shannonmiz
Written on Mar 9, 2017
2.5*
I have... not a ton of feelings on this one. Good, or bad, really. It was fine. I didn't dislike reading it, but it didn't blow me away either. I liked the setting. Jenna was a pretty good character, very strong-willed, though sometimes came off as a bit judgmental, especially early in the story. It seemed kind of like girls either had to buck societal norms, or they were "less than" in her eyes. Which, frankly, was unfair of her. Also, she was a smart girl, but she often trusted too easily, which didn't seem like it fit with her upbringing. Clearly, her father and the rest of her "family" (men who worked with her father) had taught her to be endlessly cautious, and her actions didn't always fit.
The start of the story is slow, almost painfully so at times. But I wanted to read more about the setting and time period, so I persisted. Toward the end of the book, the action picked up considerably and I was even quite surprised by a few of the plot twists, so that was a huge plus. And Jenna does have some character growth- though perhaps not as much as I'd have liked.
There is a romance, and I liked it, but it also wasn't really that big of a part of the book. Big enough to make Jenna do some things that maybe she wouldn't have done otherwise, but that's about it. I liked it, but I would have liked more of it- I never really got enough to have any of the swoony feels.
Bottom Line: The story isn't bad, it just meanders for too long before getting to the excitement. Less plodding and more development probably would have done this book a lot of favors.
*Copy provided for review