I found the characters confusing and the plot was hard to follow. I liked the premise of a gothic mystery set in the New York gilded age, but it didn't live up to my expectations. I enjoyed some parts, but the flow was not working for me.It begins with Bayard Van Duyvil found with a knife in his chest on the night of a Ball at his family home. I thought this mystery would be center in the plot and that suspects would be drawn out and examined, but there were too many side stories and discussions...

4 scandalous, intriguing stars to The English Wife 🌟 🌟 🌟 🌟 The English Wife was off to a slow start for me, but once it picked up, I was glued to it. The Gilded Age is one of my favorite time periods, and instantly this book reminded me of a favorite book that Lauren Willig co-authored with Karen White and Beatriz Williams, The Forgotten Room. Bay and Annabelle Van Duyvil appear to have it all, but when one of them is found murdered and the other is missing, all bets are off. Janie, Bay’s sister...

2.5 stars I had high hopes for this novel, but it fell flat for me. This genre is usually one of my favourites, but I had a hard time staying focused as I found my mind wandering between all of the side stories and different characters involved. I did enjoy the atmosphere and gothic tone, but the story itself felt quite drawn out and I wasn't pulled into the mystery. This is my first novel by this author and I would be interested to try another one out as I do tend to enjoy these type of stories...

Something terrible happens on the night of Annabelle and Bayard (Bay) Van Duyvil’s Twelfth Night ball celebrating the completion of their new family home in Cold Spring, New York. Bay is found dead with a knife in his chest and Annabelle is missing, feared drowned. Janie, Bay’s sister finds herself trusting and teaming up with a reporter to seek the truth about what happened and why. At first I thought this story moved a bit slowly, almost plodding along as it shifted immediately from the night

2.5 starsThe description of the book as a gothic murder mystery set in the Gilded Age piqued my interest. The first pages start off with a bang with a murder on the night of a grand ball. From there the story is told in a dual storyline, alternating between the recent past and the present as the murder victim’s sister, Janie, teams up with a reporter to discover what really happened to her brother Bay and his missing wife. There are plenty of family secrets and intrigue to uncover. The ending ha...

If I were prone to feeling guilt over enjoying the things I enjoy, I would classify this as a guilty pleasure book. This is more a nineteenth century soap opera of a novel than a literary gothic mystery, so you'll do well to check those expectations of a second coming of Rebecca at the door before starting The English Wife. But I have no reservations at all saying that I loved this. Sure, the writing is occasionally sophomoric; characters let out breaths they didn't realize they'd been holding;

A murder in an aristocratic household? Unheard of and especially during a ball with hundreds of guests in attendance.Bay, Annabelle's husband and Janie's brother, could not have killed his wife and then killed himself. Janie was determined to find out who the real killer was.We follow the family as the book goes back and forth in time making the connections for us about who was who and what the circumstances were. And what marvelous connections and secrets this family has.The biggest bomb shell

With gorgeous writing, complex characters and a twisty plot to keep the reader guessing—this book is a must-read!

I usually really like historical fiction, but this one never took off for me. It had a really s-l-o-w start and despite an interesting mystery at the heart of it, it never seemed to pick up any speed or make me any more interested.Janie Van Duyvil finds her brother dead and her sister-in-law missing during their Twelfth Night Ball. Was it a murder-suicide as the newspapers claim, or is there more to Bay's death than anyone could ever imagine?Told across two different (very close) timelines - whi...

Bayard Van Duyvil and his wife Annabelle seemed to be living such a charmed life when one night Bay is found dead with a knife in his chest and Annabelle is nowhere to be found. With Annabelle thought to be drowned and a murderer to be found the press is all over the story of how this privileged couple ended up the way that they did on that fateful night. Bay's sister Janie is convinced that someone out there killed her brother and did harm to his wife and is determined to find out what happened...

The cover for The English Wife is absolutely stunning, I just had to get that out of the way because I’ve looked at it a gazillion times! This was the perfect book to be my first review of the new year as I’m hoping to add more historical fiction to my TBR and I had heard wonderful things about Willig’s books so this was an easy pick for me. This was a beautifully rendered tale of love, betrayal and sacrifice all shrouded in a dark gothic mystery that swept me away to the gilded age.This is told...

This missed the mark for me.Set in the gilded age in New York, living in a replica castle quaintly named Illyria, Annabelle and Bay Van Duyvil have tiny twins and this is their story. Murder comes into play and this historical novel quickly turns into a whodunnit. The timelines go back and forth and rotate among the characters. This was not executed well, and I kept getting confused on which timeline we were in and who was narrating. I'm not sure why we needed so many settings, or so many charac...

The best way to keep someone was to let him go. Riveting mystery that left me guessing up until the end. Compelling and heartbreaking love story(s). The book should come with the warning: “Consumption of the product can lead to sleep deprivation”. My kindle is full of highlights. My eyes are full of what feels like sand from reading almost all night. You know the feeling: “one more chapter, one more chapter”. Marvelous writing, masterful characterization, beautifully constructed dialogue bri

4 stars--I really liked it.This is a gothic romance in the vein of Rebecca--lots of atmosphere, human cruelty, and family secrets, but no supernatural happenings. It's also quite sad.It's been a long time since I read a historical novel, and this really brought the Gilded Age to life. Characters were finely drawn (and not static!), and I especially liked doomed Annabelle and clever Janie. The plot kept me reading (and guessing) until the end.There are lots of allusions to Shakespeare's comedies

I've given this an A+ for narration and a B+ for content at AudioGals, so that's as close to 5 stars as makes no difference!I’ve read and/or listened to a number of the books in Lauren Willig’s Pink Carnation series, but for some reason haven’t yet read or listened to anything she’s written since. Nothing against the author – it’s my fault for having so little time to partake of books I’m not reviewing! – but the buzz about her latest novel, The English Wife, and good reports of it from frie...

I first fell in love with Lauren Willig with her Pink Carnation series but I never ventured into her other stand alone books because I simply liked her where she belonged—in the Pink Carnation series.Her Pink Carnation series was so fantastic and I didn’t want to spoil it with a stand alone book that was subpar, so I avoided anything by her that wasn’t the Pink Carnation series.That was until this stunning cover screamed READ ME! Just looking at this book promised something fantastic, especially...

Murder and Scandal in the Gilded AgeBy Judge Dana SchwartzA dazzling journey through the New York high society of the Gilded Age, where dresses and rumors are more important than politics, The English Wife drips with both Shakespeare references and near-pornographic descriptions of flapper-era fashion and well-appointed townhomes. It’s tempting to call this novel a mystery, but its scope is far wider than a whodunit: It’s a broad examination of culture and class at the turn of the twentieth cent...