The Hummingbird Dagger
I really liked the idea of The Hummingbird Dagger by Cindy Anstey. It seemed like it would be a mix between a Jane Austen novel and a suspenseful murder mystery. I was even more excited by the intense look of the cover. The title's font and the silhouettes make you want to dive right in!
I received an ARC through Netgalley for an honest review of the book. It will be coming out in April of this year but you can preorder the book already here.
A terrible carriage accident brings an unconscious young woman to Hardwick Manor where young Lord James Ellerby promises to care for her. When she awakens, she has no memory of who she is or where she came from.
She ends up calling her self Beth. The only clue to her circumstance and identity is a recurring nightmare she has about a hummingbird with blood dripping from its beak.
James and his sister, Caroline, try to help Beth solve the mystery of her identity. Throughout the novel the suspense and danger escalate, threatening Beth and the Ellerby family.
The premise promises a blend of romance, danger, and mystery. However, I don't really feel like I got it. I would probably give this book 3 out of 5 stars.
It begins with a very exciting start--the accident that leaves Beth unconscious and the aftermath of that. But from there, for the next 2/3 of the novel, I find that it become more of a Jane Austen novel where all they do is sit around and talk. There is a lot of discussion and any action that there is, seems to be written in a slow way that doesn't draw the reader in.
Once you get to the ending though and the mystery is resolved, I was happy with the way it ended. There were twists and turns that made it interesting again but in the middle of the novel, it would be easy to give up on the book for lack of interest.
I also found that at some points the novel was hard to follow. I was reading a Kindle version which means the formatting is not the same as it is in a paper copy and sometimes this formatting meant that there would be a jump in time. Sometimes it wasn't well indicated with a new chapter or a division so it was hard to tell when the perspective changed or something happened.
I also found that there were a lot of characters--including side characters--with different names. Sometimes people are called by titles and last names (like Lord Ellerby) and then sometimes by their first names (like James) which made it hard to keep track of at times. And spoiler alert, some of the characters change names halfway through the novel which makes it all the more confusing.
I generally liked the novel and was glad that I stuck through it through all the boring parts. But it wasn't as amazing and suspenseful and full of action as I had hoped. I recommend it if you love the Victorian era or Jane Austen novels as something with a little more action.
I received an ARC through Netgalley for an honest review of the book. It will be coming out in April of this year but you can preorder the book already here.
She ends up calling her self Beth. The only clue to her circumstance and identity is a recurring nightmare she has about a hummingbird with blood dripping from its beak.
James and his sister, Caroline, try to help Beth solve the mystery of her identity. Throughout the novel the suspense and danger escalate, threatening Beth and the Ellerby family.
The premise promises a blend of romance, danger, and mystery. However, I don't really feel like I got it. I would probably give this book 3 out of 5 stars.
It begins with a very exciting start--the accident that leaves Beth unconscious and the aftermath of that. But from there, for the next 2/3 of the novel, I find that it become more of a Jane Austen novel where all they do is sit around and talk. There is a lot of discussion and any action that there is, seems to be written in a slow way that doesn't draw the reader in.
Once you get to the ending though and the mystery is resolved, I was happy with the way it ended. There were twists and turns that made it interesting again but in the middle of the novel, it would be easy to give up on the book for lack of interest.
I also found that at some points the novel was hard to follow. I was reading a Kindle version which means the formatting is not the same as it is in a paper copy and sometimes this formatting meant that there would be a jump in time. Sometimes it wasn't well indicated with a new chapter or a division so it was hard to tell when the perspective changed or something happened.
I also found that there were a lot of characters--including side characters--with different names. Sometimes people are called by titles and last names (like Lord Ellerby) and then sometimes by their first names (like James) which made it hard to keep track of at times. And spoiler alert, some of the characters change names halfway through the novel which makes it all the more confusing.
I generally liked the novel and was glad that I stuck through it through all the boring parts. But it wasn't as amazing and suspenseful and full of action as I had hoped. I recommend it if you love the Victorian era or Jane Austen novels as something with a little more action.
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