Deryn Lake's characters are drawn with a fondness that is both palpable and contagious. Her ability to conjure up a sense of entire lives unfolding before our eyes is always impressive and her characters are as enticingly modern as they are of the period.
A modern day seamstress witnesses extraordinary events from the past in the liminal spaces between sleep and wakefulness in the best time-slip romantic historical novel I have read since Daphne du Maurier's classic 'The House on the Strand'.
This is a blissful work of great intelligence by a hugely talented author who understands life.
Chopin, Mendelssohn and Hans Christian Andersen all vie unapologetically for the favours of the greatest soprano of her time - Jenny Lind - in an emotional rollercoaster full of personal triumphs and private tragedies.
This is a wonderfully agile, unconventional historical romance shot through with hauntingly beautiful prose and lit from within by a cast of unforgettable characters.

Ever since I read 'to Sleep no More' I have loved Deryn Lake and read many of her books. This book did not disappoint me, either in the romantic story or the characters, who were well drawn. I will recommend the novel.