I liked this book, bit of a different read of what I usually read but I still enjoyed following the story and gaining an insight into these characters lives. I do enjoy reading stories like this where I am learning more about things that would happen in the past and how different it is to the modern day and age.

Thank you to netgalley and the publisher for giving me the opportunity to read this book...
I was absolutely drawn to this one by the cover, it is gorgeous!
The story itself I struggled with, it was definitely a case of me being not quite the right fit for this book.

This book has a gorgeous cover and a very appealing premise. It should have been right up my alley. Unfortunately it's been sitting at 40% read for the past 3 weeks and I have no enthusiasm to pick it up and finish it. Specifically, I found the epistolary style clumsy and really rather unsuitable for the story, and the copious footnotes almost drove me insane. Other readers may have more patience for it.

I must say I thought this was a bit different than many historical fiction books I read an I have to say I enjoyed it but then sometimes I didn't enjoy it.

An historical fiction based on real people and the facts surrounding those people and family. Sometimes I felt a bit lost reading this and didn't quite follow the story but there was a bit of intrigue, a bit of interest and a bit of excitement.

All in all it is an okay book but not a favorite for me.

This is a bit of an unusual book, and I am not sure that everyone will enjoy it., but my take is..
The story is fictional, but based on real people and real facts. Carolina is a teenager living on a rural sugar farm in Brazil ( circa 1852) while her brother Luis, plots to marry her off and rid himself of responsibility for her. While her brother is away on a business trip, an Indian delivers a deliriously unwell French naturalist and explorer to them. The Frenchman is François, the Count de Castelnau, and he becomes the object of Carolina's fantasies to escape Brazil and see the world. After they are caught in a compromising position, François, who is at least 20 years older than Carolina promises to marry her, and takes her to Bahia where he is the French consul. He then confesses he is already married and will seek to have his marriage annulled.
The story continues from there, with François and Carolina moving to France and later to Melbourne where François takes up the position of French consul, and engages further in his naturalist exploration of the local flora and fauna.
The story is told by Nathan, a lawyer engaged by the estate of Carolina and François in the early 1900's to protect their youngest son Edward, who is considered 'insane' from his malicious older brother Charles who has been disinherited by his mother, Carolina. Nathan has the diaries of Carolina and François translated and this forms a lot of the content.
The story can be a little difficult to follow in places, but overall I found it quite intriguing. It contains a lot of historical fiction and details the impact of the release of Darwin's book, The Origin of Species on people such as François, who considered himself a forward thinking and open minded scientist.
3.5 stars rounded up to 4, thank you Affirm Press and Netgalley for the opportunity to read this digital ARC.