***100 Days of Summer Reading 2023***
Prompt: Book where the main character has a secret.
12 sided dice roll: 12
When I heard that Genevieve Cogman had written the first book of a new series, I didn't even care what the topic was. I knew I wanted to read it. Then I learned that it was a retelling of The Scarlet Pimpernel. So I read that novel for the first time this year and enjoyed it despite some misgivings. I'm glad I read the original, although I don't think it's necessary to enjoy this book. And I've come to the conclusion that adding vampires improves many things.
Eleanor is a professional embroiderer and seamstress working for an aristocratic vampire in England. She has some ambitions but had no idea how she will ever get to act on them. Then one day, Eleanor's mistress lends her to a visiting couple, the Blakeneys. Eleanor is both excited and a little annoyed; after all, she feels she is being lent like a fan or a horse, not a human. But she has been raised to be a co-operative servant and she won't have to provide blood for the Blakeneys.
It quickly becomes obvious to her that Sir Percy Blakeney is the Scarlet Pimpernel and that he has a plan that involves her somehow. She endures a variety of training—deportment, French language, and equestrian skills. She is uncomfortable being surrounded by aristocrats and resents many of their assumptions about people of her station.
The action picks up when the team assembles and sails to France. There, Eleanor gets separated from the group almost immediately and discovers that she can use her wits and her new skills to survive. Eleanor is reunited with her team, but more adventures befall her. Her mettle is tested repeatedly and she can't help having some sympathy for the initial goals of the Revolution. After all, why should some humans be declared superior to others? Her emotions gets pulled back and forth. Do her aristocratic team mates truly value her? Will they abandon her when their objectives are met? Will she ever see England again?
This is an excellent beginning. Eleanor has acquired a secret weapon during one of her separations from the Englishmen, reminding me very much of Margaret Rogerson's Vespertine. I'll be interested to see where Cogman takes things from here.
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