Disclaimers: I received this book as an ARC in exchange for an honest review. Also I do not read this genre regularly.

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Overall Thoughts:

I loved this book! It was incredible! The pacing was perfect. Just when I was lulled into a false sense of security, everything changed and I was on the edge of my seat again. The main character is delightful and feels real and grounded. For a book set in the past, it was fun to have such a relatable modern character to follow.

Deep Dive:

I didn't have any major complaints about this book. It was an exciting and engaging read throughout. There were some minor inconsistencies. There is one part where the timeline gets a little confusing, and some small wardrobe inconsistencies, but nothing large enough to interfere with the enjoyment of the story.

The setting was fantastic. It was well written and I could picture everything, despite the fact that I rarely read historical fiction. The descriptions struck a healthy balance. There was enough that I was able to picture each new set piece clearly, while also not going so in depth that I got bored.

The characters were engaging and well fleshed out. The main character felt true to modern times. Her vocabulary was perfect, and positioned well to remind the reader that she is out of place. I would be reading along, used to the historic setting, then the main character would use the word 'bifi' and I was suddenly reminded how completely out of place she was! The other characters also all felt fleshed out and unique. Every character has flaws and virtues (except for one delightfully hateable villain). No one is perfect and it's a lot of fun to see how each character's unique personality clashes and compliments the others.

The chapter headings are great. They set the stage well for each chapter. This book is written in first person, and one problem I often have in first person stories is forgetting the main character's name. I didn't have that problem at all in this story and I think it was because of the chapter titles reminding me of her name at the start of every chapter.