Title: The Disgrace of Kitty Grey
Author: Mary Hooper
Genre: Historical Fiction, Young Adult, Romance
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing 
Publication Date: June 2013
Pages: 288
Rating: 2 stars

Synopsis (from goodreads):
Kitty has a comfortable life as a country milkmaid. She is well looked after by the family who live up at the great house, and she enjoys being courted by Will Villiers, the handsome river man. Then one day, Will vanishes

Kitty is heartbroken, and when sent to London on an errand she is determined to track down Will. But, alone and vulnerable in the vast city, Kitty’s fate is snatched out of her hands and she is plunged into a dizzying spiral of despair…

My Review:

Kitty Grey is happy with her life. She looks after five gorgeous milk cows, has plenty of free time and is in the start of a lovely romance with Will the Ferryman. But Will dreams of more than just living in Devonshire. He’s keen to go to London and earn his fortune so that he will be a man Kitty can be proud of.

When Kitty discovers Will is missing and all his belongings are gone too, she’s furious. When she gets given a chance to run an errand in London, Kitty is eager to go to the city and track Will down. But what greets her is nothing at all like she expected.

I had high hopes for The Disgrace of Kitty Grey. I’ve read some of Mary Hooper’s contemporary novels before but this is the first historical novel of hers that I read. It’s got a lot of charm. From the first few pages when Kitty gets asked to assist the young Misses in their quest to create a tableau vivant complete with live cows I knew it was going to be an entertaining novel. And it had some great points. I enjoyed the differences between modern life and the world Kitty lives in. There are some lovely contrasts of Kitty’s idyllic life in Devonshire and the world she experiences in the city of London.

Where this novel fell short for me was in the intensity of Kitty’s emotions. She has to face some tragic circumstances and throughout it all she never sheds a tear. I needed to feel more from Kitty in order to enjoy the story more. Another shortcoming of this novel was the incredible coincidences that occur – it made this story feel less realistic with just how impossible some of the situations were.

Beautifully researched, The Disgrace of Kitty Grey was a lovely book to read with a strong heroine but lacked a lot of emotion.

Thanks to Bloomsbury Publishing for the review copy.

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