The Siren of Sussex

The Siren of Sussex (2022) Mimi Matthews (Belles of London #1)

Set in London in 1862

Ahmad Malik and his cousin Mira came to England after her mother died, and after her father died, Ahmad took whatever work he could to care for her. Now he is a tailor, hoping to make his marking designing women’s gowns, but the business is hard and he needs a way to stand out.

Evelyn Maltravers has come to London for a single season, to hopefully make a match and be able to bring out her younger sisters. Because she is not a beauty and has no dowry, she has pinned her hopes on making an impression with her riding.

“Because his riding costumes are beautiful. And because they make the ladies who wear them beautiful, too. It’s a sort of magic, I believe. To create clothing that can do that for a person. That can transform them into something extraordinary.”

One thing I particularly like about her writing is that she doesn’t hide the realities of the world in the 1800s.

Ahmad deals with the blatant racism of the time. Evie deals with the strictures society places on young, unmarried women.

We also get glimpses of how difficult and dangerous the world could be for women.

Her mother, Diana, had been Uncle Harris’s youngest sister. She’d died when Evelyn was but fifteen, a result of exhaustion, the village midwife had said. Too many children in too short a time, not all of them living. The final birth had done for her.

Despite those harsh realities, this is a romance, and the way she folds those facts into the romance isn’t dark or sad–because those things were just facts of life of the time. The focus of the story is upon Evelyn and Ahmad, and how they make their romance work, despite the barriers.

“What shall I call you?”

“Anything you want,” Ahmad said.

“I wish to use your Christian name.” His mouth hitched.

“I can’t vouch for its Christianness.”

Additionally, we see the start of the craze for the supernatural that happened in England.

“Her ladyship has a seer in for the evening. A celebrated fellow, calls himself Zadkiel. Uses a crystal ball rumored to have been passed down from an Egyptian magician.”

Evelyn recalled the fortune-teller that Anne had mentioned. “This isn’t the gentleman who writes the astrological almanac?”

“The very same.”

“Is he going to perform parlor tricks for us?”

There are, of course, awful people in the story, but they are awful in the normal way. There are no villains or monsters, just humans.

Characters: Evelyn Maltravers, Ahmad Malik, Mira, Becky Rawlins, Tariq Jones, Mr. Doyle (tailor), Lady Arundell, Lady Anne, Julia Wychwood, Stella Hobhouse, Hephaestus, Uncle Harris Fielding, Aunt Nora, Fenella Maltravers, Augusta Maltravers, Caroline Maltravers, Elizabeth Maltravers, Isobel Maltravers, Lewis (groom), Mrs. Quick (housekeeper), Agnes (maid), Rosamond Deveril, Countess of Arundell, Anthony Connaught, Stephen Connaught, Mildred Lacey, Viscountess Heatherton, Tom Finchley, Mrs. Jenny Finchley, Lady Helena, Captain Thornhill, Captain Blunt, Joe Tweed, Mr. Lees, Mrs. Inkpen

Publisher: Jove

Rating: 8/10

• Browse the archives:
  
• Stiletto, Audiobook » »
• « « Burn Bright, Audiobook