The Innkeeper's Daughter - Review

The Innkeeper's Daughter (Bow Street Runners, # 2)

By: Michelle Griep

Publication: March 1st 2018 by Shiloh Run Press

320 pages

Genre: Adult, Historical Fiction, Christian Fiction, Regency

Source: Personal Kindle Library (freebie)

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Goodreads description--A London officer goes undercover to expose a plot against the Crown

Dover, England, 1808: Officer Alexander Moore goes undercover as a gambling gentleman to expose a high-stakes plot against the king—and he’s a master of disguise, for Johanna Langley believes him to be quite the rogue. . .until she can no longer fight against his unrelenting charm.

All Johanna wants is to keep the family inn afloat, but when the rent and the hearth payment are due at the same time, where will she find the extra funds? If she doesn’t come up with the money, there will be nowhere to go other than the workhouse—where she’ll be separated from her ailing mother and ten-year-old brother.

Alex desperately wants to help Johanna, especially when she confides in him, but his mission—finding and bringing to justice a traitor to the crown—must come first, or they could all end up dead.

So I've loved Michelle Griep in the past. I adored The Captive Heart and really enjoyed Brentwood's Ward. The concept of the Bow Street Runners was so fascinating to me that I was excited to jump into The Innkeeper's Daughter. However, things didn't go as smoothly as I wanted.

Probably my biggest issue with The Innkeeper's Daughter was the pacing. It felt so slow to me. I was probably 60% or more finished before I felt invested. There was so much bouncing around with the plot that it was just about impossible to feel as if I had any of the secrets figured out. I certainly don't like to figure everything out with books that involve some sort of mystery, but I do like to feel like I've got an idea of what might be going on.

Similarly, I didn't click with Johanna and Alex. Feelings developed way too quickly without much deep interaction between the two. I needed more. I wanted more. I just felt like everything was rushed overall.

Mr. Nutbrown (Hare as I call him in my head) was a struggle for me. I don't want to put down anyone who might have a similar mental condition (I'm not exactly sure what diagnosis Mr. Nutbrown would have if he were in a modern medical environment). Yet I just got constantly frustrated with him and his part in the entire story.

Overall I was just really disappointed. I thought about DNFing, but I really didn't want to do that since I have The Noble Guardian for review. In the end, I pushed through, yet I didn't really enjoy the journey. The Innkeeper's Daughter gets 2.5 Stars. Have you read The Innkeeper's Daughter? What did you think? Let me know!