A Countess Below Stairs by Eva Ibbotson

A Countess Below Stairs

by Eva Ibbotson

To be honest, this book was a bit iffy for me. I'll start out by saying that I was attracted to this book by the cover. This has always had mixed results for me... when I choose a book because of the cover, I've been known to really like the book or really hate it. But I am also on this historical kick, and to top it off one of my best friends bought it, and loved it. So, I decided to read it.

Now, it wasn't a bad book by all means. It was actually a very good book. But it took me awhile to get past the initial boredom... The chapters were so long, and sometimes it just seemed to drag on and on... there was a lot of backstory to it, which I know is important because I need to know how the characters got where they are, but I kind of wished that it could get onto the story already. Although, if I'm to be honest, the story didn't have very many redeeming qualities. It all seemed kind of obvious to me. Handsome man. Nice, wonderful maid, who happens to be a Countess. And then the evil fiancée who ruins everyone's life. There wasn't much excitement to it. I like the story, but it just wasn't all that fabulous.

So, in recap. The book was long, but the plot was good. Towards the end it picked up a bit, bringing me to a happy finish which kind of made up for the boring beginning. I plan on reading another of Eva Ibbotson's books, but I'm hoping that it's at least a bit better than this one. I was kind of disappointed.