned him to the fates.
    Lady Juliette Thorndike is Agatha's bosom friend and has the inside knowledge of the wealthy London ton to be invaluable to Daniel. She should be in a perfect position to help with the case. Still, her instructor in the art of spy craft orders her to stay out of the investigation. But circumstances intervene, dropping her into the middle of the deadly pursuit.
   When a dreadful accident ends in another death on the mill floor, Daniel discovers a connection to his murder case--and to his own secret past. Now he and Juliette are in a race to find the killer before his time runs out.”

Series: Book #2 in the “Thorndike & Swann Regency Mysteries” series. Review of Book #1 Here! (It is best to read them in order.)


Spiritual Content- A couple Scriptures are mentioned; Prayers; Church going (though Juliette isn’t able to concentrate on the sermon); Talks about God, serving Him, & God being our Heavenly Father; 'H's are capital when referring to God; Juliette hopes that God forgives her for telling a lie; Daniel isn’t sure if God called him to be a Bow Street runner because the job doesn’t feel like a sacrifice since “it seemed to him that the God preacher talked about mostly called people to do things that were hard, that cost them something in the doing. Certainly not something they enjoyed or might have a talent for.” (this is not brought up again in thoughts or correction); Daniel doesn’t understand about God being a loving heavenly Father due to his earthly father not being in the picture, let alone loving & says he never felt anything when listening to sermons about what a good Father God is (he says that God doesn’t care about him anymore than his real father, but a good mentor sets him straight that God’s hand was still on his life and that he had many father figures throughout his life and that gets through to Daniel); Mentions of God; Mentions of prayers & praying; Mentions of churches, church going, & vicars/ministers; A few mentions of those in the Bible; A few mentions of blessings & being blessed (including Daniel not feeling blessed because he doesn’t know his biological father); A few mentions of forgiveness; A mention of meeting your Maker; A mention of doing a Christian action; A mention of a miracle; A mention of a prayer book; A mention of an anarchist being like John Wesley at a revival meeting; 

             *Note: Mentions of a lore about a man who became a ghost (barely-above-not-detailed); A mention of a man wanting to be stood up to and being told to go to the devil since he told someone else that enough times; A mention of a man grouping all aristocrats together as evil; A mention of ghostly faces. 

 
Negative Content- Minor cussing including: a ‘botheration’, a ‘dash it all’, a ‘drat’, an ‘idiot’, and two ‘stupid’s; Sarcasm & Eye rolling; An explosion, fires, finding a murdered body, being pushed, pain, injuries, blood/bleeding, & almost fainting (up to semi-detailed); Nearly drowning, (semi-detailed to detailed); Juliette lies (because of the secrets spies have); Daniel feels resentful towards his mother due to the fact she agreed to not contact him; A bit of social drinking; All about many mentions of explosions, fires, if it’s an accident or arson, deaths, bodies, murders, how they happened, & the murderer(s) (up to semi-detailed); Mentions of suicides (that a murder was not suicide & then a rumor of a ghost that took their life); Mentions of autopsies & corpses (up to semi-detailed); Mentions of pain, injuries, & blood/bleeding (barely-above-not-detailed); Mentions of a murder, art thieves, & thefts (Book #1); Mentions of Juliette being kidnapped (Book #1); Mentions of a planned duel (barely-above-not-detailed); Mentions of violence, threats, protests, & anarchists (barely-above-not-detailed); Mentions of crimes, criminals, arrests, & a prison; Mentions of guns/weapons, gunfire, & someone being shot (barely-above-not-detailed); Mentions of arson, bombs, & bombers; Mentions of thieves, looters, break-ins, stealing, & stolen items; Mentions of pickpockets & fighting a couple off; Mentions of bribes & embezzlement; Mentions of card games with gambling/betting, cheating, con-artists, & debts; Mentions of alcohol, drinking, drunks, & pubs/taprooms (including how Uncle Bertie acts like a drunk at social events to keep from being detected when spying, how Daniel thinks that a drunk man is bad enough, but that there’s something terribly wrong about a drunk woman, & that more nurse were drunks with no medical knowledge); Mentions of pipes, cigars, & smoking; Mentions of jealousy; Mentions of lies, lying, & liars (including Daniel not being sure if he should be impressed or regret her ability to quickly come up with a lie); Mentions of gossip & rumors; Mentions of injured horses & them being killed (one from the explosion and one because he couldn’t be saved, barely-above-not-detailed); A few mentions of wars; A few mentions of threatening to hang a criminal; A few mentions of hunting, an accident, & a death; A couple mentions of throwing up; A mention of a torture device; A mention of someone saying that someone else would have been better off dying in the explosion than to go through what he currently is; A mention of a missing woman; A mention of a doctor having a fetal pig in a jar; A mention of children being deported for stealing.

