I loved this book! The full review will be posted soon at kaitgoodwin.com/books! Thank you very much for this wonderful opportunity to connect books to their readers!

I am a huge fan of Cindy Anstey! I have read every one of her books, and I was so excited to receive an ARC of this one! This one has a darker edge than her previous novels. Beth's experience was truly terrifying and I was very invested in finding out what happened. I read it all in two days, and overall, I really liked it.

However, I think it could use another pass at polishing! Here are some things I would work on:
1. Transitions: At times, they were quite jarring. I felt that too much time was spent on more mundane things and important things were glossed over. I especially missed out on things like Daisy's disappearance, Mr. Peterson's dinner and his attempts to get to Beth,
2. Characterization: Beth, Walter and Mr. Strickland had clear characterization and personalities, but James, Caroline, and Brant were all a bit bland. James especially had no personality beyond being a nice guy. He needed more to define him and more moments with Beth to support their romance. All the secondary characters like Sam and Ned were totally interchangeable.
3. Subtlety: All the clues stood out like red flags. To avoid spoilers, I won't say what they were, but I knew exactly who the villain was and where he was holed up. I suspected the mysterious Mr. Smythe's identity immediately, and I knew the page was a clue to Beth's identity instead of the villain's. Some fleshing out of the conversations surrounding these clues could hide them a bit more.

As critical as all of this sounds, I still loved the book and would recommend it.

#TheHummingbirdDagger #NetGalley
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the E-arc copy of this novel.
The Hummingbird Dagger is a wonderful jaunt into the regency mystery and romance area for young adults. It is reminiscent of Julie Garwood without the sexual situations. I love the author's writing style and it is definitely a page turner to see what happens to the main character.

LOVED this book so much!!! It's been a long time that I've enjoyed almost every character in a story! Walter just made me laugh at loud, the little brother with something to prove and a heart of gold. This book was a mystery Jane Austen thriller. We have kidnapping, amnesia, villains, attempted murder, and just page after page of great writing! Highly enjoyed this! Cindy Anstey does it again! Definitely one of my favorite authors!

A heart-racing Regency mystery with memory loss, kidnappings, and, of course, a breathtaking romance. Anstey has hit her stride in the Regency rom-com genre, so this change of pace into the slightly macabre was a pleasant and welcome surprise. I thoroughly enjoyed every twist, turn, and scandalous forehead kiss in this daring addition to Antsey's repertoire.

This book at first was a little scary to read because any book involving the powerful effects of memory and identity loss is sure to be quite the intense adventure. This was the junior/female rendition of the Bourne series but add royalty amongst it instead of the U.S. Government. Each chapter was focused on Beth trying to regain her memory and identity thanks to Lord James Ellerby and his sister Caroline, just when you thought she was making progress, a new turn takes effect. This book will want you to keep reading on and on and see what happens to Beth and her adventures finding out the truth on who she really is.

Thank you Netgalley and Macmillan Children's Publishing Group for the ARC in exchange for an honest review. We will definitely consider this title for our YFantasy collection at our library. That is why we give this book 5 stars.