A review by payal_reads_alot
City of Secrets by Victoria Thompson
3.0
It was fun but not thrilling!
As previous book, I loved the MC. Elizabeth was nuanced and well flawed. She made mistakes but was filled with compassion. She worked on her own moral scale and as we should already know, I love a good morally gray character. She wasn't as gray as I normally like, more a darker shade of white, but still not as pristine as normal period characters.
I really loved Mrs. Bates! She was funny and under handed, but still effective. She spoke with so much authority and got results from it. She wasn't forceful and wasn't putting pressure on anyone. That's a really good description of female empowerment! I hate when they show a powerful woman who is only physically strong like a man and has to basically act like a man to gain/maintain the power. As a matter of fact, the whole series has a lot of differently powerful women who aren't even close to what a man would be like.
I also liked the Old Man! He is a perfectly nuanced morally gray character. He loves his children and his women, but he isn't affectionate to the children nor loyal to the women. He is, however, loyal to the children, and affectionate to the women. His idea of protection and care is non-conventional but is able to step in when needed the most.
I was sad to see that Anne's part was reduced to a small mention here and there. As usual, I didn't think much of Gideon Bates. He was so boring! His only appeal is that he's a really honest man. He did
I liked Matthew Honesdale also who
The plot was pretty interesting but nothing that was unpredictable! I enjoyed it.
As previous book, I loved the MC. Elizabeth was nuanced and well flawed. She made mistakes but was filled with compassion. She worked on her own moral scale and as we should already know, I love a good morally gray character. She wasn't as gray as I normally like, more a darker shade of white, but still not as pristine as normal period characters.
I really loved Mrs. Bates! She was funny and under handed, but still effective. She spoke with so much authority and got results from it. She wasn't forceful and wasn't putting pressure on anyone. That's a really good description of female empowerment! I hate when they show a powerful woman who is only physically strong like a man and has to basically act like a man to gain/maintain the power. As a matter of fact, the whole series has a lot of differently powerful women who aren't even close to what a man would be like.
I also liked the Old Man! He is a perfectly nuanced morally gray character. He loves his children and his women, but he isn't affectionate to the children nor loyal to the women. He is, however, loyal to the children, and affectionate to the women. His idea of protection and care is non-conventional but is able to step in when needed the most.
I was sad to see that Anne's part was reduced to a small mention here and there. As usual, I didn't think much of Gideon Bates. He was so boring! His only appeal is that he's a really honest man. He did
Spoiler
help Elizabeth pull a con on the Honesdales albeit reluctantly when he found out that they wouldn't be punished by the law at all for killing Pricilla's first husband, drugging her into marrying her second husband and then blackmailing her second husband.I liked Matthew Honesdale also who
Spoiler
for his revenge against his uncle and cousin Peter, helped Elizabeth and Gideon con Peter & Daisy into letting them buy back the mortgage on Pricilla's second husband's house (with a large profit), persuading Daisy into burning the mortgage papers so Pricilla can have the house back without owning any money, and giving the extra profit back to Pricilla so she can live comfortably.The plot was pretty interesting but nothing that was unpredictable! I enjoyed it.