poorashleu's review against another edition
4.0
Originally posted here
The Lure of the Moonflower is everything I wanted from the last book in a series, any series. But the last book in the Pink Carnation was bittersweet for me. I’ve read this series since the beginning and I’m in denial about the fact that it was ending. That being said Willig shined throughout this last book. Her writing has grown leaps and bounds since the first book and that is highlighted throughout The Lure of the Moonflower.
While it wasn’t an easy read, the characters of the past, Jack and Jane and the characters of the present, Colin and Eloise flowed together effortlessly for a satisfying conclusion. This was also the book that many was waiting for. We’ve known about Jane since the beginning and finally she was getting her own book! Jack and Jane have a lot of walls up and don’t want to work with each other. Slowly while working together, they of course fall for each other; however, I want to make it clear, not once did it feel forced. The romance always felt real as well as the mystery. While historical novels don’t always work for me (I’ve just fallen in love with them in the past year) this series has always worked for me.
Because it’s always worked for me I really am sad to see it go. I’m going to miss these characters. I’ve grown used to Jane and Eloise and Colin. While the later two ending could be said that it’s a little too meta, it worked for me extremely well and felt in character. I cannot wait to see what Willig does next, even if it is not with these characters.
The Lure of the Moonflower is everything I wanted from the last book in a series, any series. But the last book in the Pink Carnation was bittersweet for me. I’ve read this series since the beginning and I’m in denial about the fact that it was ending. That being said Willig shined throughout this last book. Her writing has grown leaps and bounds since the first book and that is highlighted throughout The Lure of the Moonflower.
While it wasn’t an easy read, the characters of the past, Jack and Jane and the characters of the present, Colin and Eloise flowed together effortlessly for a satisfying conclusion. This was also the book that many was waiting for. We’ve known about Jane since the beginning and finally she was getting her own book! Jack and Jane have a lot of walls up and don’t want to work with each other. Slowly while working together, they of course fall for each other; however, I want to make it clear, not once did it feel forced. The romance always felt real as well as the mystery. While historical novels don’t always work for me (I’ve just fallen in love with them in the past year) this series has always worked for me.
Because it’s always worked for me I really am sad to see it go. I’m going to miss these characters. I’ve grown used to Jane and Eloise and Colin. While the later two ending could be said that it’s a little too meta, it worked for me extremely well and felt in character. I cannot wait to see what Willig does next, even if it is not with these characters.
biblialex's review against another edition
3.0
The main characters spent most of the book traveling, which is very much not my jam, but I'm glad to finally get a book with Jane's perspective. A good end to the series.
zoemaja's review against another edition
5.0
I have been putting off reading this because I don't want this series to end. But I also really really want to hear Jane's story - so here I go once more into the world of the Pink Carnation. I will miss it at the end.
audio, library
audio, library
kamreadsandrecs's review against another edition
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Now I’ll admit: one of the reasons it took be so very long to pick this up is because of the pairing. I wanted to know what happened to Jane, of course, given the events of Purple Plumeria, but I wasn’t feeling very kindly towards Jack, who had caused everyone a world of trouble in Blood Lily and again in Purple Plumeria. And since I wasn’t all that into the pairing, I decided to pass on it until I was in the mood...which basically took me almost a decade to get over.
But hey, that was the point of this massive reread: to finally just get on with it. Plus, my feelings regarding Jack had softened over time (and the fact that I’d forgotten most of what he’d done haha), so I decided to just get on with it and read it to finally finish the series.
And I’ll admit, I was pleasantly surprised by how the pairing worked! My dislike of Jack came back over the course of the reread, albeit in a milder form than when I first read the series, and the way he acted in the first few chapters of this book certainly didn’t help. He struck me as an unnecessarily edgy SOB, whose past was certainly tragic but: come on.
To be fair though, I thought that Jane was rather unlikable as well in the first chapters - something I didn’t notice in my previous read but which I finally noticed in the reread leading up to this book. Jane is, frankly speaking, a bit of a bitch: high-handed, snooty, and a know-it-all on a level that’s pretty annoying. There’s glimpses of it in Garden Intrigue, and then again in Purple Plumeria, but you really get a front-row seat for it in this book and BOY is it annoying.
So you’d think these two wouldn’t have any sort of chemistry, and for the first couple of chapters, that is very true. I was skeptical of the pairing initially, wondering how the author would make it work. But I am glad to say that the author DID make it work - mostly by having these two abrasive personalities rub up against each other (metaphorically speaking - though, okay, also a bit literally in certain scenes) until their prickliness smoothed out and they, finally, became honest with each other about their past experience and emotions.
Willig also used this as an opportunity to explore how the racism that Jack experienced as someone of half-British, half-Indian descent meant that he could not truly belong anywhere and engage with society as he wished to, unable to put his immense talents to good use in a legitimate way, In a similar fashion, the constant overwhelming misogyny and chauvinism of British society at the time meant Jane could not serve her country in the traditional way. Both Jack and Jane have been denied the traditional/legitimate paths to service and glory because society has denied them the opportunity to do more - Jack for being mixed race, and Jane for being a woman. And it is this connection that draws them together, and then as the novel progresses, becomes the foundation on which their romantic relationship is built.
While the love story is certainly something I enjoyed, I will say that the fate of the Gardener is...something I kind of predicted. I guess it comes from the intense familiarity I have with the series because of the reread, but suffice to say that I already knew how a certain scene was going to turn out, which means the tension of the scene itself was entirely lost on me.
Speaking of things I saw coming from a mile away: Eloise and Colin get a happy ending, though there’s a bit of family drama that rears its head up in this novel that, like the aforementioned scene involving the Gardener, loses all its tension - not just because I already knew how it would turn out, but because it just seemed a bit...silly?
Anyway: I AM FINALLY DONE WITH THIS SERIES AND CAN PUT IT TO BED BABYEEEEE~! And now I think to cleanse my brain with something a bit harder-edged.
But hey, that was the point of this massive reread: to finally just get on with it. Plus, my feelings regarding Jack had softened over time (and the fact that I’d forgotten most of what he’d done haha), so I decided to just get on with it and read it to finally finish the series.
And I’ll admit, I was pleasantly surprised by how the pairing worked! My dislike of Jack came back over the course of the reread, albeit in a milder form than when I first read the series, and the way he acted in the first few chapters of this book certainly didn’t help. He struck me as an unnecessarily edgy SOB, whose past was certainly tragic but: come on.
To be fair though, I thought that Jane was rather unlikable as well in the first chapters - something I didn’t notice in my previous read but which I finally noticed in the reread leading up to this book. Jane is, frankly speaking, a bit of a bitch: high-handed, snooty, and a know-it-all on a level that’s pretty annoying. There’s glimpses of it in Garden Intrigue, and then again in Purple Plumeria, but you really get a front-row seat for it in this book and BOY is it annoying.
So you’d think these two wouldn’t have any sort of chemistry, and for the first couple of chapters, that is very true. I was skeptical of the pairing initially, wondering how the author would make it work. But I am glad to say that the author DID make it work - mostly by having these two abrasive personalities rub up against each other (metaphorically speaking - though, okay, also a bit literally in certain scenes) until their prickliness smoothed out and they, finally, became honest with each other about their past experience and emotions.
Willig also used this as an opportunity to explore how the racism that Jack experienced as someone of half-British, half-Indian descent meant that he could not truly belong anywhere and engage with society as he wished to, unable to put his immense talents to good use in a legitimate way, In a similar fashion, the constant overwhelming misogyny and chauvinism of British society at the time meant Jane could not serve her country in the traditional way. Both Jack and Jane have been denied the traditional/legitimate paths to service and glory because society has denied them the opportunity to do more - Jack for being mixed race, and Jane for being a woman. And it is this connection that draws them together, and then as the novel progresses, becomes the foundation on which their romantic relationship is built.
While the love story is certainly something I enjoyed, I will say that the fate of the Gardener is...something I kind of predicted. I guess it comes from the intense familiarity I have with the series because of the reread, but suffice to say that I already knew how a certain scene was going to turn out, which means the tension of the scene itself was entirely lost on me.
Speaking of things I saw coming from a mile away: Eloise and Colin get a happy ending, though there’s a bit of family drama that rears its head up in this novel that, like the aforementioned scene involving the Gardener, loses all its tension - not just because I already knew how it would turn out, but because it just seemed a bit...silly?
Anyway: I AM FINALLY DONE WITH THIS SERIES AND CAN PUT IT TO BED BABYEEEEE~! And now I think to cleanse my brain with something a bit harder-edged.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racial slurs
Moderate: Suicide, Racism, Death, and Misogyny
a_ab's review against another edition
DNF at ~50%. I was profoundly bored and didn't believe any of it. The story is the make-believe tale on the level of a 5-year-old playing with her dolls. Worse, because it takes itself entirely too seriously. There is no humor or wit of any kind.
It felt as if the author has tired of her story-verse and is now dragging her metaphorical quill to fulfill contractual obligations. Very sad and pathetic.
It felt as if the author has tired of her story-verse and is now dragging her metaphorical quill to fulfill contractual obligations. Very sad and pathetic.
girlinacardigan's review against another edition
3.0
https://jenninsf.wordpress.com/2018/06/24/the-lure-of-the-moonflower-by-lauren-willig
sm_almon's review against another edition
5.0
I really enjoyed this book, it is definitely a satisfying conclusion to this series.