I am slowly becoming more interested in historical fiction, having read a few books within the genre already this year. So when I was contacted asking if I’d like to review and take part in the blog tour for The House in Quill Court I was sold just by reading the synopsis. Even though I had read some Historical fiction, Historical Romance is something that I had never read before so I was really intrigued to read it and see what it was all about.
It’s 1813 and Venetia Lovell lives on the Kent coast with her mother, younger brother and father. Her father is an interior decorator to the rich and is often away from home leaving Venetia to look after the family. A woman of a creative mind Venetia often designs paper hangings to the praise of her father and both would often dream about owning their own shop where they would showcase furniture, fabrics and art. However, when her father suddenly dies Venetia and her family are moved to London to live in The House in Quill Court to begin a new life. It’s here where Venetia meets Jack Chamerblaine and also where her courage and bravery is pushed to the limit. Amongst all the chaos happening is it possible that Venetia can find love in a seemingly dark place?
What I liked most about this book was the setting. I didn’t know much about London in the early 1800’s, so although this was fiction I did feel like I got some sort of idea of what it was like to live in them times. I am a major lover of London as a city so it was just great to read about what my favourite city was like in that era. I was a bit disappointed that you didn’t get to read about the famous landmarks but I knew that this was because the story was focusing on slight realism and that may have taken away from that feeling. However, despite this I did find it slightly hard to get into the story straight away. I did feel like it dragged on a bit and that it took until you got just past the middle until the plot really kicked in. There was a lot of building up that took place in the first half. The plot itself really did shock me as I wasn’t expecting it. There was a lot of action within it for a romance and some of it really did get my heart racing.
What isn’t told to you in the synopsis is that the story is told in the eyes of two, not just one. It is told through the eyes of Venetia and also Kitty, the family’s maid. Two women from two very different backgrounds. This I found was really interesting and it was in my opinion very clever to have the story in the eyes of two women who were completely opposites. I did like Venetia as a character. I found her to be brave, courageous and willing to fight for what she believed in. However, my heart was drawn to Kitty. You could call Kitty a tragic heroine. She did what she could to survive and even when things were at their lowest you could still see that she had hope in her heart. Parts of her story did reduce me to tears at times. Venetia and her romance with Jack was very very slow burning and although I usually like slow burning romances in books this one irritated me. I knew they were going to fall for each other from the moment Jack was introduced so the way it was going so slow did annoy me. I just wanted to shout ‘just tell each other how you feel!’. It was very tedious.
Overall I did enjoy The House in Quill Court despite the slow start to the story and the very slow burning romance between two of the main characters. It was a good introduction to Historical Romance and it certainly hasn’t put me off reading more books within this genre. I may also look up more of Charlotte Bett’s books.

The beginning got the plot cogs churning nicely. Its 1813, imagine a young, noticeably handsome but hostile, man strolling in to inform your family that your father has been murdered. Not only this, but he secretly had another family in the city which he hopes for you to live with, to which this young man’s a part of. Shock and horror for Venetia, a young, ambitious woman as she experiences her whole privileged world smash against their elegant wall. We follow her family as they uproot themselves to London, meet the ‘others’ and overcome all the shame buzzing around. They also have to find a way to support themselves, so Venetia busies herself with re-opening her father’s furniture business. Jack Chamberlaine, the guy who broke the news, reluctantly helps her. He’s war-wearied, initially suspicious, but soon softens, and conveniently not a blood-relation. Together, they try to gather up the mess while something blossoms between them.

We also get POV chapters from Kitty, their maid, who accompanies them. Kitty is sweet and lively. She was bored with the village life she had, where the end point was to be married in a tiny shack with a bundle of babies. When she arrives, she runs into Nat, a good-looking street rat who is as fascinating as the city. He introduces her to a whole new world of women wrestlers, dangerous alley-ways and professional house burgling. So it was refreshing to get a change of story now and then. I grew to like Venetia and Kitty as pleasant characters. The main vein that connects to two is a mysterious mafia called King Midas that controls the neighbourhood and begins terrorizing their lives. He is also connected to the death of Venetia’s father. So the book gradually gets darker almost to the point of echoing Les Miserables.

As Kitty and Venetia begin to clash with King Midas and his cronies, the book unfortunately reaches a bit plateau 40-70% through. The pacing slows down and you’re basically living with the characters during their daily activities. I found this slightly mundane, but it suits those who enjoy soothing sagas. Those like me, who prefer heart-constricting romances and thrilling paces, will feel a little held back during this stage. Things pick up towards the end. There is a sneaky little twist which I didn’t see coming, and a good old fight scene. Kitty’s ending saddened me because seemed a direct result of class. Despite it being a fairly realistic portrayal, it seemed a bit typical of Victorian yarns and gives off the wrong attitudes if it intends for readers to be OK and accept it as a happy ending.

Enjoyable read. Good storyline and likeable characters.