I received this from Netgalley.com.

Hard story to get into, even harder to maintain my interest. Blech.

2☆

This book is set in Victorian England and our main character is Florence, a female bookbinder who has been tossed out by her father. She decides to show up at a customer's house with a story of being sent by her father to do work in his library on his book collection. Lord Francis Belfield owns Rose Hall and allows her in despite suspecting something is off in the request.
The lady of the house has recently died and Florence suspects she was murdered and wants to solve the mystery. She does not wait even one night to begin sneaking around. Things go from there with this page-turner that sometimes had surprising and even unlikely twists and turns.
The book did push my buttons a bit with the racism of the time being included. If this is how people thought at the time, it is downright embarrassing today. Since the author is of color (and I am not) I will say no more, but I did wonder if some of it was necessary as it seemed over the top.
I loved the first half to two thirds of this book, but things went off the rails for me after that.

Thank you to NetGalley for a free ebook copy of this book for my honest review.

The Library Thief
by Kuchenga Shenjé
Pub Date: 07 May 2024

The library is under lock and key. But its secrets can't be contained.

1896. After he brought her home from Jamaica as a baby, Florence's father had her hair hot-combed to make her look like the other girls. But as a young woman, Florence is not so easy to tame—and when she brings scandal to his door, the bookbinder throws her onto the streets of Manchester.

Intercepting her father's latest commission, Florence talks her way into the remote, forbidding Rose Hall to restore its collection of rare books. Lord Francis Belfield's library is old and full of secrets—but none so intriguing as the whispers about his late wife.

Then one night, the library is broken into. Strangely, all the priceless tomes remain untouched. Florence is puzzled, until she discovers a half-burned book in the fireplace. She realizes with horror that someone has found and set fire to the secret diary of Lord Belfield's wife–which may hold the clue to her fate…

Evocative, arresting and tightly plotted, The Library Thief is at once a propulsive Gothic mystery and a striking exploration of race, gender and self-discovery in Victorian England.

I loved this book—I didn't know what to expect because I associate Harlequin with romance, but this is definitely not a romance (although it does include several love stories). It really captures the classic elements of the gothic novel, and the characters are so well developed. The descriptions of Black society in late Victorian Liverpool made me want to read a whole book about that. As other reviewers have said, some scenes are hard to read—there is an on-page rape, threats of sexual violence, and racial slurs. But honestly, that's what I should have expected at this stately home of ultra-privileged white Victorians. I would love to read more from the author.

there was no point in which i could predict where this was going, every character at one time or another threw me for a loop.

a murder mystery, wrapped in a discovering of heritage and identity, along with an ending that is surprisingly a happily ever after. this book is definitely worth the read, but do enter it with the awareness that the artistocrats/white people are INCREDIBLY racist, suits the time and the era, and the experiences. it is not a comfortable read if you’re a white person ( it shouldn’t be ).

i recognise i’m probably not the target demographic, so my input isn’t really NEEDED on this story. i would however say, worth the read for sure, interesting multi layered mystery with a diverse cast that covers cultures, races, classes, gender identity and sexuality. it’s thought provoking and evocative.

HOWEVER, in addition to the language regarding black characters ( if you’re sensitive there’s enough it’s worth mentioning despite it being thematic ), there is an explicit rape scene, along with threats, and the description of childbirth.

if these are not themes you’re comfortable with, then those are just things you should know!

**I try not to do this but there will be some spoilers.**

Gosh this book was a ride. I think the most interesting aspect of this book (aside from being about a black girl passing in the 1800's) was the many storylines. From the plot description, we know there was the mysterious death of Lord Belfield's wife. We also don't find out exactly why Florence's father seems to have disowned her or what Florence will do once she's finished her job binding the books in Lord Belfield's library.

