The Winged Tiara by J'nell Ciesielski

The Winged Tiara was the first book I have read written by J’nell Ciesielski, and I look forward to reading some more. The story was captivating and drew me in from the start. The character development was good but lacking in a lot of ways. We got to learn a little bit more about Esme and Jasper and their childhood. I just came back feeling like we didn’t pull back many layers of their character. I would have also liked to see them grow together. The storyline and setting were fun. Though at times I had a hard time getting up to speed where the characters were at. It kind of hopped all over. Not sure if this was due to listening to it as an audiobook. I did enjoy the suspense element, and the cat and mouse aspect were fun to watch unfold. The relationship between Esme and Jasper was very passionate. It had some different interesting dynamics of trying to figure out their relationship. Overall, this was probably on the side of too much for me. Though it is a closed-door romance, it had the passion. The historical element was great. I could really picture the scenes and felt like I was in the middle of the roaring 20s. I never realized how much I enjoy this time period; this is the second book I have read this year set in the roaring 20s and I look forward to reading some more. I was a little bit disappointed by the Christian element. I had picked to review this book because the publisher is a Christian publisher, and I was expecting at least a little bit. It was completely lacking, as well as some of the morals of characters were not even of Christian values. I would not label this as Christian fiction. *I received a complimentary copy from the author and voluntarily chose to review it. All opinions are my own.