 
 
Sexual Content- a palm kiss, a cheek kiss, a barely-above-not-detailed kiss, a semi-detailed kiss,  and a detailed kiss (with a growl); Recalling a kiss (borderline semi-detailed // detailed); Wanting to kiss & thinking about kissing someone (barely-above-not-detailed); Touches, Embraces, Shivers, Nearness, & Smelling (including Daniel thinking that it’s a very intimate thing to touch a woman’s hair, all borderline barely-above-not-detailed // semi-detailed); Recalling touches, embraces, & shivers (up to semi-detailed); Wanting to touch & embrace (barely-above-not-detailed); Blushes; Noticing (borderline barely-above-not-detailed // semi-detailed); A man leers at Juliette & grabs her mouth from behind her (she defends herself by kicking him in a place “that Uncle Bertie had guaranteed would take the fight out of any man” and also gives him a bloody nose); Mentions of Daniel being born an illegitimate son of an unwed servant & not knowing anything about his biological father (including him feeling less than for it and *Major Spoiler* it's revealed towards the end that he is actually the legitimate son of a wealthy man and his parents were married, but the man was threatened by his father to annul the marriage; however, he faked the papers and still got married to another woman while still legally married to Daniel’s mother (the second marriage thus being a bigamous marriage) *End of Spoiler*); Mentions of rumored affairs, a married woman attracting many men, cheating on their wedding vows, a woman possibly replacing her lover with a new conquest, & a rumor of man casting eyes toward a married woman and making advances (including Juliette thinking that married people with roving eyes are quite common, but she hates the notion of being unfaithful to a spouse); Mentions of a rumor of a married woman doing more than just flirt with other men, her possible trysts and lovers, her reputation for flirting, another wife not appreciating her flirting with “anything in trousers”, & her swaying her hips in a way that receives men’s attention; Mentions of kisses & kissing (including seeing other couples kissing); Mentions of flirting; Mentions of jealousy; A few mentions of a man knowingly entering a bigamous marriage; A few mentions of the reasons for murder being power, money, and something that “has to do with men and women” (both Daniel and Juliette understand the meaning, but are embarrassed since it’s improper to discuss between unmarried individuals); A mention of the possibility of a woman becoming pregnant by another man after her marriage was annulled; A mention of a man being something of a Lothario if rumors are to be believed; A mention of a woman doing a brash thing by trying to pursue a man at his boardinghouse; A mention of a man whistling at a woman; Some love, falling in love, & the emotions;

             *Note: A couple mentions of women’s clothing mesmerizing males; A mention of a woman displaying “her…er…wares rather boldly”; A mention of a woman’s daring neckline; A mention of butting into an investigation. 
 
-Juliette Thorndike, age 19/20 (?)
-Daniel Swann, age 24-25
                                P.O.V. switches between them 
                                         Set in 1816
                                                   304 pages

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Pre Teens- 

New Teens- 

Early High School Teens- 

Older High School Teens- 

My personal Rating- 

I’ve been eagerly awaiting this sequel ever since finishing “The Debutante’s Code”. Regency spies and mysteries? That is absolutely my cup of tea and I was excited to see all the characters again. I even reread that first story to be able to be fully involved in this second one and, once again, swoon over the vocabulary used within that novel. 

