A Curious Beginning by Deanna Raybourn
When Veronica Speedwell’s aunt passes, she announces her death in the newspaper and prepares to travel in the name of romance and butterflies. Unfortunately for her, all she’s done is announce her location by announcing the death of her last living guardian. Veronica grew up believing she was an orphan, thinking little of how many times she had to move during her upbringing. It turns out she’s not who she thinks she is, and there’s a target on her back along with a mystery to unravel if she wants to survive.
I picked up this book excited about a mystery taking place in the late 1800s, and quickly found myself struggling with the protagonist. At first, Veronica is seemingly unique as a woman who would rather pursue fleeting romances while pursuing her scientific passion. However, it turns out that Veronica fancies herself not like other women. The character is written as someone who is not like other women while being oh-so-smart. This quickly became grating rather than being the great character she could’ve been. The best part is that she’s not as smart as she thinks she is, but she spends the whole book proving that she is and it’s supposed to be believable.
Stepping back from Veronica, this is mostly a fun book to read. For me, it’s the overall cast that made the story. There’s a cast of interesting to hilarious characters, but we mainly follow Veronica and her accidental sidekick, Stoker. The two find themselves on the run with Stoker accused of a murder he didn’t commit, and they’re both so stubborn that they butt heads all the way to the end. I like Stoker and the many characters who came in and out of the book, and honestly, they are really what made the book for me.
The mystery itself was an interesting one, though I figured the majority of it out early on. I did find that the way the mystery was wrapped up fell pretty flat for me, and I find it unbelievable that the parties hunting Veronica are satisfied with it. Well, I guess I’ll have to suspend a little more belief here, but I can’t say that I find it believable in any way. That said, I’m debating on whether or not I want to continue the series because while it was a fun book, Veronica was really getting on my last nerve. I would rather her actually be unique than fluffing her own ego about how she’s not like other women and having others join in to remark on this as well as how she truly is different. If I met her in real life, I would avoid her like the plague while she was busy patting herself on the back on her smarts that tend to miss the mark.
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