Author: Wray Delaney
Publisher: MIRA
Publication Date: 28 February 2017
Pages: 400
Format: EBook - PDF
Genre: Historical/Fantasy
Source: ARC via NetGalley
I would like to make myself the heroine of this story and my character to be noble - an innocent victim led astray. But alas sir, I would be lying....
Tully Truegood: Orphan, Magician's apprentice, Whore. In prison, accused of murder, Tully begins to write her life story. A story that takes her from a young daughter-skivvy in the back streets of 18th Century London to her stepmother Queenie's Fairy House - a place where decadent excess is a must...Trained by Queenie to become a courtesan, and by Mr Crease - a magician who sees that Tully holds similar special powers to his own - together they make Tully the talk of the town. But as Tully goes on a journey of sexual awakening, she falls in love with one of her clients and the pleasure soon turns to pain. Especially when the estranged husband she was forced to marry by her father suddenly seeks her out. Now Tully is awaiting her trial for murder, for which she expects to hang...and her only chance of survival is to get her story to the one person who might be able to help her. (Goodreads Synopsis)
An Almond for a Parrot is an interesting book that blends magical realism into a tale along the lines of Fanny Hill. The story entertained me from start to finish and I was keen to see how Tully's journey would end. I did find some of the sexual euphemisms a little too flowery language-wise for my taste; its purple prose dragged me out of the story several times. Also, the ending, when it came, felt a tad rushed compared to the earlier pacing. However, regardless of these minor gripes, it was enjoyable and the perfect read before bed. An Almond for a Parrot will appeal to readers of classics like Fanny Hill as well as readers for modern historical fiction who are looking for something a little different.
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