Title: Diamonds and Deceit (At Somerton #2)
Author: Leila Rasheed
Genres: historical fiction, romance
Pages: 420
Publisher: Disney-Hyperion
Review Copy: the library
Availability: January 7th 2014
Summary: One house, two worlds…book two in our sumptuous and enticing YA series about the servants and gentry at Somerton Court.
London is a whirl of balls and teas, alliances and rivalries. Rose has never felt more out of place. With the Season in full swing, she can’t help but still feel a servant dressed up in diamonds and silk. Then Rose meets Alexander Ross, a young Scottish duke… Ada should be happy. She is engaged to a handsome man who shares her political passions and has promised to support her education. So why does she feel hollow inside? Meanwhile, at Somerton, Sebastian is out of his mind with worry for his former valet Oliver, who refuses to plead innocent to the murder charges against him–for a death caused by Sebastian himself…
The colorful cast of the At Somerton series returns in this enthralling sequel about class and fortune, trust and betrayal, love and revenge. [Image and summary via Goodreads]
Review: Diamonds and Deceit is centered on the revolving cast of characters both upstairs (the aristocracy) and downstairs (the servants) in Somerton court — the Averleys, Templetons and so on. At first glance, it’s a typical regency romance style story with English gentry swanning about in the middle of the London season, indulging in social intrigue. (Think Polonius behind the arras trying to get the hot gossip on Hamlet — except without any of the stabbing and ghostly fathers.)
But then, as you read further, you find out that Diamonds and Deceit is not a story that exists in a vacuum. Diamonds and Deceit is told from the point-of-view of both the upper class ladies and the lower class servants. POC make an appearance in the form of Ada’s true love Ravi, and the nursemaid Priya. And Sebastian is in cheesy true love with his valet — well, a lot of people are, to be fair. Even a feminist fighting for suffrage plays a role. And it’s not quite the same time period as a regency romance — people have cars and Queen Alexandra’s on the throne.
It’s a long read, but well worth it if you’re a Downton-Abbey-regency-romance kind of person
Recommendation: Get it soon.
I enjoyed this one, but none of my students have heard of Downtown Abbey… unless it’s something their mothers watch. I don’t know a lot about this period of English history, but found the presence of Indian characters interesting. There was even a nurse in the BBC program Casualty 1909 who was of Indian descent. I’d like to read more about this period of history in England now!