Pandora

An interesting historical mystery set in London, with undertones of Greek mythology.

This seemed like a promising take on the whole retold mythology genre. Rather than it be an actual mythological character, we have (Pan)Dora Blake in London in 1799, unwilling employee to her uncle who’s running her deceased parents antiquity shop into the ground one forgery at a time. Her deceased parents were killed during an excavation disaster a decade ago, leaving Dora orphaned and stuck at her uncle’s mercy. A strange crate arrives for her uncle one day, and Dora makes it her mission to see its contents – a giant Grecian vase, in pristine condition. Dora, now with aspirations of jewelry design, hopes to use this vase to fuel inspiration for her jewelry pieces, but gets sucked into the vase’s origin story, one that involves her parents and her uncle as well.

Unfortunately, I didn’t think the book lived up to its ultimate goal. While I appreciate the different spin on the genre, the book felt really meandering in places, and it seemed like Dora’s motivations changed depending on when you checked in on her. (Mild plot spoilers here)either she wanted to take over her parents shop, as it had once been a great thing in London, or she wanted to wash her hands of the whole thing and make jewelry. This made her character feel a little inconsistent and changeable depending on what was going on at the time.

It also felt like nothing happened, despite there being this mystery hanging over the entire book. I don’t know if it was as product of the writing or wanting more of a mystery than we got, but even though there were some standout scenes, I honestly felt kind of bored with the whole thing. (Large ending/plot spoilers)I sort of wanted the vase to be more of a thing than what it was, which was a vessel for a message from her parents to her. There were some hints and intimations that there was something supernatural about it, but I guess that amounted to nothing in the end, and it left me a bit disappointed.

It’s an adequate book, but nothing I’d probably recommend to anyone. Perfectly average, I guess.

3.5/5