So many delightful references to Northanger Abbey! The guest room, the necklace, the Bertrams, the ball…and also the classism, bigotry, misogyny, and injustice. 

Funke and Liv’s stories are riveting, heartbreaking, infuriating, and thoughtful by turns. Was it harder to be black in the UK, or a woman in Nigeria? is it easier to be wealthy in Nigeria, or landed in England? The clear societal preference for boys over girls in both cultures was disturbing and depressing. 

The reunion of the two storylines is executed perfectly. I swear the author was teasing the reader with the leisurely pace. 

I went back and forth between the print and audiobook versions of this. The narrator was wonderful.