In all honesty I really don't have a clue exactly where i first saw this book or how i found it but OH MY GOD am I glad that I did. This book!!!!!! I'm struggling on how exactly to word my feelings regarding this book right now because I have all the feels. Do you ever read a book that is so incredibly good and captivating that you don't want it to end so you read it as slowly as possible? just me? (awkward) but this book is THAT kind of book. Now obviously there is a degree of grotesqueness in this book but Kerri Maniscalco's writing captures this dark part in history in the most amazing way to the point of wanting to experience the life of the main character - Audrey Rose (even if that means existing in the same time period as a murderous maniac). Also would you look at that cover?!
Since this is my first book review and I am by no means good at this kind of thing I will keep my review fairly brief. I will try my best to make my jumbled up thoughts make sense. *Potential spoilers ahead*
Synopsis from Goodreads:
Seventeen-year-old Audrey Rose Wadsworth was born a lord's daughter, with a life of wealth and privilege stretched out before her. But between the social teas and silk dress fittings, she leads a forbidden secret life.
Against her stern father's wishes and society's expectations, Audrey often slips away to her uncle's laboratory to study the gruesome practice of forensic medicine. When her work on a string of savagely killed corpses drags Audrey into the investigation of a serial murderer, her search for answers brings her close to her own sheltered world.
Quote on the back of the book cover:
"I was the girl who loved the ripper".
Okay so I have to admit I am totally a sucker for a romance story and a bit of mystery and this book perfectly offers both! Having a romance story alongside the main plot of the book just made it all the more intriguing; especially considering this is a story based upon Jack the Ripper, one of the most notorious serial killers in Britain's history to date.
The plot of this book is interesting to say the least. One thing I adored most about this book was the way in which Maniscalco was able to capture (in my opinion) 18thy century London exactly as it has been portrayed to be. Through the use of dialect, intricate details regarding characters clothing and including a particular portrayal of status and social conduct in the Victorian era, I got a true sense of what it would have been like to live in the upper class during the 18th century.
The main character Audrey Rose Wadsworth is a character I absolutely adore in this book. Unlike other women within the 18th century whom lived for gossip, afternoon teas, expensive gowns and propriety, Audrey Rose is engulfed in her dark curiosity and her love for science; leading to the majority of her time consisting of cutting up dead bodies as an assistant to her uncle at his laboratory. Blood and dead bodies were something she was used to and did not phase her until the day the first mutilated corpse of a dead prostitute arrived for her uncle to examine. Understanding the brutal and hateful manner in which this crime had been committed, it sparked her dark curiosity even more. Audrey Rose became determined to solve the mystery of 'Leather Apron' (Jack the Ripper) to also prove the stereotypes against women to be both stupid and wrong. However with her family falling apart and going against the status quo, her character faces a variety of challenges. The hardships of love and friendship along with trying to be a step ahead of a murderer who preys upon women, leads Audrey Rose's character to become reckless. Never the less I can't help but admire her as she is both fierce and smart through out the book and constantly challenges societies views of women during the 18th century.
Although Maniscalco uses Audrey Rose's character to touch upon feminism and it's importance, I feel at times that it was counterproductive due to the way in which her character judges other women as not being as open minded as her. She openly makes assumptions that they do not consider other things apart from what society tells them too which I found to be rather contradictory. I feel that if Maniscalco had touched upon feminism and inequality a lot more through the use of Audrey Rose's character, it would have given the book a deeper sense of connecting with it's main character. Furthermore it would have also created a more intensified insight as to what it was like to be a woman in a time were they viewed as inferior to men. On the contrary, I do feel that the touch upon feminism was substantial enough and I'm gladded Maniscalco chose to incorporate it into the story to make it much more realistic and believable.
My favourite character has to be Audrey Rose's love interest/side kick. An upper class young gentlemen in society named Thomas Cresswell, who seems completely cold and disconnected from all emotion; particularly when it comes to murders and corpses. His character is very flirtatious and witty making him instantly quite likeable, although at times his arrogance does become rather annoying with regards to him being very aware of his own intelligence. The further into the book we get the more the mystery of Thomas Cresswell is unraveled, revealing him to actually be very caring; especially towards Audrey Rose. All I have left to say on this character is that Thomas Cresswell owns my heart.
This is a story that constantly provokes your imagination and curioustiy throughout and leaves you guessing at each page. I loved the 'plot twist' so to say, and did not expect Jack the Ripper to be the character he was. The reasoning behind sed character being Jack the Ripper was unique to say the least and very random; interesting none the less. I would have liked a slightly longer ending and more information about how deeply the events of this story impacted the surviving characters but the ending did leave room for your imagination to do its own thing.
The only real negative I could find with this book was the letters from Jack The Ripper that were included in certain parts. The font that they were in was near impossible to read and resulted in me merely skimming over them, guessing the words or having to ask someone if they could read what they thought it said.
Over all I would definitely rate this book 5/5 and have already been recommending it to every other bookworm I know! If you're looking for a unique read that incorporates history, romance and a little bit of feminism (in its own way) then it's definitely worth picking up this book. If you have read this book leave a comment down below on what you thought of it and what rating you would give!
If you actually made it to the end of this review then thank you for reading what probably makes no sense and is very grammatically incorrect (its nearly 2AM as I am writing this so sleepiness is my only defence). Find this review on my goodreads page: goodreads.com/vanillaxmoon
Jodie x
