The Hummingbird Dagger by Cindy Anstey is a YA novel that is more "romance" than mystery and written for the lower end of the designated age group.

The main characters lack any depth, but are pleasant and likable. The most interesting character is Walter, the younger brother, who has all of the flaws and strengths of a fourteen-year-old and whose character does develop throughout the plot.

An easy read and entertaining enough that I finished, but remains more surface than depth

NetGalley/Swoon Reads
Historical Mystery/Romance. April 16, 2019. Print length: 352 pages.

Thank you net galley for the advance reader copy of the novel. I enjoyed this 4th novel by Cindy anstey set in regency era times. The preimse of this novel was a bit darker/more gothic than the first three. I enjoyed the plot and the twists throughout. Walter as a secondary character was my favorite and I kept waiting for a spark of something to happen between Dr. Brant and Caroline. The galley was hard to read as it didn't have the scene breaks formatted into it like the final book wii--or at least I hope will. Scenes kept switching and characters too and made it a bit confusing at times. Overall enjoyed this novel and will continue to read this author.

The premise of this story is 100% what I would normally enjoy, and although I still liked it, I did have some problems with it. I'm unsure of how the final draft will be, but on my digital ARC, when the perspective changed to different characters, there was no transition cue. No symbol, large space between paragraphs, or chapter change. This made it difficult at times when the book switched to describing another character's storyline without any notice. I also thought the perspective (3rd person, many characters having moments of the plot following them) made it so that I never felt fully connected to any one character, therefore whatever happened to them, I did not feel as deeply. I did really like the plot but the way it was done both in format and perspective kept it from being a favorite.

A solidly crafted mystery set in a historical time with some romance woven in. It will be a challenging piece because of the historical setting but readers who like to be surprised and entertained will keep reading to find out what happens in the end. For fans of Sherlock Holmes or Agatha Christie, this will not disappoint.

2.5 stars, rounded up to 3 since Math.

The Hummingbird Dagger is a Regency-esque YA novel. It pretty much has all of the tropes you would expect a novel set in this era to have. But, for whatever reason, this novel fell really flat to me. Maybe it's because I'm not a huge Austen fan (le gasp and whatnot, I know), but I just didn't really enjoy this read.

I think part of my issue with the book isn't with the writing/author as much as it's an issue with the formatting. On my copy for my eReader, there was no indication of when there was a scene/narration/setting change. It was just *boom* and now it's two minutes/hours/years later, and, as I reader, I was left reeling and scrambling to figure out when, exactly, the change had occurred and how the change influenced the plot. There were some points where, even upon multiple re-reads of the same chapter, I still couldn't figure out what was going on.

My other main issue with this book is that the characters just aren't interesting. You can swap them out for any other character in a Regency story, and I don't think I would notice a change. There's nothing memorable about them or, in some cases, remotely likable about them. I didn't find myself rooting for any one particular person or anything; I honestly wasn't that invested.

If you're a fan of Regency books, then maybe give this a go. Otherwise, if you're like me and looking for a fun, quick romp through a genre, I'd pass on this and go find something else.

The ARC of this book that I downloaded had some formatting issues which took me a little bit to get around so I took a little longer to get through this book. Otherwise it was such an interesting mystery. A young women has been kidnapped and is unsure of her surroundings. She is found after a carriage accident, unconscious, bruised and battered she is taken in by the Ellerby siblings James, Caroline and Walter. When she come to she has no idea of who she may be. She finds the name Beth to be agreeable and is called by that name by her rescuers. When there is a break in at the home of the Ellerbys and a murder of a housemaid Beth's appearance gains more significance than anyone knows. Murder, mystery, amnesia and pirates this is an interesting mystery that is engaging, thoughtful and has a kindness inherent in its tone that is absolutely captivating.

I loved this book! The full review will be posted soon at kaitgoodwin.com/books! Thank you very much for this wonderful opportunity to connect books to their readers!

I am a huge fan of Cindy Anstey! I have read every one of her books, and I was so excited to receive an ARC of this one! This one has a darker edge than her previous novels. Beth's experience was truly terrifying and I was very invested in finding out what happened. I read it all in two days, and overall, I really liked it.

However, I think it could use another pass at polishing! Here are some things I would work on:
1. Transitions: At times, they were quite jarring. I felt that too much time was spent on more mundane things and important things were glossed over. I especially missed out on things like Daisy's disappearance, Mr. Peterson's dinner and his attempts to get to Beth,
2. Characterization: Beth, Walter and Mr. Strickland had clear characterization and personalities, but James, Caroline, and Brant were all a bit bland. James especially had no personality beyond being a nice guy. He needed more to define him and more moments with Beth to support their romance. All the secondary characters like Sam and Ned were totally interchangeable.
3. Subtlety: All the clues stood out like red flags. To avoid spoilers, I won't say what they were, but I knew exactly who the villain was and where he was holed up. I suspected the mysterious Mr. Smythe's identity immediately, and I knew the page was a clue to Beth's identity instead of the villain's. Some fleshing out of the conversations surrounding these clues could hide them a bit more.

As critical as all of this sounds, I still loved the book and would recommend it.

#TheHummingbirdDagger #NetGalley
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the E-arc copy of this novel.
The Hummingbird Dagger is a wonderful jaunt into the regency mystery and romance area for young adults. It is reminiscent of Julie Garwood without the sexual situations. I love the author's writing style and it is definitely a page turner to see what happens to the main character.

LOVED this book so much!!! It's been a long time that I've enjoyed almost every character in a story! Walter just made me laugh at loud, the little brother with something to prove and a heart of gold. This book was a mystery Jane Austen thriller. We have kidnapping, amnesia, villains, attempted murder, and just page after page of great writing! Highly enjoyed this! Cindy Anstey does it again! Definitely one of my favorite authors!

A heart-racing Regency mystery with memory loss, kidnappings, and, of course, a breathtaking romance. Anstey has hit her stride in the Regency rom-com genre, so this change of pace into the slightly macabre was a pleasant and welcome surprise. I thoroughly enjoyed every twist, turn, and scandalous forehead kiss in this daring addition to Antsey's repertoire.

This book at first was a little scary to read because any book involving the powerful effects of memory and identity loss is sure to be quite the intense adventure. This was the junior/female rendition of the Bourne series but add royalty amongst it instead of the U.S. Government. Each chapter was focused on Beth trying to regain her memory and identity thanks to Lord James Ellerby and his sister Caroline, just when you thought she was making progress, a new turn takes effect. This book will want you to keep reading on and on and see what happens to Beth and her adventures finding out the truth on who she really is.

Thank you Netgalley and Macmillan Children's Publishing Group for the ARC in exchange for an honest review. We will definitely consider this title for our YFantasy collection at our library. That is why we give this book 5 stars.