Wrapped

by Jennifer Bradbury

The setting is 1815, London. Napoleon is on the rise again, threatening England with his power. Everything is unknown and unsure. But life goes on, especially for girls about to make their debuts in London society. Girls like Agnes.

Parties also continue, with unwrappings becoming quite the thing to attend. Agnes attends one and is both fascinated and disturbed as she helps unwrap a mummy that has been lying in secrecy for years. But its all the rage. Until those who helped unwrap the mummy start having trouble. Deadly, horrible trouble.

I really, really enjoyed Wrapped. I honestly didn’t expect to and mostly just wanted to read it due to that rather gorgeous cover. I was pleasantly surprised when I found Agnes to be smart, witty and a bit of a romantic.

Bradbury threw in everything I could possibly want: Myths! Curses! Strict Social Rules (that are meant to be DEFIED)! Intrigue! It just was beginning-to-end lovely. An enjoyable read that was romantic and edge-of-your-seat brilliant. (And the Egyptian portion was great. I was absolutely DELIGHTED to go to the British Museum only a week after I had finished reading this and see many of the items Agnes encounters – including the Rosetta Stone. But I’m digressing here…)

I’m not sure if there’s going to be a sequel to this guy. Honestly, I would love for it to be a series, assuming each installment had the same amount of humor and historical information. The Adventures of Agnes and [Name Removed Due to Spoilers]. Sounds like a winner to me.

Just a great historical novel, set amongst posh parties and dingy museum corners, with the threat of Napoleon always churning in the background.

Published By: Atheneum, May 2011
Available: Now
This book came from: Netgalley, an e-book was provided by the publisher.