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A review by fae_noir
Notorious by Charlie Cochet, Macy Blake
adventurous
funny
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.75
Overall this was a good start to a series. I loved the hybrid worldbuilding of Regency-style social customs blended with the technology and advancements of the 21st century. The entire cast of characters was fun, and while I'm so sorry for Brandr, I did like the murder mystery.
My one main gripe with this book was that it suffered from Muddy Middle syndrome. What I really wanted to see was Cas and Saphir go from reluctant partners to dynamic duo as they focused on the investigation, with the culmination of realizing that they fell in love along the way. Sadly, what happens is that once they team up, too much of their investigation happens off page. The romance gets pretty insta-lovey, and anything Dahlia related goes AWOL from a large part of the story while Cas instantly starts to have misgivings about keeping secrets from a man he's only just getting to know. This drove me nearly insane, and was a big part of the reason I took so long to finish the book. I didn't want to switch back and forth between the romance and the investigation, and have the two story lines competing for attention and real estate on the page. I would have preferred my original expectation of the mystery being the primary focus, with romantic moments that amp up as the story continues.
The final 25% of the book did improve well enough to bump my rating up from a 3 star to a 4, and convince me to continue the series. I'm especially glad that the mystery wasn't fully resolved, and that we'll see more of Duke Everard in the sequel, since I really wanted to know more of his side of things.
My one main gripe with this book was that it suffered from Muddy Middle syndrome. What I really wanted to see was Cas and Saphir go from reluctant partners to dynamic duo as they focused on the investigation, with the culmination of realizing that they fell in love along the way. Sadly, what happens is that once they team up, too much of their investigation happens off page. The romance gets pretty insta-lovey, and anything Dahlia related goes AWOL from a large part of the story while Cas instantly starts to have misgivings about keeping secrets from a man he's only just getting to know. This drove me nearly insane, and was a big part of the reason I took so long to finish the book. I didn't want to switch back and forth between the romance and the investigation, and have the two story lines competing for attention and real estate on the page. I would have preferred my original expectation of the mystery being the primary focus, with romantic moments that amp up as the story continues.
The final 25% of the book did improve well enough to bump my rating up from a 3 star to a 4, and convince me to continue the series. I'm especially glad that the mystery wasn't fully resolved, and that we'll see more of Duke Everard in the sequel, since I really wanted to know more of his side of things.