jayvall reviewed Newt's emerald by Garth Nix
Review of "Newt's emerald" on 'Goodreads'
3 stars
So, I enjoyed this regency-style romance/mystery mainly because I had already read [b:Shades of Milk and Honey|8697507|Shades of Milk and Honey (Glamourist Histories, #1)|Mary Robinette Kowal|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1377579650s/8697507.jpg|8624218] which is very similar in that not a ton happens, and the romance is understated. However, I thought this book was YA, so I spent a lot of time wondering whether a teen would have the patience to stick with this book. I suspect I would not have, if I had not already read the Glamourists series.
As for the actual story, the mystery was half-hearted at best, and the denouement was underwhelming. The romance was probably the best part, and that, honestly, wasn't that well done either. I think I liked the characters, especially the aunt, more than the story as a whole. I'd consider reading another book in this series, but I think it's a 1-off from Nix.
Edit: I just remembered …
So, I enjoyed this regency-style romance/mystery mainly because I had already read [b:Shades of Milk and Honey|8697507|Shades of Milk and Honey (Glamourist Histories, #1)|Mary Robinette Kowal|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1377579650s/8697507.jpg|8624218] which is very similar in that not a ton happens, and the romance is understated. However, I thought this book was YA, so I spent a lot of time wondering whether a teen would have the patience to stick with this book. I suspect I would not have, if I had not already read the Glamourists series.
As for the actual story, the mystery was half-hearted at best, and the denouement was underwhelming. The romance was probably the best part, and that, honestly, wasn't that well done either. I think I liked the characters, especially the aunt, more than the story as a whole. I'd consider reading another book in this series, but I think it's a 1-off from Nix.
Edit: I just remembered the author's note stated that this book was originally a book within a book, and for whatever reason, the outershell book got scrapped, but this remained. It reads like that. I think Nix said he did more work to flesh this out, but he could have done more in my opinion as it was a very thin story.
