The Typewriter Girl by Alison Atlee Review

About the book:

A passionate historical debut novel about a young woman in turn-of-the-century England who finds love and independence at a seashore resort.

In Victorian London, there’s only so far an unmarried woman can go, and Betsey Dobson has relied on her wits and cunning to take herself as far as she can—to a position as a typewriter girl. But still, Betsey yearns for something more…so when she’s offered a position as the excursions manager at a seaside resort, she knows this is her chance for security, for independence, for an identity forged by her own work and not a man’s opinion. Underqualified for the job and on the wrong side of the aristocratic resort owner, Betsey struggles to prove herself and looks to the one person who can support her new venture: Mr. Jones, the ambitious Welshman building the resort’s pleasure fair. As she and Mr. Jones grow ever closer, Betsey begins to dream that she might finally have found her place in the world—but when her past returns to haunt her, she must fight for what she’s worked so hard…or risk losing everything.

My review:

I had mixed feeling about this one.  I was drawn to this one by the cover right away, I thought it was beautifully done.  I also enjoyed reading about the two main characters, Betsey and John.  Betsey was smart and capable and brutally honest.  She never tried to be someone she was not and never shied away from admitting truths about herself and I admired that about her.  Mr. Jones was hardworking, intelligent, and a good solid man.  I liked how they both came from poor families and worked hard to make something of themselves.

Unfortunately, the story fell flat for me.  I struggled to get to the end, the plot just seemed to drag along.  Though I liked both Betsey and John I did not feel like they had a lot of chemistry together and I really didn't like reading about their relationship at all.  It was also fairly predictable as to how it would end so this was just an ok read for me.  It is well written and a good work of historical fiction, it just was not exciting enough for me.

My rating:  3 stars out of 5

I received this book from the publisher for a review.