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A review by lucyp21
The Girl in the Mask by Marie-Louise Jensen
3.0
I think I got this book on my Kindle when I first got my Kindle ten years ago and I haven't read it since. Now, with the Mad Hatter reading challenge, I actually picked it up and read it in one sitting. This was an easy book to read.
Sophia lives in Georgian England and the story kicks off with her father returning home and dragging her back into society. Not only is Sophia against this, her father is also emotionally and physically abusive. She leaves her country estate to go with her father and aunt to Bath and gets caught up in politics at the same time as she is trying to organise a marriage arranged by her father.
There were so many ways I enjoyed this book but most of the time it just missed the mark. I loved Sophia struggling to express herself against her family's restrictions (no privacy, chaperoned everywhere, starved and locked away when she disagrees) and her chatting to everyone she met, like postmasters and waiters. However, I think I would have liked a little more depth in Sophia, though I think this has to do with the writing style. There was a point where Sophia was looking at marriage to a cruel man or her father killing her or selling her into slavery and I would have liked to have seen more desperation from her, rather than her thinking and acting the same way she did at the start of the book. I also would have loved to have seen more of her friendship with Jenny.
Another thing which I think missed the mark was the love interest. I liked him at the start of the book and then I had a sudden downswing in my opinion of him. I think it was the way he interfered with Sophia and didn't listen to what she was saying and was never brought up for it at the end. Don't get me wrong, I did find it hilarious the way he did not seem to get that Sophia just did not care about who was on the throne of England, since she would either be trapped or dead either way, but I would have liked to have seen more of him apologising for her, especially when he stole her money (and her escape route). Sophia is also much younger than him and she reads like that, while historically accurate, it still gave a vibe when he insisted on treating her alternately like an adult and then a child.
One thing I did enjoy was how it was a historical romance but it had the correct fashions, such as wigs, powders and beauty marks, as well as how politics and monarchy would be affecting the upper classes in Bath. The author said they had based it around the time of the failed rebellion and it was lovely to have that historical context. The writing style was quite simple but this made it easy to read.
3 stars!
Sophia lives in Georgian England and the story kicks off with her father returning home and dragging her back into society. Not only is Sophia against this, her father is also emotionally and physically abusive. She leaves her country estate to go with her father and aunt to Bath and gets caught up in politics at the same time as she is trying to organise a marriage arranged by her father.
There were so many ways I enjoyed this book but most of the time it just missed the mark. I loved Sophia struggling to express herself against her family's restrictions (no privacy, chaperoned everywhere, starved and locked away when she disagrees) and her chatting to everyone she met, like postmasters and waiters. However, I think I would have liked a little more depth in Sophia, though I think this has to do with the writing style. There was a point where Sophia was looking at marriage to a cruel man or her father killing her or selling her into slavery and I would have liked to have seen more desperation from her, rather than her thinking and acting the same way she did at the start of the book. I also would have loved to have seen more of her friendship with Jenny.
Another thing which I think missed the mark was the love interest. I liked him at the start of the book and then I had a sudden downswing in my opinion of him. I think it was the way he interfered with Sophia and didn't listen to what she was saying and was never brought up for it at the end. Don't get me wrong, I did find it hilarious the way he did not seem to get that Sophia just did not care about who was on the throne of England, since she would either be trapped or dead either way, but I would have liked to have seen more of him apologising for her, especially when he stole her money (and her escape route). Sophia is also much younger than him and she reads like that, while historically accurate, it still gave a vibe when he insisted on treating her alternately like an adult and then a child.
One thing I did enjoy was how it was a historical romance but it had the correct fashions, such as wigs, powders and beauty marks, as well as how politics and monarchy would be affecting the upper classes in Bath. The author said they had based it around the time of the failed rebellion and it was lovely to have that historical context. The writing style was quite simple but this made it easy to read.
3 stars!