In one of my favorite scenes in this book, Lilly Linton, dressed as a man because women do not yet have the right to vote, stops outside a polling place to give advice to a stranger about a house he was thinking of buying in her neighborhood. The man, businessman Rikkard Ambrose, is so impressed with this young man’s willingness to help and give good advice, offers him a job. No, really, he forces the job offer on Lilly.  She takes his card and kind of shrugs it off, after all, she is off to vote!  She walks in the door of the polling place and doesn’t have a clue what to do, but somehow bumbles her way through voting. Then she makes the mistake of curtseying, which of course is not something a Victorian era man would do, and promptly gets arrested for illegal voting. She’s cuffed and hauled off to jail, waving gaily to Mr. Ambrose while being marched off, saying “See you Monday!”  This one scene sets the stage for a delightful romp through Victorian era London, and the beginnings of a rather tumultuous relationship between Mr. Ambrose and the young woman/man that he will only call Mr. Linton, even when it’s obvious she is a woman.

This novel was so much fun! I really got a feel for the era and the difficulties women went through for equal rights. I also liked how Rikkard Ambrose was kind of an anti-hero.  He was devilishly handsome, of course, but seriously gruff and kind of a control freak! He spent a good portion of the book trying to get Lilly to quit the job, but when he finally accepts her (although still calling him Mr. Linton) they become partners, trying to solve the mystery together.

I really enjoyed Lilly’s exuberance for life and her need to be seen as an equal. Something that all women would identify with and enjoy reading. I laughed out loud at the great dialog between she and Rikkard, and the 1100+ pages went by pretty quick! Beware the page count if you’re a slow reader, but I think it’s totally worth the time. ❤❤❤❤❣

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Copyright 2017 Deborah Kehoe A Chick Who Reads All Rights Reserved