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Eloise Kelly is on a mission to discover the true identity of one of the most elusive and influential English spies of the 19th Century. When Eloise leaves Harvard behind and heads to England to research this most romantic of all heroes, she is in for an adventure to exceed many lifetimes. Eloise learns that relatives of Lord Richard Selwick, aka The Purple Gentian, may have papers that will help her solve the mystery that has captivated her enough to lie about the true reason for her dissertation. It took me a while to become engaged in THE SECRET HISTORY OF THE PINK CARNATION. I can admit this probably had more to do with how I prefer to learn about the characters rather than any problems with the story itself and how it was written. I loved it when I was reading it but I kept setting it down; not because I didn’t want to know what happened, but because I knew I was so far away from finding out. THE SECRET HISTORY OF THE PINK CARNATION is the first in Willig’s series; therefore the build up of the world and characters is important and will definitely lead for a more fulfilling experience with the future stories in this series. I just prefer a little more action while getting to know the cast of characters. After I reached the point of no return, I could not set this book aside without itching to get back to it. Which is a mark of great storyteller, keeping me interested enough to keep reading and then springing the good stuff on me that I couldn’t put the book down. While Eloise’s story is the prompt for the plot, her intrusions detracted a bit from the story, whether it was by design or by flaw it doesn’t matter she always appeared just as I was about to find out somebody’s dirty little secret. Willig made me feel as though I were Eloise as I was reading and having her appear randomly took me out of the story and distracted me from the story. However, the last chapter of the book had me wanting to know more about both The Pink Carnation and Eloise which gave me hope for the future books in this series. By the time I closed this book, I cared for all the characters and couldn’t wait to know more, and the almost cliffhanger at the end of THE SECRET HISTORY OF THE PINK CARNATION had me reaching for the next book in this series THE MASQUE OF THE BLACK TULIP. Although the beginning of THE SECRET HISTORY OF THE PINK CARNATION did not fit my reading personality, by the end I was caught in the mystery and intrigue of The League of the Scarlet Pimpernel and all the spies that were trying to save England from a French invasion.
Reviewed by Merry |
THE SECRET HISTORY OF THE PINK CARNATION
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