I hadn’t particularly noticed the cover, to be honest, maybe because I read it on an ereader? Just noted dark hair, white dress when I included it here.

I’m with you in the Mary Violet fan club. Such a great character and just the sort of friend that Jane needs. Given what she’s been through, she needs MV to “funnify” her.

I also loved that this book is self contained. While there are unanswered questions (but not loose ends), they don’t bother me because it’s unrealistic to have everything wrapped up in a neat bow, but there is room for another book. Do you know if there is one planned? I would like to read more about MV and Jane. Not so much Lucky.

Shame that the cover is another whitewashing of a main character of color. The book clearly states that Jane has light brown skin and is part Mexican but on the cover looks white. Sigh.

Overall, enjoyed the book. It was perfect for this rainy fall weekend. Thank you for the recommendation.

On an unrelated topic, did you know that Katherine Kellgren (narrator of Ashes) is British? Her American accent in Ashes is so good, I didn’t know until I heard her narrating another book and looked her up.

I’ve been on a Gothic kick lately Just finished rereading Rebecca and you can’t get more Gothic than that.

Have you read The Thirteenth Tale by Diane Setterfield? Not YA, but it’s a delicious modern day Gothic for the book lover. A mysterious novelist, a biographer who lives above a rare bookstore owned by her father, twins, ghosts, orphans. What more could you want? Beautiful writing, it has that also. The audio version narrated by Bianca Amato and Jill Tanner is fantastic, as would be expected from two such skilled narrators. (There’s an abridged version, which I originally purchased by mistake after reading the book, with Ruthie Henshall and Lynn Redgrave narrating that is also excellent; however it’s abridged so be careful when making your selection if you decide to go the audio route.)