I liked the writing and how the story didn’t stale at all, just kept pushing through and intrigued me with the diverse cast of characters their interactions.

I had trouble reading this book. It felt superficially 'historic', with characters that spoke way ahead of their time. Coloquialisms and attitudes did not fit the era, for me. The book didn't really set the scene or period in any social context, it was a story about the characters.

Fair enough, but I was exasperated by the 'romantic', text spoken by the 2 title characters and I also felt as if I was reading about modern American characters than historic Dutch, due to the language. Use of words such as 'tuckered', 'squelching the redness' (of a flush) and a young character referring to 'gender stuff', did not fit into the era.

It touched on the religious ambiguities of a Calvinistic Protestant time, but where old Catholic ways still linger, hidden. I wasn't expecting a romance novel, I think that's where my problem lay - I wanted a more 'historic' account which I did not get here. As a romance, it probably works much better and this is probably my fault for not realising this from the description. If you want a romance, read on and enjoy.

A poignant story for the ages!! What starts off with a woman getting married pretty much against her will, ending up at a point where her daughter allows herself to be hired out as a maid despite the mother's protest, and then goes above and beyond anything I could or would have thought of. However, the position of maid was not exactly what it was expected to be. In fact, the resultant relationship grows and helps so many people - especially the title characters of the Inspectors Daughter and the Maid. And within all the developments, you hear many progressive ideas, though very much prominent today, were not so in the 17th century, the time period of the book, which needs to be taken into consideration so no comparisons can be incorrectly made. In fact, the end could even be used to lead into a sequel, though it would be a different sort of book.

The only thing about this book that I did not like was the lack of the use of names - calling people Eldest Daughter, Second Daughter, Inspectors Daughter, etc., vs actual given names. This manner of reference seems cold and impersonal, though perhaps this was standard for the time period of this book.

“What doesn’t kill you makes you stronger.”

Known for writing riveting books about resilient contemporary and historical women, author Marlene Cheng, takes us on a journey back to the 17th century Dutch Republic. She explores the striking similarities between that patriarchal society and today’s world. The Dutch Republic was riven with gender and class inequalities and the nation was threatened by the plague pandemic….sounds familiar to today’s crisis, doesn’t it?!

You’ll notice that every character has a hurdle to jump over; nobody has a straight forward journey. This is a good read to put things in perspective for those of us who might tend to see the glass half full. Two of the main characters are discussing their lot in life and one says to the other, “We are both stuck in a life we didn’t ask for.” While there may be many similarities, thank goodness we today don’t have the constraints these girls faced. The majority of us have the freedom and finances to change our lot.

I enjoyed how quickly I became immersed in the plot; within minutes I was part of the harvesting team. Cheng’s descriptive writing allowed me to stay in the background of the story and feel like I was experiencing life alongside the characters. I giggled with a character who was leaving home and dumped out stuff from the carriage to make room for her books! Totally something I’d do. I gasped at the series of unfortunate events on a character’s wedding day; a rain storm, the horses were spooked and covered the wedding party’s clothes in dust, when they got out of the cramped confines of the carriage for the ceremony, their clothes were all crumpled, and the bride was allergic to her bouquet of sage and lavender and sneezed the whole ceremony. It definitely was a sign of things to come!

This historical romance features two besties, a maid and her employer’s daughter, who both fall for the same guy. You’ll have to read to find out what they do. Will they value their friendship enough to let him go? Or will one give in and the other die of humility? Who? Stuffed with struggles for acceptance and female empowerment, this novel is a breath of fresh air both in the unique setting, plot and issues. If you are looking for ‘something different,’ this is for you! If you are like me and love to support Canadian authors, put this one on your reading list.

Congratulations on an eye-catching cover! It caught my eye and made me read the synopsis.

I was gifted this advance copy and was under no obligation to provide a review.