Davenport House by Marie Silk - 3/5
Blurb: “Emotions are running high in the midst of a family scandal at Davenport House, where social classes collide and discretion is the secret to survival.
Mary Davenport is a 22-year-old idealist who worries that the world in the Progressive Era is leaving her behind. She lives isolated in the Pennsylvania countryside with her affluent and secretive family. When her father dies suddenly, Mary becomes pained with grief and increasingly suspicious of those around her.
A humble servant girl has the chance of a lifetime to become a lady’s companion. Costly dresses, exquisite rooms, and fine dinners are pleasant distractions from what is really happening in the house.
The wealthy family upstairs and lowly servants downstairs have more in common than they ever imagined.”
Plot: 3/5
To begin, I’d like to emphasis that I /love/ the idea of this book. I think it’s lovely and intriguing, and I love a good murder mystery. However, I found the plot predictable. The bad guys were obvious and the good guys were often oblivious. I think that with a little more love and attention, the story would have filled out more. It could have used another 100-200 pages to develop.
Characters: 2/5
The characters were where this story fell flat for me. As someone who relies on being an empathetic reader, I have difficulty getting sucked into a story if I can’t connect with the main characters, and that’s what happened in this book. As I said before, an extra 100-200 pages would allow for more character development. As this is the first book in a trilogy, I’m sure that the next book will be twice as good because Silk will have had more time to play with them and make them whole and real.
Writing Style: 3/5
Silk’s writing style is interesting in that she skips between characters very quickly and usually without warning. This was very confusing until I got the hang of it, but I did appreciate the differentiation between the characters. I would have preferred whole chapters or at least some kind of signal that the story was moving around, but it gave good insight as to different perspectives on the same story.
Pacing: 2/5
As stated under plot and characters, I think this book was too short, and that affected the pacing. Everything happened so quickly! I want to draw it out and add a little more mystery.
Cover: 5/5
This cover is stunning! It’s not too much and does a great job of conveying an underlying darkness and mystery. I would definitely pick this up if I saw it in the bookstore.
Final Score: 3/5
Overall Impression: As I stated previously, I adore the idea of this story. I wish it had been longer (but that’s what the next two books are for!). I think the characters hold potential, and I don’t think I’m finished with the Davenport House. I am interested in reading the next two books so I can watch it evolve and expand. I would recommend this to those who are interested in historical fiction and who are in need of a quick, easy read. I ate it up in one sitting and I have no regrets!
