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Apr 08, 2021RosaReads2 rated this title 4 out of 5 stars
I've been having a hard time getting past 3.5 star ratings for the books in this series. There are some elements that I really love and then there are always a few aspects that are simply meh. I’m usually delighted by the historical references that the author inserts into her story line. The grifting is also fun to watch play out. Currently, it’s the blandness of the remaining elements, mostly the overarching romance. While I really like the characters, I find their romance lacking in authentic development. Probably because I'm a romance reader at heart. Although, the ending was very sweet and in that regard, this book was the best of bunch. What was eerily compelling in this story, was the coincidental publishing of the book a mere few months before the world went into Covid-19 lockdown. These books regularly rely on true historical events, usually focused on The Great War and the Suffragist Movement. Yet, coinciding with the mystery in this story was the beginning stages of the Spanish Flu epidemic. Relevant to today, the increased fear and panic, deaths, wearing of masks, as well as questioning the validity of masks were all portrayed. This author must have been surprised when soon after publication our world was again in a similar state. Also depicted in this story, was the increase in anti-German sentiment along with the historical Black Tom explosion by German agents. There was a lot more going on in this entry and I found that it also increased my enjoyment. I'm giving this book four stars, finally breaking free of the 3.5 zone. 4 likes