Chandra Claypool (WhereTheReaderGrows)'s Reviews > Creatures of Will and Temper

Set in Victorian London, we learn of two sisters who are about as opposite as you can get. While they struggle in their relationship with each other, their trip introduces other characters who become vast influences on each of them. The beginning of the book lays a foundation of their individual characters and their sisterly fights while still having that underlying loyalty of love that only siblings share. Then as we get into parts 2 and 3, the book starts to take off.

I'm not a huge fan of historical fiction, but I LOVE Dorian Gray and books about demons and the dark arts. This book is a mix of both and as such, I have mixed feelings with this story. The writing itself is fine but the slow start had my attention being pulled away from the pages. I struggled to continue at certain points but was really curious where the demon and Dorian Gray feel would enter into play as the first half was pretty deplete of any inkling of either of these two things. Keeping in mind this book is INSPIRED by the story and not a retelling, it's fitting it played more into the subplot rather than into the main storyline. By the time we are introduced to the diabolists, demons and the dark side of the book, I was just "eh" about it. It did get interesting but the demons still had little influence... Demons aside, this felt like more of a story of sisterly love and finding that chord that solidifies their relationship than anything darker or supernatural.

I think those who like historical fiction will be more apt to enjoy this book more than I did. I think I may have expected more than what I ended up getting and was hoping for a darker read.

Thank you to Mariner Books for this copy!