Who is the Pink Carnation?

The Secret History of the Pink Carnation by Lauren Willig
My mom lent me this book to read several months ago. Except I didn't actually pick it up and start reading it until barely 24 hours before she passed. Which is too bad because I'd love to discuss it with her and thank her because I really enjoyed. (This really shouldn't have been a surprise, because in general my mom's been spot-on at recommending books. I'm sure there's quite a few, but the one that comes first to mind is The Mortal Instruments Series.)

But getting back to the book in question. While the book starts out with a modern day grad student researching the spy, the pink carnation, the majority of the book takes place in Napoleonic France. I've never read a book that takes place in Napoleonic France, at least not that I can remember, and was really excited to here. While I did wind up getting a feel for France at the time, I didn't necessary get to know the historical characters like Napoleon and Josephine. Yes, they made cameos, but this isn't the type of historical fiction I tend to read where the historical figure is the focus.

In a lot of ways the book is somewhat of a chick-lit meets historical fiction, which worked completely for me. I do think if you came in expecting only one or the other, you might be slightly taken aback. But for me it was a perfect combination!

I know this is the start to a series (I believe there's 8 books total now), and I'm definitely planning on reading the rest. My mom had actually already read and lent me the second, so hopefully I'll be following up with that one shortly!

5/5