Review : Maid of Secrets by Jennifer McGowan

Summary (from Goodreads)

Title : Maid of Secrets (Maids of Honor #1)
Author : Jennifer McGowan
Publication Date : May 7th 2013
Publisher : Simon & Schuster for Young Readers
Goodreads - The Book Depository

Seventeen-year-old Meg Fellowes is a wry, resourceful thief forced to join an elite group of female spies in Queen Elizabeth’s Court. There she must solve a murder, save the Crown, and resist the one thing that will become her greatest freedom–and her deadliest peril.

For Meg and her fellow spies are not alone in their pursuit of the murderer who stalks Windsor Castle.

A young, mysterious Spanish courtier, Count Rafe de Martine, appears at every turn in the dark and scandal-filled corridors of the Queen’s summer palace. And though secrets and danger are Meg’s stock-in-trade, she’s never bargained on falling in love…

Personal Thoughts

YA historical books, I find, are a favorite of mine. It's a genre that's brimming with unexplored potential. Rich world-building, complex characters and an intricate background, in my opinion, are essential to create a good YA historical. Having said that, there's no doubt that Maid of Secrets is an excellent YA historical and since it's a debut, I'm very much impressed by Jennifer McGowan.

The protagonist of Maid of Secrets, Meg, was a character I instantly became attached to. She's fierce, fearless and absolutely loyal. When we first meet her, she's a professional thief. How cool is that for someone in her era? When she is taken away to Windsor Castle to train as a spy, I grew to love her even more. I liked how once she had her mind set on a given task, she would put all her energy into that. Her allegiance to the Queen despite being forced by multiple other people to do otherwise was also one personality trait I admired in her. Meg was also not one to hold grudges. This was especially seen when it came to the scenes with the 4 other girls Meg trains with at Windsor Castle. One of the girls, Beatrice, gives her a hard time at first, but despite that Meg always came to the girl's aid. The bond that she grew with all four girls was another favorite element of mine in this book. Now, there's no good YA historical fiction, without that male who you can swoon over. Maid of Secrets' charming, gorgeous guy came in the form of the Spaniard, Rafe. Rafe was such a hard character to figure out because he was shrouded in secrets and I couldn't wait for Meg to completely unravel these secrets of his. With his mysterious allure, Rafe could be infuriating in totally lovable way, but at the same time he added some humor to the book with his flirtatious behavior. In addition, I thought the secondary characters were also very well fleshed out and the reader gets an opportunity to really discover who each and everyone was.

As I mentioned in the intro, the world building in Jennifer McGowan was exceptionally well-written. The author made sure that her world was clear-cut, going into the depths to truly depict the 16th Century. Her descriptions and attention to detail was what made this book rich in its world-building. The plot, while slow on certain occasions, was never boring. The element of mystery added to the entertainment factor of the book and gave the story an edge to it. Along with Meg, I was dying to know who killed Marie, one of the previous maids. Jennifer McGowan took me on an adventure, trying to figure out the culprit. But unfortunately (or fortunately), I was unsuccessful in identifying the latter and it came as a complete surprise to me, which I was completely pleased with it because I love it when a book shocks me. The romance too was well-done. It definitely started with an instant attraction, but it wasn't insta-love. The slow-burning romance progressed at a beautiful pace that made it all the more believable. Also, kudos to the author for not focusing her attention on the romance and letting the plot develop first and foremost before developing the romantic elements. Jennifer McGowan wowed me with this debut. It's hard to believe that Maid of Secrets was her debut since so many debut books failed miserable this year. I would go as far as to say that she has created the same impact on me as R.L LaFevers did with Grave Mercy with her debut. She's definitely one author whose works I'm looking forward to.

Maid of Secrets was a book that was rife with well-developed characters, strong world-building and a plot line that was peppered with twists, turns and secrets that completely took me by surprise. This is one YA historical book fans of the genre must not miss out on!

Rating
Cover : 4/5
Plot : 4/5
Characters : 4/5
Writing : 4/5




Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

In My Mailbox (8)

Image
In My Mailbox is a weekly meme hosted by Kristi at The Story Siren . Touch (Denazen #1) by Jus Accorda Summary (from Goodreads) When a strange boy tumbles down a river embankment and lands at her feet, seventeen-year-old adrenaline junkie Deznee Cross snatches the opportunity to piss off her father by bringing the mysterious hottie with ice blue eyes home. Except there’s something off with Kale. He wears her shoes in the shower, is overly fascinated with things like DVDs and vases, and acts like she’ll turn to dust if he touches her. It’s not until Dez’s father shows up, wielding a gun and knowing more about Kale than he should, that Dez realizes there’s more to this boy—and her father’s “law firm”—than she realized. Kale has been a prisoner of Denazen Corporation—an organization devoted to collecting “special” kids known as Sixes and using them as weapons—his entire life. And, oh yeah, his touch? It kills. The two team up with a group of rogue Sixes hellbent on taking dow
Read more

In My Mailbox (3)

Image
In My Mailbox is a weekly meme hosted by Kristi at The Story Siren . Cinder (Lunar Chronicles #1) by Marissa Meyer Summary (from Goodreads) Humans and androids crowd the raucous streets of New Beijing. A deadly plague ravages the population. From space, a ruthless lunar people watch, waiting to make their move. No one knows that Earth’s fate hinges on one girl. . . . Cinder, a gifted mechanic, is a cyborg. She’s a second-class citizen with a mysterious past, reviled by her stepmother and blamed for her stepsister’s illness. But when her life becomes intertwined with the handsome Prince Kai’s, she suddenly finds herself at the center of an intergalactic struggle, and a forbidden attraction. Caught between duty and freedom, loyalty and betrayal, she must uncover secrets about her past in order to protect her world’s future. The Alchemy Of Forever (Incarnation #1) by Avery Williams Summary (from Goodreads) Seraphina's first love made her immortal...her second might get her
Read more

In My Mailbox (10)

Image
In My Mailbox is a weekly meme hosted by Kristi at The Story Siren . Don't You Wish (Obtained From Net Galley - Big Thanks To Random House Children's Books for the ARC) by Roxanne St Claire Summary (from Goodreads) When plain and unpopular Annie Nutter gets zapped by one of her dad's whacked-out inventions, she lands in a parallel universe where her life becomes picture-perfect. Now she's Ayla Monroe, daughter of the same mother but a different father—and she's the gorgeous, rich queen bee of her high school.  In this universe, Ayla lives in glitzy Miami instead of dreary Pittsburgh and has beaucoup bucks, courtesy of her billionaire—if usually absent—father. Her friends hit the clubs, party backstage at concerts, and take risks that are exhilirating . . . and illegal. Here she's got a date to lose her V-card with the hottest guy she's ever seen. But on the insde, Ayla is still Annie. So when she's offered the chance to leave the dream life a
Read more