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A review by paperprivateer
Enola Holmes and the Elegant Escapade by Nancy Springer
5.0
I've been reading Nancy Springer for as long as I can remember. Rowan Hood and Enola Holmes were an important part of my childhood. As an adult, reading Enola Holmes still brings me the same kind of joy I experienced growing up.
Throughout the series, I have loved seeing Enola's own take on detective work, particularly her empathy and emotions that her brother is often seen as lacking. She is smart but still has obvious flaws. Her commentary is witty and shows the peaks and valleys of solving any puzzle, especially the kind of mysteries she takes on. Even in my 30s, Enola Holmes is the kind of person I aspire to be.
I have also loved the slowly developing relationship between Sherlock and Enola. Their increasing respect for each other and antagonist/assisting relationship continues well in this book. The end made me cheer because of the way it showed the full development of their relationship. They continue to exasperate and impress each other, and it is clear that they are now in a very different place than they were at their first meeting. Enola deeply admires Sherlock, and it is nice to see him continue growing in admiration of his little sister.
As always, the surrounding characters are full of life and fun to read about. From the villains to the heroes to the servants and everything in between, we have characters that feel like you would meet in real life if you were wandering the streets of London at the time. The recurring characters continue to shine with their own personalities, and its nice to see some of those stories continue.
I also very much enjoy the depictions of the changing world, from the differences in fashion to the women Enola encounters with new, radical ideas. It is done in a natural way like, well, of course, Enola Holmes and the woman who gave birth to Sherlock and Mycroft would be into some of them, and of course, Enola would herself be interested when she got older! It does not feel forced. In some ways, it seems to echo her own development and growing up.
Overall, fans of Enola Holmes will find all the things they love about this series and maybe even find new things they adore. Enola continues to shine as brightly as ever, and my smile shines too whenever I get to read new stories about her adventures.
Audiobook review: I loved the narrator. She felt like she fit the book and the story perfectly, and I never got bored or distracted even though I listened to the audiobook in one sitting. The voice acting didn't feel forced, and some of the inflections and other touches made me laugh out loud..The music at the beginning of the end set a nice touch and the mood for the story.
I reviewed the audiobook version of this book. Thanks to NetGalley for the advance copy.
Throughout the series, I have loved seeing Enola's own take on detective work, particularly her empathy and emotions that her brother is often seen as lacking. She is smart but still has obvious flaws. Her commentary is witty and shows the peaks and valleys of solving any puzzle, especially the kind of mysteries she takes on. Even in my 30s, Enola Holmes is the kind of person I aspire to be.
I have also loved the slowly developing relationship between Sherlock and Enola. Their increasing respect for each other and antagonist/assisting relationship continues well in this book. The end made me cheer because of the way it showed the full development of their relationship. They continue to exasperate and impress each other, and it is clear that they are now in a very different place than they were at their first meeting. Enola deeply admires Sherlock, and it is nice to see him continue growing in admiration of his little sister.
As always, the surrounding characters are full of life and fun to read about. From the villains to the heroes to the servants and everything in between, we have characters that feel like you would meet in real life if you were wandering the streets of London at the time. The recurring characters continue to shine with their own personalities, and its nice to see some of those stories continue.
I also very much enjoy the depictions of the changing world, from the differences in fashion to the women Enola encounters with new, radical ideas. It is done in a natural way like, well, of course, Enola Holmes and the woman who gave birth to Sherlock and Mycroft would be into some of them, and of course, Enola would herself be interested when she got older! It does not feel forced. In some ways, it seems to echo her own development and growing up.
Overall, fans of Enola Holmes will find all the things they love about this series and maybe even find new things they adore. Enola continues to shine as brightly as ever, and my smile shines too whenever I get to read new stories about her adventures.
Audiobook review: I loved the narrator. She felt like she fit the book and the story perfectly, and I never got bored or distracted even though I listened to the audiobook in one sitting. The voice acting didn't feel forced, and some of the inflections and other touches made me laugh out loud..The music at the beginning of the end set a nice touch and the mood for the story.
I reviewed the audiobook version of this book. Thanks to NetGalley for the advance copy.