This is my review from Goodreads and will be cross-posted to my blog shortly before the book's release date.

I was interested in this when I saw it on NetGalley because it looked like it would be an intriguing story about art and creativity and because I'm a Hamlet nerd so anything referencing Ophelia is going to catch my eye. That said, I don't think I entirely picked up on the fact that it was historical (though I'm not sure how I missed that) -- and I also somehow missed noticing that it's romance, which is ... not so much my thing.

The historical aspects of the book aren't exactly anything to write home about: while they're well-researched, there's nothing all that innovative about a country girl coming to London to be a maid for the first time, and discovering a slightly less-than-respectable world she never knew existed. The fact that it's the pre-Raphaelite art world isn't something I've come across all that much, though, so at least that gave it some originality. Plus, it was nice to see a glimpse of familiar historical people like Dante Gabriel Rossetti (I actually first came across the Rossettis via [book:Hide Me Among the Graves|11966655] and then got really into Christian Rossetti's poetry for a while).

The romance aspect is, again, not unpredictable -- she works as a muse/model for an artist and they fall in love but it's complicated because of social status and money and so on, and I won't give any spoilers but things get very complicated. I'm not a romance fan, as anyone who reads my reviews regularly will know, so probably the best I can say about that is that it wasn't too soppy and didn't dominate the story -- Bennett kept things tasteful and reasonably PG.

And the characters, too, are okay. They're not astounding. There's no charater that really stuck out to me, although I would have liked to see more of Kitty. I liked that the relationship between Mary and her fellow maid Annie was allowed to develop from animosity into friendship, and that they got to have that friendship. Mary's a very pure-hearted good person who helps others out of the kindness of her heart and isn't very good at being a servant because she's too imaginative and thoughtful, which is all admirable and all that, but it doesn't make her hugely interesting. Honestly, I sort of wished the romance would go in a slightly more risque direction just so that she'd do something unexpected for once.

I guess the impression my review must be giving is that this book was quite middling for me. There was nothing exactly WRONG with it (except some formatting issues with the ARC that now and again made it difficult for me to follow, because I didn't realise there'd been a chapter break or whatever). The characters were fine, the romance was fine, the historical stuff was well-researched but didn't open my eyes to anything I haven't thought about or read before. It just didn't have the spark it needed to make me feel anything more than neutral towards it, you know?

In this instance, I think it really is personal taste and also that I'm possibly a bit older than the target audience, for whom some of what it depicts might be new and might be more innovative (I have read a <i>lot</i> of books, after all). But I don't think I can honestly give it more than three stars, and if I weren't feeling in a generous mood, I might give it fewer.

I was really drawn to this book because Bee and I just did a module on Victorian literature, and the week on the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood was my absolute favourite. We learnt all about the poets, the artists, and the muses, most importantly, Lizzie Siddal, who was the model for Millais’ Ophelia.

So, I saw this book and knew instantly that I had to read it and I was so glad I did. It surprised me, it delighted and I was completely absorbed by the 19th century London setting. If you need more reason to pick this up, beyond the cover, let me list some for you!
Following Ophelia is extremely well-paced. Probably one of the best paced novels I’ve read in a long time. Despite being 400 pages long, I managed to read it in one evening because I was pulled through the novel at just the right speed. I think this is down to the well-plotted life of Mary, the protagonist. She’s introduced as a servant to a wealthy London household, discovers the art scene, becomes a muse, flaunts around London with a secret identity and gets up to lots of shenanigans with the painters and patrons.

It’s like the nineteenth century version of Hannah Montana. When is a comparison with the Golden Age of the Disney Channel ever a bad thing? Mary has her servant identity, as well as her muse persona, Persephone. There are no wigs involved, but there’s certainly a lot of sneaking around while she enjoys the throws of fame.

Art is beautiful = Book about art is beautiful. Reading about Mary being painted and admired was lovely. The Pre-Raphaelites have got to be some of the most talents artists in the whole universe, and this really feeds into the book. There’s such a focus on the beauty in the ordinary, and making things even more visually amazing than they are. It might be the 1800s, but it was so refreshing to see a diverse hobby portrayed in such an authentic way.

The romance. The. Romance. I loved it. It felt very old school YA, and that was great. It hit just the right level of indulgent desire and I was trash for it. The poetry side of the PRB was called ‘The Fleshly School of Poetry’ and I think that’s how I’d describe this too, while being totally tasteful. There’s also a small love triangle to get behind, between Mary and Felix and Mary and Rupert (I know which of the two guys I prefer, for sure!)

Overall, Following Ophelia consumed me, and I consumed it. There was something so amazingly addictive about it, and I cared about Mary instantly. It wasn’t one of those things that grew as I read, I was just there, ready to care about her and protect her and support every decision she made. I love books set in this time, and it definitely reminded me of the Hetty Feather series by Jacqueline Wilson, so if you’re looking for those vibes, but targeted to an older audience, I couldn’t recommend this one more. I gave it 4 stars, and can’t wait to find out if this is a stand alone or a series, because I need more.