The Seamstress
Series: Sisters of Woodside Mysteries, Book 4
By: Mary Kingswood / Narrated By: Joanna Stephens
Length: 14 hrs and 28 mins
Oy Vey! And the saddest thing is: I’ll be getting Book 5 when it comes out on audio…
I dunno if it’s a testament to my devotion to Regency romances or an indictment of a flaw in my character but… I’ll be doing Book 5 of this series of the Sisters of Woodside Mysteries even after this most WOEful of installments. And I also dunno but, maybe it’s Joanna Stephens that’s making absolutely GOTHIC writing into a listening experience whereby one wants to jam an icepick into the ear as one goes along with each story. I mean, I do so totally applaud when a narrator is fearless and gets into the story being narrated, but when the character is a silly, shallow, screechy individual? Pleeeeeze, do NOT screech my eardrums out!
And that’s the problem here in The Seamstress whereby sister Fanny Winterton manages to capture the weepiness of sister Margaret from Book 3 all whilst turning into the mindless chatterbox that was sister Lucy from Book 2.
Here’s the story in as bit of a nutshell as I can manage: The newly impoverished Fanny is taken in to work as a genteel seamstress to work amongst a charity for fallen women who work towards new lives by providing piecemeal dresswork. From the moment she steps out of the carriage to enter her new life, the Honourable Ferdie Makenham sees her and is instantly struck by a deep and abiding love. He will spend the rest of the book, hours upon HOURS, trying to get the unrepentantly and overly romantic Fanny to wed him. Naturally, there’s a murder which occurs during his wooing of her (Gotta have a murder somewhere in this unapologetically melodramatic series… must have that “Mystery” to go in there!), then there are two, then three. There is a betrayal on a grand scale. There’s a duel to protect Fanny’s honor after a potential ravishing. There’s Fanny’s very life in complete and utter danger. And there’s plenty of Fanny weeping, getting morose, chattering her head off, turning into a total nitwit at the drop of a hat.
All while Ferdie continues to aDORe her even as she’s refused his request of her hand in marriage. Okay, so maybe, even tho’ it set my teeth on edge, I could handle all the Drama, but I could NOT for the life of me, see what Ferdie and his family saw to adore in Fanny. She’s a shallow girl, into fashion (And Ferdie most absurdly is also: He waxes on and on about how he can tell so much of a person’s character by the way he or she dresses), she has no money, no prospects, she’s slighted him most dramatically, and she’s just plain silly. Still, Ferdie and his family devote themselves to her whims, uphold her when she swoooooons as the murders have taken over her imagination, and they just generally think she’s the Best. Female. EVER for their dear Ferdie.
Uhm, okay… Cuz after all, in this book of the series, Ferdie is the most unlikely of Heroes of any thus far. He himself is rather a cardboard cutout character, interested solely in fashion (And when people aren’t all impassioned in this book? Why, they’re talking talking talking about clothes and fashion and getting into the details of stitching and such all… >yawn< ).
So maybe I have a problem with just haaaaving to finish what I started, because tho’ Book 5 isn’t out yet, and tho’ I dearly disliked this book, I feel like once I start a series, I’ve just gotta see it to its conclusion, however earsplitting it might be. I’m in this until the next one, so I’ll get back to you on how it all turns out. There’s this mystery, you see, regarding the little brother lost at sea that still weighs on the sisters’ minds, and I’ve GOTTA see what all is going on with that.
Then too, I have two other Regency series by author Mary Kingswood which reviewers have stated are more whimsical and written with a lighter hand/more humor. That would be such a relief. But as Joanna Stephens narrates both of those, well, I dunno that I wanna start either of those… seeing as I have this most unfortunate psychopathology about finishing that which exasperates, that which splits the ear with shrillness.
I did like Book 1, The Governess, but I’ve gotta tell ya: This series has NOT satisfied my deepest desire which is to always have a witty and wonderful Regency romance downloaded on my iPhone.
I’m only oh sooo verrry grateful that Book 5 is not available yet, thus giving me a break from the Winterton sisters. And I do believe I’ll be holding off on Ms. Kingswood’s other offerings for a bit.
Is it time for a Contemporary Romance? Oh, I don’t know; I might not be THAT hard up yet. All I know? I’d KILL for a nice little Regency romp right about now…!
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