This book was so boring. The characters were so flaky and dull, Fido (real name Emily) was supposed to be a strong woman in the ways of business however as soon as her friend comes into the picture her life's work just seems to be forgotten about as she gets trampled all over by her 'friend'. She was so easily manipulated and I can't see how you can describe a character as strong and independent with a good work ethic but then 20 pages later is being treated like a door mat and never goes into the office again?! It doesn't make sense!

Then we have Helen - the manipulator, wants what she wants and nobody will tell her otherwise. Is willing to manipulate her friends to get to her goal. Pretty much pinned as the villain from the start - so why are we supposed to route for this woman? Again - doesn't make sense! 

We then have the story - a woman who has an affair, her husband who files for a divorce (a big deal back in the 1800s) and the courtroom drama that ensues. After the disaster of the characters I would love to say that this can be overlooked by the amazing story - it can't. The plot is extremely dull, I really didn't care about this manipulative woman and the various different places that she would meet her lover. For me the book stretched on for far too long and the story quickly dragged.

I will say (there is one positive), I do think that the setting was really well described. If there is one thing that Donoghue does well its getting you in the setting, the story did really feel like it was set in 1800s London and I did enjoy reading these parts (basically the parts that didn't really involve the story or characters)

I wouldn't recommend this book, I found it really slow and the characters all really dull. However if you liked Frog Music (also by Donoghue) or The Miniaturist by Jesse Burton then I would say check this book out as there are similar vibes