I think part of why I'm currently saying I wouldn't add this book to my library, is the balance of mystery was off. Because this book takes place in the late 1800's, we know that a woman's place in society is very precarious and has a lot to do with who a woman is married to, or her occupation, and even then, there's a lot to worry about. I just couldn't balance the fact that Florence was risking her job and her safety (although not all that safe) to sneak around the manor reading letters, diaries, and listening to others conversations. I could respect that she "wasn't like other girls" and has a rebellious streak but those two actions did not balance and I just couldn't get behind it. Quite frankly, from the information we're given about Lord Belfield's wife's death, it wasn't super interesting. She drowned at night. Who cares what she was doing out there. Now if the Lord had like 4 dead wives, yeah, figure that out. but the way the story was written, I just wasn't interested. There were so many other things going on that I was interested in/ worried about.

I want Wesley's story. Point blank. Give me that. Not only am I interested in Wesley's backstory but I really loved their friendship. Their interactions while Wesley brushed Florence's hair!! I loved it so much. When he fell asleep on her should while they were riding horse back!! It's almost like the author wanted to spend time telling us about those two the most. Although when, for a second, I thought the book was going to be a ghost story, I was a little frustrated. If you know you know.

Then we have her identity. We know Florence was born in Jamaica, her father is white, she's got thick and curly hair and used to use a hot comb (I felt that description, holding the ear down and still ending up with burns. Friend I remember) and that's really all we know. Florence seems to really hate when people are derogatory toward black people leading you to think she's actively keeping it a secret that she's black. Turns out, she had no idea, which makes her views on black people... I don't know... confusing. Don't get me wrong, I'm here for it. Throughout all of history there have been people who have opposed the negative treatment of black people but the whole time, I assumed she had the views she did because she knew her race. Almost every knew she was black except for her.

I think the most interesting part of the book was when Florence first visited Miss Arabella and Sibyl. Gosh what a full story that could have been I wanted so much more. You come to understand relationships between all of our main characters differently and SO much more that I don't want to talk about because I'm trying to spolier the least amount possible.

Finally, the end of the book was... a lot. Everything moved so fast and mentally it was really hard to keep up with. The book seems to be setting us up for the possibility of a book 2 which I would be interesting in, but I think it all felt rushed? I'm not sure.

For anyone interested in this book, I really do think they should give it a try. I have another friend who read it and liked it and found the historical aspects of the book very interesting. Overall I would give the book 3 stars. I think the issues (for lack of a better term) that I have with the book is that with a few adjustment I think it could be a more fulfilling story, but that's just my opinion. Maybe you really do want to know how Lord Belfield's wife died. That being said

Huge trigger warning for SA. Not only was the assault itself rough to read, because of the time period of the book, everyone's reaction was horrible. My heart was broken. Take care while reading.

Overall a good and interesting book.

Synopsis (From Netgalley, the provider of the book to review)
*******************************************************

A strikingly original and absorbing mystery about a white-passing bookbinder in Victorian England and the secrets lurking on the estate where we she works, for fans of Fingersmith and The Confessions of Frannie Langton

The library is under lock and key. But its secrets can't be contained.

1896. After he brought her home from Jamaica as a baby, Florence's father had her hair hot-combed to make her look like the other girls. But as a young woman, Florence is not so easy to tame—and when she brings scandal to his door, the bookbinder throws her onto the streets of Manchester.

Intercepting her father's latest commission, Florence talks her way into the remote, forbidding Rose Hall to restore its collection of rare books. Lord Francis Belfield's library is old and full of secrets—but none so intriguing as the whispers about his late wife.

Then one night, the library is broken into. Strangely, all the priceless tomes remain untouched. Florence is puzzled until she discovers a half-burned book in the fireplace. She realizes with horror that someone has found and set fire to the secret diary of Lord Belfield's wife–which may hold the clue to her fate…

Evocative, arresting and tightly plotted, The Library Thief is at once a propulsive Gothic mystery and a striking exploration of race, gender and self-discovery in Victorian England.

Too political. Too “hot topic”. It is a book club read and not a book I would probably not recommend to my general public readers as it is just trying to be way too triggering and downright uninteresting at times. (sorry, sometimes saying that I will be honest in my review backfires!)

#shortbutsweetreviews