a strange one, because it had all the elements of books i like, and nothing really was wrong with it as i read, but i still had to tug myself through it at times. it could just be that i'm not in the best reading mood.
 [this review contains spoilers throughout] 
Pros:
- I did really like the characters. Jonah is a bit of coward, as he admits, but he's a good person with a good heart and this come through throughout. His love story with Pavan and his reunion with Viola near the end, when they finally talk openly to each other, was lovely. He and Viola were best as brother and sister and it was touching to see them when they had stopped keeping secrets.  the side characters were great too, Pavan, Nan, Madame, etc. 
- Jonah's PTSD after his horrible experiences in the war was well represented in his nightmares, his shame, his depression, and that was never healed just by love, but by talking and being given space to accept his feelings
- though i didn't necessarily like her, Hetty/Harriet/Henriette was a fascinating character and her blooming romance with Viola was lovely, even if her past trauma had made her somewhat selfish in self-preservation
- Once Viola's talent was introduced into the story, I did enjoy seeing that a lot, it was well-written and interesting. I would've loved if there had been more focus on this, on Viola learning about the limits of what she could do (could someone else prepare the plates? take the photo? need Viola only be in the room? could the spirits communicate with her through the photographs?), but there was more focus on interpersonal relationships
- it was fascinating and awful to learn about the british in India and the riots in Dehli. i know somewhat about colonialism and how bad it was, but i know very little about how it came to an end in India and enjoyed the glimpses of history we got there.

cons:
- my predominant, but unfortunately vague, complaint about this was just that it seemed to drag. Perhaps the plot didn't have enough stakes or enough twists and turns, or I was frustrated with Jonah for lying to his wife, or maybe I'm just not in the right mood. But for a short book (340 pages), it did drag. It did get better as it went on - once Viola had to go to jail and Jonah raced back home from london, I was much more gripped - but the lack of anything magical or hopeful at the start just felt hard to get through.

so this book had a lot of potential but just never fulfilled it quite. the spirits were there, but not enough, there were stakes, but not enough, and the romance was slow building. still, i'd be interested to know if the author writes more.