This was a fun historical novel and I really liked the characters but sadly I found the twists a bit predictable which took some of the enjoyment out for me personally. Overall a good read though.

The Persephone Code by Julia Golding


It’s 1812, and we follow Dora and Dr Sandys when they try to figure out the death of Dora's half-brother Antony. He was a member of a secret society called The Hellfire Club. He has left a lot of clues for Dora to decipher. The nearer the truth they get, the more they realize there is far more to this than they would ever imagine. Now their own lives are in danger.


I liked this historical fiction mystery very much. It reminded me of the Davinci Code, which I loved. I loved both Dora and Dr. Sandys and was happy to get to know them, and I loved the chemistry between them.

Thank you to @netgalley @harpercollinsuk
@onemorechapterhc for this eARC.

I really wanted to love this more than I did. Don't get me wrong, it's not bad. But the pitch of "Bridgerton meets the Da Vinci Code" had my hopes up for something spectacular and it didn't quite hit that for me. But it was solid and I look forward to more from this author in the future.

Hell Fire Club! Beware!

Heady story introduces us to Dora Fitz-Pennington, the illegitimate daughter of a rich despicable merchant. Dora fled his home and took to the stage.
She keeps in touch with her half brother Anthony, who’s escaped his father’s overbearing ways.
When Anthony is murdered Dora is notified by the enigmatic Dr. Jacob Sandys, an ex-officer and son of a powerful family.
Dora is very far from what Jacob expects. She joins him, or rather he joins her in the search for Anthony’s killer. That quest involves members of the notorious Hell Fire Club and the Illuminati! Soon Dora and Jacob have trouble deciding who’s an enemy and who’s a friend.
(BTW The Bridgerton reference seems to be no more than a nod to the Regency era and possibly Dora being born in the West Indies to her father’s mistress. The only resemblance to the Da Vinci Code is the antiquated clues and the Illuminati. I happened to dislike the Da Vinci Code, so I’d rather not draw that comparison.)
Back to the Persephone Code however. I found the tale bold and intriguing, it really piqued my curiosity. A rather splendid read with two wicked leads! (Wicked as in Deadly, as in great!)

A One More Chapter ARC via NetGalley.
Many thanks to the author and publisher.
(Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.)

In the midst of the early 19th century, a captivating tale unfolds, drawing readers into a world of mystery and intrigue. The courageous and unconventional Dora takes center stage, embarking on a journey filled with unexpected twists and turns to uncover the dangerous truth behind her brother's unexpected death. As she and the enigmatic Dr. Jacob Sandys begin to unearth details surrounding both her brother's and a series of other perplexing deaths in the small parish of West Wycombe, a perilous adventure unravels, shrouded in secrecy and danger.

The Persephone Code was an absolute page-turner! The character development and historical context made it a truly enriching experience. The slow start set the tone perfectly for the time period, and once the action picked up, it was impossible to put down. A fantastic read that I highly recommend to anyone looking for a compelling historical novel with elements of secret societies and a dash of romance.

A travelling theatre actress and a former military surgeon are thrown together to find the Hellfire Club's secrets her brother hid before his death. A letter with clues sends them on a dangerous scavenger hunt followed by men who are ready to kill for those secrets. Naturally the two MCs are attracted to each other, but have their reasons/flaws not to turn their collaboration into a dalliance.

This could turn into a series.

A wild storyline that is described as the Bridgertons meets the Da Vinci Code gives you an idea that this isn't the typical Regency Romance. I would argue this isn't really like the Bridgertons other than the time period but it is filled with secret societies, conspiracies, murder and some quick passion.

I liked how Dora and Jacob are flawed human beings that you can empathize with though sometimes I thought their connection didn't quite work. Maybe it just felt too rushed for me. Some of the twists were pretty obvious but overall not a bad read.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for an ARC in exchange for an honest opinion.

I thoroughly enjoyed this regency era murder mystery. With its plucky protagonist who (though set in a different era) put me in mind of Kerry Greenwoods Phryne Fisher. Though the book was a little slow the mystery was compelling enough to keep me reading.

Thank you to NetGalley and to the publisher for the digital ARC it has not affected my honest review.

I liked how this book started but I soon found the characters to be quite flat and it was a DNF at 25%.

🎧Audiobook Review🎧

#adprproduct

I want to thank NetGalley for approving me for an ARC of this book.

👨🏻‍🤝‍👩🏻Dynamic Duo
💞Romance
😮Scandal
🧐Regency Mystery

This was an entertaining read full of scandal, secret societies, red herrings, and tension. Dora and Jacob's witty banter and great partnership shone through the pages.

⭐⭐⭐💫

We've got an actress whose half-brother, as she is illegitimate, has been stabbed and murdered, and an ex-army medic with an opium addiction, that he's been trying to avoid. The characters are thrown together in a chaotic and ridiculous quest to first find a letter left by her brother and then to uncover who has murdered him. They are caught between the Hellfire Caves where a bunch of rich people partake in illicit activities, and the famed Illuminati.