I definitely found the first book more fascinating because of the codes and art thefts, but this was an interesting story as well. Like the opening book of this series, I liked how the main plotline was the mysteries, not the romance. The romance was still on the lighter side (compared to most historical fiction books I’ve reviewed), but was more prevalent compare to the first book, and the faith content picked up a bit at the end. That latter note would be part of why my rating isn’t as high as the first book, as I would have preferred more faith discussions and questions being answered. 

I do have to say that I was disappointed to be able to figure out the mysteries in this novel, though, especially since the first book took me by surprise in many ways. They both felt very obvious, but I’m not sure if that’s because I tried to notice any hints or forshadowings, or if it was more on the obvious side. I will still read the third book when it releases as I quite like Juliette, Daniel (even though he annoyed me some in this book due to his attitude towards Owen), and, yes, Uncle Bertie too. 

 

 

See y’all on Friday with a new review! 

*BFCG may (Read the review to see) recommend this book by this author. It does not mean I recommend all the books by this author.

"The Debutante's Code" by Erica Vetsch

 About this book:

  “Jane Austen meets Sherlock Holmes in this new Regency mystery series.

   Newly returned from finishing school, Lady Juliette Thorndike is ready to debut in London society. Due to her years away, she hasn't spent much time with her parents, and sees them only as the flighty, dilettante couple the other nobles love. But when they disappear, she discovers she never really knew them at all. They've been living double lives as government spies--and they're only the latest in a long history of espionage that is the family's legacy.

   Now Lady Juliette is determined to continue their work. Mentored by her uncle, she plunges into the dangerous world of spy craft. From the glittering ballrooms of London to the fox hunts, regattas, and soirees of country high society, she must chase down hidden clues, solve the mysterious code her parents left behind, and stay out of danger. All the while, she has to keep her endeavors a secret from her best friend and her suitors--not to mention nosy, irritatingly handsome Bow Street runner Daniel Swann, who suspects her of a daring theft.

   Can Lady Juliette outwit her enemies and complete her parents' last mission? Or will it lead her to a terrible end?”

Series: Book #1 in the “Thorndike and Swann Regency Mysteries” series.

Spiritual Content- A couple Scriptures are mentioned & remembered; Prayers & Asking God why; ‘H’s are capitalized when referring to God; Juliette thinks that God and her parents abandoned her and that God isn’t listening to her (*Spoiler* though at the end, realizes that she was under their care the entire time *End of Spoiler*); Juliette struggles with lying and wondering if the Lord would ask her to enter into a life of deception (she struggles throughout the book of her parents teaching her not to lie and yet they lied to her about their work); Daniel prays about 2/3s in and catches himself as he thinks he and God have a “don’t-bother-me-and-I-won’t-bother-you status, but prays again later on; Mentions of God; Mentions of prayers & praying; Mentions of blessings; Mentions of a statue of a saint; A few mentions of churches & church going; A mention of Heaven; A mention of a church’s stained-glass depicting Biblical events;

             *Note: A mention of the phrases “needs must when the devil drives”. 

 

 

Negative Content- Minor cussing including: a ‘drat’, a ‘hang it’, two forms of ‘idiot’, and three ‘stupid’s; Some eye rolling; Finding a body (barely-above-not-detailed); Seeing an autopsy (barely-above-not-detailed) & discussing the findings with the doctor (up to semi-detailed, not gruesome, mostly from a more medical standpoint); Aiming guns, firing them, injuring another for self-protection (barely-above-not-detailed); Being held at knife-point, gun-point, being kidnapped, & threatened; Blood/Bleeding, Injuries, & feeling faint (barely-above-not-detailed); Juliette has to lie because of secrets (she struggles with this); Daniel goes to a pub to find out information (he does not drink nor order a drink); All about many mentions of thieves, criminals, crimes, stealing, stolen items, break-ins, & robberies; Many mentions of murders, murderers, killings, bodies, finding bodies, & how the deaths happened (up to semi-detailed); Mentions of the war & fighting; Mentions of gallows & executions; Mentions of jails/prisons; Mentions of vandalism & vandals (barely-above-not-detailed); Mentions of lies, lying, & deception; Mentions of rumors & gossip; Mentions of drinking, social drinking, drinks/alcohol/wine, pubs/salons, drunks, & hangovers (Juliette’s uncle acts like a drunk a couple of times); Mentions of cigars, pipes, tobacco, smoking, & smoke; Mentions of hunts & hunting (including going to a hunt, Juliette is relieved that the hounds are unable to get the fox); Mentions of throwing up; A few mentions of being bullied; A couple mentions of the possibility of someone being captured or dead; A couple mentions of fights/brawls; A couple mentions of jealousy; A mention of regicide; A mention of a possible fire; A mention of a possible gambling debt; A mention of snuffboxes.

