Rating: ★★★★★
Thank you to Netgalley and Random House for sending me a copy of this in exchange for a review.
This weekend, I had the absolute pleasure to get a sneak peek at the new novel by Susan Stokes-Chapman, to be released in January next year, and WOW did it impress! The first thirteen chapters of this novel gripped me absolutely, and I know I will be eagerly snatching this book up the moment it hits the shelves.
Pandora Blake, or ‘Dora’, is a twenty-one year old orphan, the daughter of antiquarians whose once famous shop of antiquities has been driven to the ground by her uncle, who has taken to selling fakes instead of pursuing the family business. She is biding her time until she can find a way to make her own dream come true: designing jewellery. However, as a woman in 1799 London, this is easier said than done, and even though her designs and skills are not bad, nobody will take her on.
Edward Lawrence is a young man seeking acceptance into the Society of Antiquaries, but his third attempt at impressing the stalwarts of the profession has failed. He has all but given up when someone gives him a hint, and directs him to Pandora, whose family history of antiquities may be able to help.
Meanwhile, Dora’s uncle has brought something mysterious back to the shop which is kept under lock and key in the shop’s basement. Dora doesn’t know what it is, but there is something otherworldly about it. Not only does it seem to call to her, but it appears to create chaos.
Like any great teaser, this extract stopped just where the story was picking up, and I am absolutely dying to read more. The characters grabbed me from the start, and I loved how Dora and Edward are so alike in their dreams even though they are from different backgrounds. The setting was also fascinating, not only in the general sense of loving historical novels set in London, but the antiques shop itself, which is alive with mystery and secrets. Stokes-Chapman has done a marvellous job and I cannot wait to read the rest of this novel. I just know I will love it!
Ink Drops Books 