The Debutante

"Cate Albion is a gifted artist who is hiding from her past in her elderly aunt’s London antique shop. When her aunt sends her to Devon to catalog the contents of an old Georgian house, Cate finds more than just antiques, she finds a mystery. The home belonged to Irene Blythe, a wealthy, elderly woman who was once a beautiful socialite between the wars. Cate finds an abandoned nursery, locked for years, and a shoebox full of mysterious articles hidden behind a stack of books. Cate realizes the box belongs not to Irene but to her sister, Baby Blythe, the dazzling, dangerous, over-the-top debutante who mysteriously disappeared without a trace more than 60 years ago. Unable to resist, Cate unpacks the box and follows the clues to Baby Blythe’s dark, secretive past––one that parallels Cate’s own dark life all too well. Tessaro’s fourth novel is a smart book with an interesting historical vein that will charm and engage the reader. --Hilary Hatton" -Amazon

DO NOT let the pink cover full you, this is not a cute, girly, summer read... as it led me to think it was. It is definitely a more serious adult toned book. Altogether, you follow loosely a few people's life stories. Katie/Cate's relationship back in New York, her childhood and then he current budding relationship with Jack. Then you focus on Jack's past life with his wife, friends and again, his relationship with Cate.  Interwining into this is Rachel and Anne's past and present relationships and then of course, The Blythe Sisters Relationship which is shown through letters Diane writes. So many things to follow, although not that hard.

The story in general has a pretty dark tone and begins quite slowly. For the most part the story is alright, my only problems were that there were repeats of names, which confused me and the letters that Diana Blythe wrote, which took me awhile to distinguish who she was writing to at what time. And although, I was fond with the ending, and it is someone predictable. It didn't end with defininent closure; meaning you see how it ends, but nothing is really confirmed in the story line. Which somewhat annoyed me, but I understood why the author did it like that. It just didn't personally sit well with me. I also, would have avoided the relationship between Cate and Jack, since I find the age difference creepy... though pretty tastefully done. I just would have preferred a friendship between them. I did enjoy the mystery aspect to the story and I liked how there were all these clues that didn't add up, but gave you a tid bit of the era.

If you are into more adult themed books, that are slower paced, and a little mystery and little romance then you will enjoy this book. If you aren't then you aren't missing out on too much, by not reading this book. If I would rate this book I would give it 3 stars. I did enjoy it, but I wasn't impressed by it, though I am still interested in reading Tessaro's  other books "The Flirt" , "Elegance" and "Innocence".