 

 

Sexual Content- A couple greeting kisses (on the hands/knuckles); Noticing, Nearness, & Smelling (barely-above-not-detailed); Daniel is an illegitimate child (he calls himself that, a “by-blow”, and a “baseborn”, and also resents his mother for agreeing for him to be in someone else’s care. He does not know his biological father. At one point he wonders if Juliette’s father could be his father, but quickly throws out the notion when he thinks that if that was the case, him and Juliette would be half siblings); A couple mentions of blushes; A mention of a man possibly trifling with another man’s wife & a jealous husband; A mention of a couple being found together in a storage room; A mention of a man liking one of the barmaids at a pub; A mention of a prostitute (a man assumes Juliette is one because of her clothing and leers at her); Very light attraction, & the emotions (not romance or relationship heavy. Juliette and Daniel notice each other, but nothing really happens in this first book);

             *Note: A mention of a woman being attacked (not said if it was a physical or sexual way).

 

-Juliette Thorndike, age 19/20 (?)

-Daniel Swann, age 24

                                P.O.V. switches between them

                                            Set in 1816

                                                  320 pages

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Pre Teens-

New Teens-

Early High School Teens-

Older High School Teens-

My personal Rating-

Okay, wait, that was so much fun.

I picked this book up on a whim because 1.) regency 2.) spies and 3.) art mysteries. It’s easy to say, sold, sigh me up.

I really liked Juliette and her thought processes felt very relatable in many ways. Juliette accepted her family’s secret quicker than most would, but it didn’t bother me much because she was determined to bring her parents home soon, so she quickly got to work. She struggled a lot with the concept of having to lie but yet also wanting to honor God in the way of how she was raised. I really appreciate that struggle being shown and while it wasn’t fully wrapped up by the end of this novel, I think it will be shown again and discussed more in the next book.

I think my only negative was two minor things, but it did drop my rating from a 5 star to a 4.5: there was a lot of characters to keep up with. A lot. Because I read this book as an e-book I made use of the search feature often to remind me which Duke this was or who’s Christian name was so-and-so. The second would be that I had a bit of a hard time with the writing style, though, I’m wondering now if it was actually the font of the e-book that was different from normal.

Another note: I absolutely adored was the use of different words. (I may have slightly swooned over the vocabularies found in this book.) There were so many new and usual words that I highlighted to save to use some day. It was so fun and the dictionary feature of the e-book system definitely came in handy. Most were of French origin and it made it feel very different from the other regency books I’ve read, in a good way.

So, all of that was the cake itself and the icing, but the cherry on top of said cake was finding out that this series is going to continue to be about these same main characters, not a side character that we were introduced to. I don’t see many series published nowadays that follow the same main characters throughout for however many books the series will be. I’m quite tickled pink, actually, about this development. That’s why the romance was super light in this book (though, I have to admit I’m a little concerned for the later books’ romance content…I really hope it stays on the lighter side) and wasn’t the main focus of the plot at all. It was so nice. It was very focused on the mystery that while Juliette and Daniel were noticing each other, it wasn’t over the top or anywhere near what the book was about. (Major plus in my eyes!)

I’m so glad I randomly picked up this book as it’s now one of my top favorites from the year. I’m ready for the second book! :D

 

 

See y’all on Friday with a new review!

*BFCG may (Read the review to see) recommend this book by this author. It does not mean I recommend all the books by this author.