Lady Eve's Last Con

[chestnut_pod]

I read this in one effervescent gulp on a plane. It was a daytime flight, so I had to stay awake for my own good, and Lady Eve's Last Con kept me from noticing that I had been awake for 24+ hours. A heist novel, a comedy of manners, and a romance all rolled up into one gilded outer-space confection like some kind of literary gougère. Ruthi, a minor con artist in the throes of separation anxiety from her little sister, sets out (unasked!) to revenge herself on the wealthy cad who abandoned and impregnated said little sister. The best way to do this, of course, is through the most convoluted identity-cum-marriage hornswoggle ever devised. Unfortunately, this brings Ruthi into unexpected contact with some other, concurrent, far more life-and-death hornswoggles afoot on the glamorous Space!Art Deco station… and said cad's alluring and suspicious sister, Hot Butch Tuxedo Mask! How will our plucky main character get out of her predicament, and possibly into HBTM? With heaps of style, a genuinely touching story of personal growth, and a venture into outer-space kashrut law which made me guffaw from my middle seat and tied the whole glorious romp together in its combined absurdity and sincerity. A book for yiddishekopfs.

Comments

[larryhammer]

I have this, and have been saving it (somehow) for my upcoming vacation.

[chestnut_pod]

Enjoy both the vacation and the book!

[vriddy]

This sounds amazing :D Thank you for sharing this rec!

[chestnut_pod]

I do hope you can get your hands on it and enjoy!

[jajalala]

Oooh sounds fun, added to my list!

[chestnut_pod]

Yay! It really is so fun.

[hebethen]

I finally got my turn with my library's copy and it was SUCH fun -- elements of it felt very tropey in the best "oh, now I get why people like this kind of story" way. And the worldbuilding element of breathers being the social/sartorial equivalent of fans tickled me rather. I would be like "hey Netflix where's my Bridgerton of this" but honestly the voice is half the fun and you can't properly get that in screen media.

[chestnut_pod]

Yay!!! To be honest, the one scene I would really, really like to see with my eyes is gur cbegragbhf bcravat bs gur fuvccvat pbagnvare qbbe gb erirny gur yrtvba bs xbfure qhpxf. I think you could make visual comedy hay out of that one.

[hebethen]

Oh my god you're so right. Hell! If only I were an artist, it would be animatic gold!

[rocky41_7]

This looks so fun! Another one for my ever-growing TBR XD

[chestnut_pod]

Just about the most fun novel of the year so far!