The Other Daughter

3.5 stars, rounded

Rachel had always believed her father to be deceased, but she and her mother lived a life of propriety, if counting every shilling, despite that. Intelligent and sensitive, if not always thoughtful of consequences or possible pitfalls, when she discovers that her now deceased mother has lied all of her 27 years, that her father is alive, an Earl and is not only well-off but has a daughter who is well-established in society, her anger takes over. She wants to exposed the Earl, ruin his reputation with the fact of her existence, and take some of the shine from his legitimate daughter.

From here the twists, turns and deceptions become the story as Rachel creates an alter-ego named Vera that she plans to use to bring down the Earl. Each new twist, and every revelation show hidden depths to the characters we meet: some good, some surprising and a very few turn out to be worse people with motivations both dark and self-serving. In her attempts to gain favor with the Earl’s daughter, Olivia, Rachel takes up with another person with some serious motivational questions of his own, Simon.

It would have been so easy for Willig to fully embrace the Jazz Age clichés as description of music, fashion and parties: these elements are present and occasionally overwhelm, but the story has become so much more than “another like” group. Blurring of lines between personal rights and wrongs, the grey areas that comprise a human being, and the constant reevaluation of intended goals (perhaps chosen in haste) and the eventual outcome are realistically portrayed and give a complete and nuanced sense of Rachel. She was, however, a bit naïve throughout the story: she has ‘dreams’ of revenge, although never really presents us with a more complete plan, even though they may be abandoned.

The romance you ask? She and Simon have a relationship that is constantly in question: she doesn’t know if she can trust him, yet continues on, she questions many of his moves and motives, yet proceeds forward. They do have some interesting interactions from witty to tense and bitter to incredibly sweet. He’s enigmatic and a bit closed off: I wanted more of his revelations TO Rachel, giving him more depth and nuance that we do find is solidly a part of Rachel by the end. Ultimately, this is an engaging and quite intriguing tale of curiosity and where it may take you. Not quite great (there was not enough solidity in the planning for me), this is a solidly good weekend read that will keep you entertained and amused.

I received an eARC copy of the title from the publisher via NetGalley for purpose of honest review. I was not compensated for this review: all conclusions are my own responsibility.

Another great historical fiction that was both entertaining and a joy to read. Although, I seriously would have had a hard time tearing up the paper at the end just to piss off Violet.

There are a lot of lies, a lot of secrets and a lot of trickery going on in this story and the author captured it perfectly. Frankly, I would have wanted to get on that ship myself and see what happens next.

I really felt like I knew the characters in this book and was sad to have to say goodbye to them. It was strange how Olivia could be such a mousy thing, but I suppose all those years with her had a lot to attribute to that.

If your into historical fiction or early 1900 England,this would be a great book for you to read.

Thank you St.Martin's Press and Net Galley for allowing me to read this e-galley in exchange for an honest review. I WANT TO HEAR MORE ABOUT RACHAEL. Sequel, sequel, Ha!