Thank you to Crooked Lane Books and NetGalley for giving me an ARC in exchange of an honest review. My thoughts and opinions are my own.
Back at it again with the Lady Librarian! I reviewed the first book on audiobook and I thankfully had the chance to review the sequel. Let's see how good the series is without the Disguise trope.
Warning: the murder victim is a repeat sexual predator. It's all off-page and I won't name names to avoid spoilers. That said, it does play a part in both the clues and thus gets discussed numerous times in the book. Just warning anyone who might be affected by that. Now on to the review proper
I have mixed feelings about this book. When I enjoyed it, I had great but the book can be repetitive and frankly a bit rushed. I wasn't a fan of the insta-love between Tiffany and Samir in the first book but rolled with it because of the banter. In this book, they don't talk as much so the grand overtures of love and their future feel so over-dramatic to me. There was a point where I was having fun only to be hit directly by a paragraph that icked me out. (It was the christening scene for those who are curious. But I feel conflicted because the book had a very dramatic conversation in the rain and I will fight you if you say it was "a bit much".
I do love how it builds directly on the foundation of "A Novel Disguise". It really tempted me to reread the first book for any subtext I missed the first time around as well as makes me curious about what the next book has in store. That said, I highly recommend reading the first book before this. There are some cozies that you can jump in at any point without missing anything. This isn't it thus far. (Yes, I know it's only book 2 but you know what I mean.)
The mystery itself was really good. The blend of red herrings, important clues and personal drama was on point as well. Rarely did I feel like one storyline overstayed its welcome. Only a few things seemed to be just turned in for plot twists and extra drama. The character of Evie is a big emample of that and one I'm surprised I enjoyed? I was fully expecting to hate her but if the next book is her, Tiffany and the Duchess solving crime, I won't be mad at it!
Still, I can't help but kind of wish Larsen had stretched these two books out into three. It would have deepened some of the development of the characters and given us fewer left-field moments.
Overall, I give this book 3.5 stars. The rushed story and character arcs didn't land well for me and I'm reluctant to personally continue the series.
TW: Discussions of off-page sexual assault, racism and xenophobia, imprisonment, classism, wife auctions,victim blaming, brief discussion of past stillborn, domestic abuse, violence, on-page labor and birth, child abandonment, handling of dead body.
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