Apparently I read this book during the outage and forgot to post any updates about it. That should tell you how memorable it was. 

The blurb promises a reader a fast paced romp through Tudor England full of intrigue and conspiracy. Both of those things were true. However, at some point the author started to focus less on the mystery at hand and more on when Susanna and Parker were going to end up in bed together. It was obvious from page two that this was the author's end goal. I have zero problems with that considering the duo were actually married at some point in history.

I found the de la Pole story intrigue to be quite good. It definitely held my interest. The minor plot about Henry VIII being a Cesare Borgia devote was a little hard to digest. It was only meant to raise the readers eyebrows. At the end, it was very well done. The author sort of forgot about it and wasn't really able to tie it back in to the rest of the story. 

The constant innuendos and the will they/won't they, would have been tolerable if it weren't for the characters themselves. These characters were flat. Especially the villains. From their greasy hair to their hooked noses, they checked off every box on the stereotype list. Don't even get me started on George Boleyn. I don't understand why he was even introduced if for no reason other than to have the author point out she's not a George Boleyn fan.

A lot of things made sense when I got to the author's note at the end. It would seem the author's only source of research was Alison Weir. Any Weir fans will more than likely enjoy this book as the author's style is much like Weir's but with a little more blood. 

There are two and a half other books in this series. I won't be reading any of them. Unless maybe I find them at a used store for 50 cents, which is how I came to own this book.

Book read 1/8/2020-1/11/2020

A Treacherous Curse is the third in Deanna Raybourn's Veronica Speedwell series, and, as is usual with Raybourn, this book is a delightful romp. Veronica and Stoker have wonderful chemistry, although one does wonder how the thirsty Veronica hasn't overcome his manly scruples so that the two of them can take their romping off the streets of London and into the bedroom, where they both very much want to be.

I'm a long term fan of Raybourn - I loved Lady Julia and mourned when the series was dropped; I love her three loosely connected 1920's books, and I even liked the undeniably mediocre vampire stand-alone. I also follow her on twitter where she is funny, self-deprecating and delightful. She is an auto-buy for me.

I'm saving up the next Speedwell for a bit, perhaps to get me out of a reading slump. 

I don't know who her cover designer is, but these covers are gorgeous. I may have to pick up print copies just so that I can admire them on my shelves.

This review can also be found at Carole's Random Life in Books.

Why did I wait so long to read this book? I have no excuses but now that I have finished the book, I know that putting it off for a year was a bad plan. I really enjoyed this installment in the series, probably even more than the previous book. Once I got into this book, I didn't want to put it down because I was completely pulled into the mystery. 

The mystery in this book was solid. Veronica and Stoker are trying to find a missing man. A man who happens to be a big part of Stoker's past. This mystery reaches all the way to the caves in Egypt and is much more involved than originally thought. I was pulled in a lot of different directions and was completely stumped when it came to trying to figure out what really happened. 

One of the things that I love about this series is the characters. Veronica is very smart and able to think on her feet. She isn't like most women of her time and cares less about what is proper than what she wants. I knew that Stoker had a very interesting past and was thrilled to get some big pieces of it filled in during the course of this book. I think that the things that we learn about Stoker in this book really make it easier to understand him better. I love the relationship between Stoker and Veronica. They work so well together and make a great team. There is a part of me, okay a big part, that wants to see a romance develop between the pair but I am also okay with the sexual tension between them continuing to pop up and make things interesting.

I would highly recommend this book to others. This is the third book in the Veronica Speedwell Mystery series which really should be read in order if at all possible since the relationships between the characters have built over the course of series. This book was filled with fantastic characters solving a very well done mystery and revealing a few secrets. I can't wait to get started on the newest book from this series very soon.

I received a digital review copy of this book from Berkley Publishing Group via Edelweiss.

Initial Thoughts
It took me a long time to read this book that has more to do with my life than the book. Once I had a chance to sit down and read, I didn't want to put this book down. I was completely stumped by the mystery and didn't figure out anything until it was revealed. Veronica and Stoker are great characters and it was nice to learn a bit about Stoker's past. 

This series is driving me crazy; I love the author's writing, the characters, the settings, the mysteries.  But I hate one of the major plot points.  

I'm not sure how to reconcile this, really.  I want to read them, but they piss me off at the same time.

With that disclosure, it's a good book, although a bit rambling.  I notice tis with a lot of Kensington books, so I think it's more an editorial style than a failing on the author's part.  A tighter editing would have resulted in a faster paced mystery and less exposition about the devastation of WWI.  Don't get me wrong: the exposition was interesting, but it was a tad repetitive.  My biggest complaint, and again, something that could have been avoided by a stricter editor, was Verity's constant, constant, mention of Her Big Secret and how she should tell her husband; it's revelation is inevitable; they can't move on unless she does; really, it would be best to come clean... but not now.  Never now.  Then, finally, the revelation.  And all I could think was omg, who cares?.  I realise people were a lot touchier about things in 1918, but give me a break; without spoiling things, her husband didn't have a leg to stand on and she really ought to have just told him to suck it up and deal with it.

I don't know if I'll read the third one when it comes out or not.  If I do, I'm pretty sure I'm stuck with that plot point and, well, I just don't know that I care enough about Verity as things stand.

I've reached the end of the series thus far, though the author's note at the back did imply that there would be a next adventure, so I'm hopeful!