Between the stunning cover and the dark academia setting, I was all in on The Bequest. I went in expecting a spanning, layered mystery and a lot of suspense. However, the writing felt a bit stiff and the pacing of scenes was very uneven. I felt restless very early on, so this clearly wasn't a fit for me.

terrific premise that doesn’t materialize at all on the page. it’s doing too much with the dead colleague the historical mystery the affair etc etc. disappointing

Is Isabel Henley being set up as a naive American Ph.D. candidate researching in Genoa or is she a sharp-minded investigator trying to find her friend Rose who has disappeared and presumed dead--or not? Isabel flees Boston after an affair with a married man and finds herself in Scotland, then Italy and France, to trace the history of missing emerald as part of her dissertation. The Bequest is an long, detailed Nancy Drew mystery set in the murky, international academic world.

''Fleeing a disastrous affair with a colleague in Boston, Isabel Henley moves to Scotland to begin a PhD with a renowned feminist professor—only to learn, upon arrival, that her advisor has suffered a deadly fall. Soon after, Isabel is informed that another scholar at the university is about to publish a book on her dissertation topic, leaving her disconcerted and in search of a new subject, all while struggling to acclimate to her new home abroad. Isabel needs a good friend during such a rocky start, and finds one when she reconnects with Rose Brewster, her charismatic classmate from undergrad. But when Rose confides to Isabel that she is in trouble, and then goes missing, Isabel’s already-unsteady life is sent into a tailspin. A suicide note surfaces, followed by a coded message: Rose is alive but, unless Isabel can complete the research begun before her friend’s disappearance, both women will be killed by her captors.''

An interest in history is probably a requirement to read this novel. Isabel spends a lot of time researching and relaying it to the reader. There are the odd sentences in Italian, French, and Latin. If you like dark academia that is heavy on said academia, then you’ll likely enjoy this twisty book.

There is plenty of espionage, history and thrills! This might not be for everyone, as you will definitely learn much more about the Renaissance and old customs.

Thank you Netgalley for the chance to read this book in exchange for an honest review.

If you love history and mystery, this is a book for you!

Also, if you’re susceptible to reading books and wanting to start a new life, this is a book for you.
I’ve never wanted to get my PhD, study history and trace the world looking for secrets from 400 years ago more than I do now.

Joanna Margaret writes a great novel diving deep into historical secrets and mixing it with modern day drama and love affairs.

There were times I got lost in the telling of the story and all of the characters from the past, but I can’t blame that on Margaret. The same thing happened in every history class I’ve ever taken ;) So if history isn’t your thing, maybe skip this one.

But I’ll definitely look for more books from Joanna Margaret in the future.

Isabel Henley is a serious and dedicated historian combing through original sources hidden away in various public and private collections around Europe. Following these clues requires patience, persistence, and decoding skills from our multilingual heroine. Meanwhile, there’s her intended thesis supervisor’s unexplained death just before Isabel’s arrival at the university, academic competition from various corners, and rumors of a valuable emerald hidden centuries earlier by the subject of her thesis. Pile on some romantic complications and it seems that this is going to be a juicy academic mystery. The problem is that however good a researcher she may be, Isabel is otherwise kind of a dingbat. She allows herself to be buffeted by whatever wind comes along, believing everybody obvious lies and putting up with some outrageous behavior from her colleagues, supervisors, and supposed friends, all while putting herself into dangerous situations no sensible woman would accept for one millisecond. Lady, where are your critical thinking skills? Have we reached the peak of the annoying ditzy women trend where even doctoral candidates supposed to be airheads? Also, there are way too many creeps for one specialized academic field, not to mention one small history department. There’s an excess of detail about all the historical documents Isabel consults, making reading this novel almost its own academic exercise in gleaning relevant information from a vast amount of background reading. That may be fun if you are conducting historical research, but in a mystery that many long detours kill the pace.

Thanks to Netgalley and Penzler Publishers for a digital advance reading copy.

