The Essex Serpent

Book Summary:

Cora Seaborne and Will Ransom are two extraordinary people who fall for each other in an unusual way. Cora is a well to do widow from London who moves to Essex parish where Will is the local Vicar. The village is engulfed in rumors about a giant serpent in the marshes. It is said it slithers about devouring people. Cora, who is a naturalist, is intrigued by the serpent and wants to find out more about it. Will sees it as a sign that his Parish has lost their way. Cora and Will find themselves drawn to each other, yet separated by their different views.

My Thoughts:

I found myself identifying with Cora at the start of this novel. I wanted to learn more about this mysterious serpent that everyone was so obsessed with. I wanted to know if it was something to fear or be astounded by. While this story had great potential, I found myself wondering when something was going to happen. There was so much potential between the mysterious serpent and the undertones of romance that as a reader, I felt sure meant anything could happen on the next page. I did not ever find the gripping tale that I expected to.

I appreciated the strong female lead character that is determined to follow her own interests after denying them for so long. I wanted her to succeed and find a character I could love. I never fell in love with the characters and near the end hoped the serpent would come and eat the lot of them simply for something interesting to happen. I thought there was a lot more potential with the set up than was met.

I had also hoped that the tale might be more gothic as it was described to have gothic undertones.  Or perhaps it would be a book geared more for adults similar to The Memoirs of Lady Trent series. But it was not either of these. I think some people might enjoy this book, but for me it was too slow and never reached stated purpose.

*I received a free copy of this book from the Goodreads First Reads program in exchange for an honest review. Receiving a free copy of this book does not change my review. It simply provides me with a copy of a book sooner than I would have gotten to it or one I would not have heard about otherwise.