This particular book pulled me in pretty quickly, opening with Nella sitting in her London apothecary shop in 1791, waiting for her newest client.  I immediately enjoyed the way she processed things, and I absolutely enjoyed learning about Eliza as well.  While the book doesn’t go into immediate detail about either of the characters, it was fun to read how they interacted with each other, and how quickly they took to each other.  Joined in the desire to fulfill a request made by Eliza’s employer, their story begins.

Meanwhile, our next time period is present day, with Caroline having just arrived in London from the US.  She’s been cheated on and goes to London for her tenth anniversary alone.  She finds a vial on a random mudlarking adventure in the Thames, and her story now truly begins.

The book goes back in forth in points of view between Eliza, Nella, and Caroline, following them over a matter of days, as Nella and Eliza become even more entangled in a new client’s request, and as Caroline renews her interested in historical investigations.  There really isn’t a ton of action and adventure – it’s much more low key.  But it still kept me interested, resulting in me flying through the book in about a week.  I enjoyed getting to know all three characters, and while I can’t identify with all of their trials and tribulations, it wasn’t too difficult to empathize in the somewhat misguided motivations that all three of them.

I couldn’t wait to get back to the other timeline, each time I was switched to the other.  That’s weird, but also shows me that I was well entertained.  I wanted to know what happened to all the characters.  Would Eliza go back to her employer?  What was next for Nella?  Did Caroline find her next steps?

There’s not a ton of connection between the three characters – what’s there feels either forced, or pretty thin.  A little more work on that end probably could have been beneficial, but given the fact that this is the author’s first book, I’ll give her a pass at that one.

Overall, I’ll give this one a 4 star rating, and look forward to her next book and the improvements that typically come with a sophomore effort!