I just couldn't get into this book, despite how excited I was. I am in the history field, and I love mysteries and dark academia, so I thought this would be the perfect book. Unfortunately, I just could not connect with the characters and the style was as if it were trying too hard. It also felt very stilted. The characters' conversations didn't feel real to me, plot points were dropped, and there were times I could not make sense of what they said or what was happening. It felt like the author tried to use the unreliable narrator trope to cover some of this up but it felt like a lazy way to make the plot work.

This novel is exactly what dark academia book lovers will ask for on a dark, dreary autumnal evening! I was so impressed with the plot and the turns it took as I read on and on, definitely a page-turner that I hope one day to re-read. Thank You Joanna Margaret

When I started The Bequest, I quickly realized there was going to be a LOT of information to keep track of. There was the large cast of characters - Isabel, the FMC, beginning a history PhD in Scotland, her group of colleagues and friends, the people from her past, the many (MANY) historical figures and families comprising the thesis she's working on... and then she's traveling and meeting MORE new people and learning more and more about these historical families... so I needed a Notepad document to keep track.

This was the only note I actually took: WHY DOES THIS GIRL NEVER CHARGE HER PHONE

The Bequest can feel complicated. There are dozens of characters, there are basically history lessons woven in, there's espionage and suspense. But ultimately, if you decide to read this, don't worry too much about keeping track of the details. The author does a good job walking you through it all and in the end, the nitty gritty details don't matter so much.

This isn't my usual type of read but I did enjoy it, aside from a few frustrations with the FMC's decision making (bless sweet Isabel). If you are a history buff of any kind or have pursued higher education, I think this book would be a great fit for you!

I got this as an ARC from #netgalley but hit a HUGE reading slump and wasn't able to read it until 5 months past it's pub date. Hopefully, this is a case of better late than never!

The Bequest just didn't work for me. I thought it had a lot of potential but it was very boring. I almost did not finish this book several times and just had to skim towards the end. I didn't connect with any of the characters. The writing was choppy. Ultimately just not something I enjoyed.

The overall plot was okay. It's definitely not something I'd recommend en masse. The main character lacked depth, and it felt like the plot happened more around her rather than her being an active participant in all the excitement. I thought the history was cool, but it got really dry at times. The romance was cute, but the I thought the sexual assault and pregnancy plot points were entirely unnecessary.

Unfortunately couldn’t finish reading this one. It had a compelling dark academia setting with a moody vibe but I didn’t find myself caring about any of the characters or the mystery. Scenes changed so abruptly before anything had a chance to to settle in. The writing style confused me, it just to me the chapters I read were lacking a bit of depth and fell flat.

I felt like this book was trying to do too much and ended up doing very little. Too many locations, too many mysteries and not enough actual depth and character development. It read sort of like a bunch of first drafts threaded together. A cursed emerald?! Really? Who was this book for?

There's a lot of potential and I liked the dark academia setting. Unfortunately I didn't care for the characters and the story fell flat.
Not my cup of tea
Many thanks to the publisher for this arc, all opinions are mine

This was a very unique eerie read. I enjoyed it for the most part. I did get confused here and there but overall I would def recommend it .

This is definitely my kind of book, usually. Eerie and atmospheric and "Secret History" vibes. However, I think this one could've benefitted from a few more drafts - a little bit more character development and maybe doing away with the historical element of the mystery. Not the best thing I've read lately but nowhere near the worst.

Isabel Henley has left her life in America behind and is now in Scotland excited to start work on her doctorate degree. Isobel is thrilled that Madeline Granger will be her advisor but when she arrives at St. Stephens, she finds out that she has died tragically in an accident. The only thing holding her together is that her old college friend Rose Brewster is also at Saint Stephens. When Rose disappears, she leaves Isabel adrift. She finally hears from Rose who tells her that her life is in danger and now Isabel’s is too (it is quite a complicated tale).

