Well, I must say, when I didnt win this book I was very disappointed, as I had read Stacey Halls's first book and loved it. If this book was anywhere near as good, it promised to be a pageturner. And that prediction was mostly right. I went out and bought myself one of the first copies sold at waterstones, a signed copy no less. I was caught up in the plot almost immediately, trying to guess the answers before I had enough information to do so. I could barely put it down. I really admire the way Halls can make us sympathise and root for two women who both want the same thing and are enemies. It made it thrilling because I wanted both of them to win, but that just wouldnt work. I also love that she doesnt fall into the trap of involving a love story. There is a hint of romance to each of the main characters story, but it's more of a subplot, of barely any consequence. The main plot focuses entirely on the two women, and is definately stronger because of it. That said, I do have one of two things that have disappointed me about this book. The first is that the climax we were heading towards throughout the novel kept being averted. It's not so much that it was an anti climax, it wasnt as disappointing as that, but a few times I thought "Oh, was that it?". There was potential to take things a lot further, and that Halls didnt made it feel a little rushed. Secondly, the novel is told from the point of view of two women, one of whom is a cockney speaking pauper. And while her dialogue reflected this accent, the prose was indecipherable from the prose of the upper class gentlewoman from the rich part of London. Which isnt a terrible thing, it was just a bit jarring. A little continuity between dialogue and prose would have aided the flow of the story, I think. Nevertheless, it is definately worth a read and I will still be looking out for Halls's next book. I also recommend her first book, The Familiars, which was really a masterpiece.