A Poisoned Season

This book is not too bad for a quick, summer read.

I don't think that it has the oomph of the first title in the series, “And Only to Deceive.” In the first book, our heroine not only comes of age, but learns about and comes to appreciate her recently deceased husband, thus beginning her appreciation of Greek literature and art. She also learns to navigate the London social scene free of her oppressive mother and stretch out in the freedom widow's weeds provide.

In this book, there really isn't much development and I found the plotline a bit thin in areas. For example, do we need to spend so much time on Ivy's odd relationship with her husband, whose lack of attention in the bedroom is not satisfactorily explained. Also, the stalker/Bourbon plotline is a bit ham-fisted in spots and drags out a bit too much. Yet, I do enjoy the characters and I hope that Lady Emily keeps being interesting and, one day, becomes a suffragette.