this was a really good read, it was a great historical novel with great characters. I enjoyed reading this book.

A very anti climatic book. While I didn’t dislike the book I did struggle to find a point to it. The lives of these women , while full of details, quickly became confusing. There was so much going on and I couldn’t see an end to it or a reason for their inclusion. I feel like sticking with one or two would have made the book much better and more readable. The fact that it abruptly cuts off to “read book two” on the only part that really had my attention (the fictional book inside the book was better written than the main book!). I am not enticed to read book two after the experience. In fact the title has zip to do with the entire story until the last part of Bella, and honestly that is the only character I didn’t find shallow, petty, and overall dislikable. I couldn’t connect to any of them even coming from an Eastern European background myself. Their “transformation” at the end, well, let’s just say I didn’t believe it at all. One leopard changing its spots is enough, every character metamorphosing is over the top which is why I feel each of them could have had a separate tale.