This book was requested by a previous Lesbrary reviewer who did not finish or review it. In order to keep my Netgalley feedback up to date, I am submitting this review marking it as a DNF, though it was another reviewer who requested this.

Netgalley review: I tend to wait a few days to write my reviews so that the story can "settle" and my brain can process everything and really think about it. Needless to say, giving myself those few days allowed me to completely forget the ending of the story and what the characters were named. Obviously this story was forgettable and nothing special. I had high hopes for it because of the subject matter, which I didn't previously have much knowledge. But still... nothing special.

Thank you for this galley! I fully appreciate it and I apologize for not getting this review out sooner! I adored how ambitious the female characters were and how they played off each other. I'm always a sucker for historical London stories, and WW2 is a corner I'm fascinated by. This is a lovely little mystery romp!

This wasn't tagged LGBTQ when I first requested it and even though I fully support the LGBTQ community I don't enjoy reading about it in my fiction novels. This was a DNF for me and I chose not to rate/review it online as I'm not able to give a fair assessment.

i loved the plot and topic and tin the author really picked the most interesting moments out for the book.
If only her writing could have matched instead of feeling rather sluggish in pacing and monotone overall.
Its still a nice historical fiction but defiantly not for everyone since the writing style has to find its audience.

Fielding's writing is eloquent,magical, and beautiful. Her attention to research and details is not missed and greatly appreciated by this historian. She didn't gloss over the details of a deeply unsettling story yet still able to give a happy ending to Hester. I would highly recommend this based on the writing alone.

I always reach for Historical Fiction if I can and this one sounded really interesting and it was but it was also not what I was expecting.

This book was one of those I REALLY wanted to like but just could not. The starting premise was intriguing but feel off soon after. Small town Hester becomes a lady's maid. This is her dream job. Lucy is the lady. Lots of intrigue and more happen but at a slow pace and I never connected with the characters. Without spoiling, at least one of the 'relationships' annoyed me for how it was played out. I finished the book thinking how much better it could have been with some editing and better character growth.

Wasn't for me. Couldn't finish it, too cheesy. Thank you for opportunity to try!

"But it was a little hard to admire a beautiful weapon, if the blade was just turning in your wound."

i didn't like this book, but i didn't quite dislike it either. the writing was beautifully lyrical in some places, but dull in others. the characters are quite interesting, and complexly rendered, but there didn't seem to be much of a plot tying them together, except from a vague political intrigue that didn't really seem to directly impact the characters with the gravitas one would expect.

sadly, this book is the perfect example of an excellent idea that is only half-formed; i'm afraid the narrative and plot ultimately fell flat for me. perhaps if it was cut down a little bit to make it less slow and plodding, and if there was just a little more excitement, i might have liked this book more.

fielding does show potential, though, and this is only her first book; if she writes something else i may pick it up.

The concept behind this book is a good one, and I believe Fielding has a very interesting story to tell. The problem with this book, however, is that it takes far too long to see any progress, and this causes the reader to lose interest. Furthermore (and I know that this may just be the copy I have), I was disconcerted with the many instances of grammatical mistakes, and improper usage of English. However, what bothered me the most, was an overtly excessive use of commas. This might not bother other readers, but as someone with mild dyslexia, seeing a comma actually makes me pause while reading the sentence. Because of this, the overall flow of the text was disrupted. That said, I believe this could be an excellent book, if Fielding can find an editor to help her focus her narrative and eliminate these errors.

Thank you for the opportunity to read this book.

<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/32169377-the-pearl-and-the-carnelian" style="float: left; padding-right: 20px"><img border="0" alt="The Pearl and the Carnelian" src="https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1474455210m/32169377.jpg" /></a><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/32169377-the-pearl-and-the-carnelian">The Pearl and the Carnelian</a> by <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/15851693.Annabel_Fielding">Annabel Fielding</a><br/>
My rating: <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/1871678262">3 of 5 stars</a><br /><br />
I rec'd a copy of this book via NetGalley. No synopsis necessary. A tale of two improbables Hester and Lucy with romance and intrigue thrown in. I am a fan of historical romances and this one included wonderful descriptions of Victorian London/early 1900's. On occasion the main characters seemed flat and I wanted to prod the plot along. However, I persevered and found the overall tale interesting. I look forward to more of Ms. Fielding's work. 3.5 stars.
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<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/review/list/31134832-gail">View all my reviews</a>

I'm a pretty big fan of historical fiction when I'm in the right mood for it. Overall, I enjoyed Fielding's novel quite a bit. However, there were a few parts that took me out of it or didn't totally immerse me into it as well as it could have.

I love historical fiction and had high hopes for this story and Fielding did not disappoint. The writing is beautiful and obviously very well researched. The story itself is gripping and moving! I would definitely consider this a do-not-miss book!