While many events unfold over the course of the story, at times I wished for more adventure/different pacing. Also, the POV was mainly the two main characters, but frequently to explain some situation the POV would shortly jump to another person. At times there were just to many POV, and it detracted from the storyline. As much as I do love a slow burn, it was quite enjoyable to have two characters be attracted to each other and act on it if they both so desired.


I received this book as an ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review!

3⭐️ 0🌶️

I was really excited to read this book. I was hooked on the idea of Bridgerton meeting the Da Vinci code. Although I think the only similarity to Bridgerton was the setting.

While this book has all the right elements of an engaging read, secret societies, murder, and carriage chases. I feel like it took until the third act for it to really pick up and despite wrapping up the mystery, I feel like the book was left a little too open ended when it came to the main characters. I’m assuming this is to leave it open for further books but while I found the book engaging enough to finish but I’m not sure I’ll pick up the next book if there is one.

I recieved an arc of this book from Net Galley to read and review. This book had several plot points that I truly adore: regency era, strong female main character that shuns societal norms, a stoic male main character that would do anything for her, and a murder mystery. With all of that going for it, I should have adored this book and I just thought it was okay. Not bad, not good . . . Just okay. It seems insta-lovey - one almost death scene and there are hearts in their eyes. They of course play this off as if they are protecting their hearts while their inner dialogue is all about hooking up. I picked out the villain near the beginning of the book - maybe I’m cynical but show me a “too” nice person and I’m suspicious. I also did not jive with aspects of ending - I get the theme was that everyone has their flaws and demons but the timing was absolutely awful. Overall, it was okay but there are some triggers for drug use, g’rape’, religious / satanic themes, and violence.

A very good twisty book set in 1812, a little like Bridgerton which is a hook for me. I enjoyed this one reading about the Hellfire Club a subject which I didn't know much about about. My thanks to netgalley and the publishers for giving me the opportunity to read this book in return for an honest review.

Historical fiction that blends mystery, romance and secret societies. The pacing was a little uneven and the character development felt rushed, however it was an interesting read. It offered an entertaining blend of intrigue and romance.
Many thanks to HarperCollins UK and to Netgalley for providing me with a galley in exchange for my honest opinion.

Describing this book at Bridgeton meets the Da Vinci Code does a disservice to it, as it bears little resemblance to either, bar a shared setting and a mystery of its own kind. I found this novel rushed, with little time for character or plot development. As a result, it was difficult to feel engaged with either.

I loved The Persephone Code! It has both mystery and romance, put together in a way that reminded me a bit of Bridgerton of it included some murder-mystey. I thought the pacing was great and I enjoyed the characters. 4/5 stars!

📚 review 📚
persephone code - julia golding
if you were to ask me to recommend you a book that was bridgerton but with a dash murder and a touch of the occult, i would present this.

the persephone code explores the hellfire clubs and the mystery and intrigue of georgian society. following the murder of anthony pennington in the infamous caves, his half sister and an acquaintance,
dr sandys embark on an adventure to solve
the mystery surrounding who killed him,
why and doing so without alerting any of the secret societies chasing the same
answers.
this was good fun, especially if you like a regency romp. thank you @netgalley for the early copy. the persephone code is out now

Woof! Let me tell you about this book my human has been reading. It's called "The Persephone Code." It's all about this lady named Dora and this nice doctor named Jacob. They're trying to solve a mystery about some guy named Antony who got hurt really bad. Oh, and there's this place called the Hellfire Club, which sounds kind of scary!

Dora seems like a cool lady. She used to be a merchant's daughter, but now she's an actress! That sounds like fun. And Jacob is super smart, but he's also battling something called an opium addiction. I don't know what that is, but it sounds tough.

The book is set a long time ago, when people didn't have cars or phones. It's full of cool old-timey stuff, like fancy dresses and big houses. My human says it's historically accurate, whatever that means.

But there's something my human didn't like about the ending. They said it felt rushed and some of the choices the main guy made were weird. But they still liked the writing and thought Dora and Jacob were neat characters.

Overall, it sounds like a pretty good book! Maybe I'll ask my human to read it to me sometime. Woof!

In this high-stakes historical fiction novel, readers travel to Regency England where the Hell Fire Club has stolen critical military plans for the battle against Napoleon on the continent. With bodies appearing around the cult’s meeting spaces (including club member Anthony Pennington), Dr. Jacob Sandys and Dora Fitz-Pennington (an actress and the bastard sister of the latest victim) must decode Anthony’s last message to Dora and traverse the countryside to uncover the true threat to the Crown, the campaign against Napoleon, and protect future murders in the Hellfire Caves. A high-stakes novel involving murder, murder attempts, assassinations, torture, blackmail, and carriage chases across the English countryside, readers are in store for a historical fiction thriller. Dora, the heroine, is a fascinatingly complex character with a difficult childhood informing her motivations for stopping her half-brother’s killer, and her relationship with Jacob Sandys is particularly messy yet fun to follow. Readers will enjoy the unique twists and turns that Golding created for this novel, and the plot and mystery are brilliantly supported by her cast of characters -- heroes, villains, and ambiguously motivated henchmen. A chaotic, high-stakes, and unpredictable novel, readers are sure to enjoy this take on the Regency historical fiction novel and the historical mystery genre.