I enjoyed this book, it is a great follow up to the Gilded Hour, and can't wait to read the 3rd book! At 600 pages, I was at first dubious on how the author could keep me interested in it. But she explains on her blog, how she sometimes does go into great detail about the time period, that she wants to bring the reader right into that time, which she does! This story line has a lot of twists/turns and I can see that a 3rd book might be able to clear up some of the loose ends. I read a review by Tara McNabb, who feels this book can be read as a stand alone, I disagree, without reading the 1st book, I feel a reader might be lost about the main characters, Anna & Sophia.