She provides instructions detailing what Isabel must do but with little guidance on how she can accomplish Rose’s mission. The story delves deeply into ancient history with Isabel’s “mission” always looming in the background. This was quite different than the books I usually choose and for the most part, I found the history fascinating. My only issue was that it did drag at times for me, but I will admit that I was in the hospital when I read this and not on top of my game in any way. Isabel made some questionable choices (one after another), but as the story unfolds, we learn more about the demons that chased her across the pond.

It did not end at all how I imagined and while I don't think this as any book will be for everyone, I found myself invested in the story and surprise, surprise-making guesses that mostly were wrong. The mystery surrounding the death of Madeline and the disappearance of Rose kept me flipping pages. A slow burn but I enjoyed learning about the history and trying to figure out who was telling the truth and if Isabel was a reliable narrator. The dark academia vibes are there but at times I wished that I felt more for Isabel. She was a hard character to relate to. I wound up reading this again when I get home and it made much more sense(books and emergency admissions don’t really mix).

DNF at 15%. As someone who did their PhD in Scotland, I thought I'd really enjoy this book, but I just couldn't persevere. Not a fan of the writing style - there are phrases that just ruined the illusion for me - making a brew with two tea bags, ordering a double earl grey, putting three coats of lipgloss on then brushing your teeth, signing the bill for round of drinks. I realise the story is based on an America abroad, but it took my focus anyway from the story at hand. It also introduced too many people too quickly, with one large scene very early on, so I struggled to actually follow whos who and their relationship to one another.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for the ARC of this book, in exchange for an honest review.

An entertaining if clumsy academic mystery.

Anything academic or campus-centric in the mystery genre is my favorite, so I was delighted by the premise of The Bequest, a madcap academic thriller set largely in Scotland and Italy.

The premise of this was a good one and the pacing is excellent too. Both of which help the reader not dwell on its many flaws, especially the, let’s say, inaccurate depiction of graduate work and scholarship and the clunky dialogue.

It’s not the best writing, which stands out more in a novel about academics than in one about, say, a policeman, even if the bones of the plot and the mystery are of equal quality. It makes the book a touch hard to take seriously, rendering the more tense or academically minded sequences as out of place and technically suspect. Which is too bad, because there are so interesting academic components to this (I found the musings on Machiavelli to be particularly thought provoking).

In all, if you’re seeking the next Secret History or The Historian or even, let’s say, The Ancient Nine, you’re going to be disappointed by the blundering goofiness of this, and annoyed by the toss-in of a semi-disturbing attempted rape that feels out of place, inappropriate to the text, and badly handled in the aftermath.

But if you’re just seeking a fun and fast paced thriller with a vaguely academic bent, this is an entertaining read.

The Bequest was a good read, part thriller, part mystery, part dark academia. It follows an American phd student, Isabel, starting at a new university in Scotland, where she is studying history, and in particular, is planning a dissertation on the women of Catherine de Medici’s female French court. She chose the university to work with a well known feminist professor as her tutor, but the tutor is mysteriously killed in a cliff accident just before she is able to meet her. Isabel is disconcerted but manages to start off life at the new university, quickly making a friend in fellow history student Rose. But Rose also goes missing mysteriously, and then Isabel finds a hidden recording from her friend asking for her help - she has to take over Rose’s topic in order to save her life and find a rumoured emerald that was once planned to be a gift to Catherine de Medici and then fell out of the record. Isabel sets off for Florence and Paris to do frantic research whilst pretending that she is fine and just writing a dissertation topic - when much more hangs in the balance.

I found the pacing of the novel good and Isabel a sympathetic character, so I did enjoy it. There are some twists, some of which I could see coming from quite a long way off, but I did really enjoy the setting of the thriller/mystery, which was this trail through historical record as Isabel searched for clues.

My thanks to #NetGalley and Penzler Publishers for an advanced reader copy in exchange for an honest review.