This historical romance was charming, sexy, amusing, and intelligent. The two leading romantic characters struggle to each support their families and engage in a You’ve Got Mail style correspondence. That is, they don’t like each other in person but fall for each other through letters. There are hidden identities, clever banter, and amusing observations of society during the late nineteenth century.

The romance is definitely hot, but what I really liked about this novel were the literary allusions and realistic struggles of the two characters. The plot lines were not contrived, and there was much to be interested in beyond the romance. The relationships among family and friends were realistically depicted.

This was a debut novel, and I hope there will be more books coming. There were some supporting characters in this novel whose lives and challenges deserve another look and resolution.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book and thank Netgalley for the ARC.

Very hot characters and easy to follow plot. I think it was a good read after a crazy work day. Keeps you engaged and lets the mind relax and dive into the story.

I received an advanced copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for a review.

Set in 1870s London, The Poetics of Passion tells the story of Musa Bartham - eldest daughter of the scandalous Neil and Clio Bartham, whose elopement and social ruin is legendary - and her efforts to financially support her family after the disappearance of her artistic father. She adopts the pen name Felicity Vita to publish love poems, but fears her notoriety will bring her beautiful sister Angela ruin rather than proposals when she sets out on the marriage mart with the help of their aristocratic great-aunt. Musa pivots to write a children’s book, while juggling a peculiar attraction to her collaborator (starving artist Sebastian Atkinson), harboring a secret romance with a long-standing pen pal, and trying to keep her identity out of the newspapers!

This book is unique in its plot and perspective. The characters feel rich with very real anxieties about how to get by in a world without parental support and financial security. At times it is unclear to me how dire the situation is for our main characters - Sebastian’s squalor is more clearly described, whereas Musa’s financial situation seems inconsistent through the book (can they afford sugar and cream for breakfast?) The romantic and sexual tension between these two is stellar - every near kiss, every touch is palpable in the writing. The buildup is almost better than the payoff!

At times I did struggle to believe that our main characters wouldn’t immediately see through the “familiarity” they feel around each other - the suspense of their secret identities and real personas falls a little flat to me when they are constantly thinking “I feel like I’ve met this person before” without somehow making the necessary connections. The scene where Mussa puts her fingers on Sebastian’s mouth is a standout - that’s how you write a character putting 2 and 2 together. The build up to it could be a little more subtle in my opinion, and focusing more on the attraction rather than the familiarity might be more rewarding when they finally come together.

The twists and turns are reasonable although a little belabored (how often is the newspaper going to tease a scandalous reveal before they finally publish it?). The ending seemed a little rushed and contrived, probably because we don’t know our American publisher very well, but that is not uncommon in HR. I wish we had more time fleshing out some of the extra characters (Mary, Luke, Angela and Sunny in particular) rather than having Musa and Seb introspect over the same topics for the third time in so many pages.

Finally, I found the references to Keats and Alcott a little clunky over the course of the book. I’m a big fan of show, don’t tell - you should trust your audience to make the connection without repeatedly referencing La Belle sans merci and Little Women several times in one page (also does anyone find it hard to believe that Sunny read Little Women?)!

This review seems quite critical and that is because I actually really enjoyed the book overall. I think it is a great debut and has the potential to be a really fantastic series. Some attention to detail (typos and word repetition in particular) would make the prose stand out even more. And tightening up some of the pacing and length could make it a really phenomenal piece of writing.