Blog Tour Book Review: ELUSIVE by Genevieve Cogman

I received a review copy from the publisher as part of the blog tour in exchange for an honest review. It has not affected my opinions.

Genre: Historical Fantasy
Age Range: Adult
Star Rating: 4 stars
Series: second book

*SPOILER ALERT: contains SPOILERS for SCARLET*

Blurb:

Revolutionary France is full of blood and bite as vampires plot for power.

Eleanor, once a lowly English maid, is now a member of the League of the Scarlet Pimpernel, know for their daring deeds and recusing aristocrat vampires from the guillotine.

This time, Eleanor and the League are investigating the disappearance of Charles-Maurice de Talleyrand, the notorious French statesman and diplomat. But they soon uncover two vampire parties feuding for power and learn Talleyrand’s disappearance is part of a bigger, more dangerous scheme that will throw France into bloody chaos.

Blurb taken from Goodreads. Add to your shelves here.

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Review:

ELUSIVE returns to a French Revolution with vampires.

There is a different plot to thwart this time, more of a mystery to solve as the chief is off doing something, leaving the others in the lurch. It gave Eleanor a bigger role in the planning and also let old characters come back as antagonists and potential allies all muddled in the big scheme (and its new players).

Eleanor’s frustration in this book at being treated differently because she’s a woman, because she’s not a noble was a really interesting part. Many books focus on the nobles but this series is centred around a maid who is dragged into this group’s plans, shows she’s as good as the rest of them, and then is continually told to stay back and let others do the work. She even starts to wonder if it’s true.

I liked this difference, the way it gave a lens onto the aristocracy. Some might be trying to do the right thing, believing in all their honour, but their inherent privilege leaves massive blind spots. It’s a nice way to explore some of the nuances of the revolution, the horror but also what led to it, while not having that be the focus (vampires and escapes are!)

There is one more book to come, which sees the crew focus on England and the plots they’ve found reaching back home…

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Read my reviews of other books by Genevieve Cogman:

Scarlet Revolution (this series):

• SCARLET (#1)

The Invisible Library:

• THE INVISIBLE LIBRARY (#1)
• THE MASKED CITY (#2)
• THE BURNING PAGE (#3)
• THE LOST PLOT (#4)
• THE MORTAL WORD (#5)
• THE SECRET CHAPTER (#6)
• THE DARK ARCHIVE (#7)
• THE UNTOLD STORY (#8)