{"id":24405,"date":"2025-04-07T22:25:20","date_gmt":"2025-04-08T02:25:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/?p=24405"},"modified":"2025-06-29T14:02:23","modified_gmt":"2025-06-29T18:02:23","slug":"the-persephone-code","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/24405","title":{"rendered":"The Persephone Code"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Persephone Code<\/em><\/a> (2024) Julia Golding (Regency Secrets #1)
\n\"The<\/a>Set in England in 1812<\/p>\n

I started out enjoying this story: a doctor with an opium addiction from his time at war, and a plucky heroine making her own way in the world.<\/p>\n

Vane was watching her with a supercilious smile. <\/p>\n

\u2018Well done, Miss Fitz-Pennington. You are the first lady visitor I\u2019ve had who didn\u2019t rush forward to pet the creatures, much to the detriment of their muslin gowns.\u2019 <\/p>\n

Dora wondered why he hadn\u2019t bothered to warn her, unless he enjoyed seeing ladies having their dresses muddied and pawed.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

I was unsure at a couple of points, but kept on, since I liked the characters and was curious about the mystery.<\/p>\n

Then I became more unsure, especially upon reading this:<\/p>\n

Bellingham, that Quaker from Birmingham<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Bellingham? The deluded madman who murdered prime minister Spenser Percival?<\/p>\n

I’ve read several historical mysteries where the murder of Spenser Percival plays a part, my favorite of which contains lots of references on where to learn more and specifies what was fact and what she made up.<\/p>\n

This… was not one of those books.<\/p>\n

Instead, we go from the Hellfire Club to … the Illuminati.<\/p>\n

We get horrible people on both sides–the immoral and murderous Hellfire Club and the immoral and murderous Illuminati. Plus Dora’s horrible father and her only slightly less horrible brother. But she loved him! Despite everything! Such loyalty!<\/p>\n

Yes, we’re left with the impression that the Illuminati were behind the murder of Spenser Percival.<\/p>\n

It had an interesting start, but as it picked up speed it started to go off the rails, and I finished reading solely because I wanted it finished–but wasn’t quite willing to DNF it.<\/p>\n

My recommendation is you skip this book and instead find A Dangerous Madness<\/em><\/a> by Michelle Diener<\/a>. You can read it without having read the first two books in her Regency London series (I think I read them all out of order (although I admit my favorite story in that series is the second)).<\/p>\n

Characters<\/strong>: Miss Dora Fitz-Pennington, Dr Jacob Sandys, Sir Fletcher Vane, Reverend George Leighton, Ruby Plum, Jack Lammas, Anthony Pennington, Ezra Pennington, Matt Jenkins, Ned Black, Mrs Stock, Jeremy, Mother Clerk, Miss Helen Leighton, Mary Wheeler, Richard Brinsley Sheridan, William Bates, Virginia Lady Tolworth<\/p>\n

Cover by Lucy Davey<\/p>\n

Publisher: One More Chapter<\/p>\n

Rating: 4\/10<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Persephone Code (2024) Julia Golding (Regency Secrets #1) Set in England in 1812 I started out enjoying this story: a doctor with an opium addiction from his time at war, and a plucky heroine making her own way in the world. Vane was watching her with a supercilious smile. \u2018Well done, Miss Fitz-Pennington. You […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[30,15,292,204,33,207,8,26,56],"tags":[50,874,547,548,875],"class_list":["post-24405","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-british","category-disliked-or-abandoned","category-ebook","category-good","category-historical","category-mental-health-rep","category-mystery","category-romance","category-sexual-content","tag-boinking","tag-john-bellingham","tag-napoleonic-era","tag-regency","tag-spenser-percival"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/piQkW-6lD","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":12789,"url":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/12789","url_meta":{"origin":24405,"position":0},"title":"Open for Business","author":"Michelle","date":"April 24, 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"Open for Business (2016) Angel Martinez (Brandywine Investigations) This is three interrelated stories, of gods and men and angels and monsters. The first book is about Hades, who has been surprised by divorce papers from Persephone. He comes to the world (things aren't that busy for him after all) and\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "8\/10"","block_context":{"text":"8\/10","link":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/category\/8-10"},"img":{"alt_text":"Open for Business","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/Open-for-Business.png?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":19412,"url":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/19412","url_meta":{"origin":24405,"position":1},"title":"Lore Olympus: Volume One","author":"Michelle","date":"December 20, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"Lore Olympus: Volume One (2021) Rachel Smythe Hades & Persephone, but today. Hades is lonely. But he does have some awesome dogs. Well, mostly awesome. I am very glad this is a web comic, but I need to know what happens and can't wait until July to find out. Trigger\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "7.5\/10"","block_context":{"text":"7.5\/10","link":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/category\/7-5-10"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/Cerebus-2.png?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":19937,"url":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/19937","url_meta":{"origin":24405,"position":2},"title":"Banquet of Lies","author":"Michelle","date":"April 6, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"Banquet of Lies (2013) Michelle Diener (Regency London) I needed to reread this as well. For her, what people ate, and how they ate, was just as interesting as the stories they told. This one is also about food. Her voice was as bitter as burned coffee, and just as\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "9.5\/10"","block_context":{"text":"9.5\/10","link":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/category\/9-5-10"},"img":{"alt_text":"Banquet of Lies","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/03\/Banquet-of-Lies-e1511038599836.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":19939,"url":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/19939","url_meta":{"origin":24405,"position":3},"title":"The Emperor’s Conspiracy","author":"Michelle","date":"April 6, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"Emperor's Conspiracy(2012) Michelle Diener (Regency London) I reread the second book, so then I had to go back and reread the first book. \u201cEm.\u201d Lord Durnham watched as his sister ushered her children out the door in front of her with disbelief. \u201cI don\u2019t understand . . .\u201d He caught\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "8.5\/10"","block_context":{"text":"8.5\/10","link":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/category\/8-5-10"},"img":{"alt_text":"The Emperor's Conspiracy","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/03\/The-Emperors-Conspiracy-e1511011261344.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":11139,"url":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/11139","url_meta":{"origin":24405,"position":4},"title":"Unmasked by the Marquess","author":"Michelle","date":"October 4, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"Unmasked by the Marquess (2018) Cat Sebastian (Regency Imposters) Set in Regency England, mostly London. Alistair, Marquess of Pembroke has been struggling to rebuild his fortunes after his father left the estates in ruin, spending much of his money on his mistress and the children he had with said mistress.\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "British"","block_context":{"text":"British","link":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/category\/british"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/Unmasked-by-the-Marquess.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":23535,"url":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/23535","url_meta":{"origin":24405,"position":5},"title":"Breeze Spells and Bridegrooms","author":"Michelle","date":"May 2, 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"Breeze Spells and Bridegrooms (2024) Sarah Wallace, S.O. Callahan (Fae & Human Relations: A Regency Fantasy Series) Roger Barnes failed his Hastings Exam--the magical test that determines which child can inherit. He believes the is inherently problematic, and goes up before the Council to propose a different testing scheme. Many\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "7.5\/10"","block_context":{"text":"7.5\/10","link":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/category\/7-5-10"},"img":{"alt_text":"Breeze Spells and Bridegrooms","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/Breeze-Spells-and-Bridegrooms-200x300.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_likes_enabled":false,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/24405","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=24405"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/24405\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=24405"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=24405"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=24405"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}