I really enjoyed Josephine , she is tenacious . Very inspiring.

This story did not grab me and pull me in....I could not get into it....

I really liked this novel. Likeable and believable main characters. A believable plot. A lovely romance.
Some people might be offended by the anachronism, especially in dialogues, but I didn't mind those.

This story tells of the great struggles and strides women have taken to be recognized, respected and accepted in their chosen field of career in a man's world. Now being seen as worthy opponents equal to the same treatment as their counterparts, instead of being belittled by their opposites, who believed their places should be in the bedrooms and taking care of their children and homes. Josephine wanted nothing and no one to stand in her way of her progressive move. She is a complex girl when it comes to romance, a bit naive in her dealings with Van Percy, and romantic relationships on a whole, which leads to some turbulent times. This book not only tells of the female struggles for an education, equality and acceptance, but Josephine’s struggle with her budding attraction for Nicholas. Filled with intrigue, and villains who would stoop at nothing to get their way. This book has been an eye opener and an interesting read.

Writing a novel is an incredibly challenging thing to do, and having your first completed manuscript is something to be immensely proud of. There are so many skills to learn and it is unreasonable to expect that a first time novelist would have these down pat from the start. With those thoughts in mind, I commend Renee Dahlia for this first effort.
No it's not perfect. Some of the dialogue is well and truly wrong for that period in history and my mind did boggle a little over the sandwich scene. I felt that having the hero jump into thoughts of marriage at the second meeting was a bit of a stretch too, but this story also has its positives.
The setting, in Amsterdam at the end of the 19th century, is an unusual one and I liked that. I felt more focus could have been given to life in Amsterdam at the time because that would have helped to set this story aside. As it was, the story could pretty well have taken place anywhere once we'd been introduced to women studying medicine at a time when women didn't.
That, by the way, is also a positive - I liked the focus on women encroaching on what had previously been regarded as a man's world and doing it well.
While I do feel the story could have been tighter, smoother, better, these are all things that come with practice, with learning to proof read and edit more diligently, and with developing a good critique network. In the meantime this is not a bad first effort.

The story follows Lady Josephine who is studying medicine in Holland. She is in her final year and ready to complete her exams, only to find one of her professors, Professor Van Percy, forcing her into a relationship. Fortunately for Josephine, she has two other female friends who are also finishing their studies. They convince Josephine that she needs to distance herself from Van Percy. Her solution is to write to her father to find her a "fake" fiancée. This is where the story becomes interesting as Nicholas (Lord St George) arrives, only to through Josephine into a spin, as she finds herself attracted to him. Nicholas also finds the situation one that he wants to change, making the farce into a reality.
Both characters were appealing and Nicholas, is all the more attractive, for trying to uncover the true story behind Van Percy. The secondary characters are also appealing and it will be interesting to see if they appear in further stories.
I received this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Lady Josephine moves to Holland to become a doctor. She has made two friends who are also working hard in their 4th year to graduate. Professor Van Percy is trying to intimidate Josephine ithat she will marry him when she graduates. She writes to her father and he sends a "fake" fiancee to put off Van Percy. Lord St George shows up to play the part. They have a chemistry between them that is not fake. As the story goes on Nicholas finds that the assignment he was sent to do other than to be a "fake" fiancee for Josephine will involve the same people. Thsi si a good story and gives you a look into how hard it was for women going to school at the time.

Wow, this book was amazing! I loved how the author mixed historical facts with her story and made me feel with those young women, trying to find their way in a world that was reluctant to allow women to learn and to study.

The story kept me on my toes, I loved the main characters a lot and I loved how they interacted. I was so proud of Nicholas for not being an ...idiot and underestimating Josephine but I loved how he enjoyed her intelligence, that he was willing to change his ways, to learn how to accept her independance and how proud he was of her and everything she achieved.

Sometimes in between I was seriously upset because of the things that happened and because I feared for some newfound (book)friends of mine and to say that I detest Van Percy...well, that's probably the understatement of the century.

I also loved how Claire, Marie and Josephine as the only female students in their year worked together and stood together against their not always sympathetic fellow male students. It took a strong personality and a strong will for women to study medicin in those times even though the University of Amsterdam was more open and more welcoming than for example the british Universities but there were still many men (and women) who thought that no woman should have a place there. Wasted time because a woman should marry and have children and shouldn't meddle with all those stupid things that would get her nowhere useful - at least in the eyes of many people. unfortunately many of their fellow students shared this view and were harassing them whenever they could.

Where Nicholas was supportive and proud of Josephine and not just because it was part of his job, it is her professor Van Percy who treats her with the least respect and who constantly harrasses her. Well, that's why Josephine's father sent Lord Nicholas St. George over to help her and pose as her fake fiancé, didn't he? The only question is - did her father have something else on his mind when he chose this very handsome, very charming and utterly irresistible and most distracting man as her fake fiancé?

I really loved how open both, Nicholas and Josephine, were to their feelings even if they were not totally happy in the beginning about this potential deviation from their set course. No games of cat-and-mouse, just open minds and honesty. Josephine, being shy, bookish and due to her unusual hight (for a woman) not very confident, nees some time to adapt at the idea of a not that bad looking man caring for her but you can feel her grow and get more confident and you can feel the steel at the core of her personality that made her pursue such an unusual and difficult career. I really loved to see her spread her wings and become more confident.

A wonderful and gripping book that I couldn't put down and that lets me hope for another book by this author - and soon, please!