elodiethefangirl's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
annieb123's review
4.0
Originally posted on my blog: Nonstop Reader.
Murder at the Royal Botanic Gardens is the 5th Wrexford & Sloane regency mystery by Andrea Penrose. Released 28th Sept 2021 by Kensington, it's 368 pages and will be available in hardcover, audio, and ebook formats. It's worth noting that the ebook format has a handy interactive table of contents as well as interactive links. I've really become enamored of ebooks with interactive formats lately.
This is an engaging and well written series addition. It's an ensemble character driven cozy(ish) historical murder mystery with a strong element of romance. The author has written the story around a framework of fictionalized historical characters and she does a good job of interweaving the historical facts with the fictional narrative allowing for some minor poetic license regarding names, dates, and times.
Although self-contained in the narrative arc, the cast of characters have a long history together, so it works well enough as a standalone, but I strongly recommend reading the series in order because of character development spoilers (in fact the titular series characters have progressed from near-enemies in book one to betrothed in this entry). The language is very clean, there's some violence used in context, and little sexual content.
The author does take some thinly veiled pokes at racism, slavery, unscrupulous profiteers, and the for-profit medical industry in this book which have distinct takeaways for our modern world. The narrative arc and denouement and resolution are satisfying for the genre (a little swoony and overwrought, but not egregiously so).
Enjoyable cozy murder / romance. Four stars.
Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes.
Murder at the Royal Botanic Gardens is the 5th Wrexford & Sloane regency mystery by Andrea Penrose. Released 28th Sept 2021 by Kensington, it's 368 pages and will be available in hardcover, audio, and ebook formats. It's worth noting that the ebook format has a handy interactive table of contents as well as interactive links. I've really become enamored of ebooks with interactive formats lately.
This is an engaging and well written series addition. It's an ensemble character driven cozy(ish) historical murder mystery with a strong element of romance. The author has written the story around a framework of fictionalized historical characters and she does a good job of interweaving the historical facts with the fictional narrative allowing for some minor poetic license regarding names, dates, and times.
Although self-contained in the narrative arc, the cast of characters have a long history together, so it works well enough as a standalone, but I strongly recommend reading the series in order because of character development spoilers (in fact the titular series characters have progressed from near-enemies in book one to betrothed in this entry). The language is very clean, there's some violence used in context, and little sexual content.
The author does take some thinly veiled pokes at racism, slavery, unscrupulous profiteers, and the for-profit medical industry in this book which have distinct takeaways for our modern world. The narrative arc and denouement and resolution are satisfying for the genre (a little swoony and overwrought, but not egregiously so).
Enjoyable cozy murder / romance. Four stars.
Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes.
ocarinaofspacetime's review
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
alisonb's review
4.0
I truly just enjoy being with these characters and following along during their sleuthing and interactions with one another. The plot in this story did not wholly grab my interest, but it was still a delightful read.
the_sassy_bookworm's review
4.0
⭐⭐⭐⭐
I enjoyed this one quite a lot. I found it to be well written and well paced (mostly...It dragged a bit towards the end). I loved the setting and time period. The plot was intriguing and kept me guessing. The characters were well developed and likable. My only complaint, and this may be because I have read none of the other books in the series, but I found the "romance" between Charlotte and Wrexford to be dull. They had zero on page chemistry.
I enjoyed this one quite a lot. I found it to be well written and well paced (mostly...It dragged a bit towards the end). I loved the setting and time period. The plot was intriguing and kept me guessing. The characters were well developed and likable. My only complaint, and this may be because I have read none of the other books in the series, but I found the "romance" between Charlotte and Wrexford to be dull. They had zero on page chemistry.
kendra's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.25
misshunsberger's review
adventurous
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
mirificmoxie's review
lighthearted
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
emilybordelovewrites's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
hopeful
mysterious
lphr3ads's review
3.0
I am a fan of this series for its unique characters and plot. The previous book ended with a case closed and an offer of engagement. The relationship between Wrexford and Sloane has got to be the longest slow-burn romance on planet Earth. There were times when I wished something more would happen between the pair other than intensive eye contact and sometimes I appreciated the character development. Ms. Sloane is still vacillating over meet her remaining sibling, for fear of rejection and general awkwardness. A murder occurs during a special event at the botanical gardens. The poor scholarly fellow was poisoned. But by whom? That's for Wrexford and Sloane to figure out. I thought it was a little ridiculous for our dynamic duo to try to stay out of the investigation when we all know that they and their network of Weasels, street urchins, and informants could gather information better than the police. There were several plotlines going on at once and the transition was a little haphazard, but not too annoying. Previous agitators from past cases make an appearance during the investigation. We get status updates on side characters and what they have been up to. The end of the book ties up nicely with the long-awaited wedding. I hope the dynamic duo will solve more cases in the future.. Solid 3.5 stars