I started pretty late this month, but finally wound things up. I was trying to think of some way to start some discussion, but couldn't come up with much. It was perfectly pleasant to read, but not much more?
Setting: Fine, but very British so maybe it just should have been British? A secondary world is fine, but The Devils used the weird history really well and I was wondering if that would have been better here - imagine the princess is a young Victoria, or one of her daughters. It would have been perfectly in historical character for Edward VII to have had an illegitimate child and maybe that could be more interesting?
Characters: Both main characters were great, if not terribly deep. Quippy and quick-witted. They feel very modern in their outlook in a way that sort of defied the setting, however. It might have made them more interesting to have had more flaws, or to take their principled stand against the royalty while still having servants or investments in industry or something to make them not so squeaky clean.
Plot: The only problem I had here was that with so few characters in a mystery you know by the end that everyone you've met must be involved - there's only so many people in the book and there's basically a plot-twist for each of them.
Setting: Fine, but very British so maybe it just should have been British? A secondary world is fine, but The Devils used the weird history really well and I was wondering if that would have been better here - imagine the princess is a young Victoria, or one of her daughters. It would have been perfectly in historical character for Edward VII to have had an illegitimate child and maybe that could be more interesting?
Characters: Both main characters were great, if not terribly deep. Quippy and quick-witted. They feel very modern in their outlook in a way that sort of defied the setting, however. It might have made them more interesting to have had more flaws, or to take their principled stand against the royalty while still having servants or investments in industry or something to make them not so squeaky clean.
Plot: The only problem I had here was that with so few characters in a mystery you know by the end that everyone you've met must be involved - there's only so many people in the book and there's basically a plot-twist for each of them.