I am extremely glad I picked this book up. Not only was the title interesting (part of a quote from Queen Victoria, one of my favorite British royals), but the cover was captivating, and when it mentioned the Edwardian era, I was hooked.Seventeen-year-old, budding artist Victoria Darling is sent home to England from her finishing school in France after a scandal erupts involving her voluntarily posing nude for a group of artists. Her parents' solution? Marry her off! And also take away her art supplies. When intrigued by a group of suffragettes and being at the wrong place at the wrong time, Vicky also stumbles upon PC William Fletcher, a somewhat sympathetic young man for the women's rights cause. Vicky instantly finds herself wanting to draw Will and the two strike up a deal. In the meantime, Vicky still has to play nice with her soon-to-be fiance Edmund Carrick-Humprey and his family. She is also determined to be accepted into the Royal College of Art, a place where few women are accepted, if even considered.I found that I enjoyed this novel more than I initially thought I would, and it's quite obvious that Mrs. Waller did her research, and I give her credit for that. Honestly, I could see her writing a similar story in a non young adult genre.Also, Vicky's courage and determination is certainly something to be admired. There were times when I disliked her, thought her a somewhat spoiled child and maybe a bit naive but that was only because of how she grew up, and she really doesn't know any different. That's why I was glad to see her stand up for herself and become her own woman in a time when women were thought to be 'weak-minded' and 'overly emotional.'Even though this is fiction, I find myself quite proud of my foremothers for standing up. It's odd to think that a hundred years ago, women weren't allowed to vote in either the U.S. or the U.K. It really makes you prouder to be a woman, especially when there are such strong woman like Lucy Hawkins in the novel. So much waffling! Ugh. I really really wanted to like this. An artist-suffragette in early 20th century England--what's not to like?Unfortunately, Victoria was a terrible character! She spends most of her time waffling around and being completely self-absorbed. She isn't much of a suffragette--a reluctant one at best--and isn't particularly invested in their cause. She agrees with them on principle, but is too busy whining about her life and how she can't get what she wants (without being willing to fight for it) to actually care about anything or anyone else. In fact, the only reason she becomes involved with the suffragettes at all is because she wants something from them. All this would have been okay if there had been some simultaneous character development. But no such luck. By the time she actually develops some self-awareness, the book is over. Sigh. What a waste. 1.5 stars.
Do You like book A Mad, Wicked Folly (2014)?
This was a meh book for me, I wanted to like it better than I did. Took me a long time to read.
—lala1426
An intelligent and engaging historical fiction book with a cute romance.
—momo
See Khanh's review ~ can't be said any better than that!
—Kay
I read until page 100. That was it for me.
—